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Murder of Ashling Murphy

Coordinates: 53°16′43″N 7°28′48″W / 53.27868°N 7.48010°W / 53.27868; -7.48010
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Murder of Ashling Murphy
Murphy on her graduation from Mary Immaculate College, 2021
Date12 January 2022 (2022-01-12)
Time3:21 p.m. (GMT)
LocationTullamore, County Offaly, Ireland
Coordinates53°16′43″N 7°28′48″W / 53.27868°N 7.48010°W / 53.27868; -7.48010
ConvictedJozef Puška
TrialCentral Criminal Court, Dublin, 16 October – 9 November 2023
SentenceLife imprisonment

Ashling Murphy (6 July 1998 – 12 January 2022) was an Irish primary school teacher, traditional Irish musician, and camogie player who was murdered in January 2022 while walking on the towpath of the Grand Canal at Cappincur, outside Tullamore, County Offaly. Her death gave rise to widespread public grief, as well as outrage over violence against women, and tens of thousands of people attended vigils in her memory. The President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, and other Irish government ministers attended her funeral in Mountbolus, County Offaly, on 18 January.

In the days following Murphy's death, the Gardaí (Irish police) questioned 31-year-old Slovak Romani father-of-five Jozef Puška, who was subsequently arrested and charged with her murder. On 9 November 2023, following a three-week trial at Dublin's Central Criminal Court, a jury found Puška guilty by unanimous verdict. The jury heard that he had stabbed Murphy 11 times in the neck, causing her to die from cardio-respiratory arrest following acute blood loss. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. Five other Slovakian nationals—Puška's wife, two of his brothers, and their wives—face charges of withholding information relating to the murder investigation or of impeding an arrest. Their trials will begin at the Central Criminal Court in April 2025.

Murphy's family subsequently established the Ashling Murphy Memorial Fund, a registered charity that supports the traditional Irish arts, culture, and heritage for young people. Her alma mater, Mary Immaculate College, and the Irish National Teachers' Organisation jointly established an educational scholarship in her name. Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann also established memorial scholarships, and the Camogie Association renamed championship trophies in her memory. A permanent memorial has been constructed at the site of her murder.

Murder

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Victim

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Born on 6 July 1998, Ashling Murphy was the youngest of three children; she had an older brother and sister.[1][2] She grew up near Blue Ball, County Offaly, around 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of Tullamore.[3][4][5] From 2011 to 2017, she studied at Sacred Heart School, a girls' Catholic secondary school in Tullamore. She then attended Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, graduating in October 2021 with a Bachelor of Education degree in Primary Teaching.[6] In March 2021, she began working as a substitute teacher at Scoil Naomh Colmcille, a primary school in Durrow, County Offaly. She secured a full-time position at the school, beginning in September 2021, where she taught first-class pupils.[7][8]

Murphy's family all played traditional Irish music; her father performed with The Fureys and played with the band Best Foot Forward.[4][9] Regarded as a talented fiddle player, Murphy performed around the country with the national orchestra of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, featured at traditional music festivals, and gave private music lessons at her family home.[5][10][11] She played camogie for her local Kilcormac–Killoughey GAA club and represented Mary Immaculate College at collegiate level.[12][13] She and her boyfriend Ryan Casey were in a relationship for over five years and had planned to marry.[14]

Attack and death

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On 12 January 2022 at 2:30 p.m., Murphy finished work at Scoil Naomh Colmcille, Durrow, located approximately 8 km (5.0 mi) northwest of Tullamore. She was captured on CCTV at 2:37 p.m. walking to her car, a red SEAT Córdoba,[15] in which she drove via the N52 to the Daingean Road car park, close to the Grand Canal.[16][17] She left the car park on foot, wearing a navy jacket, navy leggings, a Kilcormac–Killoughey GAA camogie top, a white T-shirt, a gray scarf, blue Nike runners, and a pink woolen hat with a brown bobble. She also wore a ring, sunglasses, a gold necklace bearing the name "Ashling", and a Fitbit Versa 3 smartwatch with an activity tracker linked to her smartphone.[18][19][20][21] Geolocation and activity data retrieved from her devices showed that she began walking at 2:51 p.m., heading eastward along the canal in the direction of Digby Bridge. She was last captured on CCTV at 2:55 p.m.[22]

The Grand Canal in Tullamore, near where Murphy was killed.

