Ashling Murphy: Irish teacher’s murderer ‘should never see the light of day again’, says grieving mother | World News

The murderer of Irish teacher Ashling Murphy “should never see the light of day again”, her mother has said as he was sentenced to life.

Jozef Puska, 33, of Mucklagh, Tullamore, was found guilty last week following a trial, where the jury was told by the judge “we have evil in this room”.

At Dublin’s Central Criminal Court on Friday, Mr Justice Tony Hunt said there was only one sentence available, and it was “deserved”.

He said Puska’s evidence had been “indescribable” and the “one thing we don’t know about this case is the why”.

Ms Murphy, 23, was killed while she was out exercising along a canal in Tullamore, County Offaly, in January last year.

She was wearing a Fitbit which showed her exercise started at 2.51pm. But 30 minutes later it tracked “erratic, violent movements”. At 3.31pm, the Fitbit was no longer recording any heartbeat.

Ms Murphy’s mother said her “heart was ripped” from her body the moment she learned her daughter had been killed.

In a victim impact statement read out in court by a detective garda, Mrs Murphy said her “heart broke the moment I heard the bad news Ashling was murdered”.

“There is such a void in our home,” she said.

She said that the actions of Puska “must have consequences” and said “he should never see the light of day again”.

She said before her daughter left the house, she had begged her not to go along the canal, to which Ms Murphy replied “Ah mum, I’m 23 years old” before giving her mother a hug.

She gave her “a big hug and said ‘I love you, you’re the best mum in the world’ and walked out the door”, the court heard.

Ms Murphy’s partner said their relationship was “full with love, trust respect” and “was quite simply heaven on earth”.

Describing how they had first met as teenagers, Ryan Casey said they had plans to travel together, to build a house, start a family, and get married.

He said it did not make sense to him that someone who is “a burden to society can completely and permanently destroy someone… who is the complete opposite”, describing Ms Murphy as “a light with dreams, compassion, respect, a person who contributes to society in the best way possible”.

Read more:
Ashling Murphy and Ireland’s femicide epidemic

Mr Murphy’s death drew outrage across Ireland and the UK, prompting calls for more to be done about femicide.

During the trial, the court heard a man was seen in a ditch with a woman, believed to be Ms Murphy, and he shouted for a witness to go away.

They said Ms Murphy appeared to be fighting back, but not making any noise.

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