Tina Satchwell's cousin never saw her be ‘violent or aggressive', court told
A cousin of alleged murder victim Tina Satchwell has told a court that she never saw her be 'violent or aggressive'.
Sarah Howard also told the court that she thought it was 'strange' that her cousin's husband, Richard Satchwell, had offered her a chest freezer in the weeks after she disappeared.
Satchwell, of Grattan Street in Youghal, is accused of murdering his wife between March 19 and 20 2017.
The 58-year-old, who is originally from Leicester in England, denies the charge.
Mrs Satchwell's remains were found under the stairs in the living room of their Co Cork home in October 2023, six years after Satchwell reported her missing.
Giving evidence at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin, Ms Howard was asked by prosecution barrister Gerardine Small if she had ever witnessed Mrs Satchwell being violent or aggressive, to which she replied: 'Never.'
Ms Howard said she was 'very close' to her cousin, that they would have spent a lot time together, going swimming, walking the dogs and going around the shops in Fermoy.
Asked to describe her, she said Mrs Satchwell was 'kind-hearted, loving, a family person' who loved animals, that she was 'bubbly, social' and a 'genuinely lovely person'.
She became emotional when she watched footage taken from Prime Time Investigates which aired after Mrs Satchwell went missing.
Ms Howard said her cousin used to visit her at her home, but that she did not see her as much after the couple moved to Youghal in May 2016.
She last saw Mrs Satchwell shortly before Christmas in 2016, and said that she was in 'great form', and that she 'always had the dogs'.
She told the court she first heard her cousin was missing after Satchwell called her mother's home in Fermoy on March 26, 2017.
After learning that she was missing, she rang Mrs Satchwell's phone but there was no answer.
She then contacted Satchwell and asked where she was and what had happened to her, adding it was unusual she left without the dogs.
Satchwell told her that there had been an argument and she had left him.
He claimed during the phone call that she had thrown a cup at him and taken a sum of money, and that two suitcases were missing from their home.
She also gave evidence that Satchwell told her they had been at a car boot sale the previous weeks and that Mrs Satchwell had told him she had wasted 28 years with him.
'I never heard any of that before,' Ms Howard told the court.
When Ms Small asked whether she had ever heard of cups being thrown before, she replied: 'Never.'
She also said in her evidence that on March 30 2017, days after Mrs Satchwell disappeared, she received a text message from Satchwell offering her 'their big chest freezer' for free.
She said she did not respond and when asked why, she said she thought it was unusual.
'I thought it was very strange. He is not the kind to give stuff.'
She recalled how she once went to a car boot sale with her two children, where Satchwell had a stall.
The court was told that her children picked up a CD and nail varnish and Satchwell charged them 50 cents each for the items.
'So when I was offered something for free like that I thought it was very unusual,' she added.
A number of text exchanges between Satchwell and Ms Howard in the months after Mrs Satchwell went missing were read to the court.
Ms Howard asked Satchwell several times whether there was any news about his wife, to which he had said no.
In a text sent in June 2017, Ms Howard asked Satchwell not to call to her house because her children got upset when Ms Satchwell was not with him.
She said she used to spent a lot of time with her cousin, that she would often take her away and into their local town, including the time she got her ears pierced when she was four or five.
She agreed that the loss of Mrs Satchwell has deeply affected her.
Asked if she would describe Satchwell as being besotted and obsessed with his wife, she replied: 'I suppose. He was always with her.'
Defence barrister Brendan Grehan SC said that in a statement made to gardai after Mrs Satchwell went missing, she said that Satchwell was 'so obsessed with Tina that he couldn't have caused her harm'.
'That was before,' Ms Howard replied in court.
Asked whether others in her family had seen Mrs Satchwell display violent behaviour, she said she was not sure.
She also agreed with Mr Grehan that Satchwell had hand-delivered a birthday card for her in August 2017, which had been signed 'Tina and Richard' and contained two photographs.
She further agreed that Mrs Satchwell's grandmother had raised her, and that Mrs Satchwell and her mother Mary Collins had fallen out in the years before she disappeared.
When asked if Mrs Satchwell was resentful that her mother had not raised her, Ms Howard replied she could not say.
Earlier on Wednesday, the court heard Satchwell contacted gardai on July 12 2017, to tell them that he saw two suitcases in the recycling area of Tesco carpark in Youghal.
