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BreakingNews.ie
30-05-2025
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Richard Satchwell: What the jury did not hear
Richard Satchwell's trial was initially scheduled to sit in his home county of Cork but, due to the "intense publicity" surrounding the case, his lawyers applied late last year to move the trial to the capital. The move was resisted by the State, who pointed out that much of the publicity was generated by Satchwell himself. Advertisement In November last year Brendan Grehan SC, for Satchwell, said that as the media attention was concentrated in Cork, it would be "impossible to retain an impartial jury" there who had not heard of the case and formed "adverse views of Mr Satchwell". Mr Grehan said that most trials can be held in local venues but some generate media attention that can be "macabre" and lead to "greater hostility than it is possible to imagine in an ordinary case." Satchwell's preference, Mr Grehan said, was for the trial to be held in Limerick so it would be closer to the prison where he was being held. "He has a position of responsibility there, which enables him to be a productive prisoner," counsel told the court. Gerardine Small SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, opposed the change of venue, arguing that publicity around the case was national, not local. Also, she said, much of that publicity was generated by Satchwell who "sought the attention of the media" by appearing on radio and television shows. Advertisement Ms Small pointed to Satchwell's appearances on RTÉ's 'Prime Time', TV3's 'Ireland AM', the Ray D'Arcy Show and the numerous interviews he gave to journalists. She added: "It is an unusual factor that it [the media attention] can be attributed to the accused man while he was aware the body of his wife was buried where it was." Mr Justice Paul McDermott agreed to change the venue to Dublin, due to the significant risk of an unfair trial. He said: "The high degree of local coverage and engagement with the case takes it out of the ordinary". 'Cryptic reply' During the trial and in the absence of the jury, Mr Grehan applied to exclude Satchwell's "cryptic" reply of "Guilty or not guilty, guilty" when he was formally charged with the murder of Tina on October 13th, 2023. Advertisement Counsel said a second part of the application - which was "somewhat of a side show" - was connected to the fact that a member of the press - Paul Byrne, formerly of Virgin Media News - tweeted that Satchwell was going to be charged before gardaí had actually done so. He said Superintendent Anne Marie Twomey had received directions from a legal officer at 7.28pm to charge Satchwell with the murder of his wife and he was formally charged at 8:07pm on October 13th. Mr Grehan said Mr Byrne had tweeted at 8.03pm that "a man in his 50's had been charged with the murder of Tina Satchwell" - four minutes before his client was formally charged. Counsel said Michael O'Toole, of The Irish Daily Mirror and Irish Daily Star, had "retweeted" at 8:09pm from the handle @mickthehack that "Richard Satchwell had been charged with the murder of his wife". Advertisement A number of gardai who were called to give evidence in the voir dire denied that they had contacted anyone in the media but accepted that Mr Byrne had tweeted about it several minutes in advance and that Mr O'Toole had named Satchwell as being charged two minutes after it occurred. Mr Grehan said it was "implicit" that contact was made with a number of people in the media "to enable them to do their job". Counsel also submitted that Satchwell should have been informed that he could consult with his solicitor before the charging process took place and was entitled to legal advice "at this critical juncture". "It vitiated the process and the court should not permit the fruits of the charging to be now available to the prosecution," he added. He said the defendant's solicitor Eddie Burke had left the garda station at 7:07pm that evening and didn't arrive back until 8.10pm - three minutes after the charging took place. Advertisement The lawyer said his client's reply after caution was more prejudicial than probative and would create difficulties in terms of how the jury could be properly directed. In reply, Ms Small said Satchwell, who was interviewed by gardai on ten separate occasions, had a "full appreciation of his entitlement not to say anything" in reply to the caution and was acutely aware of this. The defence, she said, was claiming there is an entitlement to have a solicitor present on charging and she wasn't aware of any such entitlement. She said the entitlement was to legal advice, which Satchwell had received "in abundance". She called the media tweets "completely irrelevant". In his ruling, Mr Justice McDermott said the defendant's reply was fully voluntary and found that the absence of a solicitor in the garda station had not impaired the fairness of the process. He refused to exclude the reply to charge. Direction to remove murder charge from indictment When the prosecution's case was at an end, Mr Grehan applied to the judge to withdraw the charge of murder against his client, submitting there was no evidence of an intention