Latest news with #DrMargaretBolster
BreakingNews.ie
20-05-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Tina Satchwell's cause of death unclear due to skeletal nature of remains, court hears
Tina Satchwell's cause of death could not be determined due to the skeletal nature of her remains after they were found buried beneath her Cork home, the Assistant State Pathologist has told the Richard Satchwell murder trial. The Central Criminal Court also heard today that a dressing gown belt had been knotted to the front of Tina's chest in a "very unusual position", which expert witness Dr Margaret Bolster said is very often used for carrying a body. Advertisement The trial has heard that on March 24th, 2017, Mr Satchwell told gardaí 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 home, found her decomposed remains in a grave that had been dug underneath the stairs. When re-arrested on suspicion of Tina's murder after her body was removed from their Cork home, Mr Satchwell told gardaí that his wife "flew" at him with a chisel, that he fell backwards against the floor and described her death after he said he held her off by the belt of her bathrobe at her neck. Postmortem Giving evidence today, Dr Bolster told Gerardine Small SC, prosecuting, that she went to Grattan Street in Youghal on October 12th, 2023, where the deceased's skeletal remains were uncovered from a hole under the stairs with a depth of approximately 62cms. Advertisement The witness said she conducted a postmortem on Ms Satchwell's remains on the evening of October 12th, which continued into the morning of October 13th in Cork city mortuary. Dr Bolster said the body was recovered in a St Bernard dressing gown in a size 14-16, and it had been wrapped in a soiled sheet and black plastic. She said a gold coloured purse labelled 'Playboy' had been removed from the left pocket of the dressing gown with cards in the name of Tina Satchwell inside. She said she had cut the belt of the dressing gown to remove it and it hadn't been previously cut. The belt extended over the left side of the neck, under the right shoulder and right arm, under the body and was then knotted on the front of the chest. Advertisement The witness said the dressing gown top had disintegrated, and multiple ribs and vertebrae had come apart through decomposition. The next layer of clothing underneath were pyjamas. She said the belt had not been threaded through the loops of the dressing gown and that the left-hand side of the belt was across the front of the thorax. Expert witness The expert witness testified that four pieces of glass were taken from the scalp and five from the rest of the body. There was also evidence that the head had been separated from the body through decomposition. Advertisement The witness pointed out that part of the body had been skeletonised, and she could not identify external marks and injuries due to this. She said an internal examination was not applicable as there were no remaining organs. Furthermore, the witness testified that there was no evidence of any fractures of the bones, including the hyoid bone in the neck. An X-ray of the hands was carried out and it showed no evidence of fractures. The witness said that, due to a very long postmortem interval, Ms Satchwell's cause of death could not be determined. "It could not be determined due to the skeletal nature of the remains," she concluded. Advertisement Dr Bolster said the significance of a dressing gown belt over the front of the neck was unclear. "It was in a very unusual position as there had been significant moving and wrapping of the body after death," she said. In cross-examination, Dr Bolster told Brendan Grehan SC, defending, that the body was found lying face down and had been wrapped in a soiled sheet like a bedsheet. The witness agreed with the defence counsel that underneath the sheet, the body was wearing a dressing gown with the belt knotted to the front of the chest, which seemed "quite tight or taught" around the torso. Reconstruction video A reconstruction video was shown to the jury as to how Dr Bolster recalled the belt around the remains of Ms Satchwell. Asked whether the belt appeared to be like "something used to carry the body", Dr Bolster said these were exactly her thoughts. "It's very difficult to move a deceased's body around, and very often I find ligatures are used to move a body from an area," she said. Mr Grehan put it to the witness that "someone would have put it on to assist in the leverage of a body. "Yes, to move it around," she replied. She couldn't say where the glass found on the body had come from. The witness told Mr Grehan that in manual strangulation or throttling cases, it is much more common to find fractures in the hyoid bones. She confirmed there was no evidence of trauma to any bones and no evidence of bruising insofar as she could examine what was left of the muscle. She agreed that one of the arms was folded up against the chest area as it lay, and that the other arm also flexed. In conclusion, Dr Bolster said she could "very clearly" see the belt had been knotted "at the front" of the body in a "very unusual position", which is "very often used for leverage of the deceased".
