Boy A found guilty of murdering Ana Kriégel

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Boy A was found guilty of murdering Ana Kriégel. The proceedings were reported on 18 June 2019.

Prosecuting counsel Brendan Grehan described the forensic case against Boy A as overwhelming. Forensic expert John Hoade said blood found on nine areas of the boy’s boots matched Ana’s DNA profile and indicated that Boy A had either assaulted her or been very close to her when she was assaulted. Boy A denied being in the room where Ana was killed.

The court heard that Ana’s blood was also found on a backpack and items inside it. Boy A’s lawyers challenged the way gardaí obtained his clothes, boots and phone, but Mr Justice McDermott ruled against the defence and rejected the suggestion that the phone had been obtained by subterfuge.

The report said Boy A claimed he had been attacked by two older men after meeting Ana in a park. The court heard there was no CCTV evidence supporting that account. In his closing address, defence counsel Patrick Gageby argued that there was no evidence Boy A had ever said he wanted to kill Ana. He also said former State Pathologist Marie Cassidy had told the court that her injuries were not inconsistent with consensual sexual activity; the prosecution urged the jury to reject that suggestion.