to kill or cause serious injury, which he said was "a huge lacuna" in the State's case. "It is one of the elements of the offence of murder which the prosecution have to adduce evidence of, which they have singularly failed to do," he argued. He said Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster could not give a cause of death due to a very long post mortem period and had confirmed there were no broken bones in Tina's body. He said she wasn't able to conclude anything about the state of the organs due to the lapse of time. Mr Grehan said there was an explanation available to the jury as to how death was caused in the case without the evidence of the pathologist or anthropologist and that explanation was given by his client, where Satchwell said the belt of Tina's bathrobe had been held up against her neck until she collapsed. Counsel said this was the only account available as to what happened to Tina and was of "immense importance" as there was no evidence of violence discovered in the post mortem. Counsel said it was significant that Tina's hyoid bone was un-fractured. He said there was also no medical evidence to say that his client's account of holding Tina off with a restraint against her neck before she collapsed suddenly was not possible. In reply, Ms Small submitted that there was "a wealth of evidence" from the surrounding circumstances in the case from which intent could be inferred. Counsel said the deception began on March 20th, 2017 very shortly after Satchwell killed Tina and the plethora of lies were an acknowledgement of guilt. Ms Small said a limited post mortem examination was conducted because the defendant had buried his wife in a manner to ensure the cause of death wasn't available. She added: "There is also motive on his own account, Satchwell says she is threatening to leave him. She has wasted 28 years of her life, that is all part of the evidence for the jury to accept or not". Mr Grehan said the lies told were not sufficient to show intent for murder. Referring to motive, he said there was also clearly a basis for which Tina might have wanted nothing further to do with her husband and attacked him in that manner. In his ruling, Mr Justice McDermott said Satchwell's immediate response was to create a false impression that Tina was alive and he had taken every conceivable step to protect himself. He said Satchwell told lie after lie "to any journalist who'd indulge him" and portrayed a scenario that his wife had deserted him suddenly without any explanation. Mr Justice McDermott said Satchwell had shown a degree of malevolence towards his wife and the defendant was totally focused on protecting himself from discovery. There had been, he said, a period of six prolonged years before Tina's body, of which Satchwell had disposed of, was found and this was relevant to the issue of intention. He said it was a matter for the jury as to whether Satchwell had formed the requisite intent and whether he was guilty of his wife's murder. He rejected the application to withdraw the murder charge. Application to discharge the jury At the very end of the trial, when Mr Justice McDermott had finished charging the jurors, Mr Grehan said on foot of instructions from his client he "regrettably" had to seek the discharge of the jury. Counsel voiced his opposition to the tone of the charge, which he said was intended to "nudge" the jurors towards a guilty verdict. Counsel said he became increasingly concerned as the charge proceeded that it was not resembling a charge but a "second prosecution speech" in terms of the emphasis the court was placing on the State's case to the detriment of the defence. Mr Grehan told the judge he had not put the defence case in full at all to the jury. He said the two separate tasks of directions on the law and a summary of the evidence had become "intermingled" and submitted there was no balance in what had been said to the panel. "The whole emphasis of what was said to the court seemed to be to reiterate the prosecution case," he argued. Mr Grehan said the facts of the case "shouted and screamed for themselves" in terms of what Satchwell did and didn't do. "They are not facts that need to be nudged or pushed for the jury in any particular way". Ireland Jason Hennessy Jnr jailed after confronting armed... Read More Counsel said it was beyond remedy at this stage and the court should discharge the jury. Ms Small called Mr Grehan's application "wholly inappropriate", describing the charge as balanced, fair and extremely comprehensible. "The criticism is unfounded, a court will rarely outline all the evidence, that is a matter for the jury". In his ruling, the judge said this was a difficult case in which to sum up the evidence for the jury and he didn't accept that his charge was "so wildly unbalanced". He disagreed that the absence of references to certain parts of the evidence in any sense justified the jury being discharged. Mr Justice McDermott refused the application but did give the jury further directions in relation to two matters of which complaints were made, one relating to the detailed evidence of Lorraine Howard concerning her half sister Tina, the other to evidence that Satchwell loved or was "besotted" with his wife.
