The sister-in-law of Jozef Puska informed gardaí that she and another relative destroyed clothing, including a t-shirt with bloodstains, the day following the murder of schoolteacher Ashling Murphy, a court has heard, reports RTE.
Jozef Puska, aged 35, carried out an attack on 23-year-old Ms Murphy along the canal towpath at Cappincur in Tullamore, Co Offaly on 12 January 2022. He was subsequently found guilty of her murder.
Ms Murphy died after sustaining 12 sharp force injuries to her neck, with 11 of them being stab wounds. Jozefina Grundzova, 32, who is married to Jozef’s brother Marek Puska, 36, stands accused of interfering with the arrest or prosecution of Jozef Puska by helping to destroy his clothing, reports RTE.
Viera Gaziova, 40, who is married to another of Jozef’s brothers, Lubomir Puska Jnr, 38, is facing the same charge.
Both Lubomir Jnr and Marek are accused of failing to provide detectives with information relevant to the investigation into Ms Murphy’s death.
All of the accused were residing at the time with Jozef Puska, his wife Lucia, and 14 children at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly in January 2022, when the alleged offences took place, reports RTE.
They have each denied all charges brought against them.
Testifying before the Central Criminal Court, Detective Garda James Duffy told prosecution counsel Kevin White BL that during an interview with gardaí, Ms Grundzova said Ms Gaziova had received a phone call instructing her to burn specific items of clothing, reports RTE.
She stated that the clothes in question were “maybe Jozef’s clothes” and that Ms Gaziova started the fire on 13 January.
Ms Grundzova recounted that she saw Ms Gaziova “throwing clothes into the fire”, possibly removing them from a bag, reports RTE.
She mentioned that she also took socks from the bag and added them to the fire.
Although she claimed not to understand the reason behind burning the clothes, she recalled noticing “blood around the lower half of the t-shirt”, reports RTE.
“Viera told me she got a call that the clothes needed to be burned,” she said.
Judge Caroline Biggs informed the jury—comprising seven men and five women—that their presence would not be needed again until the following Monday, when the trial proceedings will continue, reports RTE.
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