A Glendale man was indicted by a Queens grand jury for murder and weapons charges for the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend at an Irish pub in Maspeth last month.
Marcin Pieciak, 36, of 76th Street, was arraigned Friday in Queens Supreme Court on an indictment charging him with murder for allegedly stabbing Sarah McNally, while she was working as a bartender at The Céilí House—before slitting his own throat.
According to the charges, on Mar. 30 at approximately 6:30 p.m., Pieciak arrived at the tavern, located at 69-56 Grand Ave., where his 41-year-old live-in girlfriend was behind the bar. Pieciak was seen on video footage walking behind the bar and approaching McNally, whom he allegedly stabbed 19 times in her neck, back, and chest, causing significant wounds and bleeding. Pieciak then cut his own throat several times and tried to exit the bar before a patron tried to detain him until police from the 104th Precinct in Ridgewood arrived at the scene.
Pieciak came out of The Céilí House brandishing two knives at the officers, who were able to disarm him and recover the knives safely.
The victim was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital for emergency treatment of her extensive wounds, which included damage to her carotid artery and a severed spine. She was pronounced dead due to her injuries soon afterward.
Pieciak was also rushed to Elmhurst Hospital for treatment of his wounds. In addition to the murder charge, Pieciak was also charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
“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,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “We are grateful to the grand jury for returning these serious charges and we will work to seek justice for Sarah McNally.”
Investigators say Pieciak attacked her because she was planning to move back to her native Ireland after 10 years living in Queens. She was laid to rest back home in County Longford.
Pieciak was remanded into custody by Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant and ordered to return to court on June 18.
