Latest news with #Puska
Irish Daily Mirror
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Daily Mirror
'Ashling Murphy's partner had every right to ask why Puska was let into Ireland'
The murder of teacher Ashling Murphy while out jogging was one of the worst crimes ever committed in this country. Her killer Jozef Puska was an immigrant from another EU country, Slovakia. He did little or no work here and sponged off our social welfare system by being paid disability benefit every week. He wasn't fit to work apparently, but he was fit to kill. Puska spent the day in the hours before he stabbed Ashling 11 times in the neck stalking other women in Tullamore, Co Offaly. Why you and I - who work our butts off all our lives - have to finance a scumbag like him and others like him is one of the great mysteries of our time. Does our Department of Social Protection not have inspectors to check out these scroungers and to make them earn their keep? When Ashling's heartbroken boyfriend, Ryan Casey, expressed similar views like I've just written, after Puska was found guilty and jailed for life, he was accused on the BBC of having far-right views. It was a typical response from left-wing liberal lovies who think they know best in this country and who believe we should welcome every Tom, Dick or Harry into Ireland even when they have a criminal record - like Puska had. He was a convicted sex offender in his homeland for having sex with an underage girl, and if that was not a warning sign about him then God knows what is. Ryan Casey had every right to give his opinions on his fiancee's killer in his victim impact statement and question why he was ever let into Ireland in the first place. The BBC had to pay Ryan damages a few weeks ago after they settled a libel action with him for the right-wing accusation. I was glad to see Ryan setting the record straight in an interview with the brilliant Paul Healy in The Irish Mirror last week. He again emphasised he is not far-right and neither am I. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week But we both have every right to question why the likes of Puska was let into Ireland when he had a criminal record in the first place. Successive Irish Governments have been too soft on immigration for far too long, especially in dealing with both EU and non-EU immigrants who have a criminal record. Anyone from any other country - whether it be Britain, Poland, Ukraine, Brazil or South Africa - should not be let in here if they have a criminal record. Our new Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan is cracking down on it and there needs to be a purge. We have enough bad guys of our own without importing any from abroad. These foreign criminals should all be rounded up and sent home. I am all for people coming in, living and working here once they go through the proper visa process. Ryan's other big issue is the previous Government and specifically Helen McEntee's promise to give our judges the power to impose minimum sentences on evil killers like Puska. He got a life sentence for murdering Ashling but life here can mean anything from 20 to 25 years jail. The judges should have the authority to bang them up for 40 years if necessary, depending on the severity of their ghastly crimes. The power to impose minimum sentences for whatever reason has not happened yet and Mr O Callaghan needs to make it a top priority. Ryan, like the rest of us, would hate to ever see Jozef Puska back on the streets when poor Ashling is never coming back. He who lives by the sword, should die by it. If I had my way, Puska would die in an Irish jail for what he did to that beautiful young woman. He should never be freed from prison.
Irish Daily Mirror
12-07-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
'He is evil' - Jozef Puska grinned at Ashling Murphy's boyfriend during trial
The boyfriend of murder victim Ashling Murphy has revealed how he had to restrain himself in court as her 'evil' killer Jozef Puska locked eyes with him and smiled. In the second part of our exclusive interview an emotional Ryan Casey told of how remorseless murderer Puska stared and smirked at him and the family throughout his November 2023 trial. 'You just watched this before your eyes and you think this guy's pure evil. And he is evil. I firmly believe it. I made eye contact with him the first day we came in and I never saw such evil in anyone's eyes in my life. Those grey eyes,' Ryan said. 'He'd look over at us, he'd make eye contact and he'd grin his little teeth. Just nasty little things. Not an ounce of remorse. Unless you're in the courtroom you don't see that I suppose.' Brave Ryan, who spoke exclusively to the podcast, 'Shattered Lives,' told how he found himself having to leave the courtroom on several occasions - as he couldn't contain his anger over Puska's brazen arrogance. Watch the full interview below 'To sit there and look at a guy like that for six weeks knowing what he's done to your partner. Don't get me wrong there were a couple of times, you probably saw it, where I had to get out of there. I'll be honest with you, me and my Dad, we had to get out of there. We didn't trust ourselves,' he revealed. 'We didn't want to jeopardise what the gardai had worked so hard to put together, what was a very strong and robust case. I'd be lying to you and everyone if I was to sit here and say I was able to keep things under control. It was very hard. Especially when he's so close.' Ryan opened up about having to sit through the most harrowing evidence of the six week trial - with the jury and family members having to hear of how Puska stalked Ashling as she went for her run along Grand Canal Way in Cappincur, just outside of Tullamore, Co Offaly on January 12, 2022. They heard graphic evidence of how the psychotic killer knifed Ashling 11 times in the neck in broad daylight - and saw shocking CCTV of him stalking multiple women on his bike ahead of the killing. 