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BreakingNews.ie
07-07-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Jozef Puska's relatives accept verdict and will not appeal conviction, court hears
Jozef Puska's two brothers, who were last month convicted of withholding crucial information about the murder of school teacher Ashling Murphy, and their wives – who burned the killer's bloodstained clothes – now accept the jury's verdict and will not appeal their convictions, the Central Criminal Court has heard. Lubomir Puska Jnr (38) and Marek Puska (36), along with their wives Viera Gaziova (40) and Jozefina Grundzova (32) appeared before the court on Monday, where Ms Justice Caroline Biggs fixed a date of October 7th for sentencing in the case. Advertisement Jozef Puska (35) murdered Ms Murphy (23) on January 12th, 2022, by repeatedly stabbing her in the neck after attacking her while she exercised along the canal towpath outside Tullamore, Co Offaly. He was later convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence. The four family members were found guilty on June 17th this year, after a jury accepted the prosecution's case that Lubomir Jnr and Marek misled gardaí by failing to disclose crucial and vital information when they gave witness statements, while their wives - Gaziova and Grundzova - burned Jozef's clothes to impede his arrest or prosecution. All the defendants had pleaded not guilty to all of the charges during the four-week trial. Lubomir Jnr however, had admitted to gardaí that he lied in his initial statement, while his wife Viera and sister-in-law Jozefina told gardaí that they had burned clothes. At the Central Criminal Court today, Karl Finnegan SC, representing Marek Puska, said his client now accepts the verdict of the jury and will not be appealing the decision. He said Marek has engaged with the Probation Services and has further meetings scheduled in the coming month. Advertisement A barrister representing Lubomir Jnr said her client also accepts the verdict of the jury and is due to meet with the Probation Services on July 9th. Damien Colgan SC, for Gaziova, said it is his understanding that in his client's case, the verdict is also accepted. He said a social worker is now involved under the auspices of another agency. He said this was going to take some time and asked for a sentence date in October. Paul Murray SC, for Grundzova, confirmed his client has met with the Probation Services. He said she also accepts the verdict. A barrister representing Lucia Istokova, Jozef Puska's wife, said her client had pleaded guilty before the commencement of the trial. Advertisement Istokova (36) had admitted to withholding information from gardaí investigating the murder after a pre-trial hearing. Ms Justice Biggs said she would extend legal aid for the purpose of preparing psychological reports for any of the defendants, if this was deemed appropriate by counsel. She said in circumstances where reports were awaited, she could either deal with matters 'in one fell swoop' or in two stages. Mr Murray told the court he thought it would be more expedient to have the matter dealt with in one day. Advertisement Ms Justice Biggs adjourned the matter to October 7th for sentence. She said at that point, she hoped to have probation reports, any potential psychological reports and any other reports that are available. It was the State's case that the two brothers misled gardaí and withheld 'crucial, relevant and significant' information when they gave voluntary interviews in Tullamore two days after Ms Murphy's death. This included information that Jozef Puska returned home on the night of the murder with visible injuries, admitted to killing or seriously injuring a woman with a knife and subsequently travelled to Dublin. All four family members were living with Jozef Puska, his wife Lucia, and 14 children at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly, when the offences occurred in January 2022.
Irish Times
07-07-2025
- Irish Times
Jozef Puska's relatives now accept jury verdict and will not appeal conviction, court hears
Jozef Puska 's two brothers, who were last month convicted of withholding crucial information about the murder of Ashling Murphy , and their wives – who burned the killer's bloodstained clothes – will not appeal their convictions, the Central Criminal Court has heard. Lubomir Puska jnr (38) and Marek Puska (36), along with their wives Viera Gaziova (40) and Jozefina Grundzova (32) appeared before the court on Monday, where Ms Justice Caroline Biggs fixed a date of October 7th for sentencing in the case. Jozef Puska (35) murdered the 23-year-old school teacher on January 12th, 2022, by repeatedly stabbing her in the neck after attacking her while she exercised along the canal towpath outside Tullamore, Co Offaly. He was later convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence. READ MORE The four family members were found guilty on June 17th this year, after a jury accepted the prosecution's case that Lubomir jnr and Marek misled gardaí by failing to disclose crucial and vital information when they gave witness statements, while Gaziova and Grundzova burned Jozef's clothes to impede his arrest or prosecution. All the defendants had pleaded not