A judge has warned five people they face a “real risk” of a custodial sentence over their actions in the immediate aftermath of the murder by Jozef Puska of teacher Ashling Murphy.
Jozef Puska is serving a life sentence for murdering Ms Murphy (23) while she was out jogging near her home in Tullamore, Co Offaly, on January 12th, 2022.
Her parents, Raymond and Kathleen, sister Amy and brother Cathal were in the Central Criminal Court on Tuesday for a sentencing hearing involving Puska’s partner, his two brothers and their wives.
Puska’s two brothers, Lubomir Puska jnr (38) and Marek Puska (36), and their wives, Viera Gaziova (40) and Jozefina Grundzova (32), were convicted last June.
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A Central Criminal Court jury accepted the prosecution’s case both brothers misled gardaí investigating the murder by failing to disclose crucial and vital information when they gave witness statements. Their wives burned Jozef Puska’s clothes to impede his arrest or prosecution.
Before their trial opened, Jozef Puska’s partner, Lucia Istokova (36), had pleaded guilty to withholding information from investigating gardaí.
A sentencing hearing for the five, all living at the same address in Mucklagh, Tullamore, with 14 children, had been adjourned to Tuesday when Ms Justice Biggs heard evidence led by Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, for the prosecution, of the charges.
The judge also heard mitigation evidence on behalf of all five. Apologies to Ms Murphy’s family were offered over their trauma and suffering.
Probation reports were received for all five as well as psychological reports relating to Marek Puska and to Istokova.
The judge is to hear victim impact statements from Ms Murphy’s family on October 22nd after which sentence will be finalised.
Warning there was a “real risk” of a custodial sentence, the judge said arrangements should be put in place for the 14 children affected. The children’s grandparents, she said were willing to step in concerning their care and Tusla had said there were no child protection issues.
Istakova, a mother of six children aged from five to 15, needs to address her lack of engagement about the likely outcome of the sentence hearing, the judge said.
Marek Puska faces sentence on charges that, on January 14th and 15th, 2022, he failed to disclose to gardaí, as soon as practicable, that Josef Puska returned home on the night of January 12th, 2022, with visible injuries and admitted to killing or seriously injuring a woman with a knife, which was information of material assistance in securing his apprehension for a serious offence.
He was also convicted of being aware of an arrangement to burn clothing worn by Jozef Puska at the time of the murder and that Jozef Puska travelled to Dublin on night of January 12th, 2022.
Lubomir Puska was convicted of failing to disclose on January 14th, 2022, material information that Jozef Puska returned to their home on the night of January 12th, 2022, with visible injuries, admitted to cutting a woman with a knife and had travelled to Dublin later that night.
Gaziova and Grundzova were convicted of assisting an offender in that, between January 12th and 14th, 2022, when knowing or believing Jozef Puska to have committed a serious offence, they assisted in the burning of items of his clothing.
The maximum sentence for withholding information, the charges applicable to Puska’s partner and brothers, is five years.
The maximum sentence for assisting an offender, the charges concerning the burning of Jozef Puska’s clothes, is 10 years.
The ashes of the burned clothes were disposed of down a sink in the house, the court heard.
None of the five has any previous convictions, the judge was told. Theirs was a “tight”, “close-knit” family, and family loyalty was a primary reason for their actions, their counsel said.
The dominant role of men in the Roma community and culture was another factor, it was also stated.
All five had later voluntarily provided useful information to gardaí, the judge was told.
Kathleen Leader SC, for Lubomir Puska, said he recognised the family of Ms Murphy as the “main victims” and wished to apologise to them. He was placed in a “unique and exceptional” situation when his brother Jozef came home that night, she said.
The Puska family, in the aftermath of Ms Murphy’s murder, were subject of threats and comments on social media, the court heard.
Istokova was manifestly upset and distressed during interview with gardaí and expressed fear for her children, her counsel said.
Karl Finnegan SC, for Marek Puska, said his client came to Ireland in 2018 seeking a better life for his family. Many Irish people left here for similar reasons, but that “sometimes gets lost” in the commentary about immigration, he said.
