Tragic student Karen Buckley begins her sad journey home today as her body is taken back to Ireland.
The 24-year-old is expected to be flown from Glasgow to her home county of Cork ahead of her funeral mass and burial on Tuesday. It’s thought she will be taken to Mourneabbey where she grew up on a farm.
Reports state the family are planning a rosary in private for relatives, neighbours and friends at home.
Karen’s remains will then lie at O’Connell’s Funeral Home, Mallow, from 4pm to 8pm Monday, before being brought to the church in Analeentha in Mourneabbey.
A funeral mass will then take place at the Church of St Michael the Archangel, Analeentha, at 2pm on Tuesday before burial at St John’s Cemetery in nearby Burnfort.
A death notice states: “Buckley (Glynn, Mourneabbey, Co. Cork) on 12th April 2015 unexpectedly, KAREN, beloved daughter of John and Marian and dear sister of Brendan, Kieran and Damien.
“Sadly missed by her heartbroken parents, brothers, grandmother, uncles, aunts, sister-in-law Niamh, cousins, relatives, neighbours and her many friends.”
Karen’s repatriation comes as the publication of her death certificate reveal she died of head and neck injuries. The document was signed by her parents Marion, 62, and John, 61, who have spoken of the anguish of losing their “cherished” daughter.
Qualified nurse Karen vanished after a night out with friends in Glasgow’s west end earlier this month, sparking a four-day police search.
Her remains were discovered by police at High Craigton Farm, near Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire. Former private schoolboy Alexander Pacteau, 21, appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Friday at a second private hearing where he made no plea and was remanded in custody.
He was charged with the murder of the Irish student and attempting to defeat the ends of justice on April 17. It is expected he will stand trial later this year. More than 300 people, including Karen’s parents, attended a memorial service in Glasgow’s George Square on the day Pacteau made his first court appearance over the charges.
Her mum and dad also read moving messages and tributes at Glasgow Caledonian University.
Dad John said: “Karen was our only daughter, cherished by our family and loved by her friends. We will miss her terribly.”
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