A young woman from Brazil who had relocated to Ireland in pursuit of a better life was allegedly strangled to death by her former partner upon visiting his residence, as revealed in court.
The body of Bruna Fonseca was discovered at an apartment in Cork city center on January 1, 2023. Her ex-boyfriend, Miller Pacheco, aged 31, has pleaded not guilty to the charge of her murder. According to prosecution senior counsel Bernard Condon, Bruna, a 28-year-old university graduate, had moved to Ireland in 2022 seeking a brighter future.
The court was informed that Bruna and Pacheco, who both hailed from the same small town in Brazil, had previously been in a relationship but had parted ways, with Bruna seemingly moving on with her life.
After arriving in Ireland with her niece Maria in September 2022, Bruna secured a job as a cleaner at Mercy University Hospital in the city. Pacheco later relocated to Ireland in November 2022 and found employment at a restaurant on McCurtain Street, as reported by Cork Beo.
Despite Bruna being in a new relationship, interactions between the former couple continued. Pacheco persistently sent numerous text messages to Bruna, with her expressing a desire for him to cease contact by December 20, 2022.
During a Christmas Eve gathering at Bruna’s cousin’s house in Cork, Pacheco was said to have fixated on her. Subsequently, they both attended the same New Year’s celebration in the city, and in the early hours of the morning, Bruna visited Pacheco’s apartment to make a FaceTime call to check on their dog.
Approximately ninety minutes later, residents nearby heard loud screams, described as continuous screaming without discernible words. These screams were audible to patrons at a restaurant and a priest at a nearby Franciscan friary.
The trial was expected to feature a significant amount of evidence related to text messages and phone calls. In one phone call at 5:15 am on January 1, 2023, Pacheco reportedly told a friend, “Forgive me, there is no way back now.” When asked about Bruna, he showed the friend a woman’s body lying on the bed beside him.
Authorities were alerted to the situation and arrived at the apartment around 6 am on January 1 after a report from a member of the public. However, initial attempts to contact anyone inside were unsuccessful.
Shortly after 6:00 am, two friends of the victim, who had become aware of the screams, confronted Pacheco at the flat on Liberty Street. Pacheco was holding a bed sheet, which he later discarded in a wheelie bin. When questioned about Bruna’s death, he denied any involvement.
Following this, police returned to the scene, where Bruna was pronounced dead in the apartment. Pacheco claimed he had experienced an anxiety attack and alleged that Bruna had struck him in the face. He asserted that he unintentionally fell on her while attempting to restrain her and employed a technique he had seen on TV, described as placing his arm around her neck.
Pacheco maintained that he did not intend to harm Bruna, characterizing their altercation as a struggle akin to two men and stating his desire for it to end. A post-mortem examination conducted by Assistant State Pathologist Dr. Margaret Bolster identified asphyxiation as the cause of Bruna’s death.
The accused, a former engineer in Brazil who had relocated to Ireland, is receiving support from a Portuguese interpreter in court. Family members of Bruna have traveled to Ireland for the trial.