Overview

• Ms Justice Caroline Biggs told five relatives of Jozef Puska to get their affairs in order, saying there is a real risk of custodial sentences.
• Marek and Lubomir Puska and Lucia Istokova face sentencing for withholding information, while Viera Gaziova and Jozefina Grundzova were convicted of assisting by burning clothes.
• Prosecutors said the withholding charges carry maximum sentences of five years and the assisting charges carry maximum sentences of ten years.
• Defence submissions cited fear, family loyalty and Roma cultural factors, and highlighted that the five have 14 children under 16 and would face added hardship in prison as non‑Irish nationals.
• The court heard that Istokova later disclosed Puska’s admissions and the bicycle link, as separate evidence at trial tied him to the murder through CCTV, DNA and hospital statements.