Man pleads guilty to murder of 12-year-old Michaela Davis

Jonathan Byrne admitting murdering the schoolgirl, whose body was found by a Dublin canal more than a year ago.

A MAN HAS pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of schoolgirl Michaela Davis, 12, in west Dublin last year.

Jonathan Byrne, from Clonsilla, had been charged with the murder shortly after Michaela’s death in August 2010. The schoolgirl’s body was discovered beside the Royal Canal in thick undergrowth by a man walking his dog.

A post-mortem at the time confirmed she was sexually attacked, with an inquest hearing she had been strangled.

Byrne, now 20, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin yesterday, Newstalk reports. He was remanded for sentencing in December.

According to RTÉ, an uncle of Michaela Davis was penalised by the court after he shouted obscenities as Byrne made his guilty plea.

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