Richard Satchwell appeals murder conviction over wife's burial under Cork home
Richard Satchwell has lodged an appeal against his conviction for the murder of wife Tina, filed on the same day he was jailed for life.
Satchwell files appeal on day of life sentence for Youghal murder
Richard Satchwell has lodged an appeal against his conviction for the murder of his wife Tina Satchwell, whose skeletal remains were found buried beneath a concrete floor in their home in Youghal, East Cork. According to irishexaminer.com, the appeal was filed on 4 June — the same day the 58-year-old was sentenced to life in prison.
Satchwell had pleaded not guilty to murdering Tina on 20 March 2017 at the couple's home on 3 Grattan Street, Youghal. Following a four-week trial before Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of seven women and five men, he was found guilty.
Remains found after six years
Tina Satchwell's skeletal remains were discovered in October 2023 during an invasive search of the property — more than six years after her husband first reported her missing to gardaí on 24 March 2017.
Satchwell had told gardaí that on the morning of 20 March 2017 he had travelled to Dungarvan to buy parrot food and groceries from Aldi at his wife's request. When he returned, he said she was gone.
Gardaí harboured strong suspicions from the outset. On 7 June 2017, up to ten officers searched the Satchwell home for twelve hours. They found the property in a filthy condition, with dog faeces on the floor and an uncleaned bird cage. Luminol testing by forensic scientist Dr Edward Connolly of Forensic Science Ireland was carried out throughout the entire house, including the stairwells, but yielded no decisive result at that time.
Photographs taken during that 2017 search later prompted a second, invasive excavation in October 2023. Investigators noted signs of recent 'home improvements' beneath the stairwell in the sitting room, including a new red brick wall. When the area was excavated, a skeletal hand emerging from sandy soil became the first visible sign of Tina Satchwell's remains. Her body was found lying in a supine position, with loose skeletal parts, in a shallow grave beneath the wall. Richard Satchwell was arrested that same day, 12 October 2023.
A changed account
For more than six years, Satchwell had maintained that his wife had left him. Following his arrest, he offered an entirely different version of events.
He told gardaí he had been preparing breakfast for Tina on the morning of 20 March 2017 when he heard a scraping sound near the staircase. He claimed to have found her chiselling at plasterboard he had recently installed. When he asked what she was doing, he said she "flew at him with a chisel" and knocked him to the ground, jumping on top of him and attempting to stab him in the head.
Satchwell told gardaí he grabbed the belt of her dressing gown and held it to her neck to defend himself, and that "in a flash" she "went limp" and died in his arms. He subsequently buried her beneath the sitting room floor and covered the grave with concrete.
That account was rejected by the jury. Satchwell was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment on 4 June 2025 — the same date on which his legal team lodged the appeal now before the courts.
Source: Irish Independent