A GARDA WHO harvested CCTV evidence related to the murder of Ana Kriegel said he could find no evidence of the two men Boy A alleged attacked him on the day of Ana’s disappearance, a court has heard. 

Garda Seamus Timmins told the trial that he gathered 700 hours of CCTV footage and had reviewed it a number of times but could not find anyone who matched the description of two men Boy A alleged assaulted him on 14 May 2018. 

Garda Timmins said that he had looked at all CCTV evidence from half past four that afternoon to after 8pm that day and could find no matches for the description Boy A had given to gardaí. Some of the CCTV cameras were not working on that day, Garda Timmins added.

Two boys, known as Boy A and Boy B, have pleaded not guilty to Ana’s murder. Boy A has also been charged with aggravated sexual assault – a charge he also denies.

Ana’s body was discovered in a disused house three days after she disappeared in May last year. 

It is being alleged by the prosecution that Boy A murdered Ana and sexually assaulted her. It is the prosecution’s case that Boy B assisted the murder and knew what was going to happen.

Prosecuting senior counsel Brendan Grehan in his opening statement last week said Boy B provided this assistance by luring Ana from her house to meet Boy A, knowing she wanted to meet him. 

Boy A told gardaí in a statement that he was assaulted by two men on the day of Ana’s disappearance. Gardaí, as part of the investigation, examined CCTV for anyone matching the boy’s description of the men.

Park ranger’s evidence

Earlier, the court heard how a boy told a park ranger that he had been assaulted by two men in a park close to where Ana Kriegel’s body was found. The ranger described the boy as behaving like a “rabbit caught in the headlights”, the court has heard. 

The ranger told the court how an ‘irate’ man had come to the ranger’s station after 6pm on 14 May 2018. The man told him that his son had been “jumped” by two men and asked if there was anything he could do. 

The ranger then detailed how he had called a nearby garda station and gave the phone to the father. 

As the father spoke to gardaí, the ranger said he approached the man’s vehicle and saw the teenage boy. He said the boy’s hands were shaking and that he looked like he had been in a fight. 

He said he went over to check if the boy was okay as he knew first aid. 

“I saw a young lad sitting there with a white t-shirt on. He looked like he was in a fight. His hair was all over the place. I just said to him: ‘Are you okay – what happened?’ He didn’t want to really engage me.”

The park ranger said the teenager told him he had “got a bit of a hiding in the woods”. 

He said there was “bits of blood near the collar” of the teenager’s t-shirt. He said that the teenager’s hands were over his knees “and they were really going – shaking”. 

The ranger said that the teenager’s hands had a little bit of blood on them. He also said there was a small amount of blood around his face “but not too much”.

“I said in my statement (that he looked) like a rabbit caught in headlights,” he added.

He also remarked that the man said his son “is well able to take care of himself”.

He said he thought the boy looked around 16.

GP evidence

Earlier today, the court heard from a local GP who examined Boy A after he suffered an alleged assault on the day Ana’s disappeared. 

Boy A told gardaí in a statement that two men subjected him to a random assault. He said they kicked him a number of times while he has on the ground before he managed to get up and fight them off. 

The doctor described how Boy A said that he was grabbed from behind as he walked in a local park that evening. 

He said he conducted a brief examination of Boy A and he had some bruising over the left side of his lower back. He also had swelling on his right knee, he said.

The doctor also said there were “mild scratches” on one of his knees. 

Alleged assault on Boy A

Previously, the court heard details of a statement given by Boy A about an alleged assault he suffered on the evening of Ana’s disappearance.

Boy A said he was then walking up through the park when he became aware of two men walking behind him. 

He described one of them as being short and stocky and the other being taller. Both were aged in their late teens or early twenties, Boy A told officers.

He said “it didn’t feel right” so he sped up, but that made the men behind him speed up. 

Boy A told gardaí: “They caught up to me. One of them grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me down to the ground.”

He said that he was being kicked numerous times in the chest and back but added:

After a minute I managed to kick one in the head and then they both ran off.

He then went on to describe both of the alleged attackers and said they were around 19 0r 20 years old. He said they did not demand any money or property from him. 

The trial continues this afternoon. 

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