Teen boys to be charged with murder following fatal assault in Blanchardstown

Two teenagers accused of attacking Alex Coughlan, who died after being severely injured in Blanchardstown, Dublin, are to be tried for murder.Coughlan (37) was assaulted on Mill Road at around 4.20pm on May 17th last and was found unconscious. He was brought to hospital in a critical condition, but was pronounced dead on May 20th. A postmortem established that he suffered “traumatic” head and neck injuries. Shortly after his death, gardaí charged two boys, aged 17 and 16, in connection with the incident.READ MOREThey were originally accused of causing serious harm to Coughlan at Mill Road and with robbing him of his bank cards and a gold ring valued at €300. Neither accused has indicated a plea. The boys, who cannot be named because they are juveniles, were previously refused bail and remain in the Oberstown Children Detention Campus.The case resumed before Judge Patricia Cronin at the Dublin Children’s Court on Monday. They appeared separately: the younger boy by video-link and the older teen in person. Garda Alan Kernan told the court the 17-year-old’s assault causing harm charge was being withdrawn. It was superseded with a murder charge and the boy “made no reply” when it was put to him on Monday. The robbery charge is to remain.He added that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has directed trial in the Central Criminal Court.The judge told the teenager she could not hear a bail application in a murder case, which must be dealt with by the High Court.He was remanded in custody pending the preparation of a book of evidence. He will appear again next week via video-link. The accused’s mother sat at the back of the courtroom and the judge noted from defence solicitor Darren Gray that she had some English and he had explained the procedures to her. She hugged and kissed the teenager before he was taken back into custody.The 16-year-old co-accused appeared remotely from the detention centre. Garda Shane Costello confirmed to defence solicitor Brian Keenan that the DPP had directed that his client face trial on a murder charge. He was remanded in continuing custody to appear again later this week.Cronin noted that the matter will fall under the juvenile protocol, a measure setting a strict 12-month time limit to complete the trial process from the date of the initial charge.An earlier bail hearing was told that Coughlan had injuries to his neck area, scrapes to his knees and elbows, which corroborated that he was on his knees pleading with his attacker, and he had “no defensive injuries”.He suffered severe bruising and there was evidence of alleged suffocation and choking.Garda Sgt Emma Ryan agreed it was a sustained assault and said footage was available. She described it as a small snippet which was taken from the 16-year-old boy’s phone and “showed the deceased on his knees begging for his life”.The court heard it was an arranged meeting but set up under false pretences for the purpose of committing robbery and extortion offences, and no other motive. Ryan had said Coughlan was walking down the road before the pair blocked him. The court heard the second teenager punched him and he fell. He tried to run but was pursued and received kicks and punches. A witness reported that Coughlan was on his knees “crying and pleading to the two males”.His AIB and Revolut cards were used in local shops minutes later, and the gold ring his father gave him was taken and worn by the younger defendant, it was claimed.Ryan said the 16-year-old accused still had the ring on him at the time of his arrest on May 19th. She said she was concerned that the teenager considered the deceased prey, and his number was saved on the co-accused youth’s phone as ‘Prey 2′.