The wife who helped conceal details about killer Jozef Puska is set to be released from prison at the end of this year.
Lucia Istokova was handed a 20-month sentence after failing to tell gardaí that Puska admitted to her he had killed teacher Ashling Murphy, reports The Mirror.
He also misled investigators about his movements on the day of the murder in Tullamore, Co Offaly, in January 2022.
However, it has now emerged she is expected to be released in the first week of January after serving around 15 months, reports The Mirror.
A prison source said: “She is likely to be released at the end of December/ early January, reports The Mirror.
“She will receive like every other prisoner a 25% remission for good behaviour. This woman has stayed out of trouble and kept her nose clean so far in prison.
“She is being detained in the Mountjoy Dochas centre along with her two sisters-in-laws.
“There were some threats against them from other prisoners when they were first jailed but it all seems to have calmed down now,” reports The Mirror.
Istokova, 36, will also be removed from Ireland upon her release and returned to her native Slovakia.
Justice Department sources said she will not be permitted to remain in the State despite being an EU citizen.
Officials are expected to pursue a 10-year exclusion order on security grounds and due to her conviction, reports The Mirror.
The source said: “Lucia Istokova did not kill Ashling Murphy, her husband did, but she was involved in the cover up, reports The Mirror.
“She admitted she did not co-operate with the gardai and failed to tell them that he told her he killed Ashling.
“This is a very serious crime. The murder was one of the worst killings in modern times and sparked widespread public outrage.
“She decided in her wisdom and out of loyalty to her husband and the so-called Roma gypsy way of life not to co-operate at the time.
“Nobody in Ireland would want her living here after her release and the Government is determined to do the right thing by kicking her out of the country.
“Justice must be done for Ashling Murphy’s heartbroken family and boyfriend. Everyone linked to this murder must pay a price,” reports The Mirror.
The couple’s children have already left Ireland and are now being cared for by grandparents in Slovakia.
They are living with relatives in the village of Lucinivna in the Poprad District of northern Slovakia, where Puska grew up, reports The Mirror.
He and his two brothers, along with their wives and fourteen children in total, were previously living in Ireland and relying on State support.
None of them were employed and they were housed in accommodation funded by the Department of Social Protection, living on welfare payments and child benefit, reports The Mirror.
The arrangement has since ended following the imprisonment of Puska’s wife and other family members for their roles in the cover-up of Ashling Murphy’s murder.
The killer’s brothers Marek and Lubomir Puska were convicted of withholding information from gardaí and received sentences of two-and-a-half years. They are among the first in the State to be jailed for this offence, reports The Mirror.
His sisters-in-law Viera Gaziova and Jozefina Grundzova were found guilty of assisting Puska by burning clothing linked to the murder.
They received sentences of two years and one year and nine months respectively, reports The Mirror.
Lucia Istokova previously visited her husband in Midlands Prison weekly before her own imprisonment.
The prison is a short distance from her home area outside Tullamore, reports The Mirror.
The Irish Prison Service does not permit spouses who are both serving sentences to meet in person.
One reason given is the security and logistical cost of transporting prisoners for visits, reports The Mirror.
A prison source said: “They are permitted to speak to each other by phone, that’s all I know. I have no idea how much they are talking to each other since we don’t listen in, reports The Mirror.”
Ashling Murphy’s father Raymond previously condemned Puska’s wife and family for failing to cooperate with gardaí and protect him.
After the trial, he said the loss of his daughter could not be measured emotionally, physically or financially and that she could never be replaced, reports The Mirror.
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