A hearing date has been scheduled for Jozef Puska’s appeal against his conviction for the murder of schoolteacher Aishling Murphy.
Puska killed Ms Murphy (23) on January 12th, 2022, after attacking her while she was exercising along the canal towpath outside Tullamore, Co Offaly, repeatedly stabbing her in the neck. He was later found guilty of murder and is serving a life sentence, reports Breaking News.
On Friday, Court of Appeal President Ms Justice Caroline Costello fixed April 23rd and 24th as the dates for the hearing of Puska’s appeal against his conviction.
His case was one of 17 appeals listed for directions before Ms Justice Costello on Friday, reports Breaking News.
When the case was mentioned, a barrister appearing on behalf of Mr Puska’s legal team said the appeal had previously been removed from the dormant list by Mr Justice John Edwards.
He said submissions were at an advanced stage, but that two relevant Court of Appeal judgments were still awaited, reports Breaking News.
Ms Justice Costello said that “endlessly waiting” for other decisions was not a workable option.
She asked how long the hearing was expected to last. The barrister said it could extend into a second day, reports Breaking News.
Noting the matter dates back to November 2023, Ms Justice Costello said she would assign hearing dates.
“We need to start listing cases at this stage,” she said, before setting April 23rd and 24th, 2026, for the appeal to be heard, reports Breaking News.
Puska, who told gardaí he stopped working in 2017 after slipping a disc in his back, has been granted legal aid for his appeal on the same basis as during his Central Criminal Court trial, where he was represented by a solicitor, senior counsel and two junior counsel.
Before the jury was sworn in during his 2023 trial, Puska’s legal team raised several objections to the evidence the prosecution planned to present, reports Breaking News.
The defence argued the jury should not hear Puska’s confession to gardaí two days after the killing.
They claimed he was suffering from the effects of abdominal surgery and was under the influence of the painkiller oxycodone, meaning the confession was involuntary, reports Breaking News.
They also objected to CCTV footage being shown of Puska following two women in Tullamore before heading to the canal where he encountered Aishling Murphy. The trial judge’s rulings allowing this and other evidence are expected to form the basis of the appeal.
Puska (35), of Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly, pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Murphy at Cappincur, Tullamore, Co Offaly, on January 12th, 2022, reports Breaking News.
The jury found Puska stabbed Ms Murphy eleven times in the neck and slashed her once before leaving her in dense thorns and brambles beside the canal towpath between Tullamore town and Digby Bridge. A memorial now marks the location.
Puska was linked to the scene by his distinctive green and black bicycle, found close to Ms Murphy’s body, and CCTV footage showing him cycling it around Tullamore earlier that day, reports Breaking News.
His DNA and fingerprint were found on the bike, while his DNA was discovered under Ms Murphy’s fingernails. Prosecutors said this showed she scratched her attacker while trying to defend herself.
When gardaí spoke to Puska the day after the murder, his face and hands were marked with scratches consistent with crawling through thorns and briars near the towpath, reports Breaking News.
During his trial testimony, Puska claimed he was cycling along the canal when he was attacked and stabbed by a masked man.
He alleged the same man then attacked and stabbed Ms Murphy before fleeing the scene, reports Breaking News.
In what prosecution counsel Anne-Marie Lawlor SC described as a “foul and contemptible fabrication”, Puska claimed he tried to help Ms Murphy by pulling her scarf around the wound to her neck.
The jury rejected his account. No motive was put forward, and both lawyers and Ms Murphy’s family have repeatedly stressed there was no connection between them, despite online speculation, reports Breaking News.
Earlier this year, Puska’s two brothers were convicted of withholding vital information from gardaí investigating the murder, while their wives were convicted of burning his clothes.
His brothers Marek (36) and Lubomir (37) were each sentenced to 30 months in prison. Lubomir’s wife, Viera Gaziova (40), received a 24-month sentence, and Marek’s wife, Jozefina, was sentenced to 21 months, reports Breaking News.
Puska’s partner and mother of his children, Lucia Istokova (36), was given a 20-month prison sentence after pleading guilty in May to withholding information ahead of her relative’s trial.
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