Two brothers of Jozef Puska, who were convicted last month for hiding vital information regarding the murder of teacher Ashling Murphy, along with their wives – who destroyed the killer’s blood-soaked clothing – have now accepted the jury’s decision and will not be challenging their convictions, the Central Criminal Court has been told, reports The Mirror.
Lubomir Puska Jnr (38) and Marek Puska (36), along with Viera Gaziova (40) and Jozefina Grundzova (32), appeared in court today, where Ms Justice Caroline Biggs set October 7 as the sentencing date for the case.
On January 12, 2022, Jozef Puska (35) fatally stabbed Ms Murphy (23) multiple times in the neck while she was out exercising on a canal towpath near Tullamore, Co Offaly. He was later found guilty of murder and is now serving a life sentence, reports The Mirror.
The four relatives were convicted on June 17 this year after the jury agreed with the prosecution’s argument that Lubomir Jnr and Marek had misled gardaí by withholding essential information in their witness statements. Meanwhile, Gaziova and Grundzova were found guilty of destroying Jozef’s clothes to hinder his arrest or prosecution.
During the four-week trial, all four defendants had denied the charges. However, Lubomir Jnr confessed to gardaí that he had lied in his initial account, and both Viera and Jozefina admitted to burning the clothing, reports The Mirror.
Appearing in court today, Karl Finnegan SC, representing Marek Puska, told the court his client now accepts the jury’s verdict and does not intend to appeal. He added that Marek has begun working with the Probation Services and has additional meetings planned in the coming weeks.
A barrister speaking on behalf of Lubomir Jnr said her client also acknowledges the jury’s ruling and has a Probation Services meeting scheduled for July 9, reports The Mirror.
Damien Colgan SC, representing Gaziova, informed the court that his client has also accepted the verdict. He mentioned that a social worker is now involved through another agency. Due to this, he requested an October sentencing date.
Paul Murray SC, who represents Grundzova, confirmed that she has already met with the Probation Services and has accepted the outcome of the trial.
A barrister for Lucia Istokova, Jozef Puska’s wife, noted that she had pleaded guilty ahead of the trial, reports The Mirror.
Istokova (36) admitted in a pre-trial hearing that she withheld information from the gardaí investigating the murder.
Ms Justice Biggs stated that legal aid would be extended to cover the preparation of psychological reports for any defendant, if their legal counsel considered it necessary.
She said that once reports were ready, she could choose to handle all the sentencing matters together or in separate sessions, reports The Mirror.
Mr Murray suggested that addressing everything on the same day would be more efficient.
Ms Justice Biggs then postponed the case to October 7 for sentencing. She noted that by then she expects to have received probation reports, possible psychological evaluations, and any other relevant documentation, reports The Mirror.
According to the prosecution, the two brothers gave misleading voluntary statements in Tullamore two days after Ms Murphy’s death, leaving out “crucial, relevant and significant” details.
They failed to mention that Jozef Puska had come home on the night of the killing with visible injuries, confessed to fatally injuring a woman with a knife, and later traveled to Dublin.
At the time of the incident in January 2022, all four family members were living at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly with Jozef Puska, his wife Lucia, and 14 children, reports The Mirror.
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