Karen Buckley murder: Alexander Pacteau jailed for life

Karen Buckley moved to Glasgow in February to study occupational therapy at Glasgow Caledonian University

A man has been jailed for life for murdering Irish student Karen Buckley, whose body was found on a farm four days after she went missing in Glasgow.

Alexander Pacteau killed the 24-year-old, who was from Cork, after meeting her outside a nightclub in April.

The 21-year-old admitted bludgeoning her with a spanner and strangling her in his car before hiding Ms Buckley's body in a barrel he stored at a farm.

At the High Court in Glasgow, Pacteau was jailed for a minimum of 23 years.

TV cameras recorded the sentencing hearing for broadcast.

Jailing Pacteau, judge Lady Rae told him that she found it "extremely difficult" to find words to describe what he did to Ms Buckley.

The judge described the victim as "much loved" and said that "for some unknown, inexplicable reason" Pacteau had destroyed her life in minutes.

Lady Rae said he had "concocted a story" in a bid to cover up the murder, adding: "You claim to be remorseful but you only expressed remorse for the first time when you pleaded guilty."

She pointed out that the Crown had decided not to seek conviction on a second charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice, and had instead argued that Pacteau's actions were an aggravating factor to the murder charge.

The judge said: "I regret that the Crown, in withdrawing charge two, has to some extent tied my hands in relation to this sentence."

However, Lady Rae said it had been "extraordinary" for the defence to argue that she should not take into account anything which happened after the murder.

"I have come to the view that I cannot ignore your conduct after the killing," she told Pacteau.

The judge said Pacteau only claimed to be remorseful when he finally admitted the murder

She told Pacteau that he must serve a minimum of 23 years in jail before he could apply for parole.

In a statement, Ms Buckley's father, John, said he hoped Pacteau would be "haunted" by his crime and spend the rest of his life in jail.

He said: "Today's life sentence will not bring our beautiful Karen back. Our little angel has been taken from us forever in the cruellest of ways.

"We mourn for her every day. It will, however, ensure that women are safe from harm from the truly evil coward who took our beautiful Karen's precious life.

"I hope that he is never released and spends every day in prison haunted by what he did."

Mr Buckley thanked "the people of Scotland and Ireland" and the authorities in both countries "for all their help and support" in bringing Pacteau to justice.

John and Marian Buckley said they hoped the sentence might offer women some protection

He said he and his wife Marian and their three sons would now try to move on and and rebuild their lives.

Mr Buckley added: "Karen is at peace now and we know that she is in heaven looking down on us and helping us."

Last month, Pacteau pleaded guilty to murdering Ms Buckley in the early hours of Sunday 12 April.

CCTV evidence

The court had heard that she was a nurse and had moved to Glasgow in February to study occupational therapy at Glasgow Caledonian University.

On the night she was murdered, Ms Buckley had gone to the Sanctuary nightclub, in Glasgow's west end, with friends.

In the early hours of Sunday morning she told them she was going to the toilet but did not return or collect her jacket.

Pacteau was seen on CCTV images talking to her before they walked off to his car, which he drove to nearby Kelvin Way.

The car was parked on the street for 12 minutes, during which time Pacteau attacked and murdered her by grabbing her neck and delivering 12 or 13 blows with the spanner.

Pacteau's silver Ford Focus was seen on CCTV leaving the area and heading towards Dawsholm Park, where the following morning a member of the public found Ms Buckley's handbag near a bin.

Four days after she was reported missing, the student's body was found inside a barrel that Pacteau had stored at High Craigton Farm, near Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire.

The court heard that after murdering Ms Buckley, Pacteau moved her body into his flat and purchased cleaning materials and chemicals which he used to try to dispose of her body.

By the time he moved Ms Buckley's body to High Craigton Farm, police had identified him as the man seen talking to her on CCTV outside the nightclub.

He initially claimed they had consensual sex and Ms Buckley had fallen and injured herself on the bed frame before leaving.

'Overwhelming case'

Pacteau also claimed he had panicked after realising he was the last person to see her before she was reported missing.

He later admitted murdering the student after her body was found and the forensic evidence against him began to increase.

It later emerged that more than 500 police officers had been involved in the investigation into Ms Buckley's death.

After Pacteau was jailed, Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham said: "The full resources of Police Scotland were directed towards understanding what happened to Karen and tracing the person responsible for her murder.

"Experienced murder investigators, working closely with local policing teams, specialist search officers and forensic experts, built up an overwhelming evidential case which led ultimately to Pacteau admitting his actions."