In 2022, 28 year old librarian Bruna Fonseca fulfilled a lifelong dream to travel to Ireland from her home in Brazil.
She was attending English classes in Cork, sending money home from her work as a hospital cleaner and embarking on a new relationship with a fellow student when her life was brutally cut short by Miller Pacheco, the obsessive ex-boyfriend who refused to acknowledge their relationship was over.
Last week Pacheco was convicted of her murder, despite his claims of self-defence. The evidence of his obsession, his refusal to let her get on with her life, and his actions in the early hours of 1 January 2023 proved overwhelming, with the jury reaching a unanimous verdict after just over an hour deliberating.
Bruna’s family and friends paid tribute to her after the trial, with her cousin Marcela Fonseca pointing out the injustice of what was done to her.
“A man decides to take someone's life. And the question that remains is: how little is our life worth? A life that was taken because a woman was not allowed to move on, to choose, to love, to live her own life.\"
The Irish Examiner’s court reporter Liam Heylin reported on the trial. He’s the guest on today’s episode.
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