The wheels of justice grind slowly - but sometimes they go really fast. The sentencing of Marcin Pieciak in New York today was an example of the latter.
Dressed in a beige top and matching bottoms, shaven headed with a long beard, his hands cuffed behind his back, Pieciak was brought into court 309 on the third floor of the Queens Supreme Court building by state police just after 11am - 20 minutes later the same officers led him away to begin a 24-year prison sentence.
There was no trial.
Pieciek's lawyers had cut a plea bargain with prosecutors last month, announcing it on 30 October. Instead of going to trial on a charge of murder, and facing the prospect of 25 years to life in prison, Pieciak agreed to plead guilty to first degree manslaughter and go to prison for 24 years, with five years of post-release supervision.
Asked if he wanted to say anything, Pieciak addressed himself to Sarah’s family in Ireland: "I know that family are waiting for answers, but I'm waiting for answers, but unfortunately, I don't have any answers. I'm thinking about it every day, every night. [I] think about Sarah and I have no answers. I don't know - maybe it's too early now, but I hope that one day you can forgive me."
Those brief comments were his only response to the victim-impact statement read to the court by Assistant District Attorney Gabriel Reale for the prosecution. None of Sarah’s family were in court, but were able to watch on a video link, and hear their words read into the record of the court. It was the longest part of the hearing.
"To the 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," began Mr Reale.
"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 kind-hearted 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."
Mr Reale, who was prosecuting the case for the DA of Queens Melinda Katz, added his own thoughts: "This is a truly awful, awful, awful crime. When I first watched the video of this defendant stabbing her 19 times ... it was one of the most gut-wrenching things I have personally ever seen."
Speaking of Pieciak, Mr Reale said: "This plea reflects the violent nature of this offence, and I hope he has all 24 of these years to spend thinking about what he's done."
Judge Pandit-Durant, who served for decades in the DA’s office prosecuting crimes before becoming a judge of the New York criminal courts, agreed with the prosecution about the violent nature of the attack. She too had seen the video, and all other materials on file as she had been in charge of the case since April 2024.
"This court has presided over this case since inception. I reviewed the video talked about by the prosecutor. It was one of the most horrifying videos that I've ever seen," she said.
There is no shortage of violent crime in New York to compare the Pieciak case with.
Judge Pandit-Durant's list for today alone included a second degree murder charge "indicted in the machete attack of his mother"; an attempted murder of an airport worker on the subway; the fatal shooting of a person in a smoke shop; and the remand of a man charged with the sexual assault of a 13-year-old in a park; and three other second-degree murder charges - two shootings and one stabbing.
With such a list of violent crime to get through, the judge had to be brisk, sometimes brusque in moving through the business at pace. Attorneys got very short shrift when trying to introduce motions in other cases we watched while waiting for Pieciaks sentencing.
An application by RTÉ News and other media outlets to film and photograph the sentencing was opposed by Pieciak's lawyer, but was swiftly allowed by the judge who said justice has to be done in public and new technology allows people to see what is going on in the comfort of their own homes - as long as the court consents.
Her final words in the hearing were the formal sentencing, the judge not deviating from the plea agreement made by the lawyers in the case.
"With respect to this disposition, it was a negotiated plea whereby the defendant admitted to manslaughter in the first degree to avoid a lifetime sentence or possibly more if he was convicted at a trial. So I will abide by the negotiated plea. The court sentence on the manslaughter in the first degree count is 24 years incarceration, to be followed by five years of post-release supervision."
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Pieciak, who had been standing throughout the proceedings, was led away by police officers. He did not appear to have any relatives or friends in court.
The evening before I had called in to the Ceili House bar in Maspeth. Or rather, I tried to. It's closed - has been since March or April, said a man in another bar across the street.
The green painted facade is still there but the inside is gone. Two builders were at work. They had knocked the wall into the premises next door to make one large space. It was going to be a laundry, not a bar.
A nearby shopkeeper said trade has dwindled in the Ceili House after the killing of Sarah. People just lost heart, she said, preferring not to be formally interviewed.
A lovely person, she said, telling us that Sarah went into her shop every day, usually buying a Coke or two and a sandwich, always tipping the latino staff who made her sandwich, spreading around her own tip money, the lady said. Very kind, she remembered.
A young regular of the Ceili House bar who knew Sarah as her favourite bartender was in court. Julita Z is a law student, whose professor told her class to attend a criminal case before the Christmas break. She scanned the lists and saw this one - the one in which she knew the victim.
She said she never realised Pieciak was in a relationship with Sarah, until he was charged. She barely remembered him as a solitary figure, drinking alone in a corner of the bar. She too said the crime had caused the closure of the bar - "a darkness came over the whole place".
A savage and brutal death for Sarah McNally. Half a lifetime in a New York prison for Marcin Pieciak. Horror and post-traumatic shock for the witnesses in the Ceili House, who mercifully were spared having to testify. A much-loved neighbourhood bar and the employment it provided sliding into oblivion in the wake of the crime. A grieving family in Ireland. All administratively tied up in 20 minutes in Court 309. An everlasting rend in the lives of those left behind after Sarah’s death.