The Independent
20-05-2025
- The Independent
Tina Satchwell's cause of death could not be determined, jury hears
Tina Satchwell's cause of death could not be determined due to the skeletal nature of the remains recovered from a grave in her home, the jury in her murder-accused husband's trial has heard. Richard 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. The jury in Satchwell's trial at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin has heard details of the post-mortem examination of Mrs Satchwell after her 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. On Tuesday, assistant state pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster told the jury that she was asked to attend the scene where Mrs Satchwell's remains were found on October 12, 2023. She said she observed that a wall had been removed and a hole at a depth of approximately 62cm had been dug. She said Mrs Satchwell's remains, which looked to be in a considerable state of 'longstanding disarray', were found in what was effectively a grave. Dr Bolger, who told the jury she had completed some 30,000 post-mortem examinations, said she began the examination of Mrs Satchwell's remains in the Cork City mortuary that evening, before finishing her work the following morning. She said she was given information that Mrs Satchwell had been in previous good health. The body was received in a black body bag, and a layer of black plastic which was put on the scene to keep the remains together and preserve and trace evidence. Beneath that, the body was in another layer of black plastic and also wrapped in a heavily stained, soiled sheet – which appeared to be a bed sheet. She said the soiling of the bed sheet was to be expected due to the earth and the decomposition of the body. There was debris and soil present on the body and bones could be seen protruding through the bed sheet. The body was received lying face down and was dressed in pyjamas and a dressing gown. A gold-coloured Playboy branded purse was removed from the left hand pocket of the dressing gown. It contained a Tesco clubcard, a Public Services Card, a Holland and Barrett rewards card, an Xtravision premium membership card, a Rathcormack car boot sale card, and a Boots advantage card in Mrs Satchwell's name. Dr Bolger outlined details of the post-mortem examination, stating that the body was rotated onto its back for the examination. She told the jury the skull had separated from the rest of the body as a result of the natural process of decomposition, while one of the arms and femurs had also been disarticulated. She explained there was formation of 'adipocere' on parts of the remains, which forms in decomposing tissue in warm and moist environments. Dr Bolger said there were also pieces of what could be glass found on the scalp and body but added she could not say where the pieces had come from. Asked if it was possible the glass came from the sheet, she said she could not say. Dr Bolger said she could not examine for external marks or injuries due to the length of time between death and the post-mortem examination. She said examiners would normally document every single marking on the head, neck and body to get an understanding of what may have been the cause of death. She said an internal examination was not possible because there were no organs remaining after decomposition. Therefore, she added that no comment on natural disease could be made. Dr Bolger said a toxicology report was also not possible, although a small amount of head hair was examined and showed that prescribed or illicit drugs had not been consumed in the previous 90 days. On the small amount of muscle that was available for examination, she said she could not identify any signs of hemorrhage or bleeding. There was no evidence of any fractures – or previous fractures – to any of the remaining bones throughout the skeletal remains, including in x-rays of Mrs Satchwell's hands. There was no evidence of fracture to the hyoid bone. Dr Bolger said this was like a chicken wishbone at the top of the voice box, which had 'not much more' of a consistency than a matchstick. She explained that this bone is fractured in roughly 9% of hangings, 24% of ligature strangulations, and 73% of manual strangulations or incidences of throttling. She said that Mrs Satchwell's larynx could not be identified in the decomposing remains. Dr Bolger said the dressing gown cord was in a 'very unusual position' and was not threaded through the loops of the gown itself. The jury was shown a video of a garda with a different dressing gown cord tied around his body to demonstrate how it appeared on the remains. The cord of the gown in the reconstruction was wrapped over the shoulder of the garda, across the chest under the other arm, and wrapped around the back to be tied on the front of the body. She said this was done over the dressing gown. The original gown and belt was explained to be in a brittle and hazardous state. Under cross-examination by Brendan Grehan SC, for Mr Satchwell, Dr Bolger was asked if the tying of the gown was like something used to carry a body. She replied: 'That's exactly my thoughts.' She explained from her experience it was difficult to move a deceased body and very often ligatures are used to move a body from one area to another. Also under questioning from Mr Grehan, Detective Garda David Kelleher told the court that the dressing gown had been photographed and searched for Mrs Satchwell's wedding ring in February of this year. He said this was done as Satchwell had said he placed the ring in a pocket of the gown. The ring has not been recovered, the jury heard. The jury previously heard evidence from a forensic scientist who said the gown and cord were not suitable for examination as they were too damp, mouldy and brittle. Mr Grehan asked if it was possible the ring fell out of the gown, which had partially disintegrated. Det Gda Kelleher, the garda in the reconstruction video, said he could not be sure. The trial continues.