Geolocation data from Murphy's devices showed that she crossed Digby Bridge at 3:16 p.m. and headed westward back towards the Daingean Road car park.[21] The data showed her walking briskly at a consistent pace of around 6.5 km (4.0 mi) per hour until 3:21 p.m., at which point her forward movement stopped and her activity tracker began recording erratic fluctuations consistent with a violent attack.[23] Her attacker is believed to have overpowered her and dragged her off the towpath into an adjacent steep ditch filled with briars, where he stabbed her repeatedly in the neck with a serrated knife.[24][25] The activity tracker recorded her heart rate decreasing rapidly until 3:27 p.m. and ceased recording a heartbeat at 3:31 p.m.[26]

Two joggers, Jenna Stack and Aoife Marron, also primary school teachers, witnessed the attack. They later testified that they had noticed a mountain bike in a hedge alongside the towpath and heard loud rustling sounds in the ditch beneath. Believing that someone may have fallen off the bike, Marron shouted: "Are you okay? Do you need help?" Stack stepped off the towpath, looked through the hedge into the ditch, and observed a man crouching over a woman and holding her down in the undergrowth. Stack stated that she could not see the woman's upper body but observed her legs kicking vigorously in a scissors-like motion, which she interpreted as a "cry for help".[27] Stack called out to the man "What are you doing?” and he shouted "Get away."[28] Believing that he was attempting to rape the woman, Stack shouted at him to "Get off her" and said she was calling the Gardaí. Stack and Marron then ran for help, as neither was carrying a phone.[29][30]

At Digby Bridge, Stack and Marron encountered two cyclists and two Waterways Ireland workers.[31] The cyclists rode to the location indicated by the women.[19] One of the cyclists noticed the mountain bike in the hedge and discovered Murphy's motionless body on her back in the adjacent ditch, her face covered with matted hair and blood.[16] The Waterways Ireland workers went to the scene on foot. One of the workers later testified that Murphy's hand was "snow white," which he took as an indication she was already dead.[31]

Response by emergency services

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The cyclist who had discovered Murphy's body phoned Tullamore Garda Station at 3:34 p.m.[32] Two Gardaí arrived at the scene ten minutes later.[19][33] A Garda entered the ditch wearing disposable gloves, unzipped Murphy's jacket, and began performing CPR on her. He and his Garda colleague alternated performing CPR for over ten minutes,[33][34] during which time a number of Garda detectives arrived.[25][19] Paramedic Paul McCabe and a colleague reached the scene at 3:56 p.m.[35] The paramedics and Gardaí moved Murphy's body out of the ditch and onto the canal towpath, to facilitate attempts at resuscitation. McCabe later testified that he observed a substantial number of wounds on the right side of Murphy's neck as she was being moved.[35][22]

McCabe attempted to use a defibrillator after Murphy's body had been placed on the towpath, but a monitor showed that she was in a "non-shockable rhythm" with "no signs of life." From his analysis of her condition‍—  she had no pulse, had pale and cold skin, and had dilated and fixed pupils‍—  McCabe concluded that she had already died. After a discussion with the other paramedic and the Gardaí, he decided to cease resuscitation efforts and covered her body with a blanket.[36][22][35] The area was declared a crime scene at 5:34 p.m.[19] Murphy's brother identified her body, and a doctor officially pronounced her dead at 5:51 p.m.[37] Members of the Garda Technical Bureau arrived at 7:08 p.m.[19]

