No proof Jozef Puska's sisters-in-law knew he had killed when they burned his clothes, trial hears

Sunday World

4 days ago

CLOSING SPEECHES |
Lawyers for Jozefina Grundzova (32) and Viera Gaziova (40) delivered their closing speeches to a jury this afternoon
Jozef Puska's brothers, Marek and Lubomir, and their wives, Jozefina Grundzova and Viera Gaziova
Lawyers for Jozefina Grundzova (32) and Viera Gaziova (40) delivered their closing speeches to a jury this afternoon. The two women are on trial with their husbands, Marek Puska (36) and Lubomir Puska Jnr (38).
Jozef Puska, a brother of Marek and Lubomir Jnr, murdered Ashling Murphy on January 12, 2022, by stabbing her in the neck on the canal towpath outside Tullamore, Co Offaly.
Marek and Lubomir Jnr are on trial accused of withholding information relating to the murder while Ms Grundzova and Ms Gaziova are accused of impeding Jozef's apprehension or prosecution by burning his clothes.
All the accused were living with Jozef Puska, his partner 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 trial has heard that, in a statement to gardai, Ms Gaziova said that on the night of the murder, Lubomir Jnr and Marek spoke to Jozef in his bedroom and afterwards, Lubomir told her that Jozef had "confessed that he killed a girl".
Paul Murray SC, for Ms Grundzova, today told the jury that for his client to be guilty, the jury must be satisfied that she knew what Jozef had done when she helped Ms Gaziova to burn the clothes.
Counsel told the jury that "hindsight is a wonderful thing" but they must look at the circumstances in the Puska household in the immediate aftermath of the murder.
When his client burned Puska's clothes, she did not have any of the evidence that would later prove Jozef's guilt, Mr Murray said.
At that time, about 24 hours after the murder, gardai also didn't know because they had arrested and were questioning the wrong man, Mr Murray said.
All Ms Grundzova knew, counsel said, was second-hand information that had been relayed to her regarding conversations between Jozef Puska and others in the household. Jozef had said numerous things which were "obvious nonsense" and "garbled lies" along with the truth - that he had stabbed or killed a girl.
Ms Grundzova could not have known that the true part was that Jozef had murdered Ashling Murphy and that the rest was nonsense, counsel said. She, like the others in the household, didn't believe that Jozef could be capable of such a thing.
Jozef Puska's brothers, Marek and Lubomir, and their wives, Jozefina Grundzova and Viera Gaziova
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The nub of the prosecution case, counsel said, is that Ms Grundzova knew or believed Jozef Puska to be guilty of the murder of Ashling Murphy at a time when gardai themselves had arrested an entirely different person. Mr Murray asked the jury to return a verdict of not guilty.
Prosecutor Anne Marie Lawlor SC has previously told the jury that all the accused knew what Jozef had done shortly after 9.30pm on the night of the murder. She said Jozef told Lubomir Jnr and Marek, who then relayed it to the others in the house. Ms Lawlor said the only reason for the withholding of evidence or burning of clothes was that they didn't want Jozef to be apprehended or prosecuted for murder.
Damien Colgan SC, for Ms Gaziova, told the jury that the "crux of the case" is whether his client knew that Jozef Puska had stabbed Ms Murphy. Her view at that time, Mr Colgan said, was that Jozef had been the victim of an assault. When she was told what Jozef had said he did, she didn't believe it because she "didn't believe Jozef was capable of killing anybody".
Kathleen Leader SC, for Lubomir Jnr, said her client delayed but did not withhold information. She said he had a reasonable excuse for the delay and asked the jury to consider the "natural sense of protection for his younger brother". She said it is understandable that Lubomir Jnr was reluctant to accept that his brother had "committed a truly horrific murder".
The family was "particularly close", she said, living together as six adults and 14 children in a four-bed home. Lubomir told gardai that their relationship was "full of love".
When Jozef left the house early on the January 12 and returned that night with visible injuries, the initial concern among the close knit family was, Ms Leader said: "Not that Jozef had behaved in a criminal manner, much less that he had murdered someone, but that Jozef himself had been hurt in some way."
Lubomir Jnr spoke to gardai on January 14, 16 and 18. Ms Leader said the statements reveal the progression of a man "coming to terms with something awful that was not of his doing."
She added: "He is working his way to a place where he is able to leave the bonds of family and brotherhood and love and all that entails, to where he discharges his other obligation to society as a whole, which is what he did."
Ms Leader said that by January 18, Lubomir was "squarely supporting the prosecution", telling them everything he knew. She reminded the jury that he said: "If you find out it was him, well let him. He is going to pay for what he did."
Ms Leader asked the jury to think of someone they love.
She added: "Think of that person coming home, out of the blue, and telling you they had done something so truly awful, something you hadn't imagined in your wildest dreams. Was it reasonable in those circumstances to disclose the information in stages?"
Ms Leader said the law does not require people to be "superhuman" as she asked the jury to acquit her client.
Ms Justice Caroline Biggs has begun her charge to the jury and will continue tomorrow.