Family of Bruna Fonseca to travel from Brazil for Cork murder trial

The family of the 28-year-old librarian will attend proceedings as the accused faces trial at the Central Criminal Court

Bruna Fonseca's body was found in a flat on Liberty Street just a couple of hours after she had gone out with friends to celebrate New Year's Eve in Cork city centre.

Relatives of Brazilian woman Bruna Fonseca will travel to Ireland in the coming weeks for the trial of the man accused of her murder in Cork.

Miller Pacheco, who is originally from Formiga in Brazil, but was living on Liberty Street in Cork, is charged with the murder of the 28-year-old in a flat  on Liberty Street on January 1, 2023.

He is due to go on trial at the Central Criminal Court on January 12.

Ms Fonseca was a librarian and worked as a cleaner at Mercy University Hospital after coming to Ireland just three months before her death, in September 2022.

Her body was found at Liberty Street just a couple of hours after she had gone out with friends to celebrate New Year's Eve in Cork city centre.

Miller Pacheco, centre, who is charged with the murder of Bruna Fonseca at Anglesea Street Courthouse, Cork. File picture: Dan Linehan

Ms Fonseca was a native of Formiga in Minas Gerais province, northwest of Rio de Janeiro. She had moved to Ireland with her niece, who subsequently moved back to Brazil, before returning to Ireland.

She will be joined in Ireland for the trial by other members of Bruna’s family, including two siblings.

Following her death, hundreds of people holding white flowers attended a vigil organised in her memory at The Lough, one of Bruna’s favourite places in Cork City. Photographs of a smiling Bruna were placed on a table draped in the Brazilian flag during the vigil, which was streamed live to members of Bruna’s family in Brazil.

A message from Bruna’s friend of over 20 years, Maria Paula, was read during the vigil, in which Ms Paula described her as “like a sunny day in the rainy season”.

People leave flowers and light candles at the vigil for Bruna Fonseca at The Lough, Cork, on Sunday January 8, 2023. Picture: Larry Cummins 

A make-shift shrine of candles, flowers, and photographs was placed at the entrance to the flat on Liberty Street.

Her sister travelled to Cork to bring Bruna back to Brazil.

Her remains were repatriated to her home city of Formiga, and her funeral took place there two weeks after her death. Her remains were waked at her family home prior to burial. She was laid to rest alongside her grandparents in the city’s Cemitério do Santíssimo in Formiga.

Ahead of her second anniversary last year, her family told the Irish Examiner that her absence was a “brutal, unfair loss” that no amount of time could heal.