One of the boys convicted of murdering schoolgirl Ana Kriégel is seeking to introduce fresh evidence at his upcoming appeal and wants to challenge the admissibility of matters that were not challenged at trial, the Court of Appeal heard this morning.
Brendan Grehan SC for the Director of Public Prosecutions told the Court of Appeal that the State had received the submissions on behalf of Boy B last week and anticipated that the application to "enlarge grounds" and introduce fresh evidence would be opposed.
The now 17-year-old, referred to in court as Boy B, was unanimously found guilty of murdering the "lonely and vulnerable" schoolgirl in June 2019 and was sentenced to 15 years detention, to be reviewed after eight years.
He and his co-accused Boy A, whose identities cannot be published as they are children, were just 13-years-old when they murdered 14-year-old Ana in May 2018.
This morning, President of the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice George Birmingham said the court had received a notice of motion on behalf of Boy B seeking to amend the grounds of appeal and introduce fresh evidence.
Defence counsel Seoirse Ó Dunlaing BL, for Boy B, told the judge that three further grounds were sought.
Mr Grehan, for the State, said they had received "papers as of last week" and whilst he did not have the formal instructions of the DPP, he anticipated that the application "to enlarge the grounds" and to introduce "fresh evidence" would be opposed.
Mr Grehan said that Boy A had not lodged an appeal against either his conviction or sentence.
The case was listed for hearing on June 17.
Boy B was not present in court for the brief hearing.
Boy B lured Ana from her home, knowing that his friend was waiting to attack her in a derelict house in St Catherine's Park in Lucan. He gave several different versions of events to gardaí, but eventually admitted seeing Boy A attacking Ana.
The boys were unanimously found guilty of murder by a Central Criminal Court jury in June 2019. Boy A was also convicted of Ana's aggravated sexual assault in a manner that involved serious violence.
Boy A was sentenced to life imprisonment with a review after 12 years, and eight years imprisonment for aggravated sexual assault. No appeal has been lodged on his behalf.
Boy B is seeking to appeal against his conviction only, meaning no appeal is being sought against the severity of his sentence.
Boy B is currently detained in Oberstown Children Detention Campus and his earliest possible release date is June 2027.
Sentencing the boys in November 2019, Mr Justice McDermott said that the boys’ first period in detention would last until they were 18, when they will be transferred to an adult facility.
