A man charged with the murder of Ashling Murphy has been remanded in continuing custody pending preparation of the book of evidence for his trial.
Jozef Puska (31), with an address at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly, was initially held following a hearing on January 19th.
He is accused of killing the 23-year-old primary school teacher, who was attacked after she went for a run along the Grand Canal near Tullamore on January 12th.
The Slovakian national faced his sixth hearing at Cloverhill District Court on Wednesday. Mr Puska appeared before Judge Victor Blake via video link.
Two weeks ago, the court heard the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) directed that Mr Puska would face trial on indictment in the Central Criminal Court.
However, the prosecution's book of evidence must be completed and served on him before being returned for trial to the higher court.
Preparation
Court Garda sergeant Olwyn Murphy told Judge Blake the book wasn't ready and "still in preparation", adding that some reports were outstanding.
Asked by Judge Blake to elaborate on the nature of the reports, the sergeant said she could not at this time. The judge said he would require better information at the next hearing.
The sergeant asked for a four-week adjournment, but defence counsel Sharon Rossiter said there was only consent to two weeks.
Judge Blake remarked that “every effort should be made to expedite the book of evidence”. He further remanded Mr Puska in custody to appear again on April 6th.
Dressed in a green T-shirt and grey tracksuit bottoms, the accused listened with the help of an interpreter. He only spoke to confirm his name and replied "Okay" with a nod at the end of the hearing.
Earlier, the defence asked for an order that the book of evidence be translated into Slovakian, however, Judge Blake said it had to be ready first.
Detective Sergeant David Scahill gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution at Mr Puska’s first hearing on January 19th, stating that when asked if he had anything to say in response to the charge, the accused replied: "No."
The High Court can only consider a bail application in a murder case.
