Family faces long wait before they can bring Karen home
It could be several days before Scottish authorities release her remains as the legal team for the man charged with her murder could request an independent autopsy be carried out.
Alexander Pacteau, aged 21, from Glasgow, appeared before Glasgow Sheriff Court on Friday where he was charged with the murder of the student nurse, and with attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
The hearing was held in private and Mr Pacteau made no plea or declaration. He was remanded in custody and is due to appear at a full committal hearing, again in private, on Friday. He is not obliged to enter a plea at this hearing either.
If he is remanded in custody, police will then have 110 days to prepare a book of evidence in the case.
Scottish authorities are liaising with the Buckley family throughout the legal process, and will keep them fully informed of developments.
The news of a possible delay in the release of her remains emerged last night as shocking details of the Cork student’s final moments emerged.
Scotland’s Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service declined to comment on reports that Ms Buckley, 24, from Mourneabbey in North Cork, was repeatedly hit over the head with a spanner before being strangled.
They also declined to comment on reports that her body was put in a barrel before attempts were made to dispose of it on a farm outside Glasgow.
Police are trying to establish if she was drugged before leaving Sanctuary nightclub in the city last weekend, and if she was ever actually in Mr Pacteau’s apartment. He told police she went willingly to his apartment.
Ms Buckley disappeared while out with friends at the nightclub in the early hours of last Sunday morning.
She told friends she was going to the toilet at about 1am but never returned.
Her friends became concerned when there was no sign of her less than 15 minutes later, and they raised the alarm.
A major search was launched, Mr Pacteau’s apartment was sealed off, and after her handbag was found on Wednesday in Dawsholm park, near his apartment, her body was found a short time later at High Craigton Farm, just outside the city.
Police confirmed the discovery of human remains in the early hours of last Thursday morning, and formally confirmed that the remains were those of Ms Buckley on Friday.
A second vigil was held over the weekend close to where Ms Buckley lived in Glasgow, and followed a major vigil in the city centre on Friday night.
About 120 people attended the silent vigil, and lit candles laid out in the shape of a Celtic symbol.
Ms Buckley and her family were also remembered at Masses across North Cork yesterday.
There are plans to open books of condolence for Ms Buckley at Cork County Hall and at the town hall in Mallow.
One thousand candles were lit as neighbours gathered to be part of a silent vigil for Karen Buckley, close to where the student lived.
Residents of the Garnethill area of Glasgow gathered to remember the 24-year-old, whose body was found at a farm north of the city four days after she went missing on a night out.
Around 120 people attended the vigil on Saturday night where they lit candles which were arranged to make a Celtic symbol.
Jane Sutherland, chairwoman of the community council that organised the event, said: “It’s a wee close-knit community up here, although it’s quite a transient population with the students.
“It’s a small community and the news of this young girl going out on a Saturday night and then never coming back is just unbearably sad.
“This is just a moment for the neighbourhood to come together. Since she went missing nobody has talked of anything else.
“Words fail me – that’s why we wanted to do a wee silent candlelit vigil – 1,000 points of light for the one point of light that went out.”
She added: “I did not personally have the pleasure of knowing Karen but I know folks who knew her. Our profound condolences are with her mum and dad, her brothers, and extended family.”
A major police search was launched when the Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) student vanished after a night out last weekend.
Her body was found at High Craigton Farm on the north-western outskirts of the city following a four-day search.
Alexander Pacteau has appeared in court charged with Ms Buckley’s murder. The 21-year-old is also accused of attempting to defeat the ends of justice. He made no plea during a private hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Friday and was remanded in custody.
The memorial event, held in a park off Hill St where Ms Buckley was living, follows a vigil in the city’s George Square on Friday which around 300 people attended.
Flowers, candles, cards and messages were laid out in the square and a piper played. A minute’s silence was held and Ms Buckley’s family later arrived to look at tributes that had been left.
The university where Ms Buckley was studying occupational health was well represented, with many young people in attendance wearing GCU tracksuits and jumpers.
Flowers and messages have also been left at the GCU campus and at the entrance to High Craigton Farm. The outpouring of support for the family has also raised £50,000 (€69,000) in an online drive organised by her former classmates at Limerick University.
The Go Fund Me page was set up to cover the family’s travel and expenses while in Scotland and to support the upkeep of their farm in Cork. It raised more than 10 times the original target amount.
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