Parents: Micheala's death 'heart-wrenching'
The parents of Michaela Davis today said it was their worst fear to "lose a child so full of life".
Brendan and Deirdre Davis said they were desperately trying to come to terms with the killing of their 12-year-old daughter.
Her body was discovered in undergrowth by a man walking along the Royal Canal in west Dublin on Saturday evening.
The grieving couple said their daughter’s death was a “needless, awful tragedy” and insisted the family was always there for one another.
“This is a heart-wrenching situation,” the distraught parents said.
“A young 12-year-old girl who was full of life has been lost. She was very close to her mum, dad and (teenage) brother Brendan. They were always there for one another.”
An 18-year-old male appeared in court in Dublin today charged with her murder.
Jonathan Byrne, from Lohunda Downs in Clonsilla, west Dublin – a few streets from where the dead girl lived – is accused of the killing near the Porterstown Road, a few minutes' walk from her home.
Michaela may have been beaten and strangled, sources have said.
She was last seen after midnight last Saturday when she told her parents she was going out for a few minutes to meet a friend.
Michaela was reported missing at about 2.30am that morning and an extensive search was launched.
She had enjoyed her first day of secondary school at Luttrellstown Community College the previous Thursday and her family revealed she had been given her first homework, due to be handed in tomorrow.
“All Michaela’s friends are heartbroken at the moment and cannot get their heads around this tragedy, no more than the rest of the extended family and friends,” Michaela‘s family said in a statement.
“The needless loss of a young child, the awful tragedy of a girl barely beginning life. This situation is not and never will be about the crime or the perpetrator - it’s about Michaela, and the realisation of a parent’s worst fear to lose a child so full of life.”
Michaela had started at Luttrellstown Community College last week, but was said to have been hanging around with older teenagers and some young adults outside of school.
She was also said to have a mature appearance and looked several years older than she was.
Large areas around the family home remained sealed off for a third consecutive night as the family continued to appeal for privacy and garda forensic officers carried out further searches along the canal.
The young girl’s bike was found separately from her body.
Byrne is due back in court in Dublin at the end of the week for a remand hearing.
Meanwhile, counsellors and psychologists were on hand at the Luttrellstown school to help shocked pupils and teachers come to terms with the girl’s death.
Principal Fionnuala Ní Chaisil said a short service in memory of Michaela was held in the school at lunchtime.
“Everybody is nice and calm and we are helping everyone ... the children are our priority,” she said.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Davis family.”
Staff from the school put in place a critical incident management team and arranged for guidance counsellors and Vocational Education Committee psychological support staff to come to the school.
