A jury has viewed 3D computer generated images of the scene of 14 year old Ana Kriégel’s alleged murder.
On Wednesday afternoon Sergeant Seamus Timmins displayed the images on the screens of the court before the jury in the trial of the two young teens accused of Ana’s murder.
He presented 3D models of Glenwood House in Lucan and the specific room where Ana’s body was found. Ana’s body was depicted as a white, computer generated image.
The model showed various items which gardaí said were found alongside her body on May 17th, 2018. The equivalent photographs of the items were also shown.
The jury was shown photos of Ana’s clothes, seven blood splatters, a piece of wood and a breeze block.
Earlier on Wednesday the trial heard evidence Ana was possibly pulled or dragged by a piece of material found around her neck.
Dr Muhammad Wasif Ghaffar gave evidence that on May 17th, 2018 he was called by gardaí to Glenwood House to pronounce someone dead.
He followed gardaí to the scene and put on a crime scene suit given to him by officers.
He was led into a “completely dark room” and, using torchlight, was shown the body of a young girl. She was lying on her back and was completely naked. Dr Ghaffar said the body had a small cloth “or something” wrapped around its neck. It was tied around the neck but was not tight.
The face was covered in blood and there were multiple injuries and bruises to the body. There was also blood inside her mouth and on her teeth.
The girl’s head was bent back, the doctor said. He said he thought it was “maybe possible” somebody had pulled or dragged her neck using the cloth because he neck was extended.
Garda Sean White told the court he was the first person to find Ana’s body in the derelict house. He said he initially thought it was a mannequin. The lighting was poor he said.
He then got a smell of dried blood. Garda White said he called out but got no response. He said he left the area and called for assistance from the head of the search team as per his training.
The jury has also viewed pixelated photographs of Ana’s body and the crime scene.
Blue tape
The photos show clothes scattered in various parts of the room where her body was found as well as blood stains on the walls. A concrete block and a piece of timber, both with bloodstains on them, are also visible in the photographs.
Some of the photos show a “highly adhesive” blue tape which was on Ana’s body and around her neck, photographer Detective Garda Eoin Conway said. “There was quite a lot of it around the body.”
An iPhone, broken into two pieces was also photographed in the room by Det Garda Conway.
On Wednesday morning the trial heard about the moment a garda search team found Ana’s body on May 17th, 2018, three days after she went missing.
Ana had a “noose” or “ligature” around her neck. She had three fingers inside it, as if she had been trying to get it off, the court was told.
Sergeant Declan Birchall told prosecuting counsel Brendan Grehan SC that earlier that day he had designated an area of the local park where Ana was last seen to be searched by his specialised team. The designated area also included a derelict farmhouse called Glenwood House.
The team searched along hedgerows and roadsides before reaching the house. Sgt Birchall had earlier walked around the house to ensure they didn’t need any special tools to gain entry. The house was accessible without tools, he said.
When the team searched the house, Sgt Birchall searched three out-buildings or sheds and found nothing of interest. As he searched one building he heard a colleague in the main house shouting “find”. This was procedure whenever a team member found something, the witness said.
The garda met Sgt Birchall outside and brought him into the house.
“The house was in very poor condition. There had been several fires there over the years. The roof had collapsed in several places. The kitchen was in general disarray,” the witness said. Some of the rooms were in a dangerous condition, he added.
Naked
A door leading into a porch area was gone. From there Sgt Birchall turned left into the kitchen. The roof was partially collapsed and there was a lot of debris on the floor.
He then turned right, went up two steps into a corridor and then left down a corridor. “We turned to our right and I stood in a doorway looking into Room One.”
Both windows were boarded up and the only way in was through the door. A hole allowed a limited amount of light in from the outside, he said.
“I saw the body of a naked female lying on the floor of the room. She was naked completely except for her socks.”
Her feet were nearest to the door and her head was closet to the front of the house. At first Sgt Birchall thought something was covering the girl’s face.
He moved closer and realised it was her hair. It was stuck to her face as if she had been “thrashing” it around, he said. She had blood coming from her nose and mouth
There was a ligature around her neck, a “cord or tape, a noose,” he said. She had three fingers inside the ligature as if she was trying to get it off, the garda said.
Sgt Birchall said he realised Ana was dead from the way her body was positioned and because he could see not signs of life. Once he realised he could be of no assistance to her, the search team left the room and began preserving the team.
They waited outside for the Divisional Detective Unit and the Garda Technical Bureau.
Sgt Birchall described a significant search operation which had been ongoing in the previous days. Gardaí from several stations were joined by about 60 members of the Civil Defence.
The Civil Defence also used dogs and drones to search open areas. The Garda Sub-Aqua Unit searched local bodies of water and a section of the River Liffey.
Boy A has pleaded not guilty to the murder and sexual assault “involving serious violence” of Ana 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.
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 the derelict farmhouse as Boy B watched.
The trial continues on Thursday at the Central Criminal Court before a jury of eight men and four women.
