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DEPRAVED Alex Pacteau today admitted the brutal murder of tragic student Karen Buckley .

Karen, 24, died in a savage attack with a spanner in Pacteau’s car after he took her down a road in Glasgow ’s west end in April this year.

Pacteau, 21, today admitted murdering the nursing student from County Cork on Kelvin Way on April 12 by hitting her repeatedly on the head with the weapon and compressing her neck.

He made the plea in front of Karen's family at the High Court in Glasgow today.

(Image: Daily Record/Tony Nicoletti)

A major missing person investigation involving hundreds of police officers was launched when Karen failed to come home from a night out with friends at The Sanctuary club in Partick.

Her body was found days later at a farm on the outskirts of the city.

Miss Buckley, a nurse who was studying for a post-graduate qualification at Glasgow Caledonian University, was seen on CCTV leaving the nightclub in the early hours of Sunday April 12 and the footage captured her talking to a man as they walked along Dumbarton Road.

CCTV captures moment killer Pacteau buys caustic soda in bid to dispose of Karen Buckley's body in 'Breaking Bad' style acid bath

Detectives soon said they were treating her disappearance as a high-risk missing person inquiry and her parents also flew over from Ireland.

By the Tuesday, police revealed they had spoken to the man seen talking to Miss Buckley outside the club who had said she travelled with him to his flat a few miles away in Dorchester Avenue before leaving some hours later.

Police also appealed for information about a grey car that was seen on the roads between Milngavie and Drymen on the Sunday.

Meanwhile, the student's handbag had been found at a park near to the man's flat and the police hunt focused on the two sites in the north west of the city.

Video: Killer Pacteau tells police of moment he first laid eyes on tragic student

The man was named in reports as Alexander Pacteau and the following day he was detained by police.

A body was later found at High Craigton Farm near Milngavie, ending the four-day police search.

Pacteau was arrested and appeared in court on April 17 charged with murder.

Read more on today's proceedings in our live blog below: