Killing of Ashling Murphy

Murphy was born in Blue Ball near Tullamore and grew up with two siblings, a brother and sister.[3][4][5] She gained a primary teaching qualification from Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, and taught in a national school in Durrow, County Offaly from March 2021.[6][7][8] A fiddler, she had been a featured musician at the Tullamore Tradfest traditional music festival.[9]

Grand Canal in Tullamore, near where Murphy was killed.

Murphy was jogging along the Grand Canal in Tullamore shortly after she finished work at 3 pm. She was attacked at around 4 pm on Fiona's Way, a canal walkway just outside the town in Cappincur, named after missing woman Fiona Pender.[10] Murphy sustained serious injuries consistent with a violent assault and was confirmed to have died from strangulation.[11][12] Two women, who were jogging on the opposite bank, saw Murphy being assaulted and ran to the nearest house to phone the Gardaí.[13] Gardaí believe that when the attacker confronted Murphy, she fought back in a desperate attempt to save her life by using her keys.[14]

Gardaí announced that they were only looking for one person in relation to the attack,[15] and that they believed that the perpetrator was not known to Murphy.[7]

The Gardaí initially detained a 40-year-old man[1][16] based on the partial descriptions given by witnesses.[17] They released him the next day after eliminating him from their enquiries.[18] The man spoke to the Irish Independent on 15 January, recounting his experience being interrogated by Gardaí and the online threats he had received since the arrest and his subsequent release.[19]

A Falcon Storm mountain bike was recovered from the crime scene and linked to Murphy's killing.[20] There were reports that another woman was followed by a man on a bike in Tullamore two hours before Murphy was killed.[21] CCTV footage of the bike on the day of the attack were recovered.[22]

DNA evidence of the alleged perpetrator was recovered from Murphy's body, with Gardaí saying "she fought for her life".[23][24] On 17 January, Gardaí said "significant progress" was being made, as they issued a renewed appeal for information and asked people to come forward if they noticed a man dressed in a black tracksuit and black runners.[25]

On 3 March, two months after the killing, Gardaí in Dublin arrested a man and a woman in their 60s on suspicion of withholding information; they were released without charge.[26][27]

On 13 June 2023, five people, all Slovakians in their thirties, were arrested and charged with withholding information or impeding an arrest.[28]

People in Tullamore and across Ireland expressed shock and sadness following Murphy's death.[9]

Taoiseach Micheál Martin declared that there was no place in Irish society for violence, particularly violence against women, which cannot and will not be tolerated.[49] Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee described the circumstances of Murphy's death as "every woman and family's worst nightmare".[50] Women's Aid Ireland demanded a policy of zero tolerance of violence by men against women, publishing statistics it compiled on the unlawful deaths of women in Ireland since 1996.[51]

Towns, villages and communities across the island of Ireland and the world gathered to pay tribute to the memory of Murphy in the days after her death,[52] with up to 100 vigils taking place in Tullamore, Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Galway, Derry, Tyrone and Armagh[50][53][54][55] as well as in Melbourne, Edinburgh, London, New York, Toronto and Vancouver.[56][57] President Michael D. Higgins paid tribute to Murphy's short but brilliant and generous life.[58] Micheál Martin attended a vigil organised by the National Women's Council of Ireland outside Dáil Éireann in Dublin, where a minute's silence was held at 4:30 pm, close to the time Murphy was attacked.[59][60] Campaigners led calls for an end to violence against women.[61]

In response to the killing, Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, said new laws to include stalking as a specific criminal offence would be published before Easter, with the laws to make it clear that stalking includes watching or following a victim, even where the victim is not aware of it, and making sure it covers all forms of modern communication.[62] On 20 April, McEntee brought a memo to Cabinet on new legislation which would make stalking and non-fatal strangulation standalone offences, carrying a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.[63]

On 19 January, one week after the killing, over 100 people carrying photographs and flowers attended a vigil at the site where Murphy was killed.[64]

Murphy's funeral took place on 18 January 2022, at St Brigid's Church, Mountbolus, in rural County Offaly. It was attended by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, President Michael D. Higgins and Minister for Justice Helen McEntee.[65] Schools and colleges around the country observed a minute's silence at 11 am in her memory.[66]

Mourners at the funeral mass for Murphy were told that her family and boyfriend had been robbed of their most precious gift.[67][68][69] She was buried in Lowertown Cemetery, Mountbolus.[70]