Jozef Puska’s appeal against his conviction for the murder of schoolteacher Ashling Murphy has been delayed after he opted to change his barristers less than a week before the hearing was due to take place.
Puska killed Murphy (23) on January 12th, 2022, repeatedly stabbing her in the neck as she exercised along the canal towpath outside Tullamore, Co Offaly. He was subsequently convicted of murder and is currently serving a life sentence, reports Breaking News.
Last December, Court of Appeal President Justice Caroline Costello scheduled a hearing date of April 23rd and 24th for Puska’s appeal against his conviction.
Puska’s legal team informed the court at the time that submissions were at “an advanced stage” and highlighted two pending judgments from the Court of Appeal that are relevant to his appeal, reports Breaking News.
Puska, who told detectives that he had stopped working in 2017 after slipping a disk in his back, was granted legal aid for his appeal on the same basis as his representation during his trial at the Central Criminal Court, where he was allocated a solicitor, a senior counsel and two junior counsel.
At the Court of Appeal on Friday, Karl Monahan, with Michael Bowman, representing Puska told Justice Isobel Kennedy, presiding, that due to instructions given by Puska to his solicitor, “it has become necessary to make an application seeking to withdraw from the case,” reports Breaking News.
He said Puska’s solicitor had engaged a new senior counsel who is able to take on the case but is not in a position to proceed with the appeal hearing scheduled for next Thursday, April 23rd.
Monahan said he considered it “expedient” to bring the matter to the court’s attention “at the earliest opportunity,” adding that all counsel involved required to be released while Puska’s solicitor remains instructed, reports Breaking News.
“He has spoken to him and engaged an alternative senior counsel,” said Monahan. “He expects that counsel will follow in due course.”
Monahan confirmed to Justice Kennedy that this development would affect the scheduled hearing date, reports Breaking News.
When Justice Kennedy asked whether Puska — who was not present in court on Friday — was aware of “all of this”, Monahan confirmed it was “on his [Puska’s] instructions.”
Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Anne-Marie Lawlor, told the court the DPP’s legal team were ready to proceed, stating it was their preference to go ahead with the hearing, and that Murphy’s family were “anxious” to see the case move forward, reports Breaking News.
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She noted the matter had been set down for two days.
She said she understood the position Monahan and Bowman found themselves in, but wished to avoid the matter being “left over” until the hearing date the following week, reports Breaking News.
Lawlor noted that the case had experienced delays and had taken a “considerable amount of time” to reach a hearing.
Acknowledging that “unfortunately there is little possibility” of the matter proceeding the following week due to the “late change of hands,” Justice Kennedy vacated the hearing date, reports Breaking News.
The judge listed the matter for the following Friday, April 24th, stating her intention to give it “the earliest hearing date possible.”
Puska’s solicitor indicated he hoped to be in a position to update the court the following week, reports Breaking News.
“I’m going to be fixing a date for this next Friday one way or the other,” the judge responded.
Last month, the DPP’s barristers were granted additional time to file their response to Puska’s extensive appeal after it emerged that his legal team had submitted their paperwork more than a month late, reports Breaking News.
Puska’s submissions were due to be filed by January 16th but were only received by the State in early March.
A barrister standing in for Puska’s lawyers apologised for the delay in filing the papers, attributing it to a “mix up,” reports Breaking News.
Puska (35), with an address at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly, pleaded not guilty to murdering Murphy at Cappincur, Tullamore, on January 12th, 2022.
The jury found that Puska stabbed Murphy 11 times in the neck and slashed her once with the edge of a blade before leaving her to die in the thick thorns and brambles beside the canal towpath between Tullamore town and Digby Bridge, reports Breaking News.
A monument now stands at the location where she lost her life.
Puska was placed at the scene through the presence of his distinctive green and black bicycle found a short distance from Murphy’s body. He was also captured on CCTV riding the same bicycle around Tullamore earlier that afternoon, following two women before making his way towards the canal, reports Breaking News.
Puska’s DNA was recovered from the bicycle along with his fingerprint, and his DNA was also found under Murphy’s fingernails.
The prosecution contended that the DNA beneath her nails demonstrated that Ashling had scratched her attacker as she fought for her life, reports Breaking News.
When gardaà spoke to Puska the day following the murder, his face and hands bore scratches consistent with crawling through the thorns and briars along the towpath where he killed Murphy.
In his trial testimony, Puska claimed he had been cycling along the towpath when he was attacked and stabbed by a masked man, who he alleged then turned on Murphy before fleeing the scene, reports Breaking News.
The jury rejected his account entirely. No motive has been established for the killing, and lawyers in the case along with Murphy’s family have repeatedly emphasised that there was no connection between Puska and Murphy, despite online rumours suggesting otherwise, reports Breaking News.
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