'Looking back at it now, we actually went into court and the immediate aftermath of it not prepared for what we were about to sit through,' Ryan told us. 'There's another element to it too, that took a lot of us off guard - how the human element of it was removed. It was very factually based and evidence based. A lot of the human side of it was taken out of the question. That was one thing that was hard to accept at the beginning. It was just very matter of fact and it's cold. It's tough to sit through that for six weeks,' he said. And he told us why it was important for him and the rest of the family - including Ashling's parents, sister and brother, to be there for the entire trial. 'I guess it was important for a sense to bring some sort of humanity into the courtroom. We wanted to be there and represent the person they're discussing. I think it's important, you know, to find that inner strength and to sit there. You know to be there and show to him (Puska) who's sitting five or six metres away from you, we ain't going anywhere. We know exactly what you done to her. A lot of it was about defiance but God damn it was tough to listen to.' Ryan told us he was 'definitely not prepared' to hear the horrific details of the murder itself, but he says he found the strength to be there for Ashling. 'I was definitely not prepared for that part. That was tough. It was just one of those things. It just felt like you had to be there for it. And I don't know, you have to dig deep and show a bit of defiance. Show him and his family members who sat down the back and supported him, how the hell can ye guys support him and what he's done. You want to sit through this and support him after this?" Ryan also spoke about having to sit through Puska taking the witness stand - where he provided an 11th hour new story in which he sensationally claimed he interrupted the real killer - and tried to 'help' Ashling. 'It was embarrassing and it was just downright disgraceful that he thought he could even spin something the way in which he tried to spin it and it just sums him up in my opinion - to drag a family through that knowing what he's done and to try and spin a ludicrous story like he tried to pull. It's crazy stuff,' Ryan said. 'It was infuriating. It was so disrespectful and it just sums him up. Anyone that sat in that courtroom knew, not even, it didn't even have to go past a week, a lot of people knew. In my mind I wasn't afraid that he wouldn't get the verdict we were looking for. (But) verdicts and justice are two different things I suppose. How do you get justice for that really? There's no real justice in a case like this." Puska is now serving a life sentence in the Midlands Prison - and for Ryan, he hopes he stays there - though he has considered if he'd prefer he'd been deported back to Slovakia. 'There's part of me that thinks keep your enemies close and keep him here under our supervision. Then you see the cost to the State,' he said. Asked if he had any message for Puska or for the family members who stood by him throughout his trial Ryan said: 'I've nothing to say to them. He was just a good for nothing low life who had nothing going on for himself and what he done that day and why he done it I don't know. I don't think we'll ever know. He's just a good for nothing coward really. And I'm not afraid to say it, the family that stood by and supported him and continues to support him, what are they made of? 'If and when the time comes, who knows what the future has in store for us all, I just know if I had a child some day and they came to me and said I've committed such a crime - I'd be the first person to drag you to the garda station, sit you down there and say I never want to see you again if you done what you said you done. How can they support that? 'They sat through that trial as well after listening to all the evidence as well. Come on. Is that what you really want in our society too?' This month it also emerged that two of Jozef Puska's brothers who were convicted in connection with their actions following the murder, will not be appealing their convictions. Lubomir Puska Jr, 38, and Marek Puska, 36, along with their wives Viera Gaziova, 40, and Jozefina Grundzova, 32, are all set to be sentenced in October after a jury accepted the prosecution's case that the brothers misled gardaí by failing to disclose crucial and vital information when they gave witness statements, while their wives burned Jozef's clothes to impede his arrest or prosecution. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week Meanwhile Jozef Puska's wife Lucia Istokova, 36, had pleaded guilty to withholding information from gardaí investigating the murder. But Ryan says he does not ultimately care that the brothers are not appealing - and says the family members were convicted thanks to overwhelming evidence. 'They've been found guilty so to be honest with you I don't care what they do. The evidence was there and it was cut and dry. I don't think there's anything wrong with me discussing this. They tried to conceal it. They've been found guilty of that. Is that really the people we want walking around our streets?' he said. The heartbroken young man also opened up about how he wants Ashling - who was a talented musician and beloved teacher, to be remembered. 'I want her to be remembered as a person who embodied everything that's good about Ireland. She was interested in culture and the arts, was a very talented musician and she loved giving back to her community. A very loving person, very caring person, very unselfish person," he said. "She would always go out of her way, would always put herself last. Never liked the spotlight. Just a very giving loving nurturing person. Loved her family, she loved children. She'd work all week. She'd come home, she'd teach Friday night and then she'd teach all day Saturday from nine to seven in the evening. "That was her way of giving back but she also did it because she loved kids."
