Alexander Pacteau has been sentenced to a mimimum of 23 years in prison for the murder of Karen Buckley in Glasgow.
The 21 year old last month pleaded guilty to murdering the nurse from Mourneabbey in Co. Cork in April.
Pacteau admitted murdering Karen Buckley in his car after giving her a lift outside a Glasgow nightclub.
Imposing a 23 year minimum term in the Glasgow High Court this morning Judge Lady Rae said 'I've always felt that what the accused does After the killing may be an aggravating factor'
The Judge said he will never be released if he's still deemed a danger to the public after 23 year minimum term.
The disappearance of the nurse last April sparked a city-wide manhunt - which culminated four days after Karen disappeared when her body was found on a remote farm.
Pacteau showed no emotion as sentence was passed.
The Buckley family, sat motionless during today's hearing. Last month they said they hope the 'evil killer' spends the rest of his life behind bars.
They did not speak to reporters leaving court
However they issued the following statement after the hearing:
The family of Ms Buckley have also stated that they do not wish to be contacted by the media for further comment, and ask that you respect their wishes.
"Today's life sentence will not bring our beautiful Karen back. Our little angel has been taken from us forever in the cruellest of ways. We mourn for her every day. It will however ensure that women are safe from harm from the truly evil coward who took our beautiful Karen's precious life. I hope that he is never released and spends every day in prison haunted by what he did.
"Marian and I would again like to thank the people of Scotland and Ireland, the Irish Garda and the Scottish Police and Prosecution service for all their help and support in bringing Karen's killer to justice. We appreciate most especially those who keep us in their thoughts and prayers.
"We all want to move on and try to piece our lives back together. We have three wonderful sons and we need to be there for each other as a family. We would be grateful if we can now be left alone to grieve and our family's privacy be respected.
"Karen is at peace now and we know that she is in heaven looking down on us and helping us."
