THE PARENTS OF Ana Kriegel have asked people to keep her in their hearts after two boys were today sentenced for their roles in her murder.
Ana was just 14 years old when she was brutally murdered in Dublin in May 2018.
Boy A was sentenced to a term of life on the first count of murder and will serve an initial 12 years, followed by a review. The sentence may be extended after the first 12 years served.
Boy A was also convicted of aggravated sexual assault. A term of 12 years was also imposed for that count today, to be served concurrently.
Boy B is to serve a term of 15 years, with the sentence to be reviewed after eight years, the judge said.
Both boys, known as Boy A and Boy B because their real identities cannot be disclosed, were 13 years of age when they murdered Ana in an abandoned house in Lucan on 14 May 2018.
The two boys, now aged 15, were convicted of murder by unanimous jury verdicts earlier this year. Boy A was also placed on the sex offenders’ register.
‘Forever is not long enough’
Speaking outside the Central Criminal Court after the sentences were handed down, Ana’s father Patrick said: “Justice has been served for Ana. The judge has decided on the sentence and that duty lies with him alone.
For our part we can only say that forever is not long enough. Please remember Ana and keep her in your heart somewhere.
Ana’s mother Geraldine thanked gardaí and members of the public for their support, stating:
“We would like to express our extreme gratitude to Mark O’Neill and his team in An Garda Síochána who put everything they had into finding those responsible for Ana’s murder; Siobhan McIntyre, our liaison officer, for holding the family up through all of this pain; Brendan and the legal team; the jury and the judge; the media for being so understanding; the victim support unit; our family, our friends and our neighbours.
And thank you to all of the wonderful people out there who supported us and kept us going.
In a victim impact statement read in court last week, Geraldine said:
“We are a broken family. Our heart ache for you, Ana. So many of the people in Ana’s life are traumatised and suffer nightmares, stress and anxiety, not just adults but children who are not only traumatised but in fear for their own lives.
“Ana is lost to all of those people that loved her. Remember how much she loved you and hold on to that love in your hearts.
“Thank you Ana for giving us all of that precious love. We miss you. We love you. No one can ever take that away from us.”
‘Disturbing and shocking’
Passing sentence, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said Ana Kriegel’s life was and is of “supreme importance” and her short life should not be defined by the crimes committed against her.
“The two boys bear responsibility for her murder and must be accountable and accept the consequences of their crimes,” noted the judge, adding that this was a murder of the “most serious, disturbing and shocking type” because of the extreme violence used.
Referring to Boy A, the judge emphasised that he was not satisfied that the teenager had told the whole truth as a good degree of what he said was “self-serving”.
The “mental terror and suffering” that he inflicted on Ana was of a very high degree, said the judge, adding that he had “devastated and caused huge sorrow and loss” to the victim’s family.
There is little appreciation of the enormity of what has been done, he said.
The judge said that Boy B had watched as Ana was sexually and brutally assaulted and did not take steps to assist her, leaving the scene without seeking help.
He was fully aware of what was done and was indifferent to her plight, said the judge. He had constructed lies about the incident in a “clear and brazen way”, indicated the judge, and was “naive” to think these lies would not be discovered.
At his sentence hearing last week, the court heard that Boy B does not accept the jury’s verdict, which found him guilty of murdering Ana, and maintains the position that he had no part in what happened.
With reporting by Garreth MacNamee and Alison O’Riordan
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say