Murphy's body was removed to the Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore, where a state pathologist, Dr. Sally Anne Collis, carried out a postmortem examination the following day, January 13.[38] Collis reported examining a 1.61 metre (5 feet 3 inch) tall female, weighing 52.7 kilograms (116 lb),[31] who had sustained 11 stab wounds to the right side of her neck, which had severed her left and right jugular veins and her right carotid artery.[25] The stab wounds had also damaged her voice box, which would have left her unable to speak or make any intelligible sound.[25][39] Collis additionally noted a longer incised wound across Murphy's neck.[25] Although the media initially reported that Murphy had died from strangulation,[40] Collis confirmed that she died from cardio-respiratory arrest following acute blood loss.[19][41] Collis noted that Murphy had suffered defensive injuries to her hands as well as additional abrasions and bruises to her body.[39][19]

Public reactions

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People across Ireland responded with shock and grief to the news of Murphy's murder.[11] In Tullamore, thousands of mourners attended a vigil in a local park, many carrying flowers and candles.[42] Numerous other vigils took place throughout the country, in locations including Dublin, Galway, Belfast, Limerick, Cork, Waterford, Kilkenny, Navan, Maynooth, Drogheda, Sligo, Ballina, Derry, Omagh, and Armagh.[43][44] Murphy's family attended a candlelit vigil near the murder scene, where her father and his Best Foot Forward bandmates played her favourite song, "When You Were Sweet Sixteen."[44][45] Vigils were also held internationally in cities including London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Melbourne, Brisbane, Dubai, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.[46][47] Tens of thousands of people attended vigils throughout Ireland and abroad.[48] The President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, expressed his "profound sympathy and sorrow and sense of loss" and paid tribute to Murphy's "short but brilliant and generous life."[49] The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, said "the entire country is devastated and shocked by the violent and barbaric killing" and said the murder had "united the nation in solidarity and revulsion."[50][51]

Murphy's killing gave rise to widespread anger and outrage over women's safety.[52] Women posted their experiences of gender-related violence and misogyny on social media following Murphy's death, leading to intense online debates.[53] Calling the killing "every woman and family's worst nightmare", the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, promised a zero tolerance approach to violence against women.[54][55] She pledged to introduce new laws making stalking and non-fatal strangulation standalone offences under Irish law, to increase state funding for women’s shelters, and to adopt other measures to keep women safe.[52][56] The director of the National Women's Council of Ireland later called the murder a "watershed moment", stating: "Women really felt this was a point of no return."[57] Murphy's death accelerated the implementation of a €363 million, five-year government strategy to address domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence.[57][55][58]

Funeral

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Murphy's wake was held at her family home near Blue Ball on 16 and 17 January.[59] Her Requiem Mass took place at 11:00 a.m. on 18 January at St. Brigid's Church, Mountbolus, County Offaly, with burial afterwards in Lowertown Cemetery, Mountbolus.[60] Large crowds gathered in the village and outside the church.[61] Public figures in attendance included the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, the Minister for Education, Norma Foley, and the Minister for the Arts, Catherine Martin.[62] Schools and colleges around the country observed a minute's silence at 11:00 a.m. in her memory.[63] Her former pupils from Scoil Naomh Colmcille formed a guard of honour outside the church, each holding a photograph of her and a red rose.[64] The Kilcormac–Killoughey GAA senior camogie team also formed a guard of honour, while musicians who had been friends or colleagues of Murphy played traditional Irish music at the Mass and at her graveside.[65] The Requiem Mass was streamed to the local community centre and to a large screen at the local GAA pitch; it was also streamed over the Internet.[66][67]

At the Requiem Mass, Murphy's cousins did readings and said prayers of the faithful. Her godparents brought to the altar items to symbolise her life, including a musical instrument, a camogie stick and Kilcormac–Killoughey GAA jersey, a family photo, and a schoolbook.[66][68] Calling Murphy "a woman who lived the short years given to her to the full, who developed her talents, who reached out to others, who made a difference, who brought happiness and who was loved", Bishop Tom Deenihan of Meath called her death "a depraved act of violence" but said it had "united the country in grief and support.”[66] In his homily, local parish priest Fr. Michael Meade said: "Together we grieve, we pray, we hurt—this is the heavy price we pay for love." He told Murphy's family that they had "been robbed of [their] most precious gift."[66][64] At her graveside, her boyfriend Ryan Casey called her "the greatest love of my life" and said "she will always be my soulmate".[68][69] During their royal visit to Ireland in March 2022, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall met with Murphy's family and boyfriend to express their condolences.[70]

