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

Jozef Puska, of Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly, is on trial, accused of murdering Ms Murphy in January 2022. 

He 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. 

The trial did not start until 2pm today and the court heard from a “number of witnesses”, including primary school teacher Anne Marie Kelly. 

"She described going out for a walk with her dog at two o'clock on that afternoon that Ashling Murphy was killed - the 12th of January last year,” Mr Greaney told The Hard Shoulder. 

“Just by the McDonald's there in Tullamore, she said that she noticed somebody on a bike behind her, very close to her, cycling the bike very slowly and staring directly at her.” 

Ms Kelly described the bike as a “dark grey” and said the man was wearing a dark jacket and dark tracksuit bottoms. 

“She described as having a similar height to her – five foot seven, five foot eight - slim build shaved head, black stubble, dark eyes and in relation to the eyes that you really notice them,” Mr Greaney explained. 

'It appeared he was following me'

The court heard Ms Kelly stepped aside to let the cyclist move forward, but he remained at a slow pace near her. 

“Shortly afterwards then, she said she just stopped and looked at her phone to make sure that he had to pass, and he did,” Mr Greaney said. 

“She said that he did so in a really, really slow motion, looking back staring at her.” 

Ms Kelly then said she noticed the man again, walked down a “grassy verge” and turned around to see him walking on the path “quite fast”. 

After stopping to talk to a farmer, Ms Kelly said she stopped walking “for some reason” and once again noticed the man walking slowly in front of her. 

Ms Kelly was then cross-examined by Mr Puska’s defence, who said the accused remembers walking past her but said he was not following her or trying to stare at her. 

“She said, ‘It appeared he was following me’,” Mr Greaney said. 

Man walking on the N52

Another witness, Niamh Arthur, said she left her office in Tullamore at 8.30pm and was in the car when she noticed a man on the N52. 

“She said they locked eyes; he looked shocked according to her and she said that he looked lost,” Mr Greaney said. 

“She said that he was crouching and that he appeared to be trying to be hidden.” 

Another witness said he saw a man on the N52 wearing a dark tracksuit that “looked as they had been rolling in grass”. 

Stab wounds

A number of paramedics also took to the stand to describe going to an apartment complex on January 13th where Mr Puska was “was kneeling over a locker or something at the end of the bed”. 

“[The paramedic] described Mr Puska as holding his stomach while making ‘groaning moaning noises’,” Mr Greaney said. 

“He gave [Mr Puska] a full examination and he could see three stab wounds across his stomach area. 

“They looked to him like stab wounds, and he said they didn't look fresh.” 

Every day of the Ashling Murphy murder trial will be documented by Newstalk Courts Correspondent Frank Greaney via the All Rise: The Ashling Murphy Murder Trial podcast. 

Listen back here: