Jury in Satchwell murder trial hear of moment wife's body was found in grave under the stairs
Alison O'Riordan
A forensic archaeologist has told a jury how she reported it was possible that Tina Satchwell had been killed at her house and her body concealed there, after her research found that the majority of victims in "concealment" homicides are disposed of within one kilometre of their home address.
Dr Niamh McCullagh told the Central Criminal Court on Monday that she recommended a more invasive search take place at the home of murder accused Richard Satchwell - including exploration of the stairs and ground floor of the house and the use of a cadaver dog - just weeks before gardai began such an operation.
The jury was told today of the moment gardai uncovered the body of Tina Satchwell in a grave dug almost one metre deep beneath their stairway of their home, over six years after she was reported missing.
Now retired Detective Sergeant Shane Curran, who was the crime scene manager, told Gerardine Small SC, prosecuting, on Monday he was informed by Detective Garda Brian Barry that he had located an area under the stairs of the Satchwell home where the concrete was different to the surrounding area.
Mr Curran said the concrete was broken with the assistance of contracted builders. Forensic archaeologist Dr Niamh McCullagh was requested to take over the excavation of that area around 7pm on the night of October 11th, 2023, he said.
The witness said a clandestine burial of human remains was discovered containing "the full body of an adult female". He said Ms Satchwell's body had been wrapped in black plastic sheeting. "It was 84cm in depth to the base of the grave which was quite deep," he continued.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel Brendan Grehan SC, Mr Curran said that over the last 25 years, 20 individuals have been found in "clandestine burials"; "someone not lawfully buried; what I mean is secreted or hidden away".
Mr Curran told Mr Grehan that a Cadaver dog called "Fern" had taken significant interest in the lower steps of the stairway in the sitting room of the house and in the right hand side of the steps where the door went into the kitchen.
The Central Criminal Court has heard that the search for the body of Ms Satchwell was led by the dog, who had indicated the presence of human remains under the stairway of the missing woman's home.
Mr Curran added: "When the dog made significant indications in the area, we started to remove items from under the stairs, and when Det Gda Barry saw a different pour of concrete there, that tweaked his interest".
Mr Curran said the average depth of a burial site is 52cms, so 84cms was "very very deep". He said he believed the reason it was so deep was because the earth under the stairs was sandy and easy to dig.
The witness confirmed that Ms Satchwell's remains were exposed around 8.35pm on the evening of October 11th and the site was fully excavated the next day. He said the remains, which were wrapped in black plastic, were removed from the clandestine burial gravesite and placed into a body bag at 2.40pm on October 12th.
Detective Garda Brian Barry said he was at the scene with building contractors, who were using powerful lighting to look under the stairs, when he saw a "different coloured concrete". "It was a newer pour of concrete which was very suspicious to me and unusual," he added.
Det Gda Barry said the builders proceeded to break the concrete and the site was dug until black plastic was exposed. He said the black plastic was quite deep at 64cm from the surface, which he described as unusual.
He informed the crime scene manager and waited for forensic archaeologists to arrive at the scene. He said the archaeologists took over the excavation of the scene until a hand was exposed.
Det Gda Barry said he was at the scene again observing the archaeologists on October 12 and had assisted in lifting the deceased out of the clandestine grave.
He told Mr Grehan that the brick wall under the stairs "was built very poorly, the mortar had dripped and it didn't look like a wall built by someone who knew how to build a wall – and obviously the dog had indicated in this area". It was at this point he "spotted" the new concrete.
Asked whether he was the first person who had "spotted this new concrete", the witness said it was him and the builder. "We were both looking in and it occurred to us that there was new concrete there and it looked suspicious".
He said the grave was approximately three foot by six foot.
The next witness, Detective Garda Karen McCarthy, said she attended the post mortem examination on October 12 and received a dressing gown which had been on the deceased's body, as well as a belt from the gown and a purse from the left pocket.
Forensic archaeologist
Dr McCullagh, who is a specialist in the search and recovery of human remains concealed in a criminal context, told the prosecutor she was requested by Detective Inspector Annemarie Twomey in 2022 to conduct a review of the evidence into the missing person investigation of Ms Satchwell. The witness said she submitted her report on September 6, 2023.
The witness said she was directed by the crime scene manager to return to Grattan Street at 6.30pm on October 11 that year. She said an anomaly had been detected "within a concrete floor of an alcove" beneath the stairs at 5.21pm, where a red brick wall to the side had been "crudely constructed".
Dr McCullagh said her colleague Aidan Harte entered the scene at 6.45pm to assess the anomaly, which she was told was a possible grave.
Dr McCullagh said black plastic was located at 69cms and a human bone was articulated beneath this. She said one entire piece of plastic sheeting had been placed underneath the body and was folded on top. The decomposed human body was observed in a supine position.
The expert witness said the body was removed from the scene at 3.08pm on October 12 and loose skeletal elements were recovered from the base and wall of the grave. She said the size of the grave cut was larger than the space needed for the body.
In cross-examination, Dr McCullagh told Mr Grehan that it took at least an hour to unearth human remains such as the deceased's fingers when she commenced the dig. She said it was quite "a challenging excavation" and she was assisted by forensic anthropologist Dr Laureen Buckley and the Assistant State Pathologist at certain points on October 12th.
She said she was originally ed by Det Insp Twomey to conduct a review of the case to determine her professional opinion on human remains regarding a location where they could be concealed.
Dr McCullagh told Mr Grehan she had advised gardai about domestic homicide based on research in actual cases. She said the concealment of human remains after a homicide is categorised by researchers as "detection avoidance strategies". She said domestic homicides studies have found that the most commonly occurring method is to create a verbal narrative and to file a false missing person's report.
She added: "My own research looked at cases in Ireland where homicides involving concealment after the event indicates that female victims are disposed of closer to their home address than their male counterparts. For all concealed homicide cases that have been studied in Ireland, victims are disposed of within one kilometre of their home address in the majority of cases".
She said one of three possibilities she came to in her report was that Tina Satchwell had been killed at her home address and her body concealed there.
Dr McCullagh said she had recommended to gardai that a more invasive search take place at Ms Satchwell's home as there had been structural changes to Grattan Street, which she agreed was a "red flag".
She recommended an "extensive and invasive search to include an exploration of the potential for further forensic evidence that may be concealed by the recent refurbishments made in 2017, specifically the plasterboard, stairs and ground floor of the sitting room, the recent extension and rear yard".
The witness said she recommended the search to include a surface clearance and a cadaver dog to determine the possibility of buried remains.
Professor Paul Brady said remains from Ms Satchwell were identified to him and he compared them with dental records from the deceased's dental practice. He said they were consistent with those of Ms Satchwell.
The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of five men and seven women.
The Central Criminal Court has heard that on March 24th, 2017, Mr Satchwell told gardai 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's home found her decomposed remains in a grave that had been dug underneath the stairs.
In her opening address, Ms Small told the jury that after the body was recovered, Mr Satchwell told gardai that he lost his footing and fell to the ground when his wife tried to stab him with a chisel. He told detectives that he held her weight off with a belt but that in a matter of seconds, she was dead in his arms.
Mr Satchwell (58), with an address at Grattan Street, Youghal, Co Cork has pleaded not guilty to murdering his 45-year-old wife Tina Satchwell – née Dingivan – at that address between March 19th and March 20th, 2017, both dates inclusive.
