Boy convicted of the murder of Ana Kriegel given more time to appeal his sentence
Fiona Magennis
One of the two boys convicted of the murder of 14-year-old schoolgirl Ana Kriegel in Dublin seven years ago has been given more time to bring an appeal against his life sentence following a landmark Supreme Court decision.
The youth known as Boy A was sentenced to life with a review after 12 years for murdering the 14-year-old.
He was also sentenced to 12 years for an aggravated sexual assault on Ana, which runs alongside the murder sentence.
In a judgement delivered by Ms Justice Iseult O’Malley in March this year, the Supreme Court found that life sentences for a child convicted of murder should only be imposed in exceptional cases where the evidence showed the intentions and actions of the child were akin to those of an adult.
The ruling also said a sentencing court does not have jurisdiction to review terms of detention imposed on child offenders.
At the Court of Appeal on Friday, lawyers for Boy A brought an application for more time to bring an appeal against his sentence.
Patrick Gageby SC, for Boy A, told Court of Appeal President Ms Justice Caroline Costello that he was seeking an extension of time in the case in light of the Supreme Court decision.
Senior Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions Brendan Grehan said the Director was not objecting to the application to extend time.
Ms Justice Costello granted the application to extend the time for the youth to appeal against his sentence on the basis that the Director is not objecting to the application.
Boy A and Boy B were convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury in June 2019 of murdering Ana at a derelict house in St Catherine’s Park in Lucan in May 2018.
Boy A was also convicted of Ana's aggravated sexual assault in a manner that involved serious violence.
The jury accepted the prosecution's case that Boy B lured Ana to the house by telling her that Boy A wanted to meet her, knowing that Boy A intended to kill her.
He watched as Boy A, who was dressed all in black and wearing a ghoulish mask, shin guards and knee pads, sexually assaulted Ana having dragged her to the ground where he beat her repeatedly with a piece of wood and a large block.
The court also heard today that an offender who was a juvenile when he committed murder but an adult when he was sentenced is also seeking more time to bring an appeal against his sentence.
Antonia Boyle BL, for the DPP, said the case dates back to February 2013 and the law “has obviously changed subsequently”.
She said the Director is seeking more time to consider the matter and asked that it be put back for a short time.
Ms Justice Costello agreed to the request and said she would list it for mention again on December 5th.
The Supreme Court judgement related to an appeal taken by the teenager convicted of the murder of mother-of-two Urantsetseg Tserendjorj, who died after she was stabbed in the neck in Dublin in January 2021.
The youth was 14 at the time. The court held that a court may impose a part-suspended sentence on a child convicted of murder and serious crimes.
Ms Justice O’Malley allowed the appeal against sentence and directed that the case be remitted to the Court of Appeal for the imposition of a sentence in accordance with the principles set out in the judgement.
A second, separate case involved a man who was convicted and sentenced for the murder of Cork student Cameron Blair. He was 17 at the time.
He had brought an unsuccessful appeal against the severity of his sentence to the Court of Appeal. As he had turned 18 after his conviction, the three-judge court found he was no longer entitled to anonymity.
The man successfully appealed this decision, with the
Supreme Court holding that protections prohibiting him from being named should continue to apply throughout and beyond the conclusion of proceedings relating to the case.
Each of the young men were separately sentenced to life in detention with review after 13 years. They are due to be re-sentenced by the Court of Appeal on November 18th.
