THE MURDER TRIAL of Ana Kriegel was told today that Boy A’s phone data contained search engine evidence of ’15 most gruesome torture methods in history’ as well as ‘abandoned places in Lucan’ in the months prior to the 14-year-old girl’s death.
Detective Garda Tomás Doyle told the court that in an interview with Boy A, he had told him that his phone had been checked by experts who found the data on the device.
Detective Garda Doyle told the court that gardaí were able to retrieve data from the search engine on Boy A’s smartphone.
According to the officer’s account, Boy A told the garda this was not possible as he did not have the search engine in question on his phone. Detective Garda Doyle said he reminded Boy A that this was the data retrieved from his phone.
According to the garda’s testimony Boy A said in an interview on 25 May last that he didn’t have the search engine in question on his phone “so I don’t know how”.
An exhibit displayed to the court showed screenshots of the phone’s search engine data taken in January and February of 2018.
According to the exhibit, terms that were found when the search engine was examined included; ’15 most gruesome torture methods in history’, ‘horror movies that will blow everyone away’, ‘Ouija board haunted asylum (warning)’, ‘Until Dawn get Jessica’s clothes off’ and ‘top 10 sexiest videogame characters of 2017′.
When this evidence was presented to him, Boy A told gardaí that he was looking for horror movies online and agreed with gardaí that this was an interest of his. According to the account of the interview presented in court today gardaí then asked him if he was interested in torture films. Boy A said he was not.
Two boys, known as Boy A and Boy B, have pleaded not guilty to the 14-year-old girl’s murder. Boy A has also been charged with aggravated sexual assault – a charge he also denies. Both boys were 13 years old at the time of the alleged offences.
Ana’s body was discovered in a disused house three days after she disappeared in May last year.
It is being alleged by the prosecution that Boy A murdered Ana and sexually assaulted her. It is the prosecution’s case that Boy B assisted the murder and knew what was going to happen.
Search engine evidence
The court also heard further evidence gardaí say was garnered from Boy A’s phone.
Other terms that were found when the search engine data was examined, according to an exhibit displayed in court, included: ‘Mega Mastadon’ (a toy foam gun), ‘creepy forward facing skull’, ‘gold skull’, ‘abandoned places in Lucan’ and ‘printable gift vouchers’.
Detective Garda Doyle told the court this evidence came from dates in January and February of 2018.
The court also heard evidence from earlier interviews conducted by gardaí with Boy A on 25 May last year.
Boy A was shown a number of photographs of the room where Ana’s body was found, the court was told. He was shown a picture of a blood-stained stick to which Boy A replied: “Oh, that’s blood. My God.”
Doyle told the court he had explained during the interview that gardaí believed some of Ana’s injuries were caused by this stick. Doyle added there was a nail protruding from this stick, to which Boy A responded: “Oh, my God.”
Doyle said Boy A was then shown another photograph by gardaí. This was a photo of blue builders’ tape – the same brand tape that was found around Ana’s neck when her body was found.
Boy A said he had never seen that brand of tape before and said he never had tape of that kind in his possession before.
He denied Boy B had ever given him tape like that. Garda Marcus Roantree said he told Boy A during questioning that a tape like the one in the photo had been seized from Boy B’s home.
According to the account of the interview presented in court today, gardaí at this point told Boy A that this was his opportunity to say something and that this investigation was going “to affect you for the rest of your life”. He was asked if there was anything he wanted to say. Garda interview notes stated that Boy A shook his head.
The court also heard that while Boy A was talking to gardaí, Boy B was also giving an interview. At the end of Boy A’s interview with gardaí, he was asked if he wanted to add anything to clarify any point.
He said that Boy B “is lying – that’s it”.
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