Richard Satchwell's 'farcical' narrative of his wife's death 'beggars belief', says prosecution barrister
Prosecuting counsel, Gerardine Small leaving the Richard Satchwell trial at the Central Criminal Court Dublin this afternoon.
Richard Satchwell's narrative of how his wife died after he held her off by the belt of her bathrobe is "absolutely farcical" and has more holes in it than a block of Swiss cheese, a prosecution barrister has told a Central Criminal Court jury.
Gerardine Small SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, today gave her closing speech in the trial of Mr Satchwell, submitting that the British truck driver had woven "a web of deceit" and continued his "fabricated narrative" over the years when he engaged with the media and "anyone who would indulge him".
The Leicester native, counsel submitted, was "shamelessly brazen right up to the very end" until his wife's remains were discovered at the couple's home in Youghal, over six years after Tina Satchwell was reported missing.
Ms Small said Mr Satchwell's objective from the very outset was "always to put everyone off the scent" and that this was done because he had murdered Tina.
Defence counsel Brendan Grehan told the jurors that there was no doubt Mr Satchwell is guilty, but asked the jurors what exactly he was guilty of. He said that although Richard Satchwell had lied "to the people of Ireland", the lies do not make him a murderer or relieve the prosecution of the burden of proving the ingredients of murder.
He said his client was made to carry out a "perp walk" after he was charged with murder which had all the resonances of Caravaggio's "The Taking of Christ", but in this case was "The Taking of Richard Satchwell".
He submitted that his client was far from a "criminal mastermind" and was instead someone who left a trail of breadcrumbs behind him that would "rival anything in a nursery tale".
The trial has heard that on March 24, 2017, Mr Satchwell told gardaí that his wife Tina 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 Ms Satchwell missing the following May but her body was not discovered for over six years, when gardaí in October 2023 conducting "an invasive search" of the Satchwell home found her decomposed remains in a grave that had been dug almost one metre deep underneath the stairs.
When re-arrested on suspicion of Tina's murder after her body was removed from their Cork home, Mr Satchwell told gardaí that his wife "flew" at him with a chisel, that he fell backwards against the floor and described her death after he said he held her off by the belt of her bathrobe at her neck.
The Assistant State Pathologist has told the trial that Tina's cause of death could not be determined due to the skeletal nature of her remains after they were found buried beneath her Cork home.
Addressing the jurors in her closing speech today, Ms Small said the case was "calling and screaming out" for them to apply their common sense and experience.
Ms Small said that the jurors can infer intent from "the surrounding circumstances" of Mr Satchwell's actions, reactions and omissions, as well as the lies he told, the manner in which he concealed the body, the "whole web of deceit he wove" and the fact that it was not until Tina's body was found that his narrative changed. These, she said, were all matters for the jury to examine when they were looking at the accused's intent.
Counsel suggested that in the immediate aftermath of the killing, Mr Satchwell had not sought any medical help and made no calls to the emergency services. "Nothing; he doesn't anyone."
Ms Small told the jurors that the accused created a false email to an international monkey rescue association at 10.42am on March 20, 2017 "in very close proximity to the killing", where he wrote: "I have put an awful lot of work into this and my wife is going to leave me as a result."
"That is a very calculated move on Mr Satchwell's part," the prosecutor told the jury. "It's very deliberate and very reasoned and what he is doing is creating a digital footprint he can avail of later down the line....it's a safety net because further down the line, he can say she was alive at that stage."
The barrister said another text message sent by the accused to "a Mr James" in a similar manner to the email made for "two very deliberate and conniving actions" on the accused's part; "full of guile".
In his first with gardaí on March 24 2017, Ms Small said Mr Satchwell told officers he was not really worried about Tina because of the deterioration in their relationship; "again the deceit has been woven".
She said Mr Satchwell had continued this "fabricated narrative and deceit" over the years when he engaged with the media and "anyone who would indulge him".
Ms Small said during the accused's "enhanced cognitive interview" with gardaí in June 2021, he still maintained the same narrative of how Tina had left him. She said when the accused told gardaí he thought Tina may come knocking on his door, he did this "knowing full well she was buried under the concrete; it's absolutely callous".
The lawyer outlined that when Mr Satchwell was first arrested for his wife's murder on October 10, 2023 gardaí had told him there was going to be an invasive search and that they "were going into the walls" of his home and digging up every inch of the house.
Ms Small said at this stage, Tina's body hadn't been found, but officers asked the accused what he kept under the stairs. She said Mr Satchwell had told them "bits and pieces".
"That illustrates how shamelessly brazen he is, right up to the very end, absolutely brazen and he maintains that position right to the bitter end until he is released from detention," said counsel.
Counsel told the jurors that ultimately, Tina's decomposed body and skeletal remains were recovered when the cement under the stairs was broken. She said gardaí then re-arrested the accused on October 12.
