A Slovakian man has been found guilty of murdering schoolteacher Ashling Murphy while she was jogging on a canal path in Ireland last year.
Ms Murphy, 23, was killed by 33-year-old Jozef Puska in the Co Offaly town while exercising on the path in Tullamore on the afternoon of January 12, 2022.
Puska of Lynally Grove in Mucklagh, Tullamore, had pleaded not guilty to her murder at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.
But the jury of nine men and three women quickly reached their unanimous verdict after beginning deliberations on Wednesday.
Judge Mr Justice Tony Hunt told the jury ‘we have evil in this room’ after Puska, 33, was found guilty. ‘There will be a day of reckoning for Puska,’ he added.
He thanked the jury for their service, saying the killing was particularly difficult given ‘the kind of person that she obviously was’.
Ashling Murphy, 23, was knifed to death in January last year while taking a walk by the Grand Canal in Tullamore, Ireland
Jozef Puska, of Lynally Grove in Mucklagh, Tullamore, had pleaded not guilty to her murder at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin
He said the primary school teachers loved children and her GAA top showed her love of sport. He told the court that to lose a child was unnatural.
Speaking of her family, he said: ‘Their position is unenviable. How their child was taken away, to consider what happened here is enough to make you physically ill.’
The jury were applauded as they exited the chamber as Ms Murphy’s mother held up a framed photograph of her daughter.
The judge said he had asked for silence but said the applause was ‘understandable’.
He said the prompt verdict reflected that it was a straightforward case.
He added that he agreed with the verdict and was satisfied it was correct.
However, he said there was no doubt the case was ‘difficult and upsetting’.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow…
Forensic teams search the murder scene where 23-year-old Ashling Murphy was killed on the Cappincur canal towpath while out jogging in Tullamore, Ireland, January 15, 2022
The jury of nine men and three women quickly reached their unanimous verdict after beginning deliberations on Wednesday at Dublin Central Criminal Court
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
