Two boys plead not guilty to murder of Ana Kriegel (14) in Dublin

A jury has been selected for the trial of two teenage boys accused of murdering 14-year-old Anastasia Kriegel last year.

One of the boys is also accused of the aggravated sexual assault of the girl, whose body was found in a disused farmhouse in Lucan, Co Dublin on May 17th, 2018.

Both have pleaded not guilty.

The trial at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin is expected to last six weeks. Although the boys, who are both aged 14, are being tried in an adult court, the provisions of the Children Act still apply, meaning strict reporting restrictions have been put in place.

They cannot be identified publicly and access to the courtroom is restricted to lawyers, gardaí, some family members and a limited number of journalists.

The judge and lawyers will dress in suits instead of the traditional robes. Several witnesses will give evidence via video-link.

The trial will sit between 10.45am and 4.15pm daily with lunch and two short breaks in between, trial judge Mr Justice Paul McDermott said.

The boys sat in the defendants’ area beside their parents as the hearing began

Boy A pleaded not guilty to the murder and sexual assault “involving serious violence” of Ms Kreigel on May 14th, 2018 at Glenwood House, Laraghcon, Clonee Road, Lucan.

Boy B pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ms Kriegel.

Both were 13 at the time of the alleged offences.

Ms Kriegel’s naked body was found in Glenwood House in Lucan on the border of Dublin and Kildare three days after she went missing.

Mr Justice McDermott told potential jurors all three children were first year students in secondary school.

He said the evidence is likely to cause upset and distress and asked jurors to bear that in mind.

“The details will be upsetting and they will involve young people so that will perhaps make it more upsetting than other cases of this kind,” the judge said.

More than 130 witnesses are listed to give evidence, including gardaí from local stations, the Special Detective Unit, the Cybercrime Unit and the phone analysis unit.

Other witnesses include doctors, forensic experts and the Chief State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy.

Potential jurors were warned they are being told the boys’ identities as part of the trial process and that it is an offence to publish, broadcast or disseminate these details outside of court.

They were advised there was media coverage of the case previously and that they should tell the court if this coverage could affect their judgement.

It took about an hour to select a jury of eight men and four women. Opening speeches are expected to begin on Tuesday morning.