Irish Daily Mirror
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Daily Mirror
'I'm not far-right' - Boyfriend of murdered Ashling Murphy speaks for first time
The boyfriend of murder victim Ashling Murphy today insists 'I'm not far right and I didn't incite violence.' Ryan Casey, (27), feels he has been censored and silenced ever since having to take a defamation case against the BBC over comments that were made about his victim impact statement on their programme 'The View' by journalist Kitty Holland back in 2023. Speaking now for the first time after settling his case against the broadcaster, Ryan opened up about: Being labelled as 'far right' and having his powerful victim impact statement delivered in court in November 2022 be censored by and misinterpreted by others. Ryan said he felt he needed to take the case against the BBC after comments made by Ms Holland asserting that aspects of his victim impact statement, read out in court during Puska's sentencing in November 2022, were 'not good' and were 'incitement to hatred". Speaking from his family home in an exclusive Shattered Lives podcast, Ryan told us: 'I don't think there's a word of it that is incitement to hatred or appealing to any of this far right stuff that everyone likes to call everyone nowadays that has an opposing opinion or any concerns about the safety of the country and stuff.' He also stated that he was rejecting any notion that his statement - directed at Puska, who came to this country in 2013, never worked and lived off the State - in stark contrast to Ashling, was in any way 'anti immigrant.' 'If it [the victim impact statement] led anyone to believe that I was anti-immigration, like shame on you, because read the whole statement and you clearly know that I'm not I'm not anti immigration at all. Immigration for this country has been an amazing thing,' he said. 'This is what the problem is, the labelling and just the thought that someone from those two words might think I'm anti-immigration. It is what it is and I have no problem in saying I stand over that statement today even more so than ever before." The brave young man, who says he feels he has been 'muzzled' for the past three years amid the defamation case, says he now wants to take back his story and speak out. And one major issue Ryan says he now wants to reveal is what he says was a private meeting he had with then Minister of Justice Helen McEntee in early 2022, where he says she promised him that legislation giving powers to Judges to hand down minimum prison terms to ruthless killers, would be in place before Puska was convicted. However, the legislation has still not been enacted - and Ryan says he feels let down by her and the Justice system - as he now faces the prospect of the psychopathic killer being released in his lifetime. Even at the time of Puska's sentencing, presiding Judge Tony Hunt expressed his frustration that his hands were tied on the issue, stating it was 'long past time that Judges have some say in setting what the minimum terms should be.' The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week 'We were promised this in early 2022. She [Helen McEntee] said it right to us, right to me, to the Murphys. She literally said we will have this in place by the time if he's been convicted he will see the full force of the law in this country. I'm talking a month or two after it happened initially. It was said to us in the Murphy's sitting room,' Ryan said. And Ryan spoke of the terrifying fact that Puska could be released by the time he is in his 40s. 'The average has come up a little bit in recent years but the average is 21 years. That's crazy. That's not life. I know our prisons are places of reform but there has to be categories to it,' he said. 'It has to depend on the nature of the crime, like this is crazy stuff, 21 years time. I'm only 27. That guy, given our current system, is going to be out and I'm going to be touching late 40s. 'It's all talk and very little action. I'm not a politician, I'm not a barrister or a State legislator but how is that a hard piece of legislation to pass and bring in and run through the Dail? 'I don't think anyone would have any argument with it,' he said. Asked if he felt let down by Helen McEntee and the government Ryan said: 'Yeah absolutely. We all do. The justice system let us down. When you're promised the change will come in the time before that trial, don't make that promise if you can't meet it. 'That's infuriating to know that he was sentenced then to life and for Tony Hunt to make those comments. It's even more infuriating because it just highlights the fact that they didn't even try. They done nothing. And it can't be done retrospectively.' The Irish Mirror contacted Ms McEntee about Ryan's claims and she did not respond - while a spokesperson for her current Department of Housing said we should refer our query to the Department of Justice - which is now headed by Jim O'Callaghan. The Department of Justice did not return a comment before this article went to print. And Ryan believes remorseless Puska, who knifed Ashling 11 times in the neck in a horrific broad daylight attack, should die behind bars. 