Commemorations

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In January 2023, shortly before the first anniversary of her death, Murphy's family established the Ashling Murphy Memorial Fund, a registered charity that supports the traditional Irish arts, culture, and heritage for young people.[71] Mary Immaculate College and the Irish National Teachers' Organisation jointly established the Ashling Murphy Memorial Entrance Scholarship, awarded annually to a first-year Bachelor of Education student who exhibits exceptional achievement and talent in traditional Irish music.[8][72] Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann established three scholarships in Murphy's memory, one to support artists working in traditional arts, another to support musical education for young people, and a third to support research into Irish traditional arts.[8] The Camogie Association renamed its collegiate Division 5 cup the Ashling Murphy Cup as "a celebration of Ashling’s life, her achievements and the sport she played and loved."[73] Offaly Camogie renamed its Division 1 cup the Ashling Murphy Memorial Cup.[74] A permanent memorial to Murphy has been constructed on the canal bank at Cappincur, at the site of her killing.[75]

Investigation and arrest

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Following Murphy's murder, Gardaí established an incident room at Tullamore Garda Station. Over 50 Gardaí were assigned to the investigation,[76] which was jointly headed by Detective Superintendent Pat O'Callaghan and Detective Inspector Brian Farrell.[77] Gardaí held a press conference at which they appealed for information, stating that they would leave no stone unturned in bringing the perpetrator to justice.[78] The initial suspect was a 40-year-old man,[79][80] who was detained two hours after the murder based partly on descriptions given by an eyewitness,[39][81] but who was released the next day after Gardaí eliminated him from their investigation.[82] The man spoke to the Irish Independent on 15 January, recounting his experience of being interrogated by Gardaí and describing the online threats he had received since his arrest.[83]

The day after the murder, Gardaí identified another potential suspect. On the late morning of 13 January, Gardaí and paramedics were called to an apartment in Crumlin, Dublin, where a Slovakian national told them that he had been stabbed the previous day in Blanchardstown.[84] The man had three stab wounds to his abdomen that were not fresh and not bleeding; he also had numerous scratches on his face and arms.[82] Paramedics took him to St. James's Hospital, Dublin, for further treatment.[36][85] Gardaí who had been investigating a double stabbing incident in Blanchardstown interviewed the man at the hospital that afternoon, initially regarding him as a potential third victim in that attack.[84][86] In that interview, the man claimed that a friend had driven him the previous day from Tullamore to Dublin's Heuston Station. He claimed that he had taken a taxi to Blanchardstown, saying he had arranged to meet a woman for a date, but claimed that two men had attacked him and stabbed him.[84] He claimed that the scratches on his face, head, and arms had come from being dragged on the ground during the alleged assault.[87]

Gardaí believed that the scratches on the man's arms and face‍—  which they observed were consistent with having crawled through thick briars —  were at odds with his story about an assault in Blanchardstown.[88] They also noted inconsistencies in his accounts of his movements the previous day.[15] Upon returning to Blanchardstown Garda Station, the Gardaí reported the interview to Detective Inspector Shane McCartan, who concluded that "There were a lot of pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that just couldn’t be put together, that just did not add up."[89] Given that the man had travelled from Tullamore on the day of Murphy's murder, McCartan contacted colleagues at Tullamore Garda Station. After comparing notes, the Gardaí began regarding the man as a potential murder suspect. Two Garda detectives from Tullamore were sent to St. James's Hospital to interview him.[90][15][88]

