Two teenage boys interviewed over murder of Ana Kriegel

Gardaí investigating the murder of Leixlip schoolgirl Ana Kriegel (14) have interviewed two teenage boys who were the last people known to be with her on the day she disappeared.

They are exploring a sexual motive for the murder of schoolgirl and believe DNA evidence will help catch her killer.

She left her home on the day she disappeared after a teenage boy known to her called to her home, and later met up with another teenager. The first boy then left and she remained with the second teenager.

The second boy has told the gardaí that he then went home, and that is the last piece of information the authorities have as to her movements.

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The body of the Leixlip schoolgirl was found in a derelict farmhouse just outside Lucan, Co Dublin, at lunchtime on Thursday.

She had been dead for some time and gardaí believe she was killed just after the last known sighting of her at about 5.30pm on Monday. It is believed she was beaten to death.

DNA evidence taken from the scene is a now a key focus of the investigation.

The boy who was the last person known to be with her has told gardaí that he was assaulted on his way home on the Monday by two men.

Some blood on his clothing is also being subjected to DNA analysis and the gardaí are investigating the boy’s statement and trying to identify the two alleged attackers.

It is expected that it will be a few days before all the DNA analyses being conducted will be complete.

Local sources have said Ana was not a child who would ignore texts or calls from her parents. Because of that, when their repeated efforts to contact her last Monday evening failed they went to the Garda.

Searching by local people, gardaí and the Civil Defence got under way at lunchtime on Tuesday. But it was not for another 48 hours that her remains were found in a derelict farmhouse just outside Lucan on the road to Clonee.

The farmyard, which is no longer in use, is less than 1km from St Catherine’s Park where the schoolgirl was last seen alive by her two teenage friends.

Garda sources said she was undressed when found and her clothes were found in the house.

She had been beaten and had sustained fatal blunt-force injuries. Gardaí suspect some bloodied items, including pieces of wood, may have been used in the fatal attack.

Ana had been adopted from Russia aged two and was brought up in Leixlip. Her mother, Geraldine, is Irish and her father, Patric, is French. The family also kept a house in France and Ana would spend time there with her parents and brother Aaron.