Ashling Murphy’s boyfriend in touching tribute as family emotionally retrace final steps 4 years on from horror murder
Ashling Murphy’s boyfriend in touching tribute as family emotionally retrace final steps 4 years on from horror murder
The Ashling Murphy Memorial Fund has given €150,000 out to various agencies
ASHLING Murphy’s boyfriend paid an emotional tribute to his love today on the fourth anniversary of her murder.
Heartbroken Ryan Casey posted online: “One of the hardest things we all have to do in life is to try and turn the page to the next chapter, knowing that someone who meant so much to you won’t be in it.
“You made me the man that I am today, and you will always be my moral compass! Rest in Peace, Ash.”
His tribute came as Ashling’s grieving family retraced her final steps – as a former colleague declared: “She’s always with us in spirit.”
Around 200 relatives and friends gathered at a memorial for the 23-year-old talented schoolteacher along the Grand Canal just outside Tullamore in Co Offaly.
Ashling’s sister Amy, brother Cathal, and her partner Ryan Casey led the short walk from Digby Bridge shortly after 3pm, with dad Ray and mum Kathleen following, as flowers were laid at the shrine before prayers were said in Ashling’s memory.
James Hogan, the principal of Durrow National School, where Ashling taught first class, then spoke on behalf of the family.
He told how they not only wanted to extend their thanks for the support to everyone there, but also across the nation and internationally.
He said: “It’s hard to believe we’re four years on from her tragic loss here, but unfortunately that is life, and we have to remember Ashling for as much as the positives that she brought to her world in her 23 short years.”
He added: “We’re very grateful, and Ashling might not be here, but she’s always with us in spirit, and we’ve all our own little elements of remembering, let it be a robin, a rainbow, or whatever little natural item appears, and she’s always with us, and we will bear that in mind.
“We think of her on this day, four years on from her tragic loss, and she is deeply, deeply missed every day.
“It’s wrong, it is wrong, and it’s not fair.
“But we have to move forward together, and we will, and I acknowledge the family, Ryan, extended family, we still offer our sympathy to you all because you’re a credit.
“You’re so proud of her, and you should be, and I know you are. And she’s very proud of you, and we will support you all the way whenever we need it.”
BRUTAL MURDER
Ashling was attacked and brutally murdered while out for a run along the banks of the Grand Canal just outside Tullamore, Offaly, on January 12, 2022.
Evil Jozef Puska was convicted of her murder in 2023 and caged for life.
Last October, Puska’s wife, his two brothers, and their partners were handed down sentences of 20 to 30 months for withholding information and destroying evidence in the aftermath of Ashling’s death.
But Ashling’s grieving family are determined to keep her memory and legacy alive.
The Ashling Murphy Memorial Fund has given €150,000 out to various agencies, including individual clubs, sporting teams, schools, and Comhaltas branches, which promote Irish music.
Mr Hogan said: “We’re delighted to be able to support and keep that going. And there’s many a young person out there today who are going to be grateful to the fund for helping them to develop their skills in the areas of fields that they would have.
“So we are very much alive with the fund and keeping her memory alive too, and we ask you all to keep doing that because it does help, it does help, every little helps.”
‘WANT TO THANK EVERYONE’
At the spot where she died, a portrait was laid with a cross on the paving and a bench, which was made by the local men’s shed, which was created within the first year of her passing.
Mr Hogan said: “The family in particular want to thank everyone, but all the locals who keep this shrine here so looking beautiful and it’s well maintained all year round, and it’s a credit to them.
“Again, to everyone that has visited over the last few years since she passed, to date it all does help.”
It’s hard to believe we’re four years on from her tragic loss here, but unfortunately that is life, and we have to remember Ashling for as much as the positives that she brought to her world in her 23 short years.”James Hogan, on behalf of the family
Mr Hogan invited those who brought instruments to the walk to step forward.
He added: “Ashling loved music, particularly traditional music, so it’s fitting that we will play a few tunes here at her shrine again this year.”
MUSICAL MEMORIAL
Ashling’s dad took to the mandolin as Ashling’s sister Amy also played along with others on various instruments, including ‘The Trip to Durrow.’
Depraved Puska, who is originally from Slovakia, arrived in Ireland in 2013, and there was no connection between him and Ashling, with her murder being random.
A jury found the thug – who concocted a bogus defence – guilty of murder following a trial at the Central Criminal Court.
Evidence which was crucial in the case included his own confession, his DNA being under the victim’s nails after she fought for her life, CCTV, and witnesses who placed the beast at the scene.
IT ALL CAME OUT' – GAVIN NEWSOM BLOWS UP AFTER BEING EXPOSED LIVE ON AIR
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As the 2028 presidential election cycle rapidly approaches, life is getting increasingly complicated for California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The ambitious Democrat, widely expected to declare his candidacy for his party's highest nomination, is currently drowning in a massive, rapidly expanding ethics scandal centered on hundreds of millions of dollars in questionable corporate donations. As federal investigators continue to circle both the governor and his wife, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the sheer scale of his fundraising tactics is raising serious alarm bells across the political spectrum.
