Man found guilty of murdering primary school teacher in Ireland

A man has been found guilty of killing a primary school teacher last year, in a case that shocked Ireland.

Ashling Murphy, 23, a popular local teacher and musician, was murdered as she jogged along a canal near Tullamore, central Ireland, in January 2022.

Jozef Puska, 33, faces a mandatory life sentence after the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict at Dublin’s central criminal court on Thursday, Irish media reported.

The prosecution described the evidence against Puska, who came to Ireland from Slovakia 10 years ago, as “overwhelming”. He denied the murder when the trial began last month.

During the trial the court heard that Murphy had 11 stab wounds in her neck, which caused acute blood loss and her heart to stop.

Puska will be sentenced on 17 November.

The teacher’s killing in broad daylight sent shockwaves through Ireland and resonated in Britain, where a string of killings around the same time highlighted violence against women and girls.

More details soon …