'He should never see the light of day. That's what I think. That's why, you know going back to the victim impact statement, we were told these were very important documents as well in those 21 years time, if he ever gets a chance to be up for review for release. It's ridiculous to even contemplate but these documents would be hugely instrumental for a parole board to look and say, 'Jesus no we can't let this guy out'. 'That's why we also felt the need to put our heart on our sleeves to ensure this guy never sees the light of day again. If the Justice system can't do it, maybe we can.' He also revealed that those powerful victim impact statements were never in his mind intended for public consumption. 'It wasn't a public statement. It was a statement for the court record, and to the Judge and Jozef Puska. We didn't want the media in the room. We were requesting this and we were told no, the media have the right to be in the room. Look it, I don't regret wearing my heart on my sleeve. Some things you wish didn't happen but I did the right thing.' Asked about the day Puska is released and if he fears that moment Ryan told us: 'Do I fear it? Personally? I don't know, I think he's the one that should be afraid if he's ever released. That's my feeling on it. I think it's in his best interest if he stays where he is." He also spoke of his infuriation that Puska, now housed in the Midlands Prison, is being taught English at the expense of the taxpayer. 'To the tune of about €1,250 per prisoner to get an English lesson. I looked into it and I found it out. He would have been better off maybe learning English when he got here. It might have helped him get a job. Like I said I'm all for reform but there has to be levels to it. 'Like why are we as the taxpayer funding a guy that committed such an atrocity, to learn English. God damn it, what are we like? We're so soft.' The heartbroken young man also opened up about the harrowing moment he received a call to be told something awful had happened to the love of his life on the afternoon of January 12, 2022. He last spoke to Ashling in person on January 10 - a stark memory now etched in his brain after they decided not to touch one another due to Covid restrictions at the time. 'I met her two days beforehand. It would have been the last time I saw her. We had Covid in the house at the time. I didn't have it but we were isolating. And she had done the shopping for us on the 10th, so we couldn't go anywhere. She brought in the shopping and she left it at the doorstep and I brought it in. There was a moment. She was just about to sit into her car and we kind of latched eyes for a second. I can't even describe it. In the aftermath I thought about it a lot. 'Huge regret around that moment obviously. Why didn't I just say feck the restrictions, who cares. 'Why didn't I just hold her.' They stayed chatting over the phone the next day, Ryan said, and were texting on the morning before Ashling went for her run. "We said our goodnights I suppose on the 11th, a little bit past midnight into the early hours of the 12th. I still have those text messages. That would have been the last time I spoke to her. Ashling had gone running on the 11th, and considered her run along Grand Canal Way - a busy and popular spot, to be safe. 'This is the thing that's most killing about it. She done nothing wrong,' Ryan said. "She ran in an area and every now and then I go down there myself and do the walk. There's just always a flurry of people walking around and I just wonder - why? 'It's always busy, this is the thing. It goes back to the realisation for me that you know what, it's not the country we grew up in anymore if we can't even go for a walk after a day's work on a bright January day. Was there concerns? No. I know her Mam Kathleen had concerns and told her not to be going down there but that's what any mother would have, those concerns." Ryan revealed how he felt something was up by the evening of the 12th - and he felt compelled to call Ashling. 'Something got into me on the 12th. It got to maybe five o'clock, maybe half five. Something inside of me just said you know what I'm sick of these frustrations, I don't care and so I rang her. I would have text her maybe two, three o'clock. She would have been just finishing school. 'I would have text her I said feck these restrictions, I'm sick of not being able to see you, lets go for a McDonald's or something. I got no response for a couple of hours, which would be unusual. I tried to ring her again, I got no answer. A couple of hours went by and I think I rang Ray (Ashling's father). Ray didn't answer either. Ray eventually I suppose rang back and he didn't tell me initially. He was just distraught and he was telling me 'you need to come over.' 