Karen Buckley: Nurse was 'struck with spanner and covered with corrosive substances'

Ms Buckley went missing after a night out

Karen Buckley, 24, from Cork, died after going missing earlier this month (PA)

Irish student Karen Buckley was struck on the head before her body was doused in “corrosive substances”, prosecutors have claimed.

The grim details emerged as Alexander Pacteau, the man charged with murdering Ms Buckley and attempting to defeat the ends of justice, made a second private appearance at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

The 21-year-old was remanded in custody following the full committal hearing during which he made no pleas or declaration.

Ms Buckley, a qualified nurse who was continuing her studies in the city, was reported missing by her friends earlier this month after she did not return after a night out in Glasgow’s west end.

Following a four-day search, police discovered her body at High Craigton Farm on the outskirts of Glasgow.

A spokesman for Scotland's Crown Office said that no further court dates have been set at this time.

Ms Buckley’s death certificate has since revealed that she died of head and neck injuries.

Documents from Glasgow Sherriff Court seen by the Daily Record allege that Mr Pacteau repeatedly hit her on the head with a spanner, or a similar object, and “compressed her neck”, the Daily Record reported.

Pacteau is also accused of applying “corrosive substance” to her body and concealing a plastic barrel in a storage shed.