Two teenage boys have become the youngest convicted murderers in the history of the State after being found guilty of murdering Ana Kriegel.
The jurors also found one of the boys guilty of aggravated sexual assault after deliberating for almost 14 and a half hours.
Ana's father Patric simply said: "Ana was our strength".
Her mother Geraldine focused on how much her daughter meant to her and her husband Patric as they left court this afternoon.
She said: "Ana was a dream come true for us, and she always will be.
"She'll stay in our hearts forever loved and forever cherished. We love you, Ana".
They held hands tightly next to the jury box as the jurors filed back into the courtroom this afternoon to deliver their unanimous guilty verdicts.
Ana Kriegel’s parents say she was a “dream come true for us” as they leave the court this afternoon pic.twitter.com/LtQRPMOJCX
— Shane Beatty (@ShaneBeattyNews) June 18, 2019
Timeline: A look back at the Ana Kriegel trial
Boy A rested his head on his mother's shoulders after he learned his fate. She wiped tears away.
Boy B's father stormed out of the courtroom.
Despite denying ever being in the abandoned house in Lucan where Ana was killed, the prosecution claimed the forensic evidence against Boy A suggested otherwise.
Her blood was found on his boots and his DNA was found on her neck and in a semen stain found on Ana's ripped top - one of a number of items of her clothing which were strewn across the room when Gardaí found her naked body three days after she was reported missing.
Boy B admitted being in the house and he claimed he saw his co-accused attack Ana before he fled, but he insisted he did not know what was in store for her when he called for her at her home in Leixlip that day.
Both boys were remanded in custody for the first time today ahead of their sentence hearing next month.
Reporting from Frank Greaney at the Central Criminal Court
