Jozef Puska pleads not guilty to Ashling Murphy’s murder

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Jozef Puska has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ashling Murphy at the Central Criminal Court; the hearing was reported on 19 October 2023.

State Pathologist Dr SallyAnne Collis said Ms Murphy had 12 knife wounds to her neck, including 11 stab wounds and one incised wound. She said the stab wounds caused her death.

Dr Collis said one wound damaged both sides of Ms Murphy’s voice box, making it unlikely she could speak intelligibly. She also said injuries to her hands may have been defensive.

The wounds damaged major veins and an artery. Dr Collis said she could not rule out external pressure to the neck, but identified the stab wounds as the cause of death.