The Court of Appeal has fixed a date in February next year to hear Boy A’s appeal against his life sentence for the murder of schoolgirl Ana Kriegel in Dublin eight years ago.
The appellant, who was one of two boys convicted of the teenager’s murder, was sentenced to life in 2019 with a review after 12 years, reports Breaking News.
Boy A was also sentenced to 12 years for an aggravated sexual assault on Ana, which runs alongside the murder sentence.
Last November, Boy A’s lawyers successfully applied for more time to bring an appeal against his life sentence, following a landmark Supreme Court decision, reports Breaking News.
In a judgment delivered by Judge Iseult O’Malley in March 2025, the Supreme Court found that life sentences for a child convicted of murder should only be imposed in exceptional cases where the evidence showed the intentions and actions of the child were akin to those of an adult.
The ruling also said a sentencing court does not have jurisdiction to review terms of detention imposed on child offenders, reports Breaking News.
In March, Niall Nolan, representing the appellant, told the court that records relating to the defendant’s progress in custody would be “crucial” to his appeal against his life sentence.
He said the case would require “document-heavy analysis,” as he sought more time before a hearing date was set, reports Breaking News.
Nolan told the court the legal team was seeking a significant number of records “in order to progress the appeal” and asked for a mention date in July.
He said the trial judge, Judge Paul McDermott, had made “certain directions on the production of reports along the way” and that these reports were supposed to be prepared twice yearly, reports Breaking News.
Nolan added that, unlike other cases, there was not a “pressing need to get this on for hearing.”
He asked the court for more time to allow the youth’s lawyers to assemble the appeal, reports Breaking News.
The barrister also made an application for a documentary junior counsel for the appeal.
Judge Kennedy granted the request, noting that a solicitor and two counsel have already been approved for the case, reports Breaking News.
She adjourned the matter until Friday 10 July, when it was expected a hearing date would be fixed.
When the case returned before the court on Friday, Patrick Gageby, representing the appellant alongside Nolan, said his team anticipated this would be a “lengthy appeal,” reports Breaking News.
He said that, given the “history of the case,” he was seeking a hearing date next spring.
Gageby asked that a Probation Report, Psychology Report and Governor’s Report concerning the various places where his client has been detained be prepared, with a particular “look backwards,” reports Breaking News.
Gageby said that because there are “voluminous records,” it would be of assistance if a risk assessment and an education report were also provided.
Counsel asked that the matter be listed “late next term” for mention, reports Breaking News.
Judge Isobel Kennedy fixed 4 February 2027 as the hearing date for the appeal, directed that the relevant reports be produced and adjourned the matter to 4 December for case management.
The two boys, referred to in the media as Boy A and Boy B, were both 13 years old when they murdered Ana Kriegel in an abandoned house at Laraghcon, Clonee Road, Lucan on 14 May 2018, reports Breaking News.
They were convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury in June 2019 of murdering Ana, with Boy A also convicted of Ana’s aggravated sexual assault in a manner that involved serious violence.
The jury accepted the prosecution’s case that Boy B lured Ana to the house by telling her that Boy A wanted to meet her, knowing that Boy A intended to kill her, reports Breaking News.
He watched as Boy A, who was dressed all in black and wearing a ghoulish mask, shin guards and knee pads, sexually assaulted Ana having dragged her to the ground, where he beat her repeatedly with a piece of wood and a large block.
Boy B previously lodged an appeal against his conviction but withdrew it on the morning of his hearing in October 2022, with the Court of Appeal told on that occasion that there was no appeal against Boy B’s sentence, reports Breaking News.
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