A boy told garda interviewers he saw his co-accused “flip” Ana Kriegel and “start to choke her”, a trial has heard.

Boy B told gardaí that he saw Ana lying on the floor in the abandoned house and Boy A “was on top of her, choking her”.

Boy B also said Boy A started to take off Ana’s clothes, and he “sprinted” away when Boy A looked up and saw him standing in the doorway.

Ana had started to cry, Boy B said, and she kept saying “no, no, don’t do it”. 

The two youths, aged 13 at the time, have pleaded not guilty before the Central Criminal Court to the murder of Ana Kriegel (14) at Glenwood House, Laraghcon, Clonee Road in Lucan, Dublin, on May 14 last year.

Boy A has also denied a charge of aggravated sexual assault.

Yesterday, jurors continued to watch video footage of interviews which gardaí conducted with Boy B at Finglas garda station on May 25, 2018.

Present during the fifth interview were Boy B, his mother, his solicitor Barry Powderly, Detective Garda Donal Daly and Detective Sergeant (now Inspector) Damien Gannon.

At the start of the fifth interview, which the jury heard on Wednesday, Boy B told gardaí he heard Ana scream after she and Boy A went into the abandoned house.

He said he ran away because he was scared and he thought Ana and Boy A had been attacked. Boy B said he didn’t go into the house.

Jurors continued to hear the rest of interview five yesterday.

Gda Daly told Boy B he needed him to tell the truth, no games, no bits left in or out.

In an earlier interview, Boy B had said he liked anime, a type of animation series. This was not anime, said Gda Daly, it was real life and was “so, so important”.

Boy B said he, Boy A and Ana crossed the ditch and walked towards the house. He stayed behind to give them space.

Boy A and Ana stopped at the footpath but he kept walking and went into the house.

Boy B said he walked around a bit and picked up a plank in the corridor, put it down and walked out.

He said Boy A and Ana walked into the house, and he went to follow them, but Boy A told him “it’s ok, we’ll be fine, you can go now”.

As he was leaving, Boy B said he heard a scream and he ran as fast as he could.

He thought Boy A could protect Ana because he was strong.

Boy B said he could barely sleep that night because he was worried about Boy A and Ana.

The next day there were bruises on Boy A’s back and he wondered what had happened to him and Ana. “That’s why I stopped talking to him,” he said.

Once Ana’s body was found, Boy B said his thought was that Boy A ran away and something else happened to Ana.

“Turns out that wasn’t true,” he said.

Gda Daly told Boy B “tell us every single detail, you have to tell us everything”.

Boy B repeated that he went into the house, looked around and went back out.

Boy A and Ana then went into the house, he said, and he started to follow them, but Boy A said “no, we’ll be all right”.

Asked if he went into the room with the carpet, where Ana’s body was found, Boy B said he looked in but didn’t go in.

Gda Daly told Boy B he needed “the truth”.

Boy B said Boy A went into the room with Ana. He was about to leave when he saw Boy A put his arm around Ana and “kind of hugged her, I guess”.

Gda Daly repeated he just wanted the truth, and he knew Boy B hadn’t told him everything.

Boy B said Boy A put his arm around Ana and he “flipped” her and that’s when he [Boy B] ran out of the room.

Gda Daly told Boy B to tell him “every single thing”.

Boy B said he saw Boy A “flip her [Ana] and start to choke her”.

Boy B said he was “shook” and he didn’t know what to do.

He said that Boy A started taking Ana’s clothes off her. Boy B said Boy A looked up at the door where he [Boy B] was standing and he ran away.

“Boy A didn’t follow me,” he said, adding that’s when he heard the screaming.

Asked about Ana, Boy B said Ana had started to cry and kept saying “no, no, don’t do this”.

Boy B said he saw Boy A take off Ana’s jumper and then her T-shirt, but that he left before Boy A started taking off her bra.

“It looked horrifying,” Boy B said. Gda Daly asked Boy B to tell him the exact position Ana was in.

“She was lying on the floor. [Boy A] was on top of her, choking her as he took off the clothes,” he said.

Boy B also made a sketch of what he had seen at the request of gardaí.

Boy B was released after this fifth interview and was re-arrested six weeks later.

The trial continues.

Source: Read Full Article