Puska's sister-in-law said she was "afraid the whole family would go against me"

by Eoin Reynolds

Jozef Puska's sister-in-law told gardai she had failed to say that she burned the clothes Jozef was wearing on the day he murdered Ashling Murphy because she was "afraid the whole family would go against me" or that she would end up on the street.

Viera Gaziova (40) told gardai she burned the clothes after her husband, Lubomir Puska jnr, told her that Jozef had asked him to "make sure that those clothes are burnt". She said she built a fire in the living room and put the clothes on top. After the flames had died down, she cleaned out the fireplace and poured the ashes down the kitchen sink.

All that remained by then was "pure ash", she said, with "nothing that resembled clothes".

Ms Gaziova is charged with impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Jozef Puska by burning his clothes. Jozefina Grundzova (32), who is married to Jozef's other brother Marek Puska (36), is charged with the same offence.

Lubomir jnr (38) and Marek are charged with withholding information from detectives investigating Ms Murphy's murder. All the accused were living with Jozef Puska, his wife Lucia, and 14 children at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly when the offences are alleged to have occurred in January 2022.

All accused have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Det Gda Andrew Dolan today (Friday) told prosecution senior counsel Anne Marie Lawlor that Ms Gaziova met gardai to give a voluntary statement on January 17, 2022, five days after Ms Murphy's murder.

She described Jozef as a "very good person". She said he spoke to everyone, played with the children and "never said anything bad for anyone." His children "never went short for anything," she added.

She said Jozef went out early on the day of Ashling's murder, and the rest of the household became concerned when he did not come back that afternoon. Marek and Lubomir jnr searched for him but couldn't find him.

Some time after 9pm, Jozef arrived home "fully soaked from top to bottom" and "shaking uncontrollably". He was wearing a Tommy Hilfiger top with black tracksuit bottoms and black runners, she said, and told his wife Lucia that he was going for a shower.

After his shower, Jozef left the clothes he had been wearing "rolled up in a bundle" inside a bag on the bathroom floor. She said Lubomir jnr and Marek spoke to Jozef in his bedroom and afterwards, Lubomir told her that Jozef had "confessed that he killed a girl".

She said: "I said, this is not like Jozef. I did not believe Jozef could do such a thing."

When Lucia came into the room, she said they stopped talking about it.

She said that the people who knew what Jozef had done were herself, Lubomir jnr, Marek and Jozefina. She didn't know if Lucia knew at that point, she said.

She said they spoke about what Jozef had said, adding: "We were all puzzled, then we quickly became afraid."

Jozef's parents arrived a short time later, and his mother wanted to know what had happened to Jozef and who had beaten him up. Ms Gazikva said Jozef's mother insisted that Jozef return with his parents to Dublin.

When Jozef and his parents had left, she said Lubomir jnr poured a shot of vodka for everyone. "We started talking that Jozef couldn't do it, we didn't believe it." She said they continued talking and drinking until Lucia came into the room. Ms Gaziova said Marek told Lucia that Jozef had been stabbed, but Lucia was "puzzled" and didn't believe it. She said she would have seen the stab wounds.

The following day, Ms Gaziova said, Lubomir jnr had gone to Dublin and that night, after 10pm, he called her using Facebook Messenger to say that Jozef had asked him to "make sure that those clothes are burnt".

She said she waited until the following morning after the children had gone to school. She lit the fire using paper and briquettes and let it burn for about one hour, until it was "very strong". She took the clothes out of the bag, starting with the tracksuit top and t-shirt, which were stuck together as though Jozef had taken them off in one go.

When gardai asked why she had "misled the investigation" by failing to mention that she destroyed evidence in her previous statement, she said: "We were afraid of the guards when they came. Nothing like this ever happened before. I was afraid I would end up on the street with my children. I was shaking. I didn't want to say because I was afraid the whole family would go against me."

The trial continues before Ms Justice Caroline Biggs and a jury of seven men and five women.