Lucia Istokova jailed for 20 months over withholding information after Ashling Murphy murder

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

Lucia Istokova was sentenced to 26 months in prison, with six months suspended, for withholding information from gardaí after the murder of Ashling Murphy. She will serve 20 months in custody. Ms Justice Caroline Biggs sentenced her alongside four other members of Jozef Puska’s family at the Central Criminal Court on 22 October 2025.

Istokova pleaded guilty in May 2025, before the trial of the other four family members began. Her charge concerned her failure to disclose that Jozef Puska returned home with visible injuries, had admitted killing or seriously injuring a woman with a knife, and owned a bicycle of interest to gardaí.

The judge said the offending was not in the highest category and took account of mitigating factors. She reduced Istokova’s sentence to reflect her guilty plea.