Jury in trial of murder accused Richard Satchwell continues deliberations

Independent

5 days ago

A jury is continuing to consider its verdict in the trial of murder accused Richard Satchwell on its third day of deliberations.
The 58-year-old has denied murdering his wife, Tina, at their home in Co Cork in March 2017.
Satchwell, of Grattan Street in Youghal, is accused of murdering his wife between March 19 and 20 2017.
Tina Satchwell's remains were found under the stairs in the living room of their Co Cork home in October 2023, six years after Satchwell, originally from Leicester, England, reported her missing.
The panel at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin was sent out by Mr Justice Paul McDermott shortly after 10.30am on Thursday.
They have been deliberating verdicts for a total of four hours and 42 minutes since Tuesday.
The time does not include breaks.
The jury was previously told it must 'consider carefully' any reasonable possibility that what the accused says about his wife's death is true.
It has also been told to consider the reasons why Satchwell went to elaborate lengths to deceive his wife's family and Irish police to persuade them that she was still alive, all while knowing she was dead.
The judge told the jurors that there are a number of verdicts open to them, including guilty of murder, not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter or not guilty on the basis of self-defence, which would lead to an acquittal.
They have also been told to look at and examine all material and statements that have been put before them throughout the five-week trial.
The jury has heard from more than 50 witnesses over the five-week trial, many of whom were gardai involved in the investigation.
In October 2023, following a search of the property on Grattan Street, gardai discovered Mrs Satchwell's skeletal remains buried under the stairs of their home.
Her badly decomposed body was found wrapped in a soiled sheet and covered with a black plastic sheet.
She was wearing her pyjamas and a dressing gown, with the belt of the gown wrapped around her.
The state pathologist Dr Margot Bolster said she could not determine the exact cause of death because of the advanced state of decomposition.
During garda interviews, Satchwell claimed that on the morning of March 20, he found his wife standing at the bottom of the stairs with a chisel in her hand, scrapping at the plasterboard.
He claimed that she flew at him with the chisel, and he fell back on to the floor.
The accused further claimed that Mrs Satchwell tried to stab him multiple times with the chisel and that he grabbed her clothing and restrained her by putting the belt of the robe against her neck.
Satchwell said that in a very short period of time, his wife went limp and fell into his arms.
He then placed her body on the couch in the living room, before moving her to the chest freezer and then burying her under the stairs.
It would be more than six years before gardai discovered her body.