Painkillers given to Jozef Puska would have had 'no influence' on his behaviour, murder trial told

Pharmacology professor told the trial he has 'never heard of anyone confessing to murder or anything of that kind' after taking the kind of low therapeutic doses of the painkilling drug oxycodone given to Mr Puska in hospital

The prosecution alleges that while in a hospital bed in St James's, Mr Puska admitted to murdering Ashling Murphy by saying: 'I did it, I murdered, I am the murderer', and by telling another garda he 'cut' Ashling Murphy.

The amount of drugs administered by medical staff to Jozef Puska before he allegedly admitted to murdering Ashling Murphy would have had no impact on his behaviour or his ability to communicate, a professor of pharmacology has told the Central Criminal Court.

Professor Michael Ryan told the trial he has "never heard of anyone confessing to murder or anything of that kind" after taking the kind of low therapeutic doses of the painkilling drug oxycodone administered to Mr Puska at that time.