Ashling Murphy accused claims masked man killed her

The man accused of murdering Ashling Murphy has told a court an unidentified man wearing a mask attacked him and killed the 23-year-old schoolteacher.

Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported that he also accepted lying to gardaí (Irish police), and that he did not recall confessing to her killing.

Jozef Puska, 33, of Lynally Grove, Mucklagh in County Offaly - who denies murdering Ms Murphy - was giving evidence in his own defence at Dublin's Central Criminal Court.

Ms Murphy was fatally assaulted while jogging near Tullamore on 12 January 2022.

Mr Puska described the unknown attacker as wearing dark clothing and a face mask.

He said the man shouted at him in English but he did not understand him and had no idea why he was attacked.

He said the man stabbed him in the stomach - he then saw a woman appear, and the man attack her.

Mr Puska said he did not harm Ms Murphy and maintained he tried to help her with her injuries, but left the scene because he was stressed and scared.

He ended up in a ditch he said, where he lost consciousness and remained for a number of hours.

Mr Puska told the court he could not recall confessing to her murder in hospital two days later.

He claimed to have no recollection of the day of the confession in question but acknowledged the possibility of expressing concerns about his family to the police.

He admitted to lying to police about certain matters, including being stabbed in Blanchardstown, due to concerns for his family's safety. He told Judge Hunt he did not want to tell his family he was attacked in Tullamore in case they tried to find the man who assaulted him.

Mr Puska denied fleeing to Dublin from Tullamore and explained that he hadn't intentionally altered his appearance.

He said he had problems remembering certain things, it happened quite often and was not a lie.

He refuted an accusation of following women in Tullamore, citing his marital status as a reason. He also denied intimidating Anne Marie Kelly, who gave evidence earlier in the trial, and said he merely looked at her.

Mr Puska mentioned requesting the disposal of the clothes he wore on the day in question and said that had been done as he had not seen them again.

Ashling Murphy was still alive when he was with her, Mr Puska said, but he could tell she was dying.

He said he had no medical experience to help her and left and then hid in a ditch for four hours because he had no strength to continue.

When asked if he was the person who stabbed Ashling Murphy 11 times, Mr Puska said: "No, it wasn't me."

Prosecuting counsel Anne-Marie Lawlor put it to him that Ms Murphy had scratched him to try and save herself and his DNA was under her fingernails.

Regarding the evidence, he claimed that Ms Murphy had gloves on, and any DNA presence could be explained by his proximity to her.

"It’s strange," he said.

Mr Puska asserted that he was telling the truth of what he remembered, but Ms Lawlor argued that he had consistently lied throughout the investigation and was lying on Friday.

The trial is nearing its end, with only one witness remaining, and closing arguments are expected to begin soon, with the jury potentially beginning deliberations by the middle of the following week.