Gardaí suspicious 'something untoward' happened to Tina Satchwell years before body discovered

Alison O'Riordan

A retired garda sergeant has told the trial of Richard Satchwell, who is accused of murdering his wife before burying her in a shallow grave beneath their Cork home, that the force was suspicious "something untoward" had happened to Tina Satchwell over six years before her body was discovered.

The Central Criminal Court jury has heard that on March 24th, 2017, Mr Satchwell told gardaí that his wife had left their home four days earlier but that he had no concerns over her welfare, feeling she had left due to a deterioration in their relationship.

The accused formally reported Tina missing the following May, but her body was not discovered for over six years, when gardaí found her decomposed remains in a grave that had been dug underneath the stairs of her home.

In her opening address on Tuesday, Gerardine Small SC, prosecuting, told the jury that after the body was recovered, Mr Satchwell told gardaí that he lost his footing and fell to the ground when his wife tried to stab him with a chisel. He told detectives that he held her weight off with a belt, but that in a matter of seconds, she was dead in his arms.

Mr Satchwell (58), with an address at Grattan Street, Youghal, Co Cork, has pleaded not guilty to murdering his 45-year-old wife Tina Satchwell - nee Dingivan - at that address between March 19th and March 20th, 2017, both dates inclusive.

Giving evidence on Wednesday, now retired Sergeant John Sharkey of Youghal Garda Station told Ms Small that he was aware in late March or early April 2017 that Mr Satchwell had made a report at Fermoy Garda station "indicating loosely" that his wife had suddenly departed the family home.

He said gardaí monitored the situation in the hope that Tina would return home, but that did not happen. He said as time passed, the officers' concern for Tina's welfare grew.

Mr Sharkey said his colleague, Garda Thomas Keane, called to Mr Satchwell's home on May 2nd, 2017 and interviewed him about whether there had been any contact from Tina.

He said Mr Satchwell formally reported his wife missing on May 11th, 2017, and this upgraded the investigation from what was "a casual inquiry of someone leaving home" to a formal missing person investigation.

He said the outcome of their inquiry, which included a trawl of CCTV footage from the town of Youghal, a social media campaign with pictures of Tina and house-to-house inquiries, did not lead them to her or productively further the investigation. "They were fruitless, I suppose," he added.

Mr Sharkey said, having reviewed the evidence available to him, he formed the opinion that "something criminal may have occurred" around late May or the start of June in 2017.

He said he called at Grattan Street on June 7th, 2017, in possession of a search warrant, but there was no answer at the door.

He called Mr Satchwell, but he was not in the vicinity to allow gardaí access to the house.

The services of a locksmith were used, and gardaí gained access through the front door without any damage. A garda search team then conducted a formal search of the defendant's home.

In cross-examination, defence counsel Brendan Grehan SC asked the witness when matters moved from a missing person inquiry to "something perhaps suggesting more sinister".

Mr Sharkey said the accused formally reported Tina missing on May 11th, 2017, and it was treated as a missing person case for a period of time. However, he said a number of inquiries were carried out in that time and due to a lack of progress and a lack of ability "to create any trace" of Ti,na he became suspicious in late May that "something untoward" had occurred.

"Was that a personal or corporate suspicion?" asked Mr Grehan. "I wasn't alone in this, it was a corporate suspicion. An Garda Síochána had that suspicion," he replied.

Mr Grehan put it to the witness that the June 2017 search wasn't intended to be a cursory or a simple exercise at Grattan Street but a "thorough one". "Yes, a thorough and formal search," Mr Sharkey replied, adding that full garda resources were deployed at the house.

The witness said that gardaí entered the house to begin the search around 7.30am on June 7th and it concluded at 5pm that day. He said there were approximately ten gardaí involved in the search team.

The trial continues this afternoon before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of five men and seven women