Teenager’s murder conviction upheld by Court of Appeal

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

The Court of Appeal upheld the murder conviction of the teenager who killed Urantsetseg Tserendorj, meaning he will continue serving his life sentence. Ms Justice Tara Burns delivered the ruling on behalf of the three-judge court on 2 November 2023.

The teenager had denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter. A jury found him guilty of murder by a majority verdict on 11 November 2022, following a first trial that ended in jury disagreement.

Ms Tserendorj was stabbed in the neck on a walkway between George’s Dock and Custom House Quay in Dublin’s IFSC on 20 January 2021, after the boy, then aged 14, attempted to rob her. She died on 29 January 2021.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt sentenced the teenager to life in prison, subject to review after 13 years. He can apply for parole after 12 years, and the judge said the review system does not prevent him from doing so. The judge also ordered a series of probation reports, with the final report due on 11 January 2034.

Mr Justice Hunt also imposed concurrent three- and two-year sentences for five other offences committed on the day of the stabbing and for the theft of a bicycle. All sentences were backdated to when the teenager first went into custody in January 2021.

The appeal challenged the admission of evidence of another attempted robbery and of an account of the assault given by Ms Tserendorj to her husband. It also challenged a prosecution remark in the trial opening and the trial judge’s conduct. Ms Justice Burns said none of the grounds could be upheld.