Schoolboy who tried to kill woman ‘was planning a murder’
A DUBLIN schoolboy who tried to kill a young woman in a pre-planned attack was preparing to carry out a murder when he was arrested.
The 16-year-old yesterday pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of the woman in Dún Laoghaire on December 23 last year.
He met the 25-year-old victim on social media before luring her to a secluded seaside pathway and repeatedly stabbing her in the neck.
The woman, who is of Irish-Asian descent, was “almost decapitated” from the frenzied attack before the teenager fled the scene.
Disturbingly, the juvenile watched from a distance as emergency services arrived at the scene to treat the seriously injured woman, but he did nothing to help.
The Irish Independent can reveal that the Dublin schoolboy was ready to carry out a murder when detectives swooped on his home on Christmas morning.
The raid on the boy’s south Dublin home was carried out as a priority as gardaí had grave concerns that he was planning to murder.
When the house was searched, a shocking kill diary was discovered which sources have said depicted graphic images and descriptions of violent acts.
“The recovery of evidence such as this diary, it was clear that this individual was making efforts to carry out another attack,” a source told the Irish Independent.
“He had already made attempts to contact another victim, and it was clear that the intent was murder.”
It is understood that he wanted to target different people “of certain profiles”, with the first target a person of Asian descent.
When gardaí raided the boy’s home where he lived with his parents, they discovered the attempted murder suspect playing the piano.
“Just two days earlier, he carried
out a particularly violent attack which almost resulted in a loss of life, and there he was playing the piano without a care in the world. Gardaí knew they were dealing with a very dangerous individual,” a senior source explained.
“There could have been more victims in this case.”
The teenager, who was just 15 when he carried out the violent attack on the woman, cannot be named because he is a juvenile.
The extensive investigation by detectives at Dún Laoghaire Garda Station led to more than 100 witnesses being interviewed and hundreds of hours of CCTV footage being examined. The teenager was captured on CCTV close to the scene of the crime as he watched the paramedics treat the woman as she fought for her life.
Gardaí initially charged the schoolboy with assault causing serious harm, but the charge was later upgraded following direction from the Director of Public Prosecutions.
He was arraigned before the Central Criminal Court yesterday where he pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of the woman on December 23, 2017 at Sea Front, Queen’s Road, Dún Laoghaire.
Dressed in a navy jumper and blue jeans, he stood and pleaded guilty to the offence.
His barrister, Patrick Gageby, told the court that the boy was currently detained in Oberstown, and asked for a lengthy period for preparation of a probation report.
Mr Justice Michael White directed the preparation of a Probation Services report.
“For your own benefit, you should cooperate with them. Do you understand?” he asked the accused, to which the youth replied: “Yes”.
The judge also directed preparation of a victim impact statement and that the woman be advised of her right to come to court and give evidence.
He set a sentence date of February 25 next year.
When he was initially charged, Det Garda Treacy told a bail hearing that he believed the boy would be “likely to commit murder if released”.