The trial has commenced for two brothers and their wives, who are accused of either withholding critical information or helping Jozef Puska following the murder of 23-year-old school teacher Ashling Murphy in Tullamore three years ago, reports Breaking News.
At the Central Criminal Court, Ms Justice Caroline Biggs empanelled a jury of five women and seven men to hear the case, which is projected to run for up to five weeks.
Ms Justice Biggs informed the jury that Jozef Puska (35) had murdered Ms Murphy in January 2022 near a canal in Tullamore. He has already been tried and found guilty of her murder, reports Breaking News.
She explained that this case concerns the alleged conduct of Jozef Puska’s relatives in the time immediately following the murder.
Facing trial are Jozef Puska’s brothers, Marek (34) and Lubomir (35), and their wives, Jozefina Grundzova (31) and Viera Gaziova (38), all of whom reside in Mucklagh, Tullamore, Co Offaly, reports Breaking News.
Lubomir Puska is accused of failing to inform GardaÃ, without a valid excuse, that Jozef Puska returned home to Mucklagh on the evening of January 12th, 2022, with visible injuries and confessed to “cutting” a woman with a knife. He also allegedly did not disclose that Jozef Puska travelled to Dublin that night.
Marek Puska is similarly accused of withholding information about Jozef Puska’s visible wounds, his admission to “killing or seriously injuring” a woman with a knife, and his travel to Dublin that night. Additionally, he is alleged to have known about plans to destroy clothing worn by Jozef Puska during the crime, reports Breaking News.
The charges against both brothers claim they knew or believed that the information they failed to share could have been of significant assistance in arresting, prosecuting, or convicting Jozef Puska for a serious crime resulting in death or serious injury.
Both brothers deny the charges, which are brought under the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1988, reports Breaking News.
Jozefina Grundzova, wife of Marek Puska, and Viera Gaziova, wife of Lubomir Puska, are accused of helping to burn clothes between January 12th and 14th. It is alleged they did so without justification, with the intent of obstructing the arrest or prosecution of Jozef Puska, while knowing or suspecting he had committed murder or another serious crime of a similar nature.
Ms Grundzova and Ms Gaziova have pleaded not guilty to the charges, which are under the Criminal Law Act 1997.
The trial is scheduled to proceed on Tuesday with the prosecution’s opening remarks, reports Breaking News.
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