Ashling Murphy murderer Jozef Puska abandons appeal

Fiona Magennis

Jozef Puska has abandoned his appeal against his conviction for the murder of schoolteacher Ashling Murphy, his lawyers have told a court, bringing to an end his efforts to proclaim his innocence of the brutal knife attack.

Puska is serving a life sentence for the murder of Ms Murphy (23), whom he attacked and stabbed repeatedly in the neck as she exercised along the canal towpath outside Tullamore, Co Offaly on January 12, 2022.

His senior counsel John Berry informed the Court of Appeal that Puska had completed a notice of abandonment in respect of his conviction appeal on Friday morning within the confines of the Central Criminal Court building in Dublin.

Presiding judge Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy acknowledged that the court had “received the notice of abandonment”, adding: “We’ll take it that it has been abandoned”.

Mr Berry asked that the case be left in for mention next week to deal with matters related to Puska’s life sentence. He said this related to whether there had been “an error on the part of the judge” in not backdating the sentence to when Puska first went into custody.

Despite Puska going into custody after his arrest in January 2022, trial judge Mr Justice Tony Hunt backdated the sentence only to when the verdict was returned in November 2023.

"I have discretion," he said. "And the backdate should be entirely academic anyway. Any rational system considering your release would have to take into account that we don’t know the why, and unless that becomes known, it seems to me, unless you are enfeebled by disease or old age, the question of your safe return to society will be or should be a very open one," Mr Justice Hunt had said when returning sentence.

Mr Berry said the hearing could be dealt with in a “very truncated” manner and that it would take in the region of 15 minutes for his submissions.

Ms Justice Kennedy said the matter would be left in for Thursday, July 16, before a three-judge panel.

Mr Berry informed the court that Puska had indicated that he does not wish to be produced on that date. Asked by Ms Kennedy if the defendant wished to attend by video-link, counsel confirmed he did not.

Puska’s appeal against his conviction for murder was originally due to be heard on April 23, but this date was vacated after his barristers made an application days beforehand to withdraw from the case as a result of instructions given by Puska to his solicitor.

A week later, Mr Berry confirmed he had come on record to represent Puska and Ms Justice Kennedy set a new hearing date of July 15 for the conviction appeal.

The case was previously listed for case management last Friday, July 3.

When the matter was called on, Mr Berry told the court he had received “an indication of an instruction” which could “dramatically reduce down the time needed”. He said it was possible that “the ambit of the appeal” could change and asked that it be listed again in seven days’ time.

When the case came before the court earlier on Friday, Mr Berry told Ms Justice Kennedy, that his solicitor had met with Puska at the Midlands prison on Tuesday to “confirm that instruction”. However, he had instead received “a different instruction” which, he said, may require a different application pursuant to Section 215 of the Legal Services Act, which relates to a legal practitioner needing permission to withdraw from a case.

He asked the court to let the matter stand so he could confirm which instruction Puska wished to proceed with.

Mr Berry said if it was the case that an S215 application needed to be made, then an affidavit was available and that application could be flagged before the court today.

Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said that the case had been listed for hearing with two dates set aside in April. She said an application was made at that juncture, and the court acceded to that.

Ms Lawlor said Puska discharged certain members of his legal team, noting he retained the same solicitor but sought a change of counsel. She said Puska has been “represented by excellent counsel throughout” and remains so represented.

“In any event, the view of the [DPP] is that the case should proceed next week,” said Ms Lawlor. “If he decides to dispense with his legal team, we are in a position to proceed.”

Ms Justice Kennedy confirmed with Ms Lawlor that the director's position was that if the appellant chose to discharge his legal team today, then the matter should proceed and Puska could either engage another legal team or represent himself.

The judge noted that two dates have already been set aside by the court for the hearing, “so obviously there would be a concern” that the appeal would proceed and not be vacated for a second time.

She put the matter back to second calling to allow Mr Berry to take instructions from Puska, who was then produced in person before the court as the notice of abandonment was handed in.

Puska, who told detectives that he stopped working in 2017 after slipping a disc in his back, has been granted legal aid for his appeal on the same basis as his representation during his trial at the Central Criminal Court – where he was allocated a solicitor, a senior counsel and two junior counsel.

The 35-year-old, with a last address at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Murphy at Cappincur, Tullamore, on January 12th, 2022.

The jury found that Puska stabbed Ms Murphy 11 times in the neck and slashed her once with the edge of a blade before leaving her to die in the thick thorns and brambles by the side of the canal towpath between Tullamore town and Digby Bridge. A monument now stands where she died.

Puska was placed at the scene by the presence of his distinctive green and black bicycle a few feet from Ms Murphy's body. He had been captured on CCTV cycling the same bicycle around Tullamore earlier that afternoon, stalking two women before heading towards the canal.

Puska's DNA was found on the bike, as was his fingerprint, while his DNA was also under Ms Murphy's fingernails. The prosecution argued that the DNA under her nails showed that Ashling had scratched her attacker as she fought to save her own life.

When gardai spoke to Puska the day after the murder, his face and hands were covered in scratches that were consistent with him crawling through the thorns and briars by the side of the towpath where he murdered Ms Murphy.