Youth remanded over teen's murder

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of teenager Melanie McCarthy-McNamara.

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of teenager Melanie McCarthy-McNamara.

The 16-year-old victim was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in February as she sat in the back seat of a car with three others on a housing estate in the Tallaght area of Dublin.

The accused, who cannot be named for legal reasons, turns 18 on Thursday.

He was remanded into custody at St Patrick’s Institution until October 9th, when he will appear at Cloverhill District Court.

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Ms McCarthy was shot in the head in the indiscriminate attack but Garda believe she was caught in the crossfire, with her boyfriend, Christy Moran, the target of the botched assassination.

The teenage accused is the second person to be charged with the murder.

Dressed in a grey hooded sweatshirt, the boy looked straight ahead as he heard details of the charge at Tallaght District Court.

Judge Anthony Halpin said he could think of “no graver a charge” than murder.

The teenager is originally from the Tallaght area, but is believed to have moved out of the area since the murder.

PA