Karen’s killer stood trial for sexual assault

Alexander Pacteau planned to find a victim on the night he brutally killed Cork nurse Karen Buckley in Glasgow, police believe.

It has also emerged that he previously stood trial in 2013 for sexually assaulting a 24-year-old woman.

After Pacteau pleaded guilty to murder, the detective who led the investigation said he believed the 21-year-old had a premeditated plan to attack somebody on the night Karen was killed.