Irish police give evidence in Ashling Murphy murder trial

Ashling Murphy, who was 23, was killed while jogging in January 2022

A schoolteacher killed while jogging in the Republic of Ireland showed no signs of life when police arrived at the scene of the attack, a court in Dublin has heard.

Ashling Murphy, who was 23, was fatally assaulted while jogging near Tullamore in County Offaly in January 2022.

The first gardaí (Irish police officers) at the scene said they attempted CPR on Ms Murphy's body for 10 to 15 minutes.

Garda Tom Dunne was giving evidence at the trial of 33-year-old Jozef Puska, who denies murdering Ms Murphy.

He said he was on duty at Tullamore Garda Station when he received a report of a body being found.

He and his colleague Garda Shane Hunter drove to the scene on the banks of the Grand Canal.

Garda Dunne said that when they arrived he could see a woman's body in a ditch.

She was wearing a navy jacket up to her neck, navy leggings, blue trainers and there was a pink woolly hat close to her body.

He said her hair was matted, covered in blood and caught in briars.

Garda Dunne said he put on disposable gloves and entered the ditch where he unzipped the woman's jacket and began chest compressions.

He alternated chest compressions with Garda Hunter for 10 minutes or more.

When paramedics arrived they lifted Ms Murphy's body out of the ditch and continued working on her on the footpath.

They used a defibrillator but stopped after some time when there were no signs of life, he said.

Ms Murphy had a phone and keys to a Seat car in her jacket pocket and was wearing a necklace with the name "Aisling" on it, said Garda Dunne.

He said he saw a bicycle at the scene, close to the body.

Jozef Puska denies murdering Aisling Murphy

Earlier on Thursday the trial heard from Emma Doyle, whose parents lived close to the canal.

She told the court she had gone for a walk along the canal at about 15:00 local time that afternoon and had encountered a man on a bicycle.

She said she saw a woman walking and a man on a bicycle very close to her. At first she thought they were together as they were so close but then the cyclist passed the woman.

The cyclist was wearing a black tracksuit top and dark trousers. He had dark, crew-cut hair, dark stubble, sallow skin and what she described as "striking" and "unusual" eyes. She said she did not think he was Irish.

Ms Doyle said that as she passed him they said hello to each other and she kept walking.

A short time later, she was at her parents' house when she heard voices outside. She saw two women - Aoife Marron and Jenna Stack - who told her a woman had been attacked along the canal.

She told the court that Ms Marron had asked Ms Stack: "How did you see that?"

Ms Stack said she had seen the bicycle and she had noticed the woman's legs were "kicking up and down".

The trial continues.