Boy charged with Tallaght murder

The accused, who cannot be named for legal reasons, turns 18 on Thursday.

He was remanded into custody at St Patrick’s Institution until October 9, when he will appear at Cloverhill District Court.

Melanie was shot in the head in the indiscriminate attack but gardaí believe she was caught in the crossfire, with her boyfriend, Christy Moran, the target of the botched assassination.

The teenage accused is the second person to be charged with the murder which rocked the Traveller community in the local area and also in north London where Melanie had strong family connections.

Dressed in a grey hooded sweatshirt, the boy looked straight ahead as he heard details of the charge at Tallaght District Court.

Judge Anthony Halpin said he could think of “no graver a charge” than murder.

The teenager is originally from the Tallaght area, but is believed to have moved out of the area since the murder.

Melanie was in a silver Nissan car which was parked in Brookview Avenue on February 7 when a black 4x4 pulled up next to it and shots were fired.

She was shot in the head and subsequently taken to Tallaght Hospital, where she died.

After the shooting, gardaí recovered a shotgun, balaclava and gloves in the Citywest area of Dublin, where the Hyundai vehicle used by the killers was also found.

Keith Hall, 23, from Kilmartin Drive in Tallaght, was charged with murder two weeks after Melanie’s death.

There were angry scenes in the Tallaght courtroom during his hearing in February, with outbursts from many of Melanie’s relatives.

People could be heard saying “Dirty bastard rat” and “May you rot” as Hall was led away.

He was also charged with possession of a double-barrelled sawn-off shotgun with intent to commit an indictable offence.