A Queens man was sentenced Friday to 24 years in prison for fatally stabbing his former girlfriend inside the Maspeth pub where she worked, an attack prosecutors said occurred as she prepared to return home to Ireland after living in New York for a decade.
Marcin Pieciak, 37, appeared in Queens Supreme Court on Nov. 21 wearing beige prison garb with his hands cuffed, keeping his head down for much of the proceeding. He pleaded guilty last month to first-degree manslaughter in the March 2024 killing of 41-year-old Sarah McNally.
Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant imposed the negotiated sentence of 24 years followed by five years of post-release supervision, calling the surveillance footage of the attack “one of the most horrifying videos” she had ever seen.
McNally, originally from County Longford, Ireland, had lived in Queens for 10 years and worked as a bartender at the Céilí House. Investigators said she had been preparing to return to Ireland when the attack occurred.
Pieciak, of Glendale, had been initially charged with murder before pleading guilty to manslaughter in the first degree on Oct. 30. He was remanded to state custody after sentencing.
‘Violent, vicious and evil’
McNally’s family watched the hearing via video link from Ireland as Assistant District Attorney Gabriel J. Reale read a victim-impact letter written on behalf of her parents, Dorie O’Connor and Dennis McNally, and the extended family.
The letter described Sarah as the “Lisa Marie to his Elvis,” a reflection of the bond she shared with her father, and recounted the deep, sisterlike closeness she had with her mother. Her parents wrote that Sarah had been their pride and joy for 41 years, and that her death had “shattered every single life she touched.”
Relatives remembered her as the first niece and granddaughter in the family — a bubbly, adventurous child who grew into a warm, confident woman with many friends. They wrote about the hollow pain of her absence, saying the finality of her death hits hardest in the quiet moments when they realize they will never again welcome her home or hear her stories from New York.
They also described the unbearable anguish of replaying her final moments in their minds. “No woman should ever lose her life because she wants to leave a relationship,” the family wrote.
They called Pieciak’s actions “violent, vicious and evil,” saying he robbed Sarah of the future she deserved and left loved ones with a grief that will never lessen.
‘I have no answers’
Before sentencing, Reale clarified that Pieciak told probation officers he had been under the influence of cocaine and alcohol during the attack. Though he did not raise intoxication as a legal defense, he affirmed his guilt as part of the plea.
Reale also said that after stabbing McNally, Pieciak slashed his own throat and then confronted responding officers outside the bar while still holding two knives in what prosecutors described as an attempt to commit suicide by cop. Officers were able to disarm him safely.
Reale told the court Pieciak entered the Céilí House pub on Grand Avenue on March 30, 2024, walked directly behind the bar where McNally was working, and stabbed her 19 times in the neck, back, and chest. The wounds severed her spine and caused catastrophic internal injuries.
A patron intervened and prevented Pieciak from fleeing. McNally was taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Defense attorney Garnett H. Sullivan said Pieciak had accepted responsibility for his actions. When given a chance to address McNally’s family, Pieciak spoke quietly, still looking down.
“I think about Sarah every day, every night,” he said. “I have no answers. Maybe it’s too early, but I hope one day you can forgive me.”
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz condemned the killing as “violent and unprovoked,” saying it left McNally’s family, friends, and colleagues “devastated on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.” DA Katz added that she hopes that Pieciak’s sentence will offer “some measure of comfort” as her loved ones continue to mourn the senseless loss.
