Jozef Puska's sisters-in-law could not have known and did not believe that he murdered Ashling Murphy when they burned the clothes he was wearing at the time he stabbed the 23-year-old teacher to death, defence lawyers have told the Central Criminal Court.
Lawyers for Jozefina Grundzova, aged 32, and Viera Gaziova, aged 40, delivered their closing speeches to a jury this afternoon. The two women are on trial with their husbands, 36-year-old Marek Puska and 38-year-old Lubomir Puska.
Jozef, a brother of Marek and Lubomir, fatally stabbed Ashling Murphy on 12 January 2022, on the canal towpath outside Tullamore, Co Offaly.
Marek and Lubomir are on trial accused of withholding information relating to the murder, while Ms Grundzova and Ms Gaziova are accused of impeding Jozef's apprehension or prosecution by burning his clothes.
All the accused were living with Jozef, 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.
Paul Murray SC, for Ms Grundzova, told the jury that for his client to be guilty, the jury must be satisfied that she knew what Jozef had done when she helped Ms Gaziova to burn the clothes.
Counsel told the jury that "hindsight is a wonderful thing" but they must look at the circumstances in the Puska household in the immediate aftermath of the murder.
When his client burned Jozef's clothes, she did not have any of the evidence that would later prove his guilt, Mr Murray said.
At that time, about 24 hours after the murder, gardaí also did not know because they had arrested and were questioning the wrong man, Mr Murray said.
All Ms Grundzova knew, counsel said, was second-hand information that had been relayed to her regarding conversations between Jozef and others in the household. Jozef had said numerous things which were "obvious nonsense" and "garbled lies" along with the truth - that he had stabbed or killed a girl.
Ms Grundzova could not have known that the true part was that Jozef had murdered Ms Murphy and that the rest was nonsense, counsel said. She, like the others in the household, did not believe that Jozef could be capable of such a thing.
The nub of the prosecution case, counsel said, is that Ms Grundzova knew or believed Jozef to be guilty of the murder of Ms Murphy, at a time when gardaí themselves had arrested an entirely different person.
Mr Murray asked the jury to return a verdict of not guilty.
Prosecutor Anne Marie Lawlor SC has previously told the jury that all the accused knew what Jozef had done shortly after 9.30pm on the night of the murder. She said Jozef told Lubomir Jnr and Marek, who then relayed it to the others in the house.
Ms Lawlor said the only reason for the withholding of evidence or burning of clothes was that they did not want Jozef to be apprehended or prosecuted for murder.
Damien Colgan SC, for Ms Gaziova, told the jury that the "crux of the case" is whether his client knew that Jozef had stabbed Ms Murphy.
Her view at that time, Mr Colgan said, was that Jozef had been the victim of an assault. When she was told what Jozef had said he did, she didn't believe it because she "didn't believe Jozef was capable of killing anybody".
Kathleen Leader SC, for Lubomir Jnr, said her client delayed but did not withhold information. She said he had a reasonable excuse for the delay and asked the jury to consider the "natural sense of protection for his younger brother".
She said it is understandable that Lubomir Jnr was reluctant to accept that his brother had "committed a truly horrific murder".
The family was "particularly close", she said, living together as six adults and 14 children in a four-bed home. Lubomir Jnr told gardaí that their relationship was "full of love".
When Jozef left the house early on 12 January and returned that night with visible injuries, the initial concern among the close knit family was, Ms Leader said: "Not that Jozef had behaved in a criminal manner, much less that he had murdered someone, but that Jozef himself had been hurt in some way."
Lubomir Jnr spoke to gardaí on 14, 16 and 18 January. Ms Leader said the statements reveal the progression of a man "coming to terms with something awful that was not of his doing".
She added: "He is working his way to a place where he is able to leave the bonds of family and brotherhood and love and all that entails, to where he discharges his other obligation to society as a whole, which is what he did."
Ms Leader said that by 18 January, Lubomir Jnr was "squarely supporting the prosecution", telling them everything he knew.
She reminded the jury that he said: "If you find out it was him, well let him. He is going to pay for what he did."
Ms Leader asked the jury to think of someone they love.
She added: "Think of that person coming home, out of the blue, and telling you they had done something so truly awful, something you hadn't imagined in your wildest dreams. Was it reasonable in those circumstances to disclose the information in stages?"
Ms Leader said the law does not require people to be "superhuman" as she asked the jury to acquit her client.
Ms Justice Caroline Biggs has begun her charge to the jury and will continue tomorrow.