guilty to all of the charges during the four-week trial. However, Lubomir jnr had admitted to gardaí that he lied in his initial statement, while his wife Viera and sister-in-law Jozefina told investigators that they had burned clothes. At the Central Criminal Court on Monday, Karl Finnegan SC, representing Marek Puska, said his client now accepts the verdict of the jury and will not be appealing the decision. He said Marek has engaged with the Probation Services and has further meetings scheduled in the coming month. Lubomir Puska jnr (35 ) and Viera Gaziona (38) arriving at Central Criminal Court last month. Photograph: Collins Courts A barrister representing Lubomir jnr said her client also accepts the verdict of the jury and is due to meet with the Probation Services on July 9th. Damien Colgan SC, for Gaziova, said it is his understanding that in his client's case, the verdict is also accepted. He said a social worker is now involved under the auspices of another agency. He said this was going to take some time and asked for a sentence date in October. Paul Murray SC, for Grundzova, confirmed his client has met the Probation Services. He said she also accepts the verdict. A barrister representing Lucia Istokova, Jozef Puska's wife, said her client had pleaded guilty before the commencement of the trial. Istokova (36) had admitted to withholding information from gardaí investigating the murder after a pre-trial hearing. Ms Justice Biggs said she would extend legal aid for the purpose of preparing psychological reports for any of the defendants, if this was deemed appropriate by counsel. She said in circumstances where reports were awaited, she could either deal with matters 'in one fell swoop' or in two stages. Mr Murray told the court he thought it would be more expedient to have the matter dealt with in one day. Ms Justice Biggs adjourned the matter to October 7th for sentence. She said at that point, she hoped to have probation reports, any potential psychological reports and any other reports that are available. It was the State's case that the two brothers misled gardaí and withheld 'crucial, relevant and significant' information when they gave voluntary interviews in Tullamore two days after Ms Murphy's death. This included information that Jozef Puska returned home on the night of the murder with visible injuries, admitted to killing or seriously injuring a woman with a knife and subsequently travelled to Dublin. All four family members were living with Jozef Puska, his wife Lucia, and 14 children at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly when the offences occurred in January 2022.
BreakingNews.ie
17-06-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Josef Puska's two brothers and their wives guilty of offences after murder of Ashling Murphy
A jury has convicted Jozef Puska's two brothers of withholding crucial information from gardaí investigating the murder of school teacher Ashling Murphy, while the two men's wives have also been found guilty of burning the killer's bloodstained clothes in an effort to obstruct his prosecution. Jozef Puska (35) murdered Ms Murphy (23) on January 12, 2022, by repeatedly stabbing her in the neck after attacking her while she exercised along the canal towpath outside Tullamore, Co Offaly. He was later convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence. Advertisement Jozefina Grundzova (31) and Marek Puska (34). Photo Collins Courts The Central Criminal Court jury on Tuesday accepted the prosecution's case that Jozef Puska's brothers, Lubomir Jnr (38) and Marek (36) misled gardai by failing to disclose crucial and vital information when they gave witness statements, while their wives - Viera Gaziova (40) and Jozefina Grundzova (32) - burned Jozef's clothes to impede his arrest or prosecution. Lubomir Puska Jnr (35) and Viera Gaziona (38). Photo Collins Courts The 12 jurors unanimously found Josef Puska's brothers guilty, while his sisters-in-law were found guilty by majority verdicts. All four family members were living with Jozef Puska, his wife Lucia, and 14 children at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly when the offences occurred in January 2022. All defendants had pleaded not guilty to all charges. It was the State's case that the two brothers misled gardaí and withheld 'crucial, relevant and significant' information when they gave voluntary interviews in Tullamore two days after Ms Murphy's death. Advertisement This included information that Jozef returned home on the night of the murder with visible injuries, admitted to killing or seriously injuring a woman with a knife and subsequently travelled to Dublin. The 12 jurors at the Central Criminal Court gave their verdict in relation to the two brothers after deliberating for 13 hours and 40 minutes over five days, before returning again to the courtroom 16 minutes later to reveal their decisions on the charges against the wives of the two brothers. Following the four verdicts, presiding judge Ms Justice Caroline Biggs thanked the panel of seven men and five women for their service and excused them from jury service for life. The four family members were remanded on continuing bail until July 7, when their sentence hearings will take place. More to follow.
