Ana Kriegel verdict: A 'vulnerable, innocent' girl who just wanted a friend
Ana Kriegel met her cruel and brutal death at the hands of bullies who had capitalised on her vulnerability. However, it was far from the first time she had been exploited by her peers.
In her evidence to the Central Criminal Court, Ana’s mother Geraldine described the bullying her "vulnerable" daughter had endured from others in the months before her death.
She and her husband had travelled to Russia to adopt Ana when she was just two and a half.
Ana had been dealt a bad hand - she had very poor hearing in her right ear, having to have a tumour removed leaving her with a "huge" scar as a result of her surgery. She also had poor eyesight.
Her hearing problem, combined with having to learn a new language when she arrived in Ireland, meant that she was behind other children academically. However, she was a tall athletic girl and was a strong swimmer, took part in gymnastics and was a member of a dance group.
“She spent hours in our front room, listening to music, dancing, practising her moves, singing,” Geraldine recalled.
Ana had her own Youtube channel and used to post videos of herself dancing as well as doing more mundane things.
Geraldine told how her daughter was incredibly excited about starting secondary school in September 2017.
“We were hoping she’d make friends in the community,” she said of the decision to send her to the local school. “The resource teacher in the primary school said she was terrified that she was so vulnerable and innocent in her manner that many children might make a mockery of her and tease her.”
“She phoned to raise her concerns, said I should speak to the principal, which I did. We went immediately, the first week of school.”
She said that they had explained that their daughter didn’t mix very well with friends, was a little bit of a loner and could be vulnerable.
Mrs Kriegel said that during the summer, she had been bullied by a group of third year boys, who were sending "awful" messages containing explicit sexual innuendo.
“It was frightening,” she said.
She said they also contained rude comments about Ana's height and being adopted to make her feel small. She explained that because she was extremely tall, she could have passed for an 18-year-old.
“I took her phone and iPad every night and went through her Snapchat. She had to give me her password to let me do this. She knew it was for her protection.”
Geraldine Kriegel described their daughter as "very immature, a child on the inside".
On the outside she looked older and liked to wear makeup, but inside she was far younger than her years.
She explained that she didn't have particular friends, apart from her cousins and another girl adopted from Russia.
“She really wanted to have her own friends,” she said, explaining that she had eventually made a friend.
“That was really special to her. I was really happy for her because she needed that.” However, Ana was very happy at home and loved her family, she said.
