A young Brazilian woman, Bruna Fonseca, was tragically found dead in an apartment in Cork city center on January 1, 2023. The court heard that her ex-boyfriend, Miller Pacheco, 31, has denied the allegations of strangling her during her visit to his apartment.
Bruna, a 28-year-old university graduate, had relocated to Ireland in 2022 in pursuit of a better life. Both Bruna and Pacheco, who hailed from the same small town in Brazil, had been in a relationship but had separated as Bruna seemed to have moved on with her life.
After Bruna arrived in Ireland with her niece Maria in September 2022 and started working as a cleaner at Mercy University Hospital, Pacheco also moved to Ireland in November 2022 and found a job at a restaurant in McCurtain Street.
Despite Bruna being in a new relationship, she and Pacheco still maintained some form of contact. The court was informed that Pacheco had sent numerous text messages to Bruna, even though she had expressed her desire for him to leave her alone by December 20, 2022.
On the night of a Christmas Eve party and later a New Year’s Event that they both attended, witnesses reported Pacheco’s intense focus on Bruna. Subsequently, on New Year’s Day, Bruna visited Pacheco’s apartment to make a FaceTime call to check on their dog, but distressing screams were heard about ninety minutes later by several witnesses nearby.
Pacheco’s concerning call to a friend at 5:15 am on January 1, 2023, where he mentioned that there was no turning back, raised suspicions. When shown the lifeless body of Bruna in his apartment, Pacheco denied any involvement in her death to his friend.
Following a public call to the authorities, Bruna was discovered dead in Pacheco’s apartment. Pacheco claimed he had an anxiety attack and that Bruna had hit him, leading to a physical altercation during which he unintentionally caused her death by asphyxiation.
The trial, which includes extensive evidence related to text messages and phone calls, is being conducted with the assistance of a Portuguese interpreter for Pacheco, who was an engineer in Brazil. Family members of Bruna have also traveled to Ireland for the trial.