The man underwent surgery for his injuries on the night of 13 January, and the detectives were unable to speak with him until the following day.[91] A Dublin Garda obtained a search warrant and joined the two detectives from Tullamore as they interviewed the man in a private room at St. James's Hospital on the evening of 14 January, with a Slovakian interpreter translating via speakerphone.[92][89] When one of the detectives informed the man that he was a person of interest in relation to Murphy's murder, he confessed to killing her, asking the interpreter to tell the detective "exactly what I tell you, that I did it, that I killed her but to tell him also that I did not do it intentionally, that I didn’t want to do it and that I’m very sorry I did it, that it happened."[15][93] The Gardaí cautioned the man that was not required to say anything, and offered to supply a solicitor, but he told them that he was confessing because he did not want anything bad to happen to his family.[89][93] One Garda wrote a note recording that the man had said: “I did it. I murdered. I am the murderer.” Upset and crying, the man signed the note.[15] Putting a finger to his lips, he told another Garda that he had asked Murphy to be quiet, and said, in English: "I tell her go, I won’t hurt you, when she pass, I cut her neck, she panic, I panic."[15] The admission that he had cut Murphy's neck disclosed details of her death that were not then public knowledge, as the media had initially reported that Murphy died from strangulation.[32] The man also admitted that the stab wounds to his abdomen had been self-inflicted.[15]

Gardaí searched two properties, one outside Tullamore and another in Dublin,[94][95] and seized two cars.[96][97] They obtained CCTV footage connecting the suspect to a distinctive black and green Falcon Storm mountain bike found at the crime scene and sought further information from the public about the bike.[95][94] They appealed to members of the public to come forward if they had witnessed a man in the Tullamore area on 12 January wearing a black tracksuit with a large white stripe or white writing on the bottoms.[98] Anyone who had visited the area around Digby Bridge on the morning or afternoon of the murder was requested to contact Gardaí.[99]

The suspect was discharged from St. James's Hospital at 10:31 a.m. on 18 January and immediately arrested. Gardaí took him to Tullamore Garda Station, where they obtained fingerprints, DNA samples, and blood samples before holding him at the station overnight.[100][101][48] At 7:42 p.m. on 19 January, Gardaí charged the man with Murphy's murder and identified him publicly as 31-year-old Jozef Puška with an address in the village of Mucklagh, around 5 km (3.1 mi) southwest of Tullamore.[61] The same evening, Gardaí brought Puška before a special sitting of Tullamore District Court. An angry crowd of around 300 people gathered outside the courthouse and shouted obscenities at Puška as Gardaí escorted him to and from the building. Members of Murphy's family appeared in court and held up framed pictures of her.[102][103][61] At the brief hearing, Gardaí gave evidence of the charges and a defence solicitor made applications for legal aid and for the services of an interpreter. The defence solicitor also provided a statement of means, showing that Puška was receiving around €200 per week in social welfare payments. Judge Catherine Staines remanded Puška in custody at Cloverhill Prison.[104][105]

Gardaí reviewed around 25,000 hours of CCTV footage to establish the respective movements of Puška and Murphy on the day of the murder. They retrieved data from Murphy's electronic devices and used it to reconstruct her movements leading up to her death.[22] Forensic evidence, including DNA and fingerprints, was also gathered and analyzed as part of the investigation.[106]

Accused

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Puška, a married father of five children, was born in May 1990.[107] A Slovak Romani, he grew up in Lučivná, a ski resort village in the Poprad District of northern Slovakia, in the foothills of the High Tatra Mountains.[108] After leaving school early, at age 16, he worked on construction sites in Bratislava and Prague. In 2013, he moved with his wife and two children to Ireland; his parents had previously moved to Crumlin, Dublin, and his brothers and their families to Tullamore.[109][110] Puška and his family initially resided in Dublin's north inner city but relocated to Tullamore in 2015. He and his wife had three more children born in Ireland, one while living in Dublin and two more after they moved to Tullamore.[108][110] At the time of his arrest, Puška was sharing a house with an extended family of 23 people‍—  including his wife and their five children, two brothers, their wives, and their children.[111][110] He had stopped working in 2017, due to a slipped disc in his back, and was receiving a social welfare disability allowance. Neither he nor his wife could drive, and he typically travelled by taxi, bus, or bicycle.[112][113][110][109] He had no convictions for violent crime,[110] although he had previously been a person of interest in two assaults on women, one in Prague and the other in the UK.[114] As a juvenile in Slovakia, he had been placed on probation for having consensual sex with a girl aged under 15.[115]

