Alexander Pacteau Admits Murder Of Irish Student Karen Buckley In Glasgow

A 21-year-old man has admitted murdering Irish student Karen Buckley, who disappeared after a night out in Glasgow.

Alexander Pacteau, who repeatedly hit his victim on the head and body with a spanner, pleaded guilty when he appeared at the High Court in the city.

A major search was launched for 24-year-old Miss Buckley, from Cork, when she was reported missing from the flat she shared with friends after failing to return home from a nightclub in Glasgow's west end in April this year.

Her body was found days later at a farm on the outskirts of the city.

Alexander Pacteau has admitted murdering Karen Buckley

Miss Buckley, a nurse who was studying for a post-graduate qualification at Glasgow Caledonian University, was seen on CCTV leaving The Sanctuary nightclub in the early hours of Sunday April 12 and the footage captured her talking to a man as they walked along Dumbarton Road.

Detectives soon said they were treating her disappearance as a high-risk missing person inquiry and her parents also flew over from Ireland.

By the Tuesday, police revealed they had spoken to the man seen talking to Miss Buckley outside the club who had said she travelled with him to his flat a few miles away in Dorchester Avenue before leaving some hours later.

Karen Buckley died of head and neck injuries

Police also appealed for information about a grey car that was seen on the roads between Milngavie and Drymen on the Sunday.

Meanwhile, the student's handbag had been found at a park near to the man's flat and the police hunt focused on the two sites in the north west of the city.

The man was named in reports as Alexander Pacteau and the following day he was detained by police.

A body was later found at High Craigton Farm near Milngavie, ending the four-day police search.

Pacteau was arrested and appeared in court on April 17 charged with murder.