Boy, 13, faces court charged with schoolgirl's murder

A 13-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with the murder of a schoolgirl in Ireland.

The teenager, who cannot be identified because of his age, appeared at Dublin District Children's Court on Thursday morning charged with the murder of 14-year-old Anastasia Kriegel.

She was found dead in a derelict farmhouse outside the village of Lucan, Co Dublin, on May 16.

The boy, wearing a pink hoody, dark blue jeans and black trainers, was charged with the murder of Anastasia.

The boy attended court with his solicitor and sat beside his mother during the 10-minute hearing.

Judge John O'Connor asked the accused if this was his first time in court, to which he replied "yes".

Detective Sergeant Damien Gannon said the young boy was taken to Lucan Garda Station where they charged him with the offence in the presence of his mother.

While being questioned at the garda station, the young boy asked for a toilet break and returned after two minutes before questioning continued.

The judge also referred to reporting restrictions and issued warnings about the general public identifying the accused on social media.

He said that nothing should be published online that could lead to his identification including his school and address.

He was remanded into detention after the short court hearing and will appear in court again on July 18.

The judge allowed the young boy and mother to spend some time together following a request by the defendant's solicitor, David Powderly.

Another 13-year-old boy has already been charged with murder.

Anastasia was last seen alive in St Catherine's Park on Monday May 14, about one kilometre away from where her body was discovered three days later.