Trial

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The Central Criminal Court originally set a date of 6 June 2023 for Puška's trial,[116] although the trial was delayed as the prosecution required additional time to respond to an expert report from the defence.[117] The trial began on 16 October 2023, with Mr. Justice Tony Hunt presiding over a jury of nine men and three women. The victim's immediate family and boyfriend attended the trial each day. Puška pleaded not guilty to murdering Murphy.[118][119][120]

The jury was shown CCTV footage recorded at 12:25 p.m. on 12 January 2022, as Puška was traveling from Mucklagh to Tullamore. He was cycling a Falcon Storm mountain bike with bright green forks and wearing a black jacket and black tracksuit bottoms with a white stripe and a Tommy Hilfiger logo.[36] Gardaí gave evidence that Puška followed two other women in Tullamore that afternoon. CCTV evidence showed him cycling slowly behind one woman as she walked along Church Road to the Tesco supermarket in the Tullamore Retail Park at around 1:38 p.m. He ceased following the woman after she entered the supermarket but began following another woman, Anne Marie Kelly, as she was walking her dog on Church Road around 2:00 p.m.[16] Kelly testified that she had become aware of Puška following her and tried to evade him by taking a route beside the Grand Canal, choosing the muddy, grassy side of the canal without a paved walkway in the hopes that he would not attempt to cycle there. However, Puška continued to follow Kelly, walking behind her while pushing his bike, until she reached Digby Bridge, where other people were present. After that point, Kelly did not see Puška again. Kelly stated that at Digby Bridge she met a woman in her twenties, matching Murphy's description, who spoke to her in a friendly manner and petted her dog.[85] Another witness, a local woman, testified that she had been walking her dog on the canal towpath after 3:00 p.m. when she saw a man matching Puška's description cycling a mountain bike with bright green forks.[19]

Witnesses testified in relation to what they had observed during and after the attack on Murphy. Gardaí and paramedics testified in relation to the emergency services' response to Murphy's death.[16] Other witnesses testified that they had seen a man matching Puška's description walking on various roads in the area after 8:00 p.m. on the night of 12 January. Some witnesses described him as "crouching" or otherwise attempting not to be seen.[85][16] The jury was shown CCTV footage of Puška at 9:14 p.m. arriving on foot at the home of Rostislav Pokuta, a Slovakian national who had lived in Tullamore since 2006 and who knew Puška and his brothers through his job as a school bus driver.[121] Pokuta testified that Puška's face was scratched and "almost blue", that he was wet and shaking, and that he seemed injured and scared. Puška claimed to have been hurt during a fight in Tullamore but would not give any details.[122] Pokuta stated that Puška may have been holding his stomach, which the defence counsel stated was consistent with Puška having suffered stab wounds to his abdomen before arriving at Pokuta's home.[23] Pokuta testified that he used his son's gray Volkswagen Golf car to drive Puška back to his home in Mucklagh that night. He confirmed that Puška had been wearing a black tracksuit with white lines on the side.[121][122]

Puška had previously admitted to Gardaí that, upon returning home, he had changed clothing and asked another member of the household to burn the garments he had been wearing during the day.[123] He was transported to Dublin later that night. The jury was shown CCTV footage showing Puška and his parents exiting a car outside his parents' apartment building in Crumlin at 12:58 a.m. on 13 January.[124] Gardaí and paramedics testified in relation to their encounter with Puška at the same apartment building on the late morning of 13 January and described their interviews with him at St. James's Hospital, including his confession to murder on the evening of 14 January.[15]

