Accused admitted murdering Ashling Murphy, garda tells court

A garda has told a court that the man accused of killing Ashling Murphy admitted murdering her.

The Central Criminal Court in Dublin heard that Jozef Puska made the admission through an interpreter while under questioning in hospital.

Ms Murphy, 23, was killed while out exercising on a canal path in Tullamore, Co Offaly, at about 3.30pm on January 12 last year.

Puska, 33, of Lynally Grove in Mucklagh, Tullamore, has pleaded not guilty to the schoolteacher’s murder.

Detective Garda Brian Jennings told the court he had questioned Puska at St James’s Hospital in Dublin with the assistance of an interpreter on January 13.

Mr Jennings said Puska made the admission after he had been informed he was a “person of interest” in the murder of Ms Murphy.

Relaying the translation of the interpreter, the garda said: “He paused and said he is making an official statement that he is admitting that he committed the murder. ‘I did it. I murdered. I am the murderer’.”

Mr Jennings said he had been at St James’s Hospital to assist with the execution of a warrant to seize items belonging to Puska, having questioned the defendant earlier in the day.

Gardai had been informed that Puska was in the hospital by investigators examining a separate stabbing in the Blanchardstown area of Dublin.

Mr Jennings, from Birr Garda Station, said he was tasked with travelling to St James’s Hospital to get an account of Puska’s movements the day before as part of the investigation into Ms Murphy’s murder.

Mr Jennings said he was unable to speak to Puska on January 13 because he was either in theatre or a recovery ward but he returned the next day and spoke to the accused with Detective Garda Fergus Hogan, initially in English.

Mr Jennings said the accused appeared to be in pain and was dry retching.

The garda called an interpreter to continue questioning and Puska was moved to a staff office for privacy.

Mr Jennings said the accused was alert, fully awake and “freely speaking”.

Mr Jennings said this session of questioning ended after 40 minutes but he returned for further questioning after Sergeant Pamela Nugent obtained a warrant to seize Puska’s belongings in relation to the murder investigation.

Sgt Nugent explained she had seized a grey Nokia phone, a clear plastic wallet which appeared to contain a Covid certificate and a Slovakian ID, a shopping bag with a picture of Santa Claus on it, and a yellow patient plastic bag.

Mr Jennings said Puska, who had been taken to a private room to be told about the warrant, was alert and fully awake and had remembered speaking to him earlier in the day.

The garda said they explained the warrant to him through an interpreter over the phone.

Mr Jennings said Puska asked if he was a suspect, adding: “I said no, he was a person of interest.”

The garda said there was a “notable pause” before the interpreter relayed that Puska was admitting he committed the murder.

Mr Jennings said he immediately cautioned the accused and the interpreter said Puska understood that.

He told the court: “I asked him a direct question, did he commit the murder, and he said ‘Yes’.”

The garda said the defendant had asked for a solicitor.

Mr Jennings relayed the words of the interpreter from his notes: “The reason I am pleading guilty, I don’t want my family, anything to happen to them, nothing bad to them. I feel guilty and I say I regret it.”

The witness said Puska was shown the statement and he signed it. He did not read the statement back to Puska before he signed it.

He also read a “literal translation” from the interpreter: “When he said he committed the murder, he didn’t do it intentionally.”

Mr Jennings added: “He did show remorse for the murder. He showed concern for himself and his family. He was upset, he was crying in the bed.”

Sgt Nugent said she left the room after Puska signed the statement to inform the Tullamore incident room about the comments which she said could be described as a “breakthrough”.

Defence barrister Michael Bowman SC asked Mr Jennings if Puska was distressed at the end of the second interview.

Mr Jennings said no and added that the “dry retching had eased off substantially”.

Asked if he had requested to speak to Puska’s treating physician or any doctor, Mr Jennings said: “No.”

He said he had not made any direct inquiries with hospital staff about whether Puska was fit for interview.

He also said he was not aware if Puska could read English when he signed the statement.

After the alleged admission, Mr Jennings asked Mr Hogan to stay in the room alone with Puska.

He said he did not ask Puska any questions.

Mr Hogan said: “He started speaking to me and I started writing down what he was saying.

“He said: ‘I’m sorry. I’m family, five kids. I see girl I never see before. I have knife. I use for chain’.”

Mr Hogan said he told Puska he did not have to tell him anything.

He said Puska said: “Chain on bike.”

Mr Hogan said gardai were getting him a solicitor.

Reading from his notes, Mr Hogan said Puska replied: “I tell her go. I won’t hurt you. When she passed I cut her neck. She panic. I panic.”

Mr Hogan said Puska had put his hand on his lips to show how he told the “injured party” to be quiet.

He said the defendant asked: “Will I go for 10 years?”

Mr Hogan said Puska had also pointed to his stomach and said “I do this”.

He said Mr Jennings returned to the room and they left together.

Asked by senior counsel for the prosecution Anne-Marie Lawlor about Puska’s capacity to engage, Mr Hogan said: “He was upset, he was crying. His English was enough I could understand basically.”

For the defence, Mr Bowman asked if Puska appeared to be in physical discomfort when they were alone.

Mr Hogan said he appeared to be “in better shape” than the earlier questioning.

Mr Bowman put it to Mr Hogan that the reason they had stopped questioning Puska earlier in the day was because he was medically unfit to continue.

He asked Mr Hogan if Mr Jennings had gone back to the A&E doctor before the earlier questioning, to which he replied: “He didn’t but he spoke to staff.”

Mr Hogan accepted that he did not know what medical qualification they had or what level of interaction they had had with Puska.

Commenting on the earlier questioning, he said: “We were finished speaking to him. One of the reasons we were finished speaking to him was he was in discomfort.”

Mr Hogan said it was fair to say that there were more questions they wanted to ask him if the opportunity arose.

Mr Bowman said Mr Hogan had a distinctive appearance, including being tall, but said that Puska had asked him if he had met him before.

Mr Hogan, who had previously said Puska had asked them while they were alone if he had been there earlier, said there were “two ways of looking at it”.

He added: “I don’t know if he could remember me or not.”

Asked if he found that unusual, Mr Hogan said he did not give any thought to it.

Ms Lawlor asked Mr Hogan if he knew at the time of his conversation with Puska how Ms Murphy had been killed and he said no.

The trial continues.