'I thought maybe it was a car crash or something. I remember I just ran up the hallway, up to my Dad and I think we were just in fight or flight mode. I never thought it was anything that serious. Dad drove me over and I remember being on the way over with rattles and shakes. I just got to the house, cars everywhere and that's when you got a sick feeling, you know? 'One of her cousins came out to me and just hugged me and I think I was just hysterical to be honest. At that stage I knew what the hell's going on. No one would tell me obviously. Then I was brought into the front room and they told me then. I don't remember much after that." It was some time before Ryan would learn the full harrowing facts - that Puska stalked Ashling and attacked her at random - stabbing her multiple times. 'I definitely didn't know the extent of it. We just knew that she was attacked by someone. We just had each other. There's no tools to help you process that,' he said. 'You're just in shock. It's turmoil. Your life is turned upside down.' The next part of the process was even more difficult for Ryan as gardai investigating the murder had to ask him difficult questions. 'I remember being brought out by the guards and obviously they have to ask their questions as far as the initial investigation. They're asking you questions for obvious reasons. But at the time that was tough. Last contact, all that sort of stuff. They were just doing their jobs I suppose." IN SATURDAY'S MIRROR - Ryan speaks about facing Puska in court, his political ambitions and more.
RTÉ News
03-07-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Ashling Murphy's boyfriend Ryan Casey settles BBC defamation case
The partner of murdered school teacher Ashling Murphy has settled his High Court claim for defamation against the BBC. Ryan Casey, 27, sued the organisation following the broadcast of an episode of live political programme The View on 30 November 2023. The programme was broadcast just under two weeks after Mr Casey had delivered a victim impact statement at the sentence hearing of Jozef Puska for the murder of Ms Murphy. Ms Murphy was murdered by Puska on January 12 2022, as she went for a run beside the Grand Canal in Tullamore, Co Offaly. Puska, who is originally from Slovakia, stabbed Ms Murphy 11 times in the neck in a random attack. At his trial he claimed she had been killed by a masked man who had also attacked him. But the jury found him guilty of murder. Puska's brothers Marek and Lubomir Junior were convicted last month of withholding information while his sisters in law Jozefina Grundzova and Viera Gaziova were found guilty of burning his clothes after the murder. Puska's wife Lucia Istokova pleaded guilty to withholding information. In a statement read to the court this morning, the BBC said it stood by the journalism involved in the episode in question, which it said debated serious issues of public interest. It said however that it was happy to clarify that it did not consider Mr Casey to be a criminal or a racist or of attempting to incite hatred or someone seeking to pose as a hero of the far right through his Victim Impact Statement. The statement read by Senior Counsel Alan Keating, continued that the BBC acknowledged Mr Casey's personal tragedy. He said the statement clarified any unintentional inferences that could have been drawn from the broadcast and had enabled the BBC and Mr Casey to resolve the matter amicably. Senior Counsel, Ronan Lupton for Mr Casey, said the matter could be struck out by Mr Justice Alex Owens. It is understood Mr Casey has received substantial damages as well as a contribution towards his costs amounting to a six figure sum. In a statement afterwards, Mr Casey said the settlement marked the end of a long and difficult chapter of frustration and censorship. He said it was never about him, but was about truth, fairness and decency. Mr Casey said he took the legal action against the BBC not solely out of anger, but out of a need for accountability and dignity for Ashling, for himself, their families and for all victims, who he said deserved to have their voices heard without such harsh criticism or judgement. He said he hoped it would be a reminder to all media organisations of the high level of responsibility that came with running such public platforms. Mr Casey thanked everyone who had supported him by post, texts phone calls and on social media over the past three-and-a-half years as well as his legal team. He said he was now finally free to use his voice again to honour Ashling, and, he said, advocate for the changes desperately required in this country. He said this included the increased safety measures that were clearly needed and he said he wanted to advocate for a society that listened to its people, "free of gaslighting, blacklisting or censorship". Mr Casey continued that "we all have a lot more in common than what separates us". And he said he wanted everyone to honour Ashling by building a better and safer Ireland. He added "we all know we can do so much better".
