Jozef Puska's brother couldn't tell gardai more about murder because of back problems
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Marek Puska (36) is accused of withholding information that was crucial to the investigation into Ashling Murphy's murder
Marek Puska (36) is accused of withholding information that was crucial to the investigation into Ms Murphy's murder. He is on trial with his brother Lubomir Puska Jnr (35), who is also accused of withholding information. Their wives, Jozefina Grundzova (31) and Viera Gaziova (38), are accused of impeding Jozef Puska's apprehension or prosecution by burning the clothes he wore when he murdered Ms Murphy.
Each accused has pleaded not guilty.
Today, Detective Garda Cian Steers told prosecutor Anne-Marie Lawlor SC that on January 14th, 2022, two days after Ms Murphy's murder, Marek agreed to give a voluntary statement at Tullamore Garda Station.
He described how the family ended up in Ireland with three brothers, their wives, and 14 children all living in one house in Mucklagh, Tullamore. He described the recent months as "golden times, the best of times", and added: "I swear to god, everyone says they don't see a family like this getting on... We sit and talk and don't argue.
Marek Puska. Photo: Collins Courts
News in 90 Seconds - May 23rd
"The kids are at the top of everything and get everything," he said. He and Jozef, he said, were on disability allowance due to back problems. On January 12, the day of the murder, Marek got up at his usual time of about 12.30pm. Jozef was not home, which was unusual, and he hadn't taken his phone.
Marek went into Tullamore to search for Jozef. He visited a casino where Jozef would sometimes go and a plaza near the Bank of Ireland. When he still couldn't find Jozef, he went to a garda station to report his brother missing and the local hospital to ask if anyone named Jozef Puska had checked in.
Marek said he went to Dublin that evening but returned to Mucklagh the following day by bus. As he pulled up to the house, he noticed gardai. A Polish garda told him that "someone from my house had killed someone," he said.
He asked if she was joking and added: "I did not know how to answer or what to say... is it about me, my brothers? I thought about it and said, No, it is not possible.
Ashling Murphy
He said nobody who knows his family would say they could kill someone.
At the end of the statement, Marek said: "I want to tell you a bit more, but I can't because of the medicine I have taken [for his back]. My doctor told me it can affect my memory."
He promised to contact gardai if he remembered anything else, adding: "I want to help."
In cross-examination, Det Gda Steers agreed with defence counsel Karl Finnegan SC that at the start of the statement, Marek accurately described Jozef Puska's bicycle and immediately identified the bike when shown a photograph.
Det Gda Joanne O'Sullivan told Ms Lawlor that in the following days, gardai became aware that Marek Puska wished to make a further voluntary statement. On the evening of January 18, gardai took Marek to Mullingar Garda Station because all the interview rooms in Tullamore were in use. The jury has previously been told that Jozef Puska was arrested at 11.31am on January 18. Read more
Marek told Gda O'Sullivan that when he and Lubomir Jnr were looking for Jozef on the 12th, they received a phone call at about 9pm telling them their brother was at home and in a "poor state" having been "beaten up".
He said Jozef had injuries and blood on his head, "like he had been hit", and three holes in his abdomen.
When Marek asked him about it, he said Jozef told him it was "not my business" and not to ask questions. Jozef did not want an ambulance and claimed to have self-inflicted the wounds to his abdomen, Marek said.
Marek said he didn't believe his brother would do that to himself and cried when Jozef refused an ambulance. He said he is close to his brother, "like two halves of an apple, I can't live without him." Marek said he and Jozef would tell one another everything, and he had been struggling to sleep in the days since seeing the injuries.
He described Jozef as the "go-to man" who would "help everyone". He said Jozef did not have mental issues and would talk through any problems he had.
Later on the night of the 12th, Marek said his parents arrived in Tullamore and Jozef left with them to go to their house in Dublin.
It is alleged that Marek Puska failed to disclose that Jozef had returned home on the night of Ashling's murder with visible injuries and admitted to killing or causing serious injury to a woman. It is further alleged that he knew of the arrangement to burn Jozef's clothes and that Jozef Puska travelled to Dublin later that night.
Lubomir Puska Jnr, it is alleged, also withheld that Jozef returned home with visible injuries, admitted to "cutting a female", and travelled to Dublin.
Both men have pleaded not guilty to the offences, which are charged under the Offences Against the State, Amendment Act 1988.
Jozefina Grundzova (31), who is married to Marek Puska, and Viera Gaziova (38), who is married to Lubomir Puska Jnr, are accused of assisting in burning clothing between January 12 and 14th, without reasonable excuse, intending to impede the apprehension or prosecution of Jozef Puska, knowing or believing him to have committed the offence of murder or some other arrestable offence within the same category or of a similar nature.
Ms Grundzova and Ms Gaziova pleaded not guilty to the offences, which are charged under the Criminal Law Act 1997. All the accused have an address at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Tullamore, Co Offaly.
The trial continues on Monday before Ms Justice Caroline Biggs and a jury of seven men and five women.
