Today, the Ashling Murphy murder trial entered its sixteenth day at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.

Jozef Puska, of Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, County Offaly is accused of murdering Ms Murphy and denies the charge.

To follow all things related to the trial, you can listen to Newstalk Courts Correspondent Frank Greaney's daily podcast All Rise: The Ashling Murphy Murder Trial.

Deliberations

This afternoon, Mr Justice Tony Hunt sent the jury of nine men and three women to start its deliberations.

“They’d only retired at 3.35, so 26 minutes on the clock by my watch when they returned to court to be told that they could go home for the evening,” Mr Greaney told The Hard Shoulder.  

“They’ll resume their deliberations in the morning.” 

The jury in Jozef Puska’s murder trial has been sent home for the day.

Deliberations to resume at 10.30am tomorrow.

Mr Puska is accused of murdering Ashling Murphy along the Grand Canal in Tullamore on the 12th of Jan 2022.

— Frank Greaney (@FrankGreaney) November 8, 2023

Matters of law

Before sending them away to consider the verdict, the judge went over several crucial matters of law to bear in mind during their deliberations. 

“He told them that they were bound by the evidence firstly,” Mr Greaney said. 

“Any inferences arising from it or potentially arising from the evidence, he told them they must not speculate, no room for guesswork. 

“He also said that whatever weight they decide to apply on pieces of evidence is entirely up to them - they are the judges of fact.” 

He also went into detail regarding Mr Puska’s presumption of innocence and what it would require to find him guilty of Ms Murphy’s murder. 

“Jozef Puska has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ashling Murphy and as such he is entitled to that presumption of innocence, unless the prosecution proves a reasonable doubt in relation to the evidence,” Mr Greaney. 

“So, the jurors were told in relation to that that they start by presuming that what Mr Puska’s saying is correct and they then work from there.

“He also spoke about the burden of proof; the defence don’t have to do anything. 

“They don’t have to prove their case, they don’t have to disprove the prosecution’s case. 

“It’s entirely up to the prosecution to prove the allegation beyond a reasonable doubt - that very high standard of proof.” 

The jury will begin their deliberations again tomorrow morning.

Main image: People pay their respects to Ashling Murphy at a memorial outside Leinster House, 15-01-2022. Image: Sam Boal / RollingNews