A man serving a life sentence for the murder of a teenage boy who went missing while in State care has lost an appeal against his conviction.

It has been five years since Richard Dekker, formerly of Whitestown Avenue in Dublin, was found guilty of murdering Daniel McAnaspie.

The 17-year-old’s remains were found in a field in County Meath in 2010 – three months after he went missing while under the care of the HSE.

The jury heard Richard Dekker and his friend lured him to an isolated area along the River Tolka where he was stabbed to death with a garden shears.

Dekker is serving a life sentence for murder, while his friend, Trevor Noone, was jailed for manslaughter.

A significant piece of the case against Dekker related to what he said to Gardaí after his arrest, particularly after he was shown his friend’s statement which laid all the blame on him.

Dekker claimed he wasn’t given reasonable access to his solicitor and had no legal advice when told that saying nothing would cost him.

In ruling against him today, the judges were satisfied that he was made aware of his right to silence.

In the end, they agreed with the trial judge that what he said was said on a voluntary basis before dismissing the appeal.

Main image is a split-screen of Daniel McAnaspie’s funeral and the CCJ in Dublin.