A Central Criminal Court jury will continue their deliberations on Friday in the trial of four family members charged with offences relating to obstructing the arrest of the man who murdered schoolteacher Ashling Murphy.
Jozef Puska murdered 23-year-old Ms Murphy by stabbing and slashing her neck after attacking her while she exercised along the canal towpath outside Tullamore on the afternoon of January 12th, 2022. A jury later convicted him of that murder and he is serving a life sentence.
His brothers, Lubomir Puska jnr (38) and Marek Puska (36) are charged with withholding information.
Their wives, Viera Gaziova (40) and Jozefina Grundzova (32) are charged with impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Jozef Puska by burning his clothes.
All the accused were living with Jozef Puska, his wife Lucia, and 14 children at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly, when the offences are alleged to have occurred in January 2022.
All accused have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The jury originally began its deliberations on Wednesday, but an amendment was made to the indictment on Thursday.
The amendment relates to the charge that the accused knew that Jozef Puska had committed the offence of murder or some other arrestable offence. The amended indictment now reads that they knew he had committed the murder of Ashling Murphy or some other arrestable offence.
In her closing speech earlier this week, prosecutor Anne-Marie Lawlor SC told the jury that Marek and Lubomir jnr knew what Jozef had done shortly after 9.30pm on the night of the murder because Jozef told Marek. Despite this, Ms Lawlor said Marek and Lubomir jnr failed to disclose vital information when they spoke to gardaí. Their wives burned Jozef’s clothes to impede his arrest or prosecution, she said.
The jury had previously heard from defence counsel Karl Finnegan SC, who said in his closing speech that Marek Puska was entitled to remain silent to avoid incriminating himself. Mr Finnegan said there was a real risk that the information his client had could implicate him in an offence of assisting his brother after the murder.
He said the legislation regarding withholding information was introduced following the Omagh bombing to force people with knowledge of that atrocity to come forward.
However, Mr Finnegan said, the legislation does not remove a person’s right to remain silent if they believe that they could incriminate themselves. At the time, Mr Finnegan said, there was a real risk that his client would be arrested for assisting Puska after the murder by arranging to get him out of Tullamore or because he knew of the plan to burn Jozef’s clothes.
The jury of seven men and five women will continue their deliberations on Friday.
