A TEENAGE BOY accused of the murder of a homeless man who was found dead in Dublin has been sent forward for trial to the Central Criminal Court.

Gardaí were alerted after the discovery of a body at about 1.30am on 14 September in a lane-way off Madison Road, at the South Circular Road, in Kilmainham, Dublin 8.

Claudiu Robu, who was 39 and from Romania, had suffered serious injuries and died.

A then 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named because he is a juvenile, was charged in September with murder and had been remanded in custody.

Now aged 17, he faced his fifth hearing today at the Dublin Children’s Court.

The Director of Public Prosecutions directed trial on indictment in the Central Criminal Court. Detective Sergeant Brian Hoey served a book of evidence on the youth who was represented by solicitor Claire Finnegan.

Judge Flann Brennan agreed to grant an order sending the teenager forward for trial to the present term of the Central Criminal Court.

The teen was told he must notify the prosecution within 14 days if he intends to use an alibi in his defence. A date has yet to be set for his next hearing, but it will take place later this month.

The boy did not address the court and has not yet indicated how he will plead. Legal aid was granted.

The youth cannot be named, as he is protected by the anonymity provisions of section 93 of the Children Act.

The teen “made no reply to the charge after caution”, the court heard earlier.

The defence had said at his first court appearance in September that the boy made a number of comments when he was detained which gave rise to “great concerns for his mental health”.

The deceased had been living in Ireland for several years and had been in contact with homeless services here. He had been sleeping rough in the months leading up to his death.

He was formally identified as a result of matching a DNA sample from his brother, Emmanuel.

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