Tina Satchwell murder trial: Jury shown clips of husband Richard's media appeals in 2017

Sunday World

01-05-2025

Truck driver Richard Satchwell has denied murdering his wife
The jury in the Tina Satchwell murder trial was shown clips of media interviews given by her husband Richard in June and July 2017, after she had disappeared from their home in Youghal, Co Cork.
In evidence with lead investigator Detective Garda David Kelleher, the jury viewed video of interviews with the Irish Independent, RTÉ and 96FM in which Mr Satchwell pleaded for information about his missing wife.
'Tina, come home – my arms are open. It has been horrible [without Tina]. I cry myself to sleep. There are no good days. I cuddle the dogs in my arms every night to comfort them,' Mr Satchwell said at the time.
'I wouldn't lift a finger to hurt my wife. I told the truth – I have nothing to hide.'
Richard Satchwell and his wife Tina Satchwell
Richard Satchwell told gardaí his wife Tina 'wore the trousers' and regularly beat him, trial told
Mr Satchwell told the media outlets he was 'sick with worry' about his missing wife, could not sleep, was losing weight and that he was 'existing… not living' without his beloved Tina.
'There is absolutely no joy left.'
Mr Satchwell (58) appeared in court on the third day of his murder trial before the Central Criminal Court yesterday where he wore navy slacks, a white T-shirt and a cream checked shirt.
The Leicester native has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his wife Tina (45) at a time unknown on March 19/20, 2017, at his home at Grattan Street in Youghal, contrary to Common Law.
Tina's badly decomposed body was discovered by gardaí in October 2023 in the Satchwell family home in a shallow grave underneath the stairs and topped with concrete.
Mr Satchwell told gardaí his wife would routinely assault him and on two occasions had 'knocked him out cold'.
The English truck driver insisted to gardaí that he never retaliated to his wife's regular alleged assaults on him, but would 'drive away on his own and have a cry'.
Inspector Daniel Holland told the trial on Tuesday that he met Mr Satchwell at Midleton garda station on June 8, 2017, the day after gardaí conducted their first non-invasive search of his home.
Insp Holland stressed that it was a voluntary meeting and represented 'a general conversation and an exchange of information'.
'He explained to us he had given up a lot in his life to be with Tina,' he said.
Mr Satchwell's English family opposed his relationship with the Irish woman and, he claimed, no longer spoke to him.
The truck driver described his wife as 'very headstrong and determined'.
Tina Satchwell went missing in 2017 - her body was found in 2023
'He also alluded to the fact she had physically assaulted him,' Insp Holland said. 'On two occasions [he said] she knocked him out cold, unconscious.'
Just one week before she vanished in March 2017, he claimed Tina had again assaulted him, with her mood darkening after 2016.
Insp Holland said that Mr Satchwell explained that while he wanted children, Tina did not. 'When she wasn't in a mood she was the perfect person… he had long since accepted this dark side.'
The inspector noted Mr Satchwell stressed that he was 'obsessed' with his wife.
The truck driver also explained that substantial Western Union money transfers – details of which were found during the June house search by gardaí – ­related to the couple's ongoing attempts to adopt two marmoset monkeys from an international animal welfare agency.
Gardaí who searched the Satchwell home on June 8, 2017, discovered the Cork property in a filthy condition with dog faeces on the floor, a soiled parrot cage that had not been cleaned, dirty dishes lying in the sink and unfinished refurbishment work throughout the house.
Richard Satchwell
Retired garda sergeant John Sharkey said he sought a search warrant for the home in June – less than three months after Mr Satchwell claimed his wife had left their home without warning.
Mr Satchwell told gardaí in October 2023, just hours after human remains were found in his home during a second more invasive search, that his wife Tina attacked him with a chisel on March 20, 2017.
In late May or early June, having reviewed the evidence, I formed the opinion that something criminal may have occurred
He said she 'went limp' after he tried to protect himself by holding her away from him with a belt, with her weight on the belt by her neck.
Mr Satchwell put her body in a chest freezer and then buried it in a one-metre grave he excavated under the stairwell of their home.
Her remains were found six-and-a-half years later only after a forensic and invasive search by gardaí.
Sgt Sharkey said he became aware that Mr Satchwell had reported his wife as missing at Fermoy garda station on March 24, 2017.
This was four days after he claimed she had left the house without warning while he was on an errand in Waterford.
He told gardaí that Tina had left home suddenly because of difficulties in their relationship. The truck driver claimed she had left her beloved dogs, Heidi and Ruby, behind but had taken two suitcases and €26,000 in cash.
Richard Satchwell denies the murder of his wife, Tina
A formal missing-person report was filed by Mr Satchwell on May 11, 2017, at the urging of gardaí.
Sgt Sharkey said: 'We monitored the situation. The hope was that Tina Satchwell would return home or come to notice in some form. But as time passed, our concern for the welfare of Tina Satchwell grew.
'In late May or early June, having reviewed the evidence, I formed the opinion that something criminal may have occurred.'
He went to Youghal District Court on June 2 and got a search warrant for the Satchwell home.
In cross-examination, Sgt Sharkey said he was not alone in having concerns by late May that something suspicious had happened to Tina.
Sgt Sharkey said he feared there had been 'a criminal event'.
'It was a corporate decision [to search the house]. The superintendent and detective inspector would have been at the meeting – but I agreed with the decision.
'It was an open search… it remained to be seen [what was found]. It was a thorough, formal search – the services of the garda search team were provided for that purpose.'
Garda Cathal Whelan was the first into the Satchwell home on June 7, 2017, and photographed the entire property.
One of the items photographed by Gda Whelan was a new wall under the stairs.
Tina Satchwell was 45 when she was last seen alive (Family Handout/PA)
'It [the house] was untidy. It was unkempt. There was dog faeces on the floor. There was a bird cage that had not been cleaned. It was unkempt. There were dishes in the sink [that were] not washed.'
Gda Whelan said the second floor was packed with women's clothing, while another room had a sunbed.
'There was a room full of clothing. It was new clothing… still covered in plastic. There were hundreds of outfits.'
Gda Whelan said parts of the house, including the staircase, had refurbishment work, which was unfinished with unpainted walls and untreated woodwork.
Several upstairs rooms were also very untidy.
Garda Denis Barry said the property was 'very, very untidy… dirty would be a better description'.
Forensic Science Ireland official Dr Edward Connolly examined the house using a special 'Blue Star' test for blood but found nothing.
The prosecution is led by Gerardine Small SC with Imelda Kelly BL.
Mr Satchwell's defence team is led by Brendan Grehan SC with Paula McCarthy BL, instructed by Cork solicitor Eddie Burke.
The murder trial, before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of seven women and five men, is expected to run until June 6.