He claimed they were very similar to the suitcases Mrs Satchwell took with her on the day she disappeared.
Garda Susan Nolan went and met Satchwell and he told her the suitcases were similar. She said there was a large navy and blue case and a smaller black case.
She told the court that she inquired about CCTV in the area but was told that there was no video footage of that part of the car park.
It was confirmed that while the suitcases were similar, they did not long belong to Satchwell.
The prosecution has now concluded its evidence.
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North Wales Chronicle
a day ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Richard Satchwell given life sentence for murder of wife Tina
Tina's family said the trial had taken a physical toll on them and it was difficult to hear her name 'tarnished' in court during the trial. 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. On Wednesday at the sentencing, Tina's sister and niece paid tribute to her as a kind and gentle woman who loved animals. Referring to her using her maiden name Dingivan, they described the distress of having Tina's name 'tarnished' during the trial and the 'appalling' manner in which she was buried. In her victim impact statement, Tina's sister Lorraine Howard said thinking about the way Satchwell buried her sends 'shivers down my spine every time I think about it'. 'He treated Tina's body with such disrespect. He showed Tina's dog in death more respect by getting the dog cremated and making a shrine.' She said she and Tina had been inseparable growing up, and although they had a falling out, she said that they would have made up and become best of friends again if Satchwell had not 'stole that from us'. 'Richard Satchwell stole that from many people even before he murdered Tina, by isolating her and alienating her from many friends when she was alive,' she told the court. She said she has nightmares about Tina's final moments and what she went through. 'He wanted Tina where he could still have the ultimate control – within his home under the stairs.' She said that the narrative from Satchwell that Tina had been violent 'couldn't be further from the truth' and said the trial had taken a physical toll on her, her mother and their family. She said the trial was already 'unbearable' but the mention of her brother's suicide made 'an already horrendous situation worse' and was 'intolerable' for the family. 'I will never be able to forgive Richard Satchwell for what he has done,' she added. Tina's niece Sarah Howard said that her aunt was murdered 'by someone who claimed to love her' and that she could not understand how someone who was 'supposed to love and protect her could do something so cruel'. She said that listening to Tina's name being 'tarnished' during the trial was difficult and said the 'undignified' way in which Tina was buried caused her 'huge amounts of distress'. She said that Tina would have loved to go wedding dress shopping with her and would have been an 'incredible' support when her baby was born. She said she had to leave her newborn baby girl to give evidence in the trial. She also said she was 'horrified' to discover that the chest freezer Satchwell had offered her was used to put Tina's body in. 'To hear this just horrified me – to think I could have taken it into my family home and used it. What sort of person (could) do that? 'I ask the court – consider not just the crime but the cruelty that followed it and the deception, the stolen years and the false hope he gave us all that one day she might turn up.' Satchwell appeared in court on Wednesday in a light blue shirt. His barrister Brendan Grehan SC told the court that Satchwell intends to appeal, and that he insists he 'never intended to kill Tina'. Mr Grehan also said that Satchwell said 'despite anything he said in the trial, Tina was a lovely person'. Before the sentencing hearing, Tina's mother Mary Collins was seen carrying a brightly coloured bouquet into the courthouse. The court heard previously that the couple married in the UK on Tina's 20th birthday, and later settled in Co Cork, first in Fermoy before moving to Youghal in 2016. The trial heard that on March 24 2017, Richard Satchwell went to gardai and claimed his wife had left their Youghal home four days ago because their relationship had deteriorated. Satchwell also claimed Tina had taken 26,000 euros in cash from savings they kept in the attic, which the court later heard they did not have the capacity to save. He formally reported his wife missing in May 2017 and claimed to investigators that his wife was sometimes violent towards him. In the following years, he made over a dozen media appearances in which he spoke extensively about the morning he claimed Tina left the house and never returned. After her remains were found buried under a concrete floor under the stairs in their home in October 2023, Satchwell claimed to gardai that Tina 'flew' at him with a chisel. He further claimed that to protect himself, he held a dressing gown belt to her neck before she went limp. His denial of the charge was ultimately rejected by the jury who found him guilty of murder. Outside the Criminal Courts of Justice after sentencing, Superintendent Ann Marie Twomey said that the investigation team were 'happy that justice has been served for Tina'. 'We are thankful that this investigation has provided answers and a sense of justice for Tina's family and the wider community,' she said. 'While no resolution can erase the pain of loss, we sincerely hope that the conclusion of this case brings some measure of comfort to Tina's family. 'We extend our deepest gratitude to the witnesses in this case and all of those who assisted us throughout the investigation. Your assistance formed an essential part of the journey. 'We would like to acknowledge the support of the wider community, especially those in Fermoy and Youghal. 'Finally, we the investigation team, are happy that justice has been served for Tina.'
