EXCLUSIVE: ‘Ashling Murphy’s assassin had a brief circuit in his mind when he killed her’: Jozef Puska’s childhood good friend speaks from distant Slovakian village that killer left earlier than brutally stabbing Irish major trainer to loss of life

A college good friend of ‘evil’ killer Jozef Puska claimed he will need to have had a ‘quick circuit’ in his mind when he killed major college trainer Ashling Murphy.

The 33-year-old was jailed for all times on Friday after being convicted of the Irish 23-year-old’s homicide final week.

The Mail tracked down former classmate Igor Gazi, 34, who lives reverse the house Puska grew up in, within the distant village of Lucivna, on the foot of the Excessive Tadras mountains, in northern Slovakia.

Puska, who’s of Roma ethnicity, lived within the tiny village, which has fewer than 1,000 residents, till he was a youngster, earlier than he moved to the capital, Bratislava, aged 16 to work on constructing websites, then to Prague within the Czech Republic. He’s believed to have travelled over to Eire along with his spouse, two eldest youngsters, dad and mom and prolonged household round a decade in the past ‘for a greater life.’

Puska’s former household residence, a small scruffy concrete dwelling in a poor neighborhood stays empty, however locals say it has not been bought and is being sorted by neighbours.

Igor, 34, who attended college with Puska within the metropolis of Svit, round a mile away, mentioned initially he remained in touch along with his good friend when he moved to Eire. Igor mentioned Puska ‘didn’t have any issues’ and he couldn’t perceive what may have turned him right into a killer.

‘I can’t clarify it,’ Igor mentioned. ‘Maybe he had some quick circuit (in his mind) that made him do that.

‘When he was a younger man he had a number of girlfriends as common earlier than he left to Prague.

‘When he moved to Eire we referred to as one another on the telephone. He didn’t even have any issues along with his spouse.

‘Who does not argue in household?’

Igor’s father, Jan, 57, described Puska as a ‘righteous boy’ and claimed that he appeared ‘regular and wonderful’ when the household returned residence on vacation.

Puska has no earlier convictions, though he was cautioned for having intercourse with an underage woman when he too was beneath the age of consent in his homeland.

The daddy-of-five was unemployed and dwelling of incapacity advantages when Ashling was killed, on the towpath of the Grand Canal, in Tullamore, County Offaly, on January 12 final yr.

Gardai advised reporters married Puska, whose spouse, Lucia, stood by him at his trial, messaged ladies on relationship app, Badoo, previous to the homicide. CCTV confirmed him ‘stalking’ different ladies within the city, which is round 60 miles west of Dublin, within the hours earlier than he attacked Ashling at random.

He stabbed her 11 instances within the neck in broad daylight, then left her dying in brambles beside the canal. The promising musician, who was an achieved fiddle participant, had gone to the canal after work to train and died at 3.31pm. The time of her loss of life was recorded on the Fitbit watch she as carrying.

Puska initially confessed to her homicide, telling detectives: ‘I did it. I murdered. I’m the assassin.’ However he later retracted this confession, saying it was made when he was drugged up on painkillers in hospital. Puska claimed his accidents – he suffered three stab wounds to his stomach – have been brought on by the ‘actual killer’ who attacked each himself and Ashling on the towpath.

He had been making an attempt to assist Ashling when witnesses caught him leaning over her physique within the undergrowth, he claimed.

In actuality, he had stabbed himself and spun a sequence of lies in a bid to save lots of his personal pores and skin and evade justice.

The jury, at Dublin Central Felony Courtroom, took simply over two hours to dismiss his account, later described as ‘nonsense’ by the trial decide.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt advised the 9 males and three ladies that he agreed with their verdict and that there was ‘evil’ within the room.