Charges dismissed in case of identifying Ana Kriégel murderers

Eimear Dodd

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has dismissed charges against two people accused of identifying two teenage boys convicted of the murder of 14-year-old Ana Kriégel.

The two were accused of a breach under the Children Act 2001, which contains provisions that prohibit the identification of children who have been accused or convicted of a criminal offence.

Defence counsel for Jamie Shannon (30) from Empress Place in Dublin and Edel Doherty (51) of Rory O'Connor House, Hardwicke Street, Dublin 1, made the application to have the charges faced by their clients dismissed under the Criminal Procedure Act.

This application was made under Section 4E of the Criminal Justice Act 1999, which prohibits reporting of the hearing, including any evidence submitted and arguments made.

Judge Martin Nolan delivered the court's judgement on Thursday after the hearing on Wednesday.

Reporting restrictions in relation to Section 4E applications mean that only the fact that a case was taken and the court's decision can be reported, unless an accused person requests that details be reported and the judge sanctions it.

Two teenage boys were convicted of Ms Kriégel's murder in June 2019 following a trial at the Central Criminal Court during which they were referred to as 'Boy A' and 'Boy B'. 'Boy A' was also convicted of aggravated sexual assault.

The two boys, then aged 13, lured Ms Kriégel to a derelict farmhouse in Lucan, Co Dublin on May 14th, 2018, where she was beaten to death.

Neither boy can be identified by order of the trial judge, and under the Children Act.