“Ana was a dream come true for us and she always will be.
“She will stay in our hearts, forever loved and forever cherished.
“We love you Ana,” the words of Geraldine Kriegel spoken outside the court were simple and dignified.
Following the announcement of the verdict just after 2pm on Tuesday, one of the most shocking cases in the history of the state ended with the jury finding both Boy A and Boy B guilty of her 14 year old daughter Ana’s murder with Boy A also found guilty of aggravated sexual assault.
The two boys, who were 13 at the time they carried out the crime, are the youngest people in Irish history to be convicted of murder.
Both had pleaded not guilty.
Following a trial in the Central Criminal Court lasting seven weeks, the jury of eight men and four women had spent 14 hours deliberating.
Ana had been reported missing from her home in Leixlip on Monday, May 14 2018.
Her body was discovered three days later at the abandoned Glenwood House in Laraghcon on the Clonee Road.
During the trial, the boys gave conflicting versions of what happened, and changed their stories throughout the investigation.
Boy A denied ever being in Glenwood House, but forensic officers found his DNA at the crime scene, as well as Ana’s DNA at his home.
Her blood was also found on a backpack in his house and on some of its contents, described by gardai as his “murder kit”, which included a homemade zombie mask, black gloves and a knee pad.
Geraldine and Patric Kriégel had adopted Ana from Russia, where she was born in February 2004, when she was two years old.
She had grown up in the Leixlip area in a loving home and enjoyed her swimming, gymnastics and dance classes, her primary years were very happy years and her family say she was a very happy child.
Geraldine Kriégel told the court her daughter was a kind, vulnerable soul who always searched out friends, who loved to sing and dance at home and would regularly be found listening to music in the family’s front room.
Both boys will be remanded in custody for the next four weeks, before appearing again for sentencing on July 15th.
Ahead of this Justice McDermott asked for both boys’ school reports as well as several social work reports.
The law dealing with children who commit offences is covered in the 2001 Children Act.
In this state children convicted of crimes are seldom sentenced to more than three years, but for serious crimes judges have discretion to impose longer sentences.
Adults who are convicted of murder are given a mandatory life sentence.
Identifying a child who is in court facing charges is strictly prohibited.
