Murder accused 'was angry, upset, frustrated' at Bruna Fonseca days before her death, trial told

Another witness told the Central Criminal Court in Cork about Miller Pacheco 'staring' at him when he was dancing and kissing Ms Fonseca at the New Year's Eve party

A witness told the murder trial that Miller Pacheco (pictured) 'said Bruna does not care about his feelings, she is very selfish'. File picture: Dan Linehan

The man who denies murdering the 28-year-old Brazilian woman who had broken up with him in Cork complained to another woman days before Bruna Fonesca’s death on New Year’s Day 2023 that she was very selfish and did not care about his feelings.

This witness testified that as well as complaining about the deceased, the accused man also told her he would "get" the guy he believed was going out with Bruna in Cork.

The trial of Miller Pacheco continues today at the Central Criminal Court in Cork where he denies the murder of Bruna Fonseca at his apartment at Liberty Street in Cork on January 1, 2023.

Witness Katia Silva told Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford and the jury of seven women and five men that she met Miller for about 40 minutes on Christmas Day 2022. Asked what he said about Bruna, Katia said: “He was angry, upset, frustrated… He said Bruna does not care about his feelings, she is very selfish. He called her bad names — I don’t want to say the names.” 

Katia said he also spoke about the Argentinian young man who was seeing Bruna. She testified: 

He said he wants to kill him — I will kill this guy… I did not meet him (Argentinian man) but Bruna talked to me about him. 

The witness said there were flirting text messages being sent between them and that Miller saw these messages on Bruna’s phone.

“I told him (Miller) to move on. When I was talking with Miller he asked had she been with anyone else. I said, 'Maybe yes but she is single, leave her alone',” Katia said, adding that she did not go to the New Year’s Eve party in the Oyster Tavern herself but she knew that Bruna was very happy about going to it.

Ray Boland cross-examined the witness in detail about her evidence that Miller said he was going to "kill" the Argentinian man. Mr Boland said that was not what she said in her statement to gardaí, in which she said that Miller told her: “I am not going to let the guy get away with it, I am going to get him”, and that he did not say the word, kill. 

Mr Boland reminded her that she even clarified in her garda statement that by "get", she thought he meant that he would hit the other man and did not mean any more than that. Katia said at the end of questioning from Mr Boland and from the judge on this issue: “I did alert Bruna because I thought something stronger could happen.” 

Alafo Morais testimony

Witness Alafo Morais described the community of Brazilians in Cork as mutually supportive in getting work and accommodation. He said he met Bruna at a Halloween party in 2022. 

He said that at the New Year’s Eve party in the Oyster Tavern, he and Bruna were dancing and kissing.

“I saw this guy staring at me, flower (fluorescent images) on his T-shirt, his eyes. I did not understand. I did not know what it was. He was staring at me… In Brazil, people don’t stare at you for no reason,” Alafo testified.

Recalling his interaction with Bruna at the party he said: “I was kissing her, hugging her and talking about the new year.” 

Leticia Souza testimony

Leticia Souza testified that she was talking to Bruna on December 27, 2022: “She was very upset and sad about everything that was going on between her and Miller.” 

Leticia saw Miller staring at Bruna and Alafo at the New Year’s Eve party, and that Miller looked “a bit angry” and was standing close to them. 

Asked how Bruna reacted, Leticia said: “She was scared because she did not expect him to be there. Very, very scared.” 

The trial continues.