Teenager pleads guilty to murder of Dublin schoolgirl
A Dublin teenager has pleaded guilty to murdering 12-year-old Michaela Davis in west Dublin last year.
Jonathan Byrne (aged 19), of Lohunda Downs in Clonsilla, admitted murdering the schoolgirl on August 28, 2010 at the playing fields on Porterstown Road, Clonsilla. Michaela’s body was found later that day on a bank of the Royal Canal.
Byrne, dressed in a black suit, stood up to be arraigned at the Central Criminal Court this morning. He also pleaded guilty to two other serious offences against the child on the same occasion.
An uncle of Michaela moved forward and shouted an obscenity at his niece’s killer.
Mr Justice Paul Carney directed that the uncle be apprehended and placed in a cell until he was ready to deal with him.
This uncle and the victim’s family later apologised for the interruption, with the prosecution explaining that emotions were running high. The judge agreed to forget about the incident.
Mr Justice Carney remanded Byrne in custody until December 12 when a small amount of evidence will be heard before he receives the mandatory life sentence.
