Gardaí believe Satchwell 'meticulously planned wife Tina's murder for weeks'

Extra.ie​

2 days ago

Gardaí believe Richard Satchwell planned the murder of his wife weeks in advance because he thought she was going to leave him, Extra.ie has learned.
Senior sources familiar with the investigation that would ultimately result in Satchwell's murder conviction said the Englishman meticulously planned the killing before going to extreme lengths to try to cover his tracks.
One source said the 'speed and calmness' he displayed as he went into 'alibi mode' convinced detectives that Tina Satchwell's murder was not a spur-of-the-moment killing. They told Extra.ie: 'Satchwell made the decision to kill his wife because she had either decided to leave him or because the relationship was deteriorating so much. Richard Satchwell. Pic: Seán Dwyer
'Tina was not happy in Youghal. She left a lovely house to move into a mortgage-free doer-upper, only for her life to be taken from her by a man she should have been able to trust.'
The 58-year-old truck driver, originally from Leicester in the UK, reported his wife missing on March 20, 2017. Satchwell repeatedly lied to gardaí, journalists, family, and friends, telling them he had arrived home to their house in Youghal, east Cork, after running errands to discover his wife had left him.
He maintained that his wife went missing from their home, at the very time her body was stuffed into a chest freezer before being buried under the stairs in the living room. But in October 2023 – six years after Satchwell reported her missing – gardaí discovered Tina's skeletal remains under the stairs during a second search of the house. Tina Satchwell. Pic: PA Wire
Despite this gruesome discovery, Richard Satchwell pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife at their home in No. 3 Grattan Street in Youghal, arguing that he had been defending himself when he inadvertently killed her as she attacked him with a chisel.
The court heard that a phone linked to Satchwell sent text messages about purchasing monkeys over the same period when he is alleged to have murdered his wife. Satchwell attempted to purchase two marmoset monkeys, called Terry and Thelma, over a period of two years, from 2015 to March 2017.
On the day of Tina's murder – March 20, 2017 – Satchwell wrote to the monkey rescue, saying: 'I'm in a mess right now because my wife has said she is leaving me over this so please let the organisation know.' Richard Satchwell on RTÉ News in 2017. Pic: RTÉ
The emails to the monkey rescue were one aspect of the investigation that convinced detectives that Satchwell planned the murder. A source told Extra.ie: 'It was the investigation view that the speed and calmness that he went into alibi mode in terms of sending the monkey email.'
The source also noted Tina was 'hardly dead' when Satchwell had showered, changed his clothes and then went to the post office to collect his dole. Satchwell then went on a round trip to Dungarvan in Co. Waterford – around 30kms from Youghal – for a bottle of water 'so he could say she was gone when he got back'.
'This all belies a preparedness that could only have occurred before the killing,' the source said. But while the investigation team believes Satchwell planned to kill his wife, sources familiar with the case said Tina's birth mother thought her daughter's husband was innocent until her body was discovered. Tina Satchwell's mother, Mary Collins. Pic: Brian Lawless/PA Wire
Mary Collins told confidants she believed Satchwell was genuine in the numerous media appeals he made appealing for information about his wife's disappearance.
'It was a difficult time for the whole family, and Mary believed Richard,' a source told Extra.ie. 'She never doubted him. With hindsight, it's easy to see through his lies, but at the time he was very convincing.'
Tina only discovered Mary Collins was her birth mother when she found her birth certificate around the time she was making her confirmation. Up until then, she believed the grandmother who raised her was her mother. Tina Satchwell. Pic: Facebook
Ms Collins attended court every day of the trial and was often visibly upset by the evidence of what Satchwell had done to her daughter.
When the verdict was read just before lunchtime on Friday, several members of the Satchwell family, who occupied a full bench at the back of the courtroom, wept audibly. Three of the jurors were also crying as they walked out of the jury box for the last time.
Afterwards, the family spoke to assembled media on the steps of the Central Criminal Court at Parkgate Street, Dublin. Tina's niece, Sarah Howard, to whom Satchwell had offered the freezer in which he initially stored his wife's remains after he killed her, spoke about the family's dismay at the manner in which he denigrated her aunt's name.
'During this trial, Tina was portrayed in a way that was not who she was,' she told reporters. 'Tina was our precious sister, cousin, auntie and daughter whose presence in our lives meant so much to us all. We can never put into words the impact that her loss has had on all of us.
'Tina was a kind, loving, tender soul who loved her animals as they loved her, and that's the way we want her remembered.'
Ms Howard, who gave evidence in the trial just two weeks after giving birth, continued: 'Today, as family, we finally have justice for Tina, and we now ask for privacy to begin our healing.'
Before she spoke, Tina's sister, Lorraine Howard, thanked the gardaí and the judge and jury for their work. She also thanked the State's legal team, Geraldine Small and Imelda Kelly. 'Your hard work and professionalism shone through like the classy ladies you are,' she said.
Lorraine Howard gave evidence in the case as the only witness for the defence. But Extra.ie has learned that she had no idea she would be appearing in Satchwell's defence until she arrived at court.
Her discomfort was visible during her questioning by defence counsel Brendan Grehan. She was brought to the witness box on foot of a statement she made to gardaí in August 2020, when Tina was still believed to be missing.
She had been estranged from her sister for 15 years before her disappearance. In the statement, she described Tina as 'high-maintenance' and that her husband spent every penny he had on her. She had also claimed Tina had a bad temper and had screamed at her so badly on one occasion that it induced a miscarriage in her.
But when she appeared on the witness stand last week, Ms Howard said: 'I gave that statement in anger… whereas in actual fact, he was the person I should have aimed the anger at,' gesturing with her head towards Satchwell in the dock.
'I believed her to be alive… I was angry with her at the time. I didn't see him [Satchwell] as controlling at the time… but I've revised my views on information I've seen… I wasn't aware of aspects of their relationship.'
The murder trial lasted just under five weeks, and the courtroom was packed every day. Much of the credit for finally bringing Satchwell to justice is being given to the senior investigating officer, Superintendent Ann Marie Twomey, who took over the case in 2021.
'She deserves all credit,' a source said. 'She and her team were determined Tina's family would get the justice they deserve.'
The five-week murder trial at the Central Criminal Court heard Satchwell, who is from Leicester in England, claimed his wife was physically abusive to him and that she died after she 'flew' at him with a chisel. He also claimed he used the belt of her dressing robe to keep her off him before she went limp.
Satchwell then buried his wife under the stairs of their living room. He denied murdering Tina, but did not give evidence during the trial. He has been in custody since he was first charged on October 14, 2023, with Tina's murder.
Satchwell now faces mandatory life in prison when he is sentenced next Wednesday by Judge Paul McDermott, after which victim impact statements will be heard.