Sunday World
01-06-2025
- Sunday World
Evil killer Josef Puska going to prison school ‘courtesy of the Irish taxpayer'
'It is ironic that Puska's victim, Aisling, a teacher by trade can't go to school because he took her life, but yet he can' Evil killer Josef Puska is going to school every day behind bars, we can reveal. The brute who stabbed primary school teacher Aisling Murphy to death in a frenzied attack while she was out jogging, is learning how to read, write and speak English. The 35 year old Slovakian is serving a life sentence for a crime that shocked the nation in the Midlands Prison. Prison sources say he has yet to admit his guilt or give any explanation why he did it. Yet he is now getting an education while in jail courtesy of the Irish taxpayer and it is costing thousands of euros every year. Teacher Ashling Murphy was stabbed to death A prison source said; "It is ironic that Puska's victim, Aisling, a teacher by trade can't go to school because he took her life, but yet he can. "Every day now he goes to school in the Midlands Prison and is learning to speak English, and to read and write in English, among other things. "Most lifers take a prison job - but he didn't. "However that is no surprise since he lived off Irish state handouts for years and hardly ever did a day's work in his life.' The education system in Irish jails is among the best in the world. Inmates can go to school every day and do exams from the Leaving Certificate to a University Degree. Quite often many prisoners who were born into a life of poverty and crime just do basics like learning to read and write. Aisling was killed in Tullamore, Co Offaly while out running on January 12, 2022. Puska had been living with his wife Lucia and their children in a house on the outskirts of the town. He pleaded not guilty even though he had confessed to the murder to the Gardai while recovering in hospital after trying to take his own life. His trial heard he had been cycling around Tullamore stalking other women on the day of the murder before singling out Aisling and stabbing her 11 times in an unprovoked attack. Jozef Puska being led in to Tullamore District Court in January 2022. Photo: PA The jury saw through his denials and convicted him in November, 2023. He has been detained in the Midlands Prison, Portlaoise not far from his home for most of the time since. He has launched an appeal against his conviction and no date has been set for it yet, but the speculation is it will be this Autumn. He claims his "confession" should never have been revealed at his trial in the first place because he was on medication, the painkiller Oxycodone and was recovering from surgery. Puska has been telling fellow inmates that he is confident of winning it and that he will be back on the streets free soon enough. Jozef Puska (centre) when he was charged with the murder of Ashling Murphy The killer is visited by his wife at the jail most weeks and she is firmly standing by him. He is being detained in a landing along with a number of other murderers who are serving life sentences. It is believed he decided to start going to school several months ago and is enjoying it. The prison source said; " He had no interest in doing a prison job like cooking and cleaning so going to school gives him something to do every day instead of dossing around the place. "He had to have a translator after his arrest and during the trial because he said he didn't understand English so maybe he will now understand the English language for his appeal." It currently costs 100,000 euros a year to keep a prisoner locked up in an Irish Jail. The prison source said Puska is likely to serve 30 years because no Independent Parole Board or Justice Minister will want to see him get released early. He added; "This fella is going to cost Irish taxpayers around 3 million euros for what he did, and then we are educating him as well." The Judge at the trial, Mr Justice Hunt, bemoaned the fact that he didn't have the power to impose a minimum jail time Puska must serve for what he did.