At the absolute center of this controversy is Newsom’s unprecedented and unapologetic use of "behested payments"—a controversial practice in California law that allows elected officials to personally solicit massive, unlimited donations from deep-pocketed corporations, wealthy individuals, and labor unions to fund specific charities or government initiatives.
While technically legal under the state's highly permissive rules, government watchdogs and ethics experts are fiercely arguing that these payments represent a glaring, dangerous loophole. It essentially allows special interests—many of whom have active, highly lucrative business before the state of California—to gain massive political influence and curry favor with the governor, entirely outside the strict boundaries of traditional campaign finance laws.
The $347 Million Man
According to official California disclosure records, the scale at which Newsom utilizes this loophole is utterly staggering. Since 2011, Newsom has reported soliciting more than $347 million in behested payments.
To put that massive figure into perspective, data from the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) reveals that all elected officials statewide combined directed roughly $556 million in behested payments between 2011 and 2026. Newsom alone accounted for nearly two-thirds—a whopping 62%—of that total.
By stark contrast, his predecessor, former Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, reportedly solicited a relatively modest $35 million in behested payments during his entire tenure.
"Behested payments are ripe for abuse," warned Sean McMorris of California Common Cause, pointing out the obvious ethical minefield created when powerful elected officials lean on organizations that have direct business before the government.
The Optics of Influence Peddling
The ethical concerns are not just hypothetical; they are rooted in a pattern of massive corporate donations followed by highly favorable state actions.
Public reports have raised serious questions about several major donors who opened their checkbooks at Newsom's behest and later benefited immensely from state contracts or policy decisions. For example, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare giant Blue Shield donated a staggering $20 million to initiatives heavily supported by Newsom. Shortly thereafter, the corporation was miraculously awarded a highly lucrative, no-bid state contract related to vaccine distribution.
Similarly, the Kaiser Foundation contributed nearly $10 million before securing a significantly expanded role in California’s massive Medi-Cal program. In another instance, the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria donated millions to organizations associated with the governor and his wife’s initiatives. Later, they benefited significantly from favorable state decisions involving tribal gaming matters, including efforts to block a rival casino from opening nearby.
While proving an explicit, legal quid pro quo is notoriously difficult, critics argue that the actual transaction is irrelevant. The concern is that the system inherently encourages and rewards a "pay-to-play" culture. Assemblyman David Tangipa slammed the practice, describing behested payments as a blatant form of "political influence peddling," boldly arguing that just because the system is legal does not mean it isn't deeply corrupt.
The Family Business and Federal Heat
The issue has drawn even fiercer scrutiny because millions of these corporate dollars have been funneled directly into organizations tightly linked to the governor’s inner circle. Approximately $4.8 million in behested donations were routed to the California Partners Project, a nonprofit organization co-founded by Jennifer Siebel Newsom. For many critics, corporate money flowing into a charity run by the governor's wife creates, at the very least, a glaring appearance of a massive conflict of interest.
The intense debate over this influence-peddling loophole comes at a highly precarious time for the governor. Newsom recently acknowledged that both he and his wife are currently the subjects of multiple, ongoing federal investigations. While neither has been charged with any wrongdoing, and the Department of Justice has remained completely tight-lipped about the exact nature of the inquiries, the specter of a federal probe casts a dark cloud over his 2028 presidential ambitions.
A "Laughable Slap on the Wrist"
Adding insult to injury for government transparency advocates, Newsom recently agreed to pay a $31,500 ethics fine handed down by the state's campaign finance watchdog, the FPPC. The fine was levied after the commission found that Newsom flagrantly failed to legally report 36 separate behested payments—totaling more than $5.6 million—within the required 30-day timeframe.
The late disclosures involved massive corporate donations solicited during the 2024 and 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, pulling in vast sums from corporate titans like BlackRock, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, and Anthem Blue Cross. While Newsom's office brushed off the violation as a mere paperwork oversight during an emergency, critics blasted the $31,500 penalty as a "laughable slap on the wrist" for a wealthy politician manipulating a quarter-billion-dollar shadow fundraising system. This marks the second time Newsom has been fined for late reporting of these payments, having previously paid a $13,000 fine in 2024.
Supporters of the governor are quick to point out that these behested donations have funded critical public initiatives, including wildfire relief and charitable causes. However, the public benefit of those projects does absolutely nothing to eliminate the massive concerns surrounding transparency, corporate influence, and the ability of powerful special interests to funnel unlimited cash into causes promoted by the state's most powerful executive.
As Newsom attempts to position himself as the future of the Democratic Party, the growing scandal surrounding his $347 million loophole is forcing a national reckoning. The American people are left to wonder: if this is how Gavin Newsom runs California, how exactly would he run the country?
