Evil Alexander Pacteau today admitted he brutally murdered Karen Buckley and tried to dispose of her body in an acid bath.
The 21-year-old monster repeatedly clubbed her with a spanner, strangled her and dumped her in a barrel of caustic soda.
He is believed to have lured Karen, 24, into his car outside a Glasgow nightclub (pictured above) by offering her a lift home.
However, Pacteau drove to a secluded West End street and killed the Irish nurse within just 20 minutes of meeting her.
Police piecing together Karen's last movements found distressing evidence her body was plunged into a bath of caustic soda, in chilling echoes of a scene from hit US TV show Breaking Bad.
Pacteau placed Karen's body in his bath and covered it in the corrosive substance before cutting her open "to speed up decomposition".
The killing is disturbingly similar to a scene in the TV show where Walter White and his accomplice attempt to dissolve a body in a bath using acid.
Former private school pupil Pacteau, who initially denied the murder, changed his plea at the High Court in Glasgow today.
Popular Karen, who had recently moved to the city, disappeared while out with friends at the Sanctuary nightclub in Dumbarton Road in the early hours of April 12.
Her worried friends raised the alarm within hours which triggered a major search operation.
Police repeatedly appealed for information about Karen's whereabouts, but investigation became a murder inquiry when her remains found in a barrel of "corrosive liquid" at High Craigton Farm, north of the city.
And for the first time since their only daughter disappeared, her parents Marian and John (pictured above) looked into the eyes of the monster who killed her.
They were in court today, along with Karen's older brothers Brendan, Kieran and Damian, to hear details of the horrific case.
Karen’s dad John previously told how the family were left "absolutely devastated" by her death.
He revealed: "Karen was our only daughter, cherished by our family and loved by her friends.
"She was an outgoing girl, who travelled the world where she met lots of people and thoroughly enjoyed her life.
"We will miss her terribly."
Details of how Pacteau (pictured above being interviewed by police), who was educated at Kelvinside Academy, tried to cover up his sickening crime were revealed in court today.
After meeting Karen in Dumbarton Road shortly after 1am, he lured her into his car with what prosecutors believe was the offer of a lift home.
CCTV cameras recorded him driving the occupational therapy student to Kelvin Way at 1.06am, where he parked his Ford car for 12 minutes and 46 seconds.
It was during that time that he hit Karen on the head with a spanner around a dozen times and strangled her.
He then drove Karen's body back to his flat in Dorchester Avenue.
It also emerged in court today that Pacteau's flatmate and his flatmate's mother were in the property sleeping when he returned with Karen's body.
The following morning, Pacteau then began to cover his tracks.
He was spotted on CCTV (pictured above) in B&Q in Great Western Road and Poundstretcher in Crow Road buying litres of caustic soda.
On Monday April 13, Pacteau throws the murder weapon in the canal near his home and later buys a blue plastic barrel for hiding Karen's body.
He then wraps Karen's head in parcel tape, bounds her body with an extension cable, and places her in the barrel.
After pouring another 40 litres of caustic soda into the container, he takes the barrel - and Karen's body - and hides it a High Craigton Farm (pictured above).
Caustic soda is an extremely corrosive substance.
Although Pacteau confessed to murdering Karen and disposing of his victim's body, he has yet to reveal why he took her life.
Police insiders say he has refused to disclose why he violently killed a young woman he had only known for around 20 minutes.
Detectives have also been left baffled as to why Karen left the nightclub without her jacket and got into Pacteau's car.
A source close to the murder probe said: "Only one person can tell us that and she isn't here anymore."
He will be sentenced at Glasgow's High Court on September 8.
Watch Alexander Pacteau police interview:
Here is a timeline of events surrounding the disappearance of Karen Buckley:
:: Saturday April 11
11.45pm: Miss Buckley and her friends arrive at The Sanctuary nightclub in Dumbarton Road, Glasgow.
:: Sunday April 12
1am: She tells friends she is going to the toilet but does not return. She is seen on CCTV outside the club talking to a man and then walking west along Dumbarton Road towards Church Street.
Later that day, the student's flatmates raise the alarm when she fails to return home.
:: Monday April 13
Police appeal for information to trace the man spotted in the CCTV images with the student.
:: Tuesday April 14
Police hold a press conference during which Miss Buckley's parents say they are ''desperate'' for her to come home safely.
Officers say they have traced the man spotted in the CCTV footage and he is helping them with their inquiries.
They also reveal Miss Buckley's handbag has been discovered in Dawsholm Park, near Dorchester Avenue in the Kelvindale area of Glasgow, early in the afternoon.
:: Wednesday April 15
Search teams and forensic experts scour the area around Dawsholm Park and a flat in Dorchester Avenue.
6.30pm: Police say a 21-year-old-man has been detained in connection with Miss Buckley's disappearance.
:: Thursday April 16
1.10am: Police say they have recovered human remains on a farm on the outskirts of Glasgow, which they believe may be those of Miss Buckley.
4am: Police Scotland states that a 21-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the death of the student.
4.15pm: Police confirm the remains are those of Miss Buckley.
:: Friday April 17
Alexander Pacteau, 21, appears on petition at Glasgow Sheriff Court charged with the murder of Miss Buckley.
He makes no plea or declaration and is remanded in custody.
5pm: Miss Buckley's parents join hundreds of people at a vigil for the student in Glasgow city centre.
A piper plays as mourners lay flowers and others sing Scottish and Irish songs before a minute's silence in George Square.
:: April 24
Pacteau makes a second private appearance in court and the case is fully committed.
:: April 28
Hundreds of people attend Miss Buckley's funeral in her native Mourneabbey, near Mallow, Co Cork.
:: August 11
Pacteau pleads guilty to murder when he appears at the High Court in Glasgow.
Read: Karen Buckley murder: Pacteau's previous conviction gave no indication of a violent killer
Read: Karen Buckley murder: Nurse was only in Glasgow a matter of weeks before being killed
Read: Karen Buckley murder: How soil helped cops trap twisted Pacteau
Read: Karen Buckley's father John: Alexander Pacteau is truly evil
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