Ana Kriegel murder trial: Dad of Boy B says his son didn't tell him full story at beginning as he 'couldn't believe it'

The dad said he was "shocked" and "angry" and the more angry he was the less likely his son was to talk to him.

In cross examination, Boy B's father said his son was "very naïve", "very immature" and was "hungry for friendship".

The prosecution case has now closed against the two accused and the jury has been told to return on Thursday morning.

Boy B and his co-accused, known as Boy A, have pleaded not guilty to murdering 14-year-old Ana Kriegel at Glenwood House, Laraghcon, Clonee Road in Lucan on May 14, 2018.

They were 13 years old at the time and cannot be identified because they are children.

Boy A has also denied a charge of aggravated sexual assault.

This morning, the jury heard from Boy B's father. He said gardai called to his home around 9pm or 10pm on May 14, 2018 - the day Ana went missing.

His wife answered the door and his son was behind her. Gardai told them they were looking for a missing girl, he said.

Asked if he remembered his son's expression, the man said he was "kind of surprised".

He said he wouldn't say his son was frightened, but "something in between".

He later described it as his son "wasn't happy being surprised".

Boy B's father said he spoke to his son the next day but he "wasn't really chatty". He told his son that if he knew something he had better tell gardai everything he knew.

The father said his son told him that Boy A had asked him to bring Ana to the park because she had a crush on him.

The witness said he thought he and his son had gone with gardai to the park on the Wednesday and they had re-walked the route his son said he had taken with Ana.

The dad gave evidence that he tried to ask his son to "remember every detail" but he "wasn't normally reacting". His son wasn't "happy" or "chatty".

His father said he knew his son was "trying to say something but didn't want to say something to me".

He said he knew, as his father, that Boy B was not capable of doing anything like that.

The man also said he was ""frustrated" and "furious" when his son told him that he'd given some Tesco-branded tape to Boy A. He'd taken the tape from his father's garden shed and hadn't told him, the court heard.

Boy B was arrested by gardai and questioned on May 24 and May 25, and Boy B's dad said he learned his son had been in the abandoned house.

He said he asked his son why he didn't tell the full story at the beginning. He said his son told him he couldn't believe it, and secondly he didn't respect him and didn't want to share his truths with him.

The witness said he asked Boy B why he had not come to him. His dad said Boy B told him he was afraid of Boy A as he had "lots of power".

The dad also said Boy B told him that he couldn't believe Boy A had done it until they found Ana's body.

He said his son was "scared" and "shocked" and told him he had run away when he saw Boy A attacking Ana.

The dad said Boy B told him he saw Boy A "making a judo or wrestling move" to Ana and throw her on the floor. Boy A then tried to pull her bra with one hand while the other hand was trying to suffocate her.

He said his son told him that Boy A turned his head to the door and saw Boy B, and that's when he ran.

Mr Grehan asked Boy B's dad if he had questioned his son about why he had lied to gardai.

His father said his son told him he was "panicking".

He said his son did not share his "truth" with him because he did not have much trust in him, and did not want to make him angry.

"I believe he was very confused", his father said.

In cross examination, Boy B's father told defence lawyer Damien Colgan SC, for Boy B, that his son was "very naïve", "very immature" and was "hungry for friendship".

Boy B also "tended to believe what his friends were saying", his dad said.

Lawyers for the two boys then made a number of formal admissions, including that the scene was properly designated a crime scene and properly preserved.

Mr Colgan and Patrick Gageby SC, for Boy A, also admitted that all the exhibits in the case were kept securely and there was no issue with the chain of evidence.

There was no issue with the arrest and detention of the two accused, nor was there an issue with obtaining DNA swabs.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of eight men and four women.