Puska family members found guilty of offences after Ashling Murphy murder

by Alison O'Riordan

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. He was later convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence.

The Central Criminal Court jury today 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.

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.

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.