A man has been found guilty of murdering Irish primary school teacher Ashling Murphy, who was killed while jogging in January last year.
Josef Puska, 33, was convicted of the crime following a trial at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.
Jurors were told the father-of-five had dragged Ms Murphy, 23, off a canal towpath and into dense hedges before he stabbed her 12 times.
The killing of the talented musician shocked the small town of Tullamore, Co Offaly, where her body was discovered on January 12.
Her pupils at Durrow National School, located around five miles from the town, formed a guard of honour outside the church where her funeral was held less than a week later.
The service was attended by Irish President Michael D Higgins and then-Taoiseach Micheal Martin.
Thanking the jury for their service, judge Mr Justice Hunt ended the trial by exempting them from further duty for 20 years.
The nine men and three women reached a unanimous verdict just a day after beginning their deliberations on Wednesday, with the judge saying the speed reflected that the case was straightforward.
However, he added that it was nevertheless ‘difficult and upsetting’.
Speaking to the jury, he said ‘we have evil in this room’, and added: ‘There will be a day of reckoning for Puska.’
Ms Murphy’s death sparked a national conversation in Ireland around women’s safety and the need for more work to be done to tackle gender-based violence.
In the courtroom, members of her family wept and hugged each other as the verdict was read out.
Justice Hunt addressed the pain of the relatives, saying: ‘Their position is unenviable. How their child was taken away, to consider what happened here is enough to make you physically ill.’
Puska had argued he was in fact the victim of a masked man, who stabbed him and then Ms Murphy when she appeared on the path.
Speaking through a Slovakian interpreter, he told the court he had in fact tried to help her after the stabbing by wrapping a scarf or shawl around her injuries.
However, Detective Garda Brian Jennings told the jury the killer had made a confession the day after the death while he was being treated in hospital.
He said: ‘He paused and said he is making an official statement that he is admitting that he committed the murder: “I did it. I murdered. I am the murderer”.’
The jury rejected Puska’s version of events.
Following the trial, Ms Murphy’s brother Cathal told the media: ‘Ashling was subjected to incomprehensible violence by a predator who was not known to her.
‘While we do not glory in any conviction, we recognise the importance of holding accountable those who would commit such terrible atrocities.
‘The judicial process cannot bring our darling Ashling back, nor can it heal our wounds, but we are relieved that this verdict delivers justice.
‘It is simply imperative that this vicious monster can never harm another woman again.’
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