Boy B in Ana Kriégel murder case drops appeal against conviction

One of the boys convicted for murdering 14-year-old Ana Kriégel, known as Boy B throughout the trial, has withdrawn his appeal against his murder conviction.

The appeal was due to start this morning, Wednesday, October 5, before the three-court judge Court of Appeal. 

Earlier this year, Boy B wanted to introduce fresh evidence at his appeal, but this application was dismissed by the Court of Appeal. 

RTÉ reports that before the appeal this morning, where Boy B would not be allowed to submit the fresh evidence, his lawyer James Dwyer revealed to the court that his client wished to withdraw his appeal altogether. 

The defendant, who has just turned 18 years old, had to confirm the decision himself to Mr Justice John Edwards. The judge asked him if he understood the implications that would come with withdrawing his appeal, and Boy B agreed. 

The boy then confirmed that he had spoken with his lawyers ahead of time and wanted to drop the appeal. 

Mr Justice Edwards announced that there would be no further proceedings and expressed his condolences to Ana’s mum, Geraldine, who was present in court today. Ana's dad sadly passed away in June of this year.

Boy B, who was 13-years-old at the time of his conviction in 2019, was sentenced to 15 years’ detention, which would be reviewed after eight years.

Boy A was sentenced to life imprisonment with a review after 12 years, as well as eight years imprisonment for aggravated sexual assault. Boy A has not applied for an appeal on his sentence.