Irish Times
16-06-2025
- Irish Times
Puska family trial: Jury to continue deliberations tomorrow
A jury will return to the Central Criminal Court tomorrow to consider its verdicts in the trial of family members of Jozef Puska who are charged with offences relating to obstructing his arrest for the murder of schoolteacher Ashling Murphy. The panel of seven men and five women began considering their verdict last Wednesday and have spent a total of 10 hours and five minutes deliberating. At 1.45pm, presiding judge Ms Justice Caroline Biggs told the jurors she would let them go for the day after they had previously asked to cease their deliberations at an earlier time on Monday. They will resume their deliberations at 11.30am tomorrow. READ MORE Jozef Puska (35) murdered Ms Murphy (23) on January 12th, 2022 while she exercised along the canal towpath outside Tullamore, Co Offaly. He was later convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence. His brothers, Lubomir Puska jnr (38) and Marek Puska (36) are charged with withholding information from gardaí. Their wives, Viera Gaziova (40) and Jozefina Grundzova (32) are charged with impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Puska by burning his clothes. All the accused were living with Puska, his wife Lucia, and 14 children at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly when the offences are alleged to have occurred in January 2022. All accused have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Irish Times
13-06-2025
- Irish Times
Jury in trial of Jozef Puska's relatives to resume deliberations on Monday
Jurors in the trial of family members of Jozef Puska, who are charged with offences relating to obstructing his arrest for the murder of schoolteacher Ashling Murphy, have ceased their deliberations for the weekend and will return to the Central Criminal Court on Monday. Jozef Puska murdered Ms Murphy (23) on January 12th, 2022, by repeatedly stabbing her in the neck after attacking her while she exercised along the canal towpath outside Tullamore, Co Offaly. He was later convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence. His brothers, Lubomir Puska Jnr (38) and Marek Puska (36) are charged with withholding information from gardaí. Their wives, Viera Gaziova (40) and Jozefina Grundzova (32) are charged with impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Jozef Puska by burning his clothes. READ MORE All the accused were living with Jozef Puska, his wife Lucia, and 14 children at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly, when the offences are alleged to have occurred in January 2022. All accused have pleaded not guilty to all charges. After originally beginning their deliberations on Wednesday, the jury on Friday returned to court shortly before 12.30pm with three questions. The jurors first asked whether the four accused 'need to know that they are doing something unlawful at the time they do it to be guilty of a crime', to which Ms Justice Caroline Biggs said they did not. The jury then said they understood that protection of Jozef Puska is not a reasonable excuse in and of itself, but asked if the motivation was the protection of the wider family, particularly the children, and protection of Jozef Puska was the means to achieve this, does this qualify as a reasonable excuse. They gave the example of protection from harassment. In response, Ms Justice Biggs said it had already been indicated that the issue of self-incrimination can amount to a reasonable excuse. She said beyond that, the issue of reasonable excuse was entirely a matter for them to decide on the evidence. She said if there was some evidence, it was for the prosecution to disprove it to a standard of beyond reasonable doubt. Ashling Murphy. Photograph: In his closing speech, defence counsel Karl Finnegan SC said that Marek Puska was entitled to remain silent to avoid incriminating himself. Mr Finnegan said there was a real risk that the information his client had could implicate him in an offence of assisting his brother after the murder. Kathleen Leader SC, for Lubomir Jnr, said her client delayed but did not withhold information. She said he had a reasonable excuse for the delay and asked the jury to consider the 'natural sense of protection for his younger brother'. She said it is understandable that Lubomir Jnr was reluctant to accept that his brother had 'committed a truly horrific murder'. The third and final question posed by the jury was whether they should consider only the written statements and other evidence presented or if they could take into account wider circumstances or family dynamics. 'For example, if a person is perceived to be influenced by family dynamics when committing an act, can this be considered a reasonable excuse or is it only relevant to sentence,' they said. Ms Justice Biggs said in relation to that, and in relation to the issue of reasonable excuse, she would go back to what would not be a reasonable excuse, which was the protection of Jozef Puska. Ms Justice Biggs told the jury that they could take into account more than the witness statements and other evidence. 'You can take into account whatever you deem appropriate if it is founded on the evidence or if you can infer it from the evidence,' she said, before warning the jury to be careful not stray 'into the territory of speculation or guesswork'. The 12 jurors originally began considering their verdicts on Wednesday. However, a change was made to the indictment on Thursday and since then the panel has spent seven hours and 18 minutes deliberating. Prosecutor Anne Marie Lawlor SC told the jury in her closing speech earlier this week that Marek and Lubomir Jnr knew what Jozef had done shortly after 9.30pm on the night of the murder because Jozef told Marek. Despite this, Ms Lawlor said Marek and Lubomir Jnr failed to disclose vital information when they spoke to gardaí. Their wives burned Jozef's clothes to impede his arrest or prosecution, she said. In his closing address, Paul Murray SC, for Ms Grundzova, told the jury that when his client burned Puska's clothes, she did not have any of the evidence that would later prove Jozef's guilt. Damien Colgan SC, for Ms Gaziova, told the jury that his client's view at that time was that Jozef had been the victim of an assault.
