Man jailed for life after murdering Irish teacher Ashling Murphy

Jozef Puska, 33, stabbed 23-year-old as she jogged along a canal last year in a case that shocked Ireland

A man has received a life sentence for stabbing to death a primary school teacher last year in a case that shocked Ireland.

Ashling Murphy, a 23-year-old teacher and musician, was murdered as she jogged along a canal near Tullamore, County Offaly, in January 2022.

Jozef Puska, 33, a former builder, was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment at Dublin’s central criminal court on Friday after the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict last week.

The sentence was “wholly deserved”, said the judge, Mr Justice Hunt.

During the trial, the court heard that Murphy had 11 stab wounds in her neck that caused acute blood loss and her heart to stop.

The prosecution described the evidence against Puska, who denied the murder, as “overwhelming”.

Despite incriminating DNA tests, security camera footage and his confession to police days after the murder, Puska pleaded not guilty, claiming an unknown assailant killed Murphy and that he tried to help the teacher.

Before sentencing, the court heard statements from Murphy’s family members and partner.

“You smirked, smiled and showed zero remorse during your trial which sums you up as the person you really are, the epitome of pure evil,” Ryan Casey, Murphy’s boyfriend, told Puska.

Puska, a Slovak national, moved to Ireland 10 years ago and had been living near Tullamore since 2015.

The teacher’s daytime killing sent shockwaves through Ireland and resonated in Britain, where a string of killings around the same time highlighted violence against women.

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