READ MORE -  Sad scene as Michaela Harte's body returns home

Tragic bride Michaela Harte was waked in her wedding dress as thousands gathered to pay their respects to the young woman who was murdered for $600 dollars, the amount that was in her open purse according to Mauritius police. The tragic honeymoon bride was murdered after she interrupted a robbery in her hotel room.

The suspects, all hotel employees, had seen the open purse while cleaning the room and returned later to take some of the money. They were in the act when she walked in and was attacked and strangled.

Thousands are expected in Tyrone to attend the wake and funeral this weekend at the home of her parents and the church where she was married. Her father, Mickey Harte, is one of the best known Gaelic football coaches in Ireland.

It has transpired that moments before Michaela McAreavey returned to her honeymoon suite in Mauritus on that fateful Monday afternoon, her husband John sent a text to a friend, asking him to prepare the newlywed’s home for their homecoming the following Sunday night, according to the Independent.

The couple, who had chosen not to live together before exchanging vows, had bought a home in Lawrencetown, near Banbrige, in the Co Down countryside, and were planning on moving in this weekend.

After weeks of freezing Irish weather, John was concerned the empty house would be chilly, so he sent a text asking his friend to check that there was enough fuel and that everything was in order when he brought his young bride to their new home.

Minutes later, the new groom’s dreams were shattered.

Michaela first spotted John at a nightclub when they were students in Belfast. Six years later, she and John would walk down the aisle together and be married by the Bishop of Dromore, John’s uncle and namesake, Bishop John.

They were so close that they were known as Mic and Mac by friends

Kevin Murphy, a neighbor and friend of the McAreaveys, remembers the December wedding.

"They literally skipped down the aisle. They were just a perfect match, such a happy couple. She was always there on the sidelines at games rooting for John. They had a fantastic love for each other."