A young woman from Brazil who had relocated to Ireland in pursuit of a better future was reportedly strangled to death by her former boyfriend during a visit to his apartment, a court has been informed.
The lifeless body of Bruna Fonseca was discovered in an apartment in Cork city center on January 1, 2023. Her ex-partner, Miller Pacheco, aged 31, has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering her. According to prosecution senior counsel Bernard Condon, Bruna, a 28-year-old university graduate, had emigrated to Ireland in 2022 in search of improved prospects.
The court was informed that Bruna and Pacheco, who both hailed from the same small town in Brazil, had been in a relationship in 2022 but had since parted ways. Despite this, Bruna seemed to have moved forward with her life.
Upon 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 also moved to Ireland in November 2022 and found employment at a restaurant on McCurtain Street, as reported by Cork Beo.
Although Bruna had entered a new relationship by then, she still maintained contact with her ex-boyfriend. The court heard that Pacheco had sent numerous text messages to Bruna, and by December 20, 2022, she had expressed her desire for him to leave her alone.
During a Christmas Eve gathering at a relative’s house in Cork and a subsequent New Year’s event they both attended, Pacheco reportedly kept his focus on Bruna. In the early hours of New Year’s Day, Bruna went to Pacheco’s apartment to make a video call to check on their dog. However, loud screams were later heard by witnesses nearby, with one person describing them as continuous screaming without any discernible words.
Evidence presented in court highlighted a series of texts and phone calls leading up to the incident, including a call made by Pacheco at 5:15 am on January 1, 2023, where he expressed remorse to a friend. Subsequently, when asked about Bruna’s whereabouts, Pacheco showed his friend the lifeless body of a woman lying on the bed next to him.
Authorities were alerted to the situation when a member of the public called the police around 6 am on January 1. Upon arriving at the apartment, officers found no response at the door. Shortly after, friends of the victim, alerted by the screams, confronted Pacheco outside the apartment holding a bed sheet, which he later disposed of in a bin. When questioned about Bruna’s death, Pacheco denied any involvement.
Following a second visit by the police, Bruna was pronounced dead in the apartment. Pacheco claimed he had experienced an anxiety attack and alleged that Bruna had hit him, leading to a struggle where he inadvertently caused her demise by applying pressure to her neck.
Despite claiming that he had not intended harm, Pacheco’s actions resulted in Bruna’s death by asphyxiation, as determined by a post-mortem examination conducted by Assistant State Pathologist Dr. Margaret Bolster.
The accused, a former engineer in Brazil, is receiving assistance from a Portuguese interpreter during the court proceedings. Family members of Bruna have traveled to Ireland for the trial.
