Prosecution counsel Ann Marie Lawlor SC at the trial of Jozef Puska, at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin. Image: Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire
In his closing speech, Michael Bowman SC, for Mr Puska, said the case is not about emotion, prejudice, sympathy and is “most assuredly not about speculation”.Ashling Murphy murder trial: No evidence that admission by accused was related to the effects of any drug, jury toldAshling Murphy murder trial: Jozef Puska tells jury he was ‘not at all’ following woman around Tullamore
Mr Puska , a native of Slovakia living in Co Offaly some eight years, pleaded not guilty when arraigned on October 16th last on a charge of the murder of Ms Murphy at Cappincur, Co Offaly, on January 12th 2022. Ms Murphy had 11 stab wounds in the right side of her neck.Ms Murphy’s parents Ray and Kathleen, her sister Amy and brother Cathal were back in a packed Courtroom 13 today for the closing addresses. Several members of Mr Puska’s family, including his parents, were also present.
Mr Puska had admitted he killed Ashling Murphy and then he “pivoted” and swung and spun “lies and mistruths”, some “foul and contemptible in their nature” and the reality is he has done all that in the hope and belief, which the prosecution hopes is “forlorn”, to stop you concluding he murdered Ashling Murphy, counsel told the jury.
This story was “manufactured and fabricated” for this courtroom and for you, the jury, she told the nine men and three women. Mr Puska had also said he had taken tablets and the prosecution had called evidence from Professor Michael Ryan, an internationally renewed expert on pharmacology and toxicology, who exhaustively examined the medication is his system and concluded it had nothing to do with Mr Puska’s state of mind when he made the confession, she said.
No one is claiming that being in a hospital without your family in an unfamiliar environment would result in you confessing to murder, she said. What Dr Grundlingh was doing was speculating and his evidence seemed to be ground down to Mr Puska possibly being confused. There was a “ludicrous” suggestion that Mr Puska was not on the far side of Ms Murphy when runners Jenna Stack and Aoife Marron came on the scene and the women gave conflicting accounts in that regard, he said. Ms Stack had said she heard the man saying “Get away” in an aggressive and threatening way and Ms Marron had said she heard him say “okay, okay” in response to being asked was he okay.
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