"He knows the body has been found, you would expect this is a road to Damascus moment, you would be forgiven for thinking that, but no. Richard Satchwell now embarks upon another narrative and another web of deceit; this narrative has more holes than a block of Swiss cheese, it is laden with discrepancies," she continued.
Ms Small commented that Mr Satchwell's of how his wife died was "totally implausible and self-serving". She went through his on how Tina "flew" at him with a chisel and was on top of him trying to stab him.
"Curiously this eight stone lady versus a six foot two man never manages and doesn't get a mark on him but nonetheless she is still stabbing at him," she commented.
"For some reason he said he grabs her clothes but doesn't know it's a belt at the time, only after the deed he realises it's a belt, he said he is holding her off because he is terrified".
Ms Small submitted that Mr Satchwell gave no detail of the struggle because he could not be then probed by gardaí and "found out".
She continued: "Tina is well capable of getting up, she has her left hand free and can stop her own death, it's absolutely farcical but that is what he is telling gardaí."
Ms Small noted that when the accused was asked by gardaí to demonstrate what happened to his wife, he said he couldn't. She also said that when Mr Satchwell was asked how he held the belt around her throat, he said he didn't know.
Counsel also submitted that when the accused was asked what had caused Tina to die, he could not say but went on in his interview "to set up" the defence of self-defence for himself.
She said lies are subject to scrutiny and this was where the accused had fallen down, including by telling gardaí he had put Tina's wedding ring in the pocket of her bathrobe. She said a "meticulous excavation" had taken place by hand and it wasn't the case that the ring was lost, but rather the accused hadn't put the ring in with her.
Counsel called the accused an "arch manipulator" and that when he was asked to demonstrate the interaction with Tina, he said he couldn't'. She said when asked how close his hands were to Tina's neck, he had said he didn't know.
"Think about that; it totally beggars belief," she told the jury.
She said Mr Satchwell told gardaí there would be no jury needed as he was going to plead guilty. She said the accused said "even if I was advised to try to let it go to trial and try for a lesser charge I wouldn't because for 36 years I've kept a secret for Tina and that's the violence and I'm not going to have it dragged out in a court of law for every Tom, Dick or Harry to listen to it".
She said his in interviews was self-serving and had pivoted at every juncture.
Counsel told the jury they needed to ask themselves why Mr Satchwell had concealed the body. "He is totally focused on protecting himself from the discovery of his crime. Think of the lengths he goes to to ensure the body isn't found and as a consequence there is no cause of death; it's astounding".
She said there was no skin, flesh or organs with the remains so the "normal indicators" as to how death occurred were not available. "The prosecution don't know the cause of death because Richard Satchwell ensured we didn't, so we don't know the mechanism of the killing".
Ms Small said the manner in which the accused buried Tina was "absolutely disrespectful", by firstly leaving her on a couch, then putting her in a freezer before covering her in black plastic - which he used on the ground for car boot sales - and digging a three foot hole which he cemented over.
She said this was in stark contrast to the burial received by the couple's dog Heidi.
Counsel said it was "so cynical" and astounding to have offered witness Sarah Howard the freezer that her "beloved cousin" Tina was in.
In summary, Ms Small said Mr Satchwell's objective was "always to put everyone off the scent" and that it had started from the very outset when he was "full of guile, cunning and told a plethora of lies".
She said the accused did this because he had murdered Tina Satchwell and it was nonsense to suggest it was an accident or self defence. She asked the jury to return a verdict, "in Richard Satchwell's own words", of guilty.
At the outset of his closing address, Mr Grehan said that the prosecution's case was "a big contradiction".
Defence counsel submitted that the prosecution were quite happy to rely on the accused's in of establishing a time of death and various other aspects but then to ridicule it, mock it and say it wasn't reasonable.
He said gardaí told the defendant in interviews that what he had said happened wasn't possible. "Even the expert, who had conducted 30,000 post mortems, the only thing she was asked was to show how the robe belt was tied around".
Mr Grehan stated: "Richard Satchwell is guilty...there is no doubt about it but what exactly is he guilty of.
"He is certainly guilty of causing his wife's death, which he said occurred in a struggle while she was attacking him with a chisel. He is certainly guilty of burying her under the stairs of their home and he is certainly guilty of disreputable conduct such as offering a freezer to Tina's cousin which his wife's body had been in."
The lawyer said his client was also guilty of lying to his wife's family and many different gardaí from Youghal to Fermoy. "He lied to every reporter and media outlet that would listen to him. He lied on local airways and national airwaves, he lied to the people of Ireland. He lied to you and me........."
But, counsel said, the lies do not make him a murderer or relieve the prosecution of the burden of proving the ingredients of murder.
He said there was no evidence in the case that Mr Satchwell intended to kill or cause serious injury to Tina. "The prosecution are happy to glide over that".
He said people lie for lots of different reasons and can lie to cover up their conduct or because they killed the very thing they loved. "As reprehensible as lies might be, they don't make your job easier, they make it harder because lies can be told for all manner of reasons," he told the jury.
