Reviews opened into Tina Satchwell and Michael Gaine investigations

The investigations into the murders of Tina Satchwell and Michael Gaine, whose bodies were not found during the initial searches of their disappearance, will be reviewed.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said that “in hindsight” it may have been “very obvious” where Ms Satchwell’s remains were secretly buried.

Mr Harris said a report would be compiled and given to the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan on Ms Satchwell’s disappearance, while the case of Mr Gaine is undergoing a peer review.

Earlier this week, Richard Satchwell was given a life sentence for the murder of his wife Tina at their home in Co Cork.

The British truck driver, 58, had denied murdering his wife between March 19 and March 20 2017.

The jury at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin reached the unanimous verdict last Friday after nine hours and 28 minutes of deliberations.

Ms Satchwell’s skeletal remain were found in a clandestine grave under the stairs of the couple’s home in Co Cork in October 2023, more than six years after her husband reported her missing.

The house was subject to a search in 2017, however nothing was discovered.

In a separate case, the remains of Mr Gaine, a farmer from Co Kerry, were discovered in a slurry tank on his farmland in May, two months after he was reported missing by his wife.

The farmyard had been previously searched as part of the probe.

Speaking about the investigation into the disappearance of Ms Satchwell, Mr Harris said the 2017 search did “harvest” a “huge information”, which was useful in the re-examination of the case.

Speaking at the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, Mr Harris said: “All of those were crucial. So I would say the initial investigation was hamstrung because of the lack of information in comparison to the later re-examination of this matter.

“There’s far more information to hand which gave us real grounds then for actual suspicion and then inquiries that we could lead.

“When you look at hindsight, some of these things can seem very obvious, but in the moment, what was known, what was being said in of sighting, what was being said in of the victim by her husband, and one has to recognise the victimology that was being applied here.

“His suppression of her, the coercive control that obviously she was subject to for many years, her isolation in that particular community, that meant that there was very few other people that we could speak to her… what Tina Satchwell’s life was like.

“It was a complex investigation. Yes, the house was searched in 2017, forensic scientists also accompanied that search, it was subject to thorough examination and looked for blood splatter, none was found.” He said the initial investigation will be subject to a review.

“We have the expertise within the organisation, and obviously, then we report to the minister and to the Policing and Community Safety Authority, as is our responsibility.

“But I do think there are definitely lessons that we wish to learn from all of these homicides, where it’s missing persons and then converts some time later to a homicide investigation.” He added: “What I can say is, we’ve already reviewed all our missing person reports nationally. That was done last year. We found no other suspected homicide cases.

“Then following the Michael Gaine investigation, we’re subjecting that to peer review, as I do think there’s learning for us around those who would commit crime and then attempt to dispose of the body, and often are successful in disposing of the body.”