Irish Times
20-05-2025
- Irish Times
Cause of Tina Satchwell's death could not be determined because of decomposition, pathologist says
A cause of death for Tina Satchwell , whose skeletal remains were found buried under her Co Cork home more than six years after she disappeared, cannot be determined, the Central Criminal Court has heard. Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster told the continuing trial of Richard Satchwell , who denies murdering his wife, that the cause of Ms Satchwell's death could not be established during a postmortem due to the level of decomposition. Dr Bolster said the significance of the presence of a dressing grown belt – draped diagonally from the left across the front of the body, brought under the right arm and then knotted – was 'unclear'. She said it was in 'a very unusual position'. The pathologist said Ms Satchwell's skull had come apart from her body due to decomposition and there was no evidence of any bone fractures. READ MORE Under cross-examination by defence counsel Brendan Grehan, Dr Bolster said the position of the belt was 'not a usual place' to knot a dressing gown. She agreed that the belt was neither around the neck nor the body. She agreed that the positioning of it made it appear 'like something used to carry a body'. 'That was my impression when I saw this,' she said, adding that she said she has been moving bodies all her life and ligatures are very often used as a means to do so. Dr Bolster agreed there were no bone fractures, no evidence of previous fractures or any signs of trauma to the bones. There was no fracture to the hyoid bone in the neck which, she agreed with Mr Grehan, has not much more than the consistency of a matchstick. In her experience of cases of manual strangulation or throttling, this particular bone is fractured in about 73 per cent of cases with a much lesser incidence of fracturing, about 24 per cent, in cases of ligature strangulation. The pathologist said she has carried out more than 30,000 postmortems in her career. Dr Bolster was giving evidence in the continuing trial of Mr Satchwell (58) who has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Satchwell (45) at their home on Grattan Street, Youghal, between March 19th and 20th, 2017. The jury has heard decomposed human remains, identified as those of Ms Satchwell, were discovered during a forensic search of the property on October 11th, 2023, some 6½ years after Mr Satchwell reported his wife missing. After the remains were discovered, Mr Satchwell told gardaí his wife had come at him with a chisel on the morning of March 20th and that he had used the belt of her dressing gown to fend her off. He said she 'went limp' and died. The prosecution case is that Mr Satchwell put his wife's body in a freezer in a shed before burying her in a grave dug under the stairs in their home. In evidence ton Tuesday, Dr Bolster told Gerardine Small SC, prosecuting, that she was asked to attend the scene at Grattan Street on October 12th, 2023, and that she examined the remains of Ms Satchwell, which were wrapped in black plastic. She concluded a postmortem the following morning in the mortuary in Cork. The pathologist agreed that the remains were skeletal and Ms Satchwell's medical records showed she was previously in good health. The body was wrapped in what looked like a soiled bed sheet and bones could be seen protruding through the sheet, the court heard. The body was lying face down and was wearing a dressing gown. A gold-coloured purse, labelled Playboy, was removed from the pocket, and contained various cards, including a Tesco club card and a public service card in name of Tina Mary Satchwell. The trial continues at the Central Criminal Court before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of seven women and five men.
