A boy accused of the murder of 14-year-old Ana Kriégel told gardaí he gave tape found at the crime scene to his co-accused shortly before her murder, his trial has heard.
The boy, Boy B, also admitted to gardaí that he had lied to them in a previous interview and made up a “fake story” about his exact movements on the day Ana went missing.
The jury has been watching video recordings of the boy’s third and fourth interviews with gardaí which were conducted following his arrest on May 24, 2018, a week after Ana’s body was found in an abandoned farmhouse in Lucan, Co. Dublin.
During the fourth interview gardaí showed Boy B photographs of the abandoned house, including the room where Ana’s body was found with a length insulation tape partially wrapped around her neck.
When detectives showed Boy B a picture of the room where Ana died, he held his head in his hands and said: “Jesus. One of my closest friends.” Asked to clarify, he said he was referring to Boy A and not Ana.
He then said “Wait a minute. Holy shit. Oh my God. I gave [BOY A]tape a couple of weeks ago. I use it a lot whenever I’m making something.
“I gave it to [BOY A]because he wanted to use it for something he was making. He asked for a pile of it because he was doing a really big pole kind of weapon. So I gave him a used up roll, half used up roll.
“I gave it to him. Here it is. Construction tape. I use it a lot when I’m making grips and stuff. I like to make stuff.”
He said he gave the tape to Boy A “a week or two ago”. He denied bringing it to the abandoned house himself.
Gardaí showed Boy B a photograph of Boy A’s boots which they said had Ana’s blood on them.
“I don’t want to believe [BOY A]did it,” he said. “If those are [BOY A’s]boots that means either he did it or he was standing by.”
Detectives also showed the boy pictures of a stick and a stone block. Boy B said he presumed these were the murder weapons as he had read in the newspapers Ana was killed with “a rock and some sticks”.
He said “this is crazy” when shown a picture of the stick. When a detective told the boy Ana’s blood and hair were bound on the block, Boy B responded: “Jesus Christ. It’s getting worse and worse.”
CCTV footage
Earlier on Wednesday the court heard that detectives spent the third interview showing boy B CCTV footage from the area where Ana was last seen on May 14th.
Boy B had told investigators he had called to Ana at her home at about 4.55pm before they both went to meet his co-accused, Boy A, at a location in near-by St Catherine’s Park.
After showing him several pieces of CCTV footage from the area, gardaí put it to the boy that his account of his movements did not match what was picked up by several CCTV cameras in the area.
Gardaí said the footage showed it would have been impossible for Boy A to be in the location where Boy B claimed to have met him with Ana at a particular time.
“Do you see how this is inconsistent. By that I mean it doesn’t match up with what you’ve told us so far,” an interviewing garda put it to the boy. The boy responded: “yes I see.”
“So will you please, please please tell us the truth,” the detective said. “Just the truth, that’s all we want. Just the truth. There’s no tricks here.”
After a pause, the boy’s solicitor told gardaí, “ I think he’s remained silent so.”
At another point in the interview Boy B said “strange, very strange” when shown CCTV of his co-accused walking in a certain direction in the park.
After the interview Boy B was allowed rest for the night before the fourth interview which began at 10.11am on May 25th.
‘A lie’
He started the interview by saying: “I’m going to retell the story of what actually happened. What I told you yesterday was a lie.”
His solicitor said Boy B had a chance to reflect on matters overnight. He went on to tell gardaí he and Ana met Boy A at a point near the BMX track, a different location to the one he previously stated.
“This is where I actually met [BOY A]. While I was walking up to the BMX park I asked Ana to bring out her phone and show me the time. The time was 5.14.
“I let Ana talk with [BOY A]for a while. I stayed back for a metre to two to let them have some privacy while they talked.”
The boy said he did not know what they said to each other. “A little bit later I got bored and left. I went behind the changing rooms and got a drink. Then I went straight home. That’s the truth.”
“You gave us an account and we checked it with you and you were adamant about certain facts and certain routes,” an interviewing detective put to the boy.
“I suppose you want an explanation as to why?” the boy replied. “The reason I told you the fake story was because the first time I was with the guards on Tuesday I couldn’t really remember where I went so I made it up. I was scared and nervous. Once I made it up I thought to myself ‘well I can’t go back, I made a statement’. So I kept to the story.”
Abandoned farmhouse
The detective told the boy he had to tell them absolutely everything that happened that day.
“Were you in the house that day?” the detective asked, referring to the abandoned farmhouse.
“No, on the day I wasn’t. But I was before,” Boy B replied. He agreed with the detective he had previously said he visited the house with his friends the previous year.
“You know this location,” the detective said. “The only thing I find surprising is you described it in quite good details. I know you’re a bright young man, you’re an intelligent young man but you described it in great detail.”
The detective told the boy it wasn’t until he was “confronted with facts that you told the truth. Now you have to tell me everything, I mean absolutely everything.”
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.
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.
The trial at the Central Criminal Court continues with evidence of Boy B's interviews before a jury of eight men and four women.
