A 13-year-old boy charged with the murder of teenager Anastasia ‘Ana’ Kriegel in Dublin last month has been further remanded in detention.
The accused child, who cannot be identified because of his age, appeared before the Children's Court in Smithfield in Dublin on Friday.
He is charged with the murder of Ms Kriegel (14) at Glenwood House, Laraghcon, Clonee Road, Lucan on May 14th, 2018.
Shortly before 10.45am, the boy’s parents, his grandfather and his solicitor entered the small courtroom and the boy was brought in through an opposite door, accompanied by gardaí.
Wearing jeans and a white top, the boy appeared to be limping slightly as he entered the court. He sat to the left of the bench in front of the judge, with his father immediately to his right and his mother on the far side. His grandfather sat on the bench behind him.
His solicitor Donough Molloy told Judge Brendan Toale the boy's parents and grandfather were in court.
Insp Mark O'Neill told the judge he was seeking a further remand to obtain written directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the matter. The boy's solicitor asked that he be remanded to June 25th.
Directions
Judge Toale asked Insp O’Neill if he anticipated he would have directions by then.
“It’s a complicated case, judge. I’m not sure if we will have formal directions at that point. We will be making every effort to expedite matters,” he replied.
The judge remanded the boy in detention to the same court on June 25th next.
The boy’s parents and grandfather all hugged him before he was again taken from the court.
At the boy’s initial court hearing last week, Judge John O’Connor said he was entitled to anonymity under the Children Act and reminded reporters of the reporting restrictions applying to the case.
“It’s crucial that these be obeyed,” he said.
He also specifically warned against social media users sharing the child’s details online.
“My focus is on social media. If the child’s name, home, school, picture is reproduced it will be the same as publishing a report in the media.
“Let me be absolutely clear: people will be found in contempt of court and subject to prosecution.”
Ms Kriegel’s funeral took place on Thursday.