Boy told garda he believed Ana Kriégel caused injuries to friend

One of the two boys who denies murdering schoolgirl Ana Kriégel told a garda he believed that injuries the other accused said he suffered in an assault by older boys were actually inflicted by the schoolgirl.

The first accused, Boy A, told gardaí and his parents he was assaulted by two older youths who left him with various injuries shortly after leaving Ms Kriégel’s company in a local park on May 14th, 2018.

On Tuesday, Detective Garda Marcus Roantree told the trial that Boy A’s friend, Boy B, said he believed Boy A would have more marks on his face if he’d been assaulted by “two big guys”. The boy told the detective he believed Ana inflicted the injuries on his friend.

Earlier the trial heard gardaí could find no CCTV footage of anyone matching the description of the two alleged assailants described by Boy A.

It is the prosecution case that Boy B lured Ana from her home at 5pm on May 14th, 2018 on the pretence of meeting Boy A, who Ana was “interested” in. Boy A then allegedly violently sexually assaulted and murdered her in a derelict farmhouse as Boy B watched.

Boy A has pleaded not guilty to the murder and sexual assault "involving serious violence" of Anastasia Kriégel on May 14th, 2018, at Glenwood House, Laraghcon, Clonee Road, Lucan in Dublin.

Boy B has pleaded not guilty to the murder of the girl on the same date.

The accused were 13 at the time of the alleged offence and are 14 now.

Det Gda Roantree told Brendan Grehan SC, prosecuting, that he called to Boy B’s house on May 17th, shortly after Ana’s body had been found in an abandoned farmhouse.

Boy B told him he was “nervous” because he had heard Ana had been located and he was one of the last people to be seen with her.

The garda took Boy B and his father to the park where Boy B showed him the route he said he took with Ana and Boy A the day she went missing.

He said the three of them walked in the park for a distance before he broke off and left Ana with Boy A to walk alone together. He said he saw Ana again a few minutes later, looking upset.

As they walked, Ana showed Boy B a picture on her phone showing her in a chair wearing a blindfold, the boy told Det Gda Roantree. This photo was taken by “her friend or ex-boyfriend”, the garda said.

Det Gda Roantree said the previous day, before Ana had been found, he brought Boy A to the Garda Station where a DNA sample was obtained and photographs were taken of the injuries he said were inflicted by the two older youths, including a cut to his lip and bruising on his knee, back and chest.

He said before taking the DNA swab, Boy A told him Ana had “put her hand across his shoulder and chest and that this might be helpful”.

The mother of Boy A said her son appeared rattled, pale and shaky when he returned home at about 6pm on May 14th. The boy’s father said his son was “dirty, scruffy and dusty” and appeared shook.

Both parents said their son told them he had been beaten up by two older teens as he walked in the park. They said he had blood on his clothes.

The boy’s mother said her son told her he managed to kick one of his assailants. She agreed with counsel that her son had training in martial arts.

His father said he took his son out in the car to see if they could spot his attackers. They also reported the matter to the park ranger. They drove through the park in towards Leixlip but Boy A didn’t point anyone out, his father said.

The park ranger gave evidence of an “irate” man complaining of his son being assaulted by “two big fellas”. He said he saw a young boy in man’s car who seemed like “a rabbit caught in the headlights”.

He said the boy told him he’d “got a bit of a hiding” but didn’t seem like he wanted to engage further. The boy had blood on his shirt, trousers and fingers and also had a small amount on his face, the witness said.

“His hands were really going, they were shaking,” the ranger said.

Boy A’s mother said she soaked her son’s T-shirt overnight and washed all his clothes the next day. They were scruffy which made sense as the boy said he was beaten up, the witness said.

She later brought him to Garda Headquarters in the Phoenix Park where the boy helped gardaí put together an “Evo-Fit” or photofit.

Garda Seamus Timmins told the court he examined footage from various CCTV cameras around the park and its entrances but could not spot anybody matching the Evo-Fit or the descriptions of the two assailants given by Boy A.

The trial continues on Wednesday before a jury of eight men and four women.