Ashling Murphy Murder Trial: Brother Told Gardaí Jozef Puska Said He Had 'Cut' a Woman and It Was 'Probably Bad'

 Dublin, May 27, 2025 — On the night Ashling Murphy was brutally murdered, Jozef Puska told his brother that he had unintentionally “cut” a woman and admitted it was “probably bad,” the Central Criminal Court has heard.

The revelation came during the trial of four individuals accused of withholding information and assisting in the aftermath of Ms Murphy’s killing in January 2022. The jury heard that Marek Puska, Jozef Puska’s brother, told Gardaí he "logically inferred" that Jozef had murdered Ms Murphy, although his brother insisted he had not intended to harm her.

Gardai put it to Marek that he had asked his sister-in-law, Viera Gaziova, to burn Jozef's clothes because he believed his brother might have been involved in the killing. Marek responded: “Yes, but not in those words, exactly.”

Marek Puska (36) and his brother Lubomir Puska Jnr (35) are charged with withholding information critical to the investigation. Their respective wives, Jozefina Grundzova (31) and Viera Gaziova (38), stand accused of impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Jozef Puska by burning the clothes he wore on the night of the murder.

All four accused, who reside at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Tullamore, Co Offaly, have pleaded not guilty.

Admissions and Inferences

The court previously heard that Jozef Puska has already been convicted of murdering Ashling Murphy, a 23-year-old schoolteacher who was attacked while jogging along a canal path near Tullamore. She was stabbed multiple times in the neck.

On Monday, Sergeant Lisa Shannon testified that she arrested Marek Puska on January 26, 2022, on suspicion of assisting an offender. In his interview with Gardaí, Marek said he was willing to tell the truth and detailed the events of that day.

According to Marek, Jozef had been missing all day before returning home looking as if he had been assaulted, with “three holes” in his abdomen and swelling on his head. “He was shaking and unable to speak,” Marek recalled.

Jozef told Marek he had been sitting on a bench when he tried to stab himself. He claimed a woman approached, screamed, “Don’t do that, stop harming yourself,” and attempted to pull his arm away. “He might have had a knife in his hand, then he hit somebody,” Marek said.

“He told me that he might have hurt that person, or that he could have cut her,” Marek explained. “He said something about a dead woman but I didn’t ask if dead or alive. You don’t ask in a situation like this.”

Acknowledging the Fatal Outcome

Marek admitted that he later told his wife, Jozefina, that his brother had “murdered that girl,” though he stressed that Jozef had not clearly said so. “He told me a situation from which I logically inferred,” he said. In a subsequent interview, Marek further claimed that Jozef had said he “struck out and cut her” and acknowledged it was “probably bad.”

The prosecution alleges Marek failed to disclose that his brother had returned home visibly injured and admitted to causing harm to a woman. It is also claimed that Marek was aware of an arrangement to destroy Jozef's clothing and of his subsequent travel to Dublin that night.

Lubomir Puska Jnr is similarly accused of withholding that Jozef had returned home with injuries, confessed to “cutting a female,” and left for Dublin shortly after.

Clothing Allegedly Burned to Protect Killer

The women on trial, Jozefina Grundzova and Viera Gaziova, are accused of deliberately burning Jozef Puska’s clothing between January 12 and 14, 2022, in an attempt to obstruct justice. The prosecution argues that they did so without reasonable excuse, knowing or believing that Jozef had committed murder or a similarly serious offence.

Both women have pleaded not guilty to charges under the Criminal Law Act 1997, while the charges against the two men fall under the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1988.

The trial continues before the Central Criminal Court.