The jury heard forensic evidence in relation to fingerprints and DNA.[125][126] It was told that the mountain bike recovered at the crime scene had a fingerprint matching Puška's right ring finger on the underside of its saddle.[127] A forensic scientist testified that he had taken swabs from the handlebars of the same mountain bike and developed a DNA profile, which he compared to a blood sample taken from Puška at St. James’s Hospital and a swab taken at Tullamore Garda Station. He testified that there was a one in a billion chance that the DNA found on the bike had come from anyone other than the accused man.[127][93] Another forensic scientist testified that she had received swabs taken from beneath Murphy's fingernails during the post-mortem examination. After isolating male DNA from the sample by focusing on the Y chromosome, so as to eliminate Murphy's own DNA from the results,[128] she found that the Y-STR profile generated from the fingernail swabs matched the Y-STR profile from Puška's blood sample and swabs. She stated that the chance of the male DNA found under Murphy's fingernails coming from someone unrelated to Puška was one in 14,000, based on a database of European ethnic groups.[129] The prosecution argued that Murphy had Puška's DNA under her fingernails because she had tried to fight off her attacker by scratching him.[130][100][128]

In his defence, Puška, speaking through a Slovakian interpreter, claimed that he had been cycling on the canal towpath when an unknown man wearing dark clothing and a surgical mask had shouted at him, pushed him off his bike, threatened him, and then stabbed him three times in the abdomen. He claimed that Murphy had appeared on the scene and spoken to the man, who then stabbed her behind some bushes before running away towards the N52. Puška claimed that he had shouted at the man and tried to assist Murphy with her injuries by pulling up her scarf to cover the wounds on her neck. Claiming that he had left the scene because he was afraid the man would come back, he stated that he had crawled through briars into a ditch and remained there for several hours because he felt "sick, really unwell". He stated that he did not remember confessing to murdering Murphy and claimed that he frequently suffered from memory problems. He denied that Murphy had scratched him in self-defence, claiming that she had been wearing gloves at the time.[131][132][133]

The defence contested the validity of Puška's confession at St. James's Hospital on 14 January. The defence counsel noted that Puška had been recovering from surgery at the time and had received a dose of oxycodone 2 hours and 20 minutes before his interview with Gardaí. An expert witness for the defence, a doctor described as an accident and emergency and intensive care specialist, stated that Puška could have been experiencing side-effects of oxycodone, including confusion, hallucinations, and irrational thinking. He stated that it was questionable whether Puška had been medically fit to be interviewed at that time.[134][135] An expert witness for the prosecution, a professor described as an internationally renowned expert in toxicology and pharmacology, stated that he had examined Puška's medical records from St. James's Hospital, which indicated the amount of each drug administered and the timing of dosages. He concluded that the only drug present in Puška's system at the time of his 14 January interview was 8.25 mg of oxycodone, which he described as a low dose. Citing a study showing no effects on the mood or behaviour of people who had taken less than 10 mg of oxycodone, he stated that there was “no evidence to suggest [Puška's] admission was related to any drug”.[136]

The prosecution's counsel reminded the jury that Puška had previously given multiple different accounts of the events of 12 January and had admitted lying to Gardaí on a number of occasions.[93][137][132] She told the jury that Puška had "spun you an absolute, unequivocal structure of lies and mistruths, some of which I say are absolutely foul and contemptible".[130] She claimed that the evidence against Puška‍—  including CCTV evidence, forensic evidence, eyewitness accounts, and his own confession‍—  was "overwhelming."[138]

Verdict

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On 9 November 2023, after a trial lasting over three weeks, the jury deliberated for two hours before returning a unanimous verdict of guilty.[139][140] Mr. Justice Tony Hunt said he was glad the jury did not waste any more time considering the "nonsense" Puška had offered in his defence.[141][32] He stated that there would be a "day of reckoning" for Puška and said: "We have evil in this room. No doubt about that."[32] Murphy's mother held up a photograph of her daughter during the judge's comments. Friends and family of Murphy applauded as the jury left the box.[32] Speaking outside court after the verdict, Murphy's brother thanked the jury for their "patience and resilience throughout this incredibly difficult process." Saying that his sister had been subjected to "incomprehensible violence", he stated: "The judicial process cannot bring our darling Ashling back, nor can it heal our wounds. But we are relieved that this verdict delivers justice. It is simply imperative that this vicious monster can never harm another woman again."[142]

