Ana Kriegel - Was Justice Done?

In May 2018, a 14 year old girl went missing close to her home in Leixlip Co. Kildare. Russian adoptee, Ana Kriegel, was later found murdered in a disused house just down the road in Lucan. The eventual prosecution of the two murderers, who were just 13 years old at the time of the killing, ended in a Guilty verdict. Today, we heard the result of the sentencing hearing.

The sentence reads as follows:

Boy A was given a life sentence with review after 12 years. Boy B was sentenced to 15 years, with a review after just 8yrs! The sentence may be extended after the first 12 years served. 

Boy A was also convicted of aggravated sexual assault. A term of 12 years was also imposed for that count today, to be served concurrently. 

Whether or not you believe that the sentence was appropriate, we are at least relieved that the hearings are now over for her family. In an abandoned house, alone and facing two boys with il-intent, this child struggled for her life. At her funeral she was described as a “Siberian Warrior”, a survivor of bullying and exclusion, previous to the events which claimed her young life. Why was this poor girl’s life so hard? Adopted from Russia by her adoring parents at 2 years old, their dreams for their little girl were shattered beyond measure on that fateful day in Lucan. Children can be so cruel. She was abused for her height, her interests and for a collection of ridiculous reasons including the fact that she was a chosen child, adopted.  

The psychological and emotional trauma faced by her family throughout this ordeal has touched the hearts of everyone who followed the case. We have stood with them in spirit, in solidarity for the injustice of their daughter’s death. The anguish and pain they have faced is immeasurable. We cannot contemplate how they are finding the strength to stand, and yet they are, for Ana, the strongest of parents. Ana’s Mother, Geraldine’s, victim impact statement touched the hearts of every reader. So eloquently written, she gave us a glimpse into the life of her lovely daughter and the terrible agony of her own loss and that of Ana’s father Patric. Her brother, sisters, wider family and friends are also suffering a loss of such huge magnitude that the shockwaves of it will last a lifetime. 

 There is an outstanding argument in relation to anonymity … and not without reasonable justification. If a person commits a crime and it is a grievous crime against another person, why is their identity protected by law? Whose interests does it serve? The non-disclosure of identity, in cases like this, is a further injustice, not only to the person who was murdered and named in the public arena but to the public in general. Don’t we have a right to know who we are associating with, socialising with, or heaven forbid, marrying? 

 Public safety issues like this may require further questions. Maybe a rewrite of the current legislation which protects a perpetrator and leaves a victim and their family vulnerable to identification and intrusion. Shouldn’t the victim be considered first? Maybe those questions are for another day. Right now, as this sad case closes, we remember Ana and all other children who were taken from this life before their time.

For a parent, it is the worst kind of agony, the worst nightmare. May they find the strength they need to keep going, to remain strong and above all, may they find some little piece of solace in knowing her killers are behind bars. It is a small mercy.    

 Teach your children well, lest they become what you most dread, a tormentor, a vandal, a liar, a murderer. As we tuck our children in at night and return to our normal lives, for Ana’s family, life as they knew it, will never be the same. There is nothing more to be said but sleep well Ana, you will be forever in our thoughts.