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The Irish Sun
17 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Daughter reveals chilling phone call made hours after mum vanished 15 years ago – as cops find body buried in garden
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Now, Izabela's Read more news Kasia and her grandmother would speak to Izabela every day over the phone after her move to Britain - but when she suddenly stopped, they became frantic with worry. The young girl had been continuously trying to contact her mum when an unknown woman answered and told her she didn't know Izabela and hung up. Kasia told us: "It was a conversation of a few seconds, I was only a child. "The woman, as far as I remember, told me that she doesn't know my mother, doesn't know who Izabela is, and hung up." Most read in The Sun Soon after that, Kasia recalls, the phone was disconnected. Her family - who don't speak English - relayed all of this to Polish cops at the time but the trail eventually ran cold, without any answers about what had happened. Derbyshire Constabulary say the first they heard of Izabela was last month when Kasia, now 25, after years of appeals for help, got in touch on a whim. 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Izabela's last movements 2009 Izabela moves to the UK from Poland 2010 The factory worker is living in Princes Street, Normanton August 28, 2010 She contacts her family for the last time before she vanishes May 2025 Derbyshire Police launch a fresh appeal for information and launch a murder investigation May 28 Two women, aged 39 and 43, as well as a 41-year-old man, are arrested and released on bail June 2 Human remains are found in a garden of a house on the street where Izabela lived June 3 A 39-year-old woman, who was previously arrested on suspicion of murder, is rearrested June 6 Anna Podedworna, 39, has now been charged with murder, preventing a lawful burial and perverting the course of justice Two other women aged 39 and 43, and two men aged 41 and 48, were arrested on suspicion of murder and all remain on police bail pending further inquiries Detective Inspector Kane Martin, who is leading the investigation, said after the body was found: 'Izabela's family are at the forefront of our minds following this discovery and, whilst formal identification has not yet taken place, it is our belief that these remains do belong to Izabela." 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Anyone with information can contact the charity via its website, or by calling 0800 555 111. Do you know more? Email 9 Cops began searching Princes Street in Derby after making three arrests Credit: Google 9 Kasia took up the search for her mum Credit: Kasia Zabłocka
The Journal
19 hours ago
- The Journal
At least five killed as Russia launches major attack on Ukraine
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RTÉ News
19 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Five killed in Russian attacks across Ukraine
Russia unleashed a barrage of missiles, drones and bombs across Ukraine early this morning, killing five people as it retaliated for a brazen attack on air bases days earlier. The Kremlin has accelerated its attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, while the latest ceasefire negotiations have failed to broker an end to the three-year war. The Ukrainian air force said Russia had fired 206 drones and nine missiles and added that "the air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare and unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Defense Forces". In Ukraine's second largest city Kharkiv, Mayor Igor Terekhov counted 48 Iranian-made drones, two missiles and four guided bombs before dawn and said the attack was unprecedented. The northeastern city of some 1.4 million residents is located less than 50 kilometres from the Russian border. 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In the central Dnipropetrovsk region, governor Sergiy Lysak said Ukrainian forces had repelled 27 drones and two missiles overnight, but two women aged 45 and 88 were injured. Rescuers in the western city of Lutsk, near the Polish border, meanwhile discovered a second fatality from yesterday's strikes, describing the victim as a woman in her 20s. This morning's attacks come a day after Russia launched an intense missile and drone barrage at the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, killing at least six people as powerful explosions reverberated across the country. The attacks followed a warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin, conveyed via US President Donald Trump, that the Kremlin would hit back after Ukrainian drones destroyed several strategic bomber aircraft in attacks deep inside Russia. 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In Lutsk, the body of a man was found in the ruins of an apartment block, while emergency crews kept searching for his wife. Thirty people were hurt in the city, where educational institutions and a government building were also hit. Russian forces also struck industrial facilities and infrastructure in the western city of Ternopil, leaving parts of it without power, Mayor Serhii Nadal said. The regional administration said the attack had injured ten people and asked residents to temporarily stay inside due to a high concentration of toxic substances in the air after a fire. Hopes of ceasefire dim The Kremlin said yesterday the Ukraine war was "existential" for Russia. The comments are Russia's latest to dampen hopes for a breakthrough amid a flurry of meetings between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, as well as telephone calls between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, aimed at stopping the fighting. "For us it is an existential issue, an issue on our national interest, safety, on our future and the future of our children, of our country," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, responding to remarks by Trump on Thursday comparing Russia and Ukraine to brawling children. Ahead of the talks this week in Istanbul, an audacious Ukrainian drone attack damaged nuclear-capable military planes at Russian air bases, including thousands of kilometres behind the front lines in Siberia. Mr Putin had told Mr Trump he would retaliate for the brazen operation, 18 months in the planning, in which Ukraine smuggled more than 100 small drones into Russia, parked them near Russian air bases and unleashed them in a coordinated attack. Mr Putin has issued a host of sweeping demands on Ukraine if it wants to halt the fighting. They include completely pulling troops out of four regions claimed by Russia, but which its army does not fully control, an end to Western military support, and a ban on Ukraine joining NATO. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed the demands as old ultimatums, questioned the purpose of more such talks and called for a summit to be attended by him, Mr Putin and Mr Trump.
