Ex-boyfriend accused of strangling Bruna Fonseca did not want to harm her, Cork murder trial told

The accused man also told gardaí that she began hitting him and that he tried to stop her hitting him by doing something he had seen on television

Bruna Fonseca was a native of Formiga in Minas Gerais province, northwest of Rio de Janiero, who had come to Cork in September 2022 and had been working as a contract cleaner at the Mercy University Hospital. File picture

The prosecution in a murder trial that opened in Cork on Monday alleged that on New Year’s Day 2023, 28-year-old Brazilian woman Bruna Fonseca was strangled by a young Brazilian man with whom she had previously been in a relationship after she went to his room in Cork for both of them to have face time by phone to Brazil with a pet dog to whom both of them were very attached.

The accused man later told gardaí that she began hitting him and that he tried to stop her hitting him by doing something he had seen on television.

The jury was told that the issue they would have to decide essentially was whether or not he intended to kill her or cause her serious injury. 32-year-old Miller Pacheco told gardaí that she was hitting him in the face and that he tried to stop her, he fell on top of her and did something that he had seen on films on television. 

He said he did not want to harm her, that he wanted the fighting to be over.

The Brazilian man accused of murdering 28-year-old Brazilian woman Bruna Fonseca in Cork on New Year’s Day 2023 pleaded not guilty to the murder charge on Monday and a jury of seven women and five men was sworn in for his trial at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork.

Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford addressed the jury panel before jurors were selected and sworn in, telling them that the trial was likely to last two weeks and would possibly go into a third week so they should be available until January 30.

The judge told the jury panel that the defendant is from Brazil and had only been in Ireland for a short time before January 2023 and that he had been working in Son of a Bun restaurant on MacCurtain Street for a period and living on Liberty Street.

“The deceased had been working at Mercy University Hospital for a few months and she was residing at Southern Road, Cork,” Ms Justice Lankford said.

Outlining these background details and the names of witnesses and members of An Garda Síochána connected to the case, the judge said people should not go forward as jurors if they had any connection with parties to the case.

Miller Pacheco (pictured) told gardaí that Bruna Fonseca was hitting him in the face and that he tried to stop her. File picture: Dan Linehan

32-year-old Miller Pacheco was arraigned on the single count that he murdered Bruna Fonseca at Room 3, 5 Liberty Street, Cork, on January 1, 2023, contrary to Common Law. Asked if he was pleading guilty or not guilty, he replied, “Not guilty”. A Portuguese interpreter was sworn in to assist the accused during the trial.

Prosecution senior counsel, Bernard Condon, said in his opening to the jury: “You know it is a murder case. That makes it very difficult when you are dealing with the loss of a human being — a young woman at that, who probably travelled to Ireland for a better life and did not have any luck in the way one would expect.” 

He said that essentially the jury would be deciding on what the defendant was thinking, what he intended. “The prosecution say the murder was done by Miller Pacheco, the accused man. It probably is not going to be a big issue whether he killed her on not (in that) all of the evidence points to that. 

"The question is — for murder — did he intend to kill or cause serious injury.” 

Assistant state pathologist Margaret Bolster will tell the jury of her conclusion that Ms Fonseca died as a result of asphyxiation. Mr Condon outlined the allegations that the prosecution would make in the course of the trial, emphasising that this outline was not itself evidence.

Case background

The late Ms Fonseca was a native of Formiga in Minas Gerais province, northwest of Rio de Janiero, who had come to Cork in September 2022 and had been working as a contract cleaner at the Mercy University Hospital.

Up to 2022 they had been in a relationship and lived together in Brazil. But the relationship ended and she came to Ireland. Miller Pacheco came to Ireland two months afterwards, on November 18, 2022. 

“Whether he was happy about her coming or not, you will hear evidence… When Bruna Fonseca came to Ireland she appeared to have moved on. She started a relationship with a young Argentinian man she met in English college,” Mr Condon said.

The prosecution senior counsel said the fairest thing to say was that in December 2022 there were difficulties between the defendant and the deceased and that basically she seemed to be saying to him to leave her alone.

Mr Condon said that both of them and friends were at a party in a house on New Year’s Eve. He said Ms Fonseca was dancing with another young man and kissed him and that the defendant was watching her and took a video of this.

Mr Condon said when they were in Brazil, Mr Miller and Ms Fonseca had a dog and both of them were very fond of the animal. He said that at around 3am on January 1, 2023, they were in Mr Miller’s room at Liberty Street to have face time on the phone with the dog in Brazil. 

Several witnesses living near the room in Liberty Street heard screams at around 4.30 a.m..

Mr Condon said there would be extensive evidence of texts and phone calls in the case, including one at 5.15am that morning from the defendant to a friend in Brazil saying: “Forgive me, there is no way back now.” 

And that during this call the person in Brazil asked about Ms Fonseca, and that Mr Miller turned the phone around to show the body of a woman with blankets and sheets around her. The trial will continue on January 13.