Murderer ‘claimed to be gay’ after alleged sex attack on woman
A man who admitted murdering a young woman had previously been accused of attempted rape – but claimed to be gay at his trial.
Alexander Pacteau this month pleaded guilty to the murder of 24-year-old Irish student Karen Buckley, whose body was found near Glasgow in April this year.
Pacteau admitted to strangling Karen Buckley and repeatedly hitting her with a spanner, after giving her a lift home from a nightclub in Glasgow.
He was sentenced to life behind bars after pleading guilty to the murder.
However, STV reports that he stood trial over separate attempted rape allegations in 2013 – after he allegedly tried to force a different woman to perform a sex act on him.
Pacteau was found not guilty of those allegations – after telling the jury that he was in fact gay.
He claimed: “I would never make an attempt to sexually assault this woman.
“I believe rape is the lowest of the low. I’d rather be charged with murder than attempted rape.”
He was cleared of all charges in that case – leaving him free to kill Ms Buckley less than two years after his trial.
Pacteau was jailed for life this month after pleading guilty to the murder of Ms Buckley – a nurse who was studying for a postgrad qualification at Glasgow Caledonian University.
