'We pace the house at night agonising (about her) torture': Geraldine Kriegel describes aftermath of Ana's murder
The mother of murdered schoolgirl Anastasia Kriegel has said her death has left their lives “entrenched with pain and sorrow”.
In an emotional tribute to Ana, Geraldine Kriegel said her 14-year-old daughter was “too good to be true” and that she embraced life and was kind to everyone.
In her victim impact statement, Mrs Kriegel told the court that Ana’s murder has left an emptiness in the lives of all who knew her.
Two 15-year-old boys, known as Boy A and Boy B, were found guilty in June of murdering Ana.
Her naked body was found in an abandoned farmhouse in Lucan, Co Dublin, last May after the 14-year-old had been reported missing by her parents.
Boy A was also convicted of aggravated sexual assault.
Both boys have been granted lifelong anonymity due to their age.
The court earlier heard how Boy A has accepted he caused the death of Ana.
The Central Criminal Court heard today that Boy A provided accounts to various professionals since his conviction in which he described causing injuries to Ana.
He described a number actions including headlock, choke hold, kicking, hitting her with a stick and with a block which he either threw at her or hit off her head on three occasions.
Boy A maintains he did not sexually assault her and put forward another explanation as to how his semen got on her top, however the prosecuting barrister did not provide any of these details.
Mrs Kriegel told the court: “There is an emptiness in our lives. Life without Ana is no longer a life.
“It is a misery we must endure for the rest of our lives.”
She said that no one could suspect the evil that lay in waiting for Ana or anticipate her murder and those who violated her. She said that Ana wanted to live, but was not permitted to do so.
“Our lives have been destroyed,” she added.
“I cannot imagine the terror and pain she suffered. That will stay with us all our lives.
“At night we lay awake thinking about the fear she felt knowing she was going to be killed and the pain and the torture she went through.”
She said her daughter’s pure and innocent body was violated.
“To think she was left to rot for three days is unbearable and inhuman,” she continued.
She told the court that her daughter’s life was misrepresented with tainted eyes.
“She was just a little girl with so many hopes and dreams,” she added.
Both 15-year-old boys remain in Oberstown Children Detention Campus.
Garda Detective Inspector Mark O’Neill, senior investigating officer, said that Boy B has maintained the position he gave to gardaí in that he did not have any part in her death and that he ran away when he saw Boy A attacking her.
The court heard that there is a dispute as to whose idea it was to meet Ana, who decided Boy B would call for her, who decided to meet at the disused farmhouse, who brought what to Glenwood House, especially the tape, and how Ana’s clothing was removed.
There was also a dispute over who assaulted Ana and with what, who smashed her phone when it started to ring, who put tape on her neck, and whether there was previous discussions about Boy A saying he wanted to kill Ana, and how they came up with similar accounts after she went missing.
Insp. O’Neill said that no explanation has been as to why her murder happened.
Insp. O'Neill said neither boy had come to garda attention prior to Ana's murder and neither have their parents. He added: "There doesn't appear to be any clear explanation as to why this happened."
Defence case for Boy A
The witness agreed with Patrick Gageby SC that Boy A's family are "decent, hard-working people" who cooperated with the investigation. Boy A, he agreed, had no trouble in school and was not on the garda radar. He further agreed that although it is an offence to identify Boy A he had been named in graffiti and on social media.
He further agreed with Damien Colgan SC, on behalf of Boy B, that Boy B had also not come to garda attention and although gardaí examined his phone and laptop nothing sinister was found. The boy's family are hard working people, he said, and have never come to the attention of gardaí.
Addressing Justice McDermott, Mr Gageby said that before him is a young man who was 13 years of age at the time of Ana's murder. He has no previous convictions never came to the adverse attention of gardaí and has no history of anti-social behaviour. Since he was charged with Ana's murder his good behaviour has continued while in detention and while out on bail. He is studying for his junior certificate.
He added: "So perhaps unlike may of the children before the courts, it is far from a dysfunctional family, quite the reverse." He said Boy A had made admissions that he caused Ana's death which are detailed in reports handed to the court. He said there is no indication that there was any link between his environment and the offence and he "comes from a small, close, loving supportive family." There is also no evidence, counsel said, of any personality disorder or mental illness.
Mr Gageby pointed to one report in which the treating doctor had noted "substantial remorse and tears" when Boy A talked about Ana's murder.
He added: "All of the reports opine that there is much work to be done here in relation to this young man and even bringing him to the realisation of the consequences of his terrible actions on that day. A high level of intervention is warranted, perhaps to be spread over years."
Mr Gageby did not advise the judge on sentencing but asked him to consider the boy's age and previous court decisions that found that juveniles convicted of murder "may develop into very different personalities" when they become adults. He said any sentence must punish the offence and act as a deterrent to others and protect society. However, this should be balanced by the need for Boy A to be rehabilitated. He said it is in the public interest that the boy be returned to society as a law-abiding person. He further suggested that the judge could impose a sentence that can be reviewed after a certain period of time.
