Karen Buckley murder: Student was clubbed with spanner, strangled and dumped in acid

Murdered student Karen Buckley was clubbed with a spanner and strangled before being dumped in a barrel of acid, a Glasgow court heard yesterday.

The body of the 24-year-old trainee occupational therapist was found in a plastic barrel of "corrosive substances" which had been hidden in a shed.

The body was found on Wednesday at High Creighton farm near Milngarvie, six miles north-west of Glasgow.

Buckley was last seen alive leaving a Glasgow nightclub on Sunday. Yesterday Alexander Pacteau, 21, appeared at the Glasgow sheriff's court charged with murdering Buckley, who was from Cork, Ireland.

Pacteau stands accused of repeatedly hitting Buckley on the head with a spanner, or similar object, which was discovered in his Glasgow flat.

He is also alleged to have "compressed her neck" before hiding her corpse.

Pacteau did not make a plea and was remanded in custody.

Buckley's parents have viewed a series of tributes to her at Glasgow Caledonian University, where she was studying.

A vigil was held in Glasgow yesterday evening [17 April] to support her family and was attended by around 300 mourners, who laid flowers while a mourner played. Scottish and Irish songs were sung before a minute's silence.

A second vigil is planned for tonight at 7pm. It is to be held in a park near to the flat in the Garnethill area where Miss Buckley lived.

The organisers are hoping to light hundreds of candles and say that they wish to give local residents the opportunity to remember one of their neighbours.