Overview
- Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford imposed the mandatory life sentence at the Central Criminal Court in Cork following Pacheco’s conviction for the 2023 killing.
- Defence counsel said Pacheco accepts the verdict, will not appeal, and offered an apology to Fonseca’s family.
- The jury found him guilty on Thursday after one hour and two minutes of deliberation.
- Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster told the court Fonseca died from asphyxia due to manual strangulation and documented more than 65 injuries.
- Trial evidence detailed obsessive conduct, including nearly 2,000 messages, stalking concerns, New Year’s Eve recordings, violent web searches, and a post-incident FaceTime showing the body.