Murder accused ‘told friend he’d been in a fight’, court hears

A school bus driver has told a court that the man accused of murdering Ashling Murphy arrived at his home looking scared and wet on the same day she was killed.

The court heard from the man that Jozef Puska arrived at his home in Tullamore and said he had been in a fight in town.

Giving evidence at Central Criminal Court in Dublin, he told the court that he did not tell “the whole story” to gardai until January 24 because he was afraid of what it would mean for his family.

A garda also told the court about speaking to Puska in hospital as part of an investigation into a stabbing incident in Blanchardstown, Dublin on the day after Ms Murphy’s death.

Ms Murphy, 23, was killed while out exercising along a canal path in Tullamore, Co Offaly, at about 3.30pm on January 12 last year.

Puska, 33, of Lynally Grove in Mucklagh, Tullamore, has pleaded not guilty to the schoolteacher’s murder.

Rostislav “Peter” Pokuta told the court on Tuesday he knew Puska and his brothers because of his job as a school bus driver.

Mr Pokuta, a Slovak national who has been living in Ireland since 2006, said he was eating his dinner at about 9pm on January 12 when he was told by his son that Puska was at the door.

“So I came down to the door and said ‘What’s the story?'” he told the court, adding that Puska asked him for a lift home.

Mr Pokuta said Puska looked very scared, “wet”, and that “his face was scratched or something”.

He told the court Puska did not look like himself and appeared really scared.

The witness agreed that his face almost looked a different colour.

Mr Pokuta said that Puska told him that he had “some fight or something in town”, and that Puska did not want to talk about it.

The witness said he would take Puska home in his son’s car, a grey Volkswagen which has a sunroof.

He told the court that he took the key, started the car, and asked Puska several times what had happened.

“I said ‘Why did you not ring the guards?’ No answer to that,” he told the court.

Mr Pokuta confirmed to the court that he can be seen driving his son’s car on CCTV footage shown to the jury last week and again on Tuesday.

He told the court that Puska was wearing a black tracksuit with “some line” on the side, which he thought was white.

The court heard that when they arrived at his home, Puska said: “I’ll sort you out tomorrow,” and went inside.

The court heard that Mr Pokuta did not tell gardai “the whole story” in a statement on January 21, but did on January 24.

He said that this was because he was worried about his family, as there was “a lot going on” about the murder of Ms Murphy in Tullamore at the time.

Mr Pokuta said he was worried someone “might come down to my house and do something”.

Under questioning from defence barrister Michael Bowman SC, Mr Pokuta said that Puska did look injured at the time.

Mr Pokuta told the court Puska could have been holding his stomach or head, and that he did look hurt.

Garda Sergeant Paul McDonnell, who had been stationed at Blanchardstown Garda Station, said his colleagues were investigating a stabbing in Blanchardstown in January last year.

He said he and another garda were tasked with speaking to a man who had been identified as the victim of a stabbing.

Mr McDonnell said that he attended the accident and emergency department of St James’ Hospital on January 13 at about 14.35pm.

Mr McDonnell said that in one room he saw Puska in bed with his eyes closed and with a series of monitors attached to his chest and arms.

He said the bottom area of his torso was covered in a dressing, and both his left and right hands and his forehead had “distinctive, raw” marks on them.

He said Puska was in “good humour”.

Mr McDonnell said they told Puska that they were there to assist him and wished to get information to help with their inquiries in relation to a stabbing in Blanchardstown on the evening of January 12.

Mr McDonnell told the court that Puska said he travelled to Dublin with a friend and arrived in the area of Heuston station, then travelled on to Blanchardstown via a taxi.

Mr McDonnell said Puska told him that when he was getting out of the taxi, he was “immediately set upon and assaulted by two males”.

He said Puska described one as dark-skinned and wearing a tracksuit, but could not give a description of the second.

When asked to describe his injuries, Mr McDonnell said Puska could not elaborate further.

Mr McDonnell said Puska had said he went to Blanchardstown to meet a woman, but could not tell him the woman’s identity.

The garda confirmed to the court that all this information was given to him through a translator.

Mr McDonnell said he took a photograph of Puska’s hand to assist him with his inquiries, and Puska gave him permission to do so by giving him a thumbs up.

Mr McDonnell said the photo of Puska’s left hand had “distinct” markings that were “identical” to marks on his right hand and forehead.

He said that the interview came to an end when an alarm went off on the machine and he sought the attention of a nurse.

The court also heard members of An Garda Siochana give evidence in relation to a FitBit smartwatch and an account linked to an email address that included the words “ashling murphy”.

Garda Ciaran Byrne said that he examined the data from the Fitbit watch, shown in court, and cross-checked the data it collected on elevation and direction against a test he carried out along the canal route.

He said the watch no longer recorded any values for a heartrate after 3.31pm.

Under questioning from Mr Bowman, Mr Byrne confirmed that the time on the Huawei smartphone linked to the Fitbit watch and account was correct, and confirmed to the court that he did check.

Mr Bowman suggested to Mr Byrne that there was a need to be careful with the accuracy of the data.