"And when we find out, as you representatives of the people of Ireland, that someone has lied to you, that you have been taken in, all those people that indulged him on their programmes, we feel a very great resentment".
He told the jury that they couldn't allow themselves the easy option "of being overwhelmed that Richard Satchwell" told lies all over the place, big ones and small ones, to lead them to the easy conclusion that his client must be guilty of murder.
Mr Grehan said "it was indeed a web of lies" and quoted Sir Walter Scott: "Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive". He said when one starts a lie it can be difficult to stop and the domino effect is to tell another one to cover the previous one.
Counsel said his client told gardaí that once he started lying he couldn't stop, agreeing that he had "brazened it out until the bitter end'.
It was clear, he said, that Mr Satchwell was besotted, obsessed and worshipped Tina. "He told his brother when he first saw her that he was going to marry that girl. He spent the rest of her life devoted to her and knew things most husbands wouldn't know about their wives, not only the shoe size but the size of her underwear as well".
The lawyer said there wasn't a scintilla of evidence that Mr Satchwell had ever laid a hand on Tina. But he said the accused loved her so much that he was prepared to put up with being hit suddenly and without any clear motive.
He said it was the defence case that Tina could suddenly turn violent on the accused and that this happened on March 20, 2017.
The case, he said, was filled with a few "what if's" and the prosecution had glossed over the biggest elephant in the room; the failure of An Garda Siochana.
He accepted that Superintendent Anne Marie Twomey and Detective Garda David Kelleher brought a new energy to the case but that matters had progressed at quite a pedestrian rate. He said Supt Twomey was satisfied Tina was no longer alive by the end of January 2022 and had never left the house.
Mr Grehan accepted his client was the greatest contributor to the delay in this case which resulted in limitations in uncovering Tina's cause of death.
He added: "I suggest there is more than enough blame for that delay to go around. Gardai never needed to get archaeologist and sleuth Dr Niamh McCullagh to do a report to tell them what 'Detective 101' tells you when someone goes missing, particularly a wife in a particular set of circumstances".
"Every police force in the world looks first at a partner or a husband, that's the experience in countless investigations everywhere."
"Why the gardaí weren't in there, if not immediately, but certainly when they went in June properly looking for Tina's remains. It's beyond me and beyond Dr McCullough, it seemed blindingly obvious to her".
Mr Grehan said "red flags", such as the accused leaving it for four days to report his wife missing at Fermoy Garda Station, 43kms away from where the accused lived in Youghal, were simply ignored. "Once that was indicated, everyone should be on red alert because the trail is running cold...gardaí had all the jigsaw pieces".
He said what a different case it would have been in of pathology if the intrusive search had been done as it could have been in June 2017. He said the accused can't be punished for this "even if he is his greatest author of all that delay".
Counsel said his client did make comments in garda interviews about going to prison and not needing a jury. "It does need a jury of his peers to determine what exactly he is guilty of, beyond lying and other disgraceful behaviour after his wife died".
He said the accused's "cryptic" reply of "guilty or not guilty, guilty" when he was charged reminded him of a scene in the film "My Cousin Vinny", when the words in the film "I shot the clerk" are later seen as a rhetorical answer.
He told the jury to ignore it and leave it to one side as it didn't fit with what the accused said in interview.
Referring to what the defence argued was a "perp walk" at Cashel District Court, where he said the accused was handcuffed at the front and "paraded" into court, Mr Grehan said it had all the resonances of the Caravaggio painting "The Taking of Christ" but in this case it was "The Taking of Richard Satchwell".
Counsel said this was "the fomenting of public opinion before the courtroom so that everyone knows he is a dangerous man; 'we brought him to justice, but by the way don't look too hard behind why it took so long for that to happen'".
He described the bathrobe belt as like a "Sam Browne belt" and said Dr Margaret Bolster's initial instinct was that it was put on the body afterwards to help move it.
He submitted that his client was far from a "criminal mastermind" and was instead someone who left a trail of breadcrumbs behind him that would "rival anything in a nursery tale".
Mr Grehan said the prosecution would like the jurors to focus exclusively on the aftermath, the cover up and the lies so that they can make a case of intent before that. He asked the jurors to return a "just" verdict.
He said a verdict of not guilty would arise if the jury accepted that the accused believed he was going to be under serious threat from Tina and that "sharp, strong, sturdy implement" and that he had acted reasonably.
Counsel told jurors the verdict of manslaughter was open to them if they thought the prosecution had not discharged the burden of proving intent and that the accused had used more force than was necessary but no more than he believed necessary at the time.
The trial continues on Monday before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of five men and seven women, when the judge will commence charging the jury.
Mr Satchwell (58), with an address at Grattan Street, Youghal, Co Cork has pleaded not (NOT) guilty to murdering his 45-year-old wife Tina Satchwell - nee Dingivan - at that address between March 19 and March 20, 2017, both dates inclusive.
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