'No sentence could ever be enough for the monster that took Tina from us'

Richard Satchwell is a "master manipulator" who secretly buried his murdered wife under the stairs of their home where he could have "ultimate control" over her, the victim's sister told the Central Criminal Court today as the defendant was sentenced to life in prison.

The court was also told today that Satchwell - who has 14 previous convictions - intends to appeal against last week's unanimous jury verdict convicting him of Tina Satchwell's murder.

Lorraine Howard said in her victim impact statement that Satchwell had treated his wife's body "with such disrespect".

"The appalling way my sister was buried, wrapped in plastic, buried beneath soil and concrete puts shivers down my spine every time I think about it," she said.

She went on to say that Satchwell "showed Tina’s dog in death more respect" by getting the animal "cremated and making a shrine".

She said Satchwell wanted Tina where he could have "the ultimate control, within his home under the stairs".

Ms Howard added: "He put us as a family through the ultimate hell of not knowing what had happened to Tina for years. He manipulated us as the master manipulator he is into believing she would one day return.

“Having taken her life, he didn’t even have the decency to let us have her body and mourn her death. To bury her with the dignity she deserves. I will never be able to forgive Richard Satchwell for what he has done".

A second victim impact statement was read to the sentencing court by Tina's niece, Sarah Howard, who said her aunt was taken from them "in the most tragic and violent way, murdered by someone who claimed to love her".

"I cannot comprehend how someone who was supposed to love and protect her could do something so cruel. There are no words that can truly capture the pain and heartbreak this has caused me and my family. What happened to her has shaken me to my core," she said.

Sarah Howard went on to say: "One of the things I don’t think I will ever overcome is to find out that Richard Satchwell had put Tina in a chest freezer and then a few days later he texted me to offer me the freezer. To hear this just horrified me to think I could have taken it into my family home and used it. What sort of person can do that."

The trial heard that Satchwell told gardaí how he kept Tina's body in a chest freezer before burying her beneath their home.

He offered the same freezer to Sarah before advertising it on 'Done Deal' as "free to take away...just needs a clean" days after the murder.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott sentenced Satchwell to life in prison and said it only remained for him to express his condolences to Tina's family.

The sentence was backdated to October 12 2023, when the defendant went into custody.

Brendan Grehan SC, for Satchwell, said he had taken instructions from his client, who asked him to say that he intends to appeal, insists that he never intended to kill Tina and that "despite anything said in the trial, Tina was a lovely person".

Satchwell's 14 previous convictions include larceny from a shop, theft and taking a cheque book containing 14 cheques from an employer.

Last Friday, Satchwell was found guilty of Tina's murder by the unanimous verdict of a Central Criminal Court jury.

The 12 jurors took nine hours and 28 minutes over four days to convict Satchwell, a British national who is shortly due to turn 59 years old.

Satchwell had pleaded not guilty to murdering 45-year-old Tina Satchwell - nee Dingivan - at their home address at Grattan Street, Youghal, Co Cork between March 19 and March 20, 2017, both dates inclusive.

The six-foot two truck driver had claimed that his five-foot four wife Tina, who weighed eight stone, had launched an attack on him with a chisel and died during a struggle in which he either lacked the intent to kill her or was acting in self defence. 

Her cause of death could not be determined due to the skeletonised nature of her remains when they were eventually uncovered.

The jury however unanimously rejected his defence and agreed with the State's case that Satchwell was a "cunning" murderer whose claims were "nonsense" and had hidden his wife's body to ensure a cause of death would not be available.

Video clips

The jury had watched video clips of a tearful Richard Satchwell making televised appeals for Tina to come home, months after he murdered her and buried her in a grave dug almost one metre deep beneath the stairs of their house.

The agreed with the prosecution case that Satchwell's narrative of how his wife died after he held her off by the belt of her bathrobe - the only of her death they were given - was "absolutely farcical" and had "more holes in it than a block of Swiss cheese".

The trial heard that on March 24, 2017, 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.

Satchwell formally reported Tina missing the following May but her body was not discovered for over six years, when gardaí in October 2023 conducting a second, invasive search of the Satchwell home found her decomposed remains in a grave dug underneath the stairs.

When re-arrested on suspicion of Tina's murder after her body was removed from their home, 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.

Gerardine Small SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, submitted in her closing address that the Leicester native had woven "a web of deceit" and continued his "fabricated narrative" over the years.

Counsel said 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.

Satchwell, the lawyer submitted, was "shamelessly brazen right up to the very end", when his wife's remains were discovered at the couple's home in Youghal.

In her victim impact statement, Tina's niece Sarah Howard said: "Listening to all the lies in the court was very hard and knowing now all the horrible things that were done to her, such as being just wrapped in a piece of plastic and buried in such an undignified way, caused me huge amounts of distress".

Sarah said Satchwell had "decided to portray Tina in a way during the trial that is not true to who she was."

Sarah stressed that Tina was not a violent person. "She was caring, gentle and loyal to those she loved. Having her name tarnished during the trial was very difficult."

Asked the court

She asked the court to consider "not just the crime but the cruelty that followed it and the deception, the stolen years and false hope he gave us all that one day she might turn up. This has left a permanent hole in our lives".

In her statement, Lorraine Howard said she and Tina "were inseparable growing up in Fermoy as kids" and "always had each other's backs".

"From as long as I can Tina loved animals. There were always cats and dogs following around Tina. She hated seeing any animal neglected or in pain. She was so kind-hearted," she said.

The witness described Tina as gentle, with "such a soft and loving soul".

Lorraine commented that Tina's love of fashion was portrayed as a negative during the trial.

"We all have our interests and likes, it just so happened Tina’s was fashion.

"She saved her money and spent it on clothes. Fashion was her escape. Fashion in a sense saved her.” 

She said during the trial "the country heard" how she and Tina had fallen out.

"I don’t want to get into the reasons again, but what I do know was that myself and Tina would have made up and become best of friends again.” 

She added: "Richard Satchwell stole that from us and actually stole that from many people even before he murdered Tina, by isolating her and alienating her from many friends when she was alive.” 

Pushed a narrative

Lorraine said that Satchwell "pushed a narrative for years" that Tina was "this violent and coercive-natured woman which couldn’t be further from the truth”.

She said she was so thankful that the jury saw through his lies and found him guilty of this "despicable crime". She said they would never get to be sisters again.

Lorraine said her brother's name and suicide was "brought up time and time again" during the trial, making "an already horrendous situation worse".

She said watching herself being used to help the defence "was like pouring salt into an open wound. It was intolerable for me, my mother, my children and my extended family".

She added: "I feel that no sentence could ever be enough for the monster that took Tina from us. How could someone who claims to love and adore his wife, spread the rubble from the man-made grave that he dug and buried her in, around all their most special places.” 

In summary, Lorraine thanked the prosecution team "for presenting the evidence to the jury" and gardaí "for finding the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle and fitting them together to find Tina and bringing her home to us".

Speaking outside the Criminal Courts of Justice building, Supt Anne Marie Twomey said gardaí were thankful that the investigation "had provided answers and a sense of justice for Tina's family and the wider community".

"While no resolution could erase the pain of loss, we sincerely hope the conclusion of the case brings some measure of comfort to Tina’s family,” she said.

"We extend our deepest gratitude to the witnesses in the case and to all of those who assisted us throughout the investigation. Your assistance formed an essential part of the journey.

"We would like to acknowledge the of the wider community, especially those in Fermoy and Youghal."

"Finally, we, the investigation team, are happy that justice has been served for Tina," she concluded.