No motive for the murder was established during the trial. Murphy did not know Puška before the attack.[16] Persistent rumours that she knew his children through her job as a teacher, and that he had killed her in an act of revenge after she reported child welfare concerns to the child and family agency Tusla, were debunked during the trial.[143][112] Gardaí established that Puška had become active on dating apps in the weeks before the murder and had interacted with up to eight women in the Midland region.[115][114] They speculated that he may have been targeting women for sexual assault, and may have attacked Murphy with sexual motives, but may have killed her after she fought back.[144]

Sentencing and victim impact statements

[edit]

On 17 November 2023, Mr. Justice Tony Hunt sentenced Puška to mandatory life imprisonment.[145] Noting that Puška would be eligible for parole in 12 years, Hunt criticised the sentencing restrictions in Irish courts, giving his view that judges should be able to set minimum terms for life sentences, as they could in other jurisdictions.[146]

A female Garda sergeant read out a victim impact statement written by Murphy's mother, saying: "As a parent, you want your child to go out into this world and live a full and meaningful life yet, being acutely aware of how fragile their safety is, wanting to protect them. I couldn't protect my darling Ashling, and now she is gone forever." The statement called Puška an "evil monster" and said "he should never see the light of day again."[147]

In her statement, Murphy's sister recalled how the sisters had played music together at the family table. She said: "Music is not and will never be the same without Ashling. Our love for Irish music was intertwined with a special bond. We could read each other's mind when we played together." She continued: "Ashling's pink fiddle case now lies covered in dust. For me, this serves as the hardest and cruelest reminder we will never play together again and how fragile this life truly is." Speaking to Puška, she stated: "Ashling's last ten minutes on this earth must have felt like the longest ten minutes of her life." She said: "You stole her life, took her voice and robbed us of our family of five."[147]

Murphy's boyfriend Ryan Casey recounted in his statement how he had first met her at a local rugby club disco when they were both aged 15. He described how they had planned to marry, build a home, and start a family. Speaking to Puška, he said: "Because of you, I lost my Ashling. I have lost everything I have ever wanted in life. I will never get to marry my soulmate or see her smile again." He also said to Puška: "You smirked, you smiled and showed zero remorse throughout this trial; that sums you up as the epitome of pure evil. You will never ever harm a woman again."[147]

Defamation case against the BBC

[edit]

In his victim impact statement, Casey also said: "It just sickens me to the core that someone can come to this country, be fully supported in terms of social housing, social welfare, and free medical care for over ten years, never hold down a legitimate job and never once contribute to society in any way shape or form, and commit such a horrendous, evil act of incomprehensible violence". He added: "We have to, once and for all, start putting the safety of not only Irish people but everybody in this country who works hard, pays taxes, raises families and overall contributes to society, first." On a BBC Northern Ireland current affairs programme The View, journalist Kitty Holland criticised these aspects of Casey’s statement, claiming that some of his remarks had been "not helpful", had contained "elements that were not good”, and had been "latched onto" by the far right. In August 2024, Casey initiated legal action against the BBC in the High Court, suing for defamation.[148][149] The BBC has retained the law firm Dentons as its defence solicitors in the case.[150]

Appeal

[edit]

In April 2024, Puška was granted legal aid to appeal his conviction.[131][113]

Others charged

[edit]

On 13 June 2023, detectives from Tullamore Garda Station arrested five other Slovakian nationals.[151] They were identified as Puška's wife, Lucia Ištóková, aged 34; his brothers Marek and Ľubomír Puška, aged 34 and 35; and their respective wives, Jozefína Grundzová, aged 38, and Viera Gažiová, aged 33.[152] Ištóková and Puška's brothers were charged with withholding information relating to the murder investigation; Grundzová and Gažiová were charged with impeding an arrest. All five appeared before Tullamore District Court on 20 December 2023, where they were sent forward for trial at the Central Criminal Court.[153][154] Their trials are scheduled to begin on 28 April 2025 and will all be heard together.[155]

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[edit]
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