The family of Longford woman Sarah McNally have described her killer as a 'weak, pathetic coward'.
Her ex-boyfriend Marcin Pieciak stabbed her 19 times in a New York pub in March 2024.
He was sentenced to 24 years in prison in Queens Supreme Court yesterday.
In a letter to the court, published in full below, the McNally family told Marcin Pieciak: "You attacked Sarah in the most vicious, violent, evil manner possible. You robbed her of the life she deserved, and absolutely destroyed ours in the process.
"You, Mr Pieciak, have ensured that anyone who knew and loved Sarah will carry pain in their hearts forevermore."
They added: "Every single life Sarah touched, whether you were her parent, aunt, uncle, cousin, her friend, colleague or acquaintance, has been shattered."
Here is the full text of the McNally family's victim impact statement:
Your Honourable Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant,
Des and Dorrie had the honour of being Sarah’s parents for 41 years. She was Des’s pride and joy, his one and only child. As Sarah got older, their father/daughter bond grew deeper, sharing the same passion for music and a love of animals, especially their family dogs. Sarah was the Lisa Marie to his Elvis. Sarah and Dorrie shared a unique and close bond, like sisters and best friends as well as mother and daughter. Sarah was their future and this has been stolen from them.
As a family, we think about Sarah and talk about her every day. Her aunts and uncles telling stories and thinking back to her childhood and teen years. She was their first niece and the first granddaughter of our family. She was the cutest baby, so loved and so special to us all.
Many cousins came along after Sarah, who were all so fond of her and admired her fun, bubbly and adventurous nature. She was so friendly and kindhearted to everyone and because of that Sarah had so many friends. Everyone loved her.
Every single life Sarah touched, whether you were her parent, aunt, uncle, cousin, her friend, colleague or acquaintance, has been shattered. We all thought we would get to see Sarah again, whether that was in Ireland or New York, it is hard to come to terms with the fact we never will.
Losing Sarah, especially in the circumstances we did, has been the most painful, gut-wrenching thing we have ever experienced and not something we will ever be able to get over.
Yes, we talk about Sarah every day, but there are also the quiet moments, away from the distractions of everyday life, when it hits you. The evil of it. The finality of it. The reminder that we will never get to welcome Sarah back to her home with the warm embrace of a hug
and tell her not to worry, she’s home now. And that’s when you truly feel your heart ache. You literally feel it in your chest and it hurts terribly.
Early Easter Sunday morning of 2024, we received the devastating news. Sarah had been cruelly and violently taken from us. Stabbed to death. Utter shock and disbelief hit. We couldn’t comprehend it. Since this day our lives have changed forever. The fear and pain of Sarah’s last moments replays in our heads, thinking of how frightened she would have been pains our hearts.
Mr Pieciak, you attacked Sarah in the most vicious, violent, evil manner possible. You robbed her of the life she deserved, and absolutely destroyed ours in the process. Because of you she wasn't able to come home to her family. We will never get to see her again and hear about the life she had built for herself in New York, a life which we can only wish you had never been a part of.
The traumatic circumstances of Sarah's death has truly impacted all who knew Sarah and as a family we pray for all those who witnessed the horrific attack that tragic day. We can’t imagine the terror they must have went through. No one should ever have to experience or witness something so evil. No woman should ever lose her life because she wants to leave a relationship. Mr Pieciak thought he had the right to take the life of a woman, rather than walk away and leave her. He made a choice that day and he chose to be a weak, pathetic coward.
You, Mr Pieciak, have ensured that anyone who knew and loved Sarah will carry pain in their hearts forevermore. You’ve made our world a much darker place having taken Sarah from it. Sarah lit up any room she walked into. She was warm and loving and always had a smile on her face. She was captivating, confident and charming and she should still be here with us. You have taken her light from us all.
While no sentence will ever bring Sarah back to us, we hope with this verdict we can find some closure. The McNally family would like to thank the prosecution team, particularly Mr Gabriel J Reale for his hard work, kind words, support and most importantly for making sure Sarah’s voice and the voice of her family was heard throughout this process. We will continue to speak Sarah's name and keep her memory alive. We hope no family ever has to go through what we have went through and we pray for those who have.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and for acknowledging the profound impact Sarah’s loss has had on our lives.
Our beautiful Sarah, you are always on our mind. Thanks to all of those that loved her and reached out from all over the world.
The McNally family
