Courts

Man appears in New York court charged with ‘cruelly and brazenly’ murdering Longford woman Sarah McNally

Irish woman was stabbed 19 times by ex-boyfriend in Irish pub where she worked in Queens

Sarah McNally
Sarah McNally (41) was attacked and stabbed while working as a bartender at The Céilí House in Queens. Illustration: Paul Scott
Michael Fitzpatrick in New York
Fri Apr 19 2024 - 22:27

The man accused of murdering Longford woman Sarah McNally in a New York city bar late last month has been indicted for murder and the criminal possession of a weapon.

Marcin Pieciak (36) appeared before judge Ushir Pandit-Duran, at Queens criminal court on Friday afternoon, where it was heard how Sarah McNally (41), the accused’s girlfriend, was attacked and stabbed while working as a bartender at The Céilí House, an Irish pub in Maspeth, Queens, before her assailant turned a knife on himself.

Queens district attorney Melinda Katz said in a subsequent press release, following the hearing: “The defendant is accused of cruelly and brazenly taking the life of someone he purported to care for and doing so in front of her colleagues and bar patrons. We are grateful to the grand jury for returning these serious charges and we will work to seek justice for Sarah McNally.”

Ms McNally’s funeral took place in Longford earlier this month. She had lived in New York for more than 10 years.

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Mr Pieciak, who lived at 76th Street in Glendale, Queens, was arraigned on an indictment which charged him with murder in the second degree, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. Judge Pandit-Durant remanded him to appear in court again on June 18th.

Mr Pieciak is said to have arrived at Ms McNally’s place of employment, The Céilí House Bar, at 69-56 Grand Avenue in Maspeth, at approximately 6.30pm on Saturday, March 30th. He was observed walking behind the bar and towards Ms McNally, and, brandishing two knives, stabbed her 19 times, causing substantial bleeding and significant wounds.

He then inflicted knife wounds on his own neck, and was accosted by patrons at the bar, who managed to detain him until police arrived.

Gabriel J. Reale, of the district attorney’s homicide bureau, who is prosecuting the case along with assistant district attorney Veronika Podoprigora, stated that the incident was caught on camera, and footage also displayed the accused confronting police officers outside the bar, shouting at them, stating that he had a weapon, and urged them to shoot him. The police officers at the scene managed to subdue him, and recovered two knives which he had in his possession.

Mr Pieciak only spoke in court to confirm his identity, and at one point was observed losing his balance to the point where he had to be supported by three nearby police officers.

Mr Reale claimed in court that the people’s case versus Mr Pieciak was very strong, with much of the accused’s behavior being captured on the officers’ body-cameras.

He has been remanded in custody until June 18th.