Glasgow Times
a day ago
- Glasgow Times
Richard Satchwell given life sentence for murder of wife Tina
The British truck driver, 58, had denied the murder of Tina Satchwell 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. Tina Satchwell was described by her family as a 'kind and gentle' woman who loved animals (Family Handout/PA) On Wednesday at the sentencing, the family of Tina Satchwell, nee Dingivan, described her as a kind and gentle woman who loved animals. Tina's cousin, Sarah Howard said that Tina was murdered 'by someone who claimed to love her'. 'The emotional toll of her loss is something I will carry with me always,' she said. Tina's half-sister Lorraine Howard said the way Tina was buried in plastic in her own home 'sends shivers down my spine every time I think about it'. 'I will never be able to forgive Richard Satchwell for what he has done.' Satchwell appeared in court on Wednesday in a light blue shirt. His barrister Brendan Grehan SC told the court that Satchwell intends to appeal, and that he 'never intended to kill Tina'. Mr Grehan also said that Satchwell said 'despite anything he said in the trial, Tina was a lovely person'. The court was told the couple married in the UK on Tina's 20th birthday, and later settled in Co Cork, first in Fermoy before moving to Youghal in 2016. The trial heard that on March 24 2017, Richard Satchwell went to gardai and claimed his wife had left their Youghal home four days ago because their relationship had deteriorated. Satchwell had also claimed Tina had taken 26,000 euros in cash from savings they kept in the attic, which the court later heard they did not have the capacity to save. He formally reported his wife missing in May 2017 and claimed to investigators that his wife was sometimes violent towards him. In the following years, he made over a dozen media appearances in which he spoke extensively about the morning he claimed Tina left the house and never returned. After her remains were found buried under a concrete floor under the stairs in their home in October 2023, Satchwell claimed that Tina 'flew' at him with a chisel. He further claimed that to protect himself, he held a dressing gown belt to her neck before she went limp. His denial of the charge was ultimately rejected by the jury who found him guilty of murder.
South Wales Guardian
a day ago
- South Wales Guardian
Richard Satchwell given life sentence for murder of wife Tina
The British truck driver, 58, had denied the murder of Tina Satchwell 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. On Wednesday at the sentencing, the family of Tina Satchwell, nee Dingivan, described her as a kind and gentle woman who loved animals. Tina's cousin, Sarah Howard said that Tina was murdered 'by someone who claimed to love her'. 'The emotional toll of her loss is something I will carry with me always,' she said. Tina's half-sister Lorraine Howard said the way Tina was buried in plastic in her own home 'sends shivers down my spine every time I think about it'. 'I will never be able to forgive Richard Satchwell for what he has done.' Satchwell appeared in court on Wednesday in a light blue shirt. His barrister Brendan Grehan SC told the court that Satchwell intends to appeal, and that he 'never intended to kill Tina'. Mr Grehan also said that Satchwell said 'despite anything he said in the trial, Tina was a lovely person'. The court was told the couple married in the UK on Tina's 20th birthday, and later settled in Co Cork, first in Fermoy before moving to Youghal in 2016. The trial heard that on March 24 2017, Richard Satchwell went to gardai and claimed his wife had left their Youghal home four days ago because their relationship had deteriorated. Satchwell had also claimed Tina had taken 26,000 euros in cash from savings they kept in the attic, which the court later heard they did not have the capacity to save. He formally reported his wife missing in May 2017 and claimed to investigators that his wife was sometimes violent towards him. In the following years, he made over a dozen media appearances in which he spoke extensively about the morning he claimed Tina left the house and never returned. After her remains were found buried under a concrete floor under the stairs in their home in October 2023, Satchwell claimed that Tina 'flew' at him with a chisel. He further claimed that to protect himself, he held a dressing gown belt to her neck before she went limp. His denial of the charge was ultimately rejected by the jury who found him guilty of murder.