Defence case for Boy B
Damien Colgan SC for Boy B said it is clear from the reports handed into the court that his client does not accept the verdict. Counsel said he is therefore limited in what he can say. He said the judge has the benefit of reports which detail Boy B's education. He also revealed that there has been a falling out between Boy B and his father over the boy's "failure to deal with matters in the way he expected him to on the day." Boy B's father, who was present throughout the trial, was not present for the sentence hearing.
Mr Colgan said the reports state that his client is at a low risk of re-offending and also has "personal difficulties" and "suicidal tendencies". He further pointed to the boy's remorse and "guilt in respect of his inactivity, why he didn't intervene to assist Ana Kriegel, and he is going to have to live with this for the rest of his life."
Mr Colgan said there was "nothing sinister" on Boy B's phone or laptop and the reports have shown no issues concerning his mental health. He said the family of Boy B is now "isolated" and the boy himself is isolated in the detention centre where he has been held since conviction. He said that during garda interviews the boy thought he was doing his best to assist gardaí in their investigation and "this has been used to convict him". The evidence against Boy B was largely gleaned from what he said over the course of seven garda interviews. Mr Colgan asked the court to be "as lenient as possible" and reminded Justice McDermott that no DNA belonging to Boy B was found at the scene.
Mr Grehan told Justice McDermott that while the reports had stated that Boy B was at low risk of re offending, they also said that this would have to be revised if there was any evidence that Boy B was involved in planning Ana's murder of if he had "active involvement in sexual or violent acts" on Ana.
The two boys will be sentenced next Tuesday.
Victim impact statement from Geraldine Kriegel
“The happiest day of our lives was August 10 2006, the day the court declared we could become the parents of Ana, who we felt was the most wonderful child in the world.
“We agonised for so many years through a laborious adoption process, waiting for her and when she came she brought to us everything we had dreamed of for all those years and much more.
“All of the love and happiness we longed for suddenly flooded into our lives. She was wild and wonderful, electric, so full of fun, madness and laughter.
“We could not believe the happiness and joy we had found in our lives.
“She was the love of our lives and every single night before she went to bed, she told us that she loved us too.
“Every night she came to kiss us and she said, always in French, ‘Good night, sleep tight, have beautiful dreams, I love you’.
“She cannot do that anymore and we cannot tell you how badly that hurts."
“On Monday May 14 2018, Ana didn’t come home.
“The cold fear we felt knowing she was in serious danger, knowing that something or someone prevented her from coming home to us.
“We knew she would never stay out without permission. She would never hurt us.
“The panic, the dread, the agonising wait, the hours that turned into days.
“We didn’t know where she was or what had happened to her. But somebody did. Somebody knew.
“We waited and waited for our little girl to come home. But she never did. The saddest day of our lives was May 17 2018 – three days later we heard those dreaded words that no parent wants to hear.
“We are so sorry …. our precious little girl’s body had been found.
“The depth of pain and haunting nightmares that we live with following the formal identification of Ana in such traumatic and horrific circumstances. There is no way to describe how that feels.
'No one could suspect the evil that lay in waiting'
“We brought Ana to live in a ‘safe’ place, a quiet country village, a leafy suburb, where the only sounds in the morning are the doves cooing.
“No one could suspect the evil that lay in waiting for her. No one could anticipate the darkness that swirled in the souls of those that murdered and violated her.
“How could any child, or even any adult, imagine in their worst nightmares the danger that lay ahead.
“She wanted to live but she was not permitted to do that. Our lives are destroyed by what happened to Ana.
“We cannot look at a group of teenage boys in the same way ever again. That cold fear hits and brings all the horror back.
Imagine the terror. Imagine the pain she suffered. That will live with us all our lives.
“We lie awake at night thinking about the fear she felt when she realised she was going to be killed.
“We pace the house at night agonising about the torture she went through, the horrendous pain she suffered, the sadistic violation of her beautiful, pure and innocent body.
“To think that she was left to rot in that squalid hell hole for over three days. It is unbearable. It is inhuman.
“The whole family and friends suffer so terribly, every day and every night, with the agony of knowing now, in the most explicit detail, what Ana was subjected to and knowing that her private life along with the distorted misrepresentation of her by a twisted mind with tainted eyes, have been displayed on every TV station and newspaper in Ireland and across the world.
"She was just a little girl with so many hopes and dreams and so much love inside her that she shared generously with all who knew her.
“What words can described how we feel at the loss of our wonderful girl.
“The pain of living without her is unbearable. There is such emptiness in our lives without her.
“Life without Ana is no longer a life, nor is it even an existence, it is a misery that we must endure for the rest of our lives.
“We have lost our precious daughter. Her brother has lost his sister and every family occasion is entrenched with pain and sorrow.
“We always felt Ana was too good to be true.
“An ephemeral angel, in our hearts and in the hearts of people in Ireland and Russia, with love forever.”
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