BreakingNews.ie
23-05-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Satchwell's 'farcical' narrative of wife's death has more holes than 'Swiss cheese', jury told
Richard Satchwell's narrative of how his wife died after he held her off by the belt of her bathrobe is "absolutely farcical" and has more holes in it than a block of Swiss cheese, a prosecution barrister has told a Central Criminal Court jury. Gerardine Small SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, on Friday gave her closing speech in the trial of Mr Satchwell, submitting that the the British truck driver had woven "a web of deceit" and continued his "fabricated narrative" over the years when he engaged with the media and "anyone who would indulge him". Advertisement The Leicester man, Ms Small said, was "shamelessly brazen right up to the very end" until his wife's remains were discovered at the couple's home in Youghal, over six years after Tina Satchwell was reported missing. 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 almost one metre deep 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. Advertisement The Assistant State Pathologist has told the trial that Tina'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. Prosecuting counsel Gerardine Small outside at the Central Criminal Court. Photo: Collins Addressing the jurors in her closing speech on Friday, Ms Small said the case was "calling and screaming out" for them to apply their common sense and experience. Ms Small said that the jurors can infer intent from "the surrounding circumstances" of Mr Satchwell's actions, reactions and omissions, as well as the lies he told, the manner in which he concealed the body, the "whole web of deceit he wove" and the fact that it was not until Tina's body was found that his narrative changed. These, she said, were all matters for the jury to examine when they were looking at the accused intent. Counsel suggested that in the immediate aftermath of the killing, Mr Satchwell had not sought any medical help and made no calls to the emergency services. "Nothing; he doesn't contact anyone." Advertisement Ms Small told the jurors that the accused created a false email to an international monkey rescue association at 10.42am on March 20, 2017 "in very close proximity to the killing", where he wrote: "I have put an awful lot of work into this and my wife is going to leave me as a result." "That is a very calculated move on Mr Satchwell's part," the prosecutor told the jury. "It's very deliberate and very reasoned and what he is doing is creating a digital footprint he can avail of later down the a safety net because further down the line, he can say she was alive at that stage." The barrister said another text message sent by the accused to "a Mr James" in a similar manner to the email were "two very deliberate and conniving actions" on the accused's part; "full of guile". In his first contact with gardaí on March 24 2017, Ms Small said Mr Satchwell told officers he was not really worried about Tina because of the deterioration in their relationship; "again the deceit has been woven again". Advertisement She said Mr Satchell had continued this "fabricated narrative and deceit" over the years when he engaged with the media and "anyone who would indulge him". Ms Small said during the accused's "enhanced cognitive interview" with gardaí in June 2021, he still maintained the same narrative of how Tina had left him. She said when the accused told gardaí he thought Tina may come knocking on his door, he did this "knowing full well she was buried under the concrete; it's absolutely callous". The lawyer outlined that when Mr Satchwell was first arrested for his wife's murder on October 10th, 2023, gardaí had told him there was going to be an invasive search and that they "were going into the walls" of his home and digging up every inch of the house. Ms Small said at this stage, Tina's body hadn't been found, but officers asked the accused what he kept under the stairs. She said Mr Satchwell had told them "bits and pieces". Advertisement "That illustrates how shamelessly brazen he is, right up to the very end, absolutely brazen and he maintains that position right to the bitter end until he is released from detention," said counsel. Counsel told the jurors that ultimately, Tina's decomposed body and skeletal remains were recovered when the cement under the stairs was broken. She said gardaí then re-arrested the accused on October 12th. "He knows the body has been found, you would expect this is a road to Damascus moment, you would be forgiven for thinking that, but no. Richard Satchwell now embarks upon another narrative and another web of deceit; this narrative has more holes than a block of Swiss cheese, it is laden with discrepancies," she continued. Ms Small commented that Mr Satchwell's account of how his wife died was "totally implausible and self-serving". She went through his account on how Tina "flew" at him with a chisel and was on top of him trying to stab him. "Curiously this eight stone lady versus a six foot two man never manages and doesn't get a mark on him but nonetheless she is still stabbing at him," she commented. "For some reason he said he grabs her clothes but doesn't know it's a belt at the time, only after the deed he realises it's a belt, he said he is holding her off because he is terrified". Ms Small submitted that Mr Satchwell gave no detail of the struggle because he could not be then probed by gardaí and "found out". She continued: "Tina is well capable of getting up, she has her left hand free and can stop her own death, it's absolutely farcical but that is what he is telling gardaí." Ireland Richard Satchwell was 'obsessed' with and 'possess... Read More Ms Small noted that when the accused was asked by gardaí to demonstrate what happened to his wife, he said he couldn't. She also said that when Mr Satchwell was asked how he held the belt around her throat, he said he didn't know. Counsel also submitted that when the accused was asked what had caused Tina to die, he could not say but went on in his interview "to set up" the defence of self-defence for himself. The trial continues this afternoon before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of five men and seven women, when Ms Small will continue her closing speech. 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 – nee Dingivan – at that address between March 19th and March 20th, 2017, both dates inclusive.
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Irish Times
Richard Satchwell wove a ‘web of deceit' when he ‘knew full well' his wife was buried in their home, jury told
Richard Satchwell wove and maintained a 'web of deceit' over years about the disappearance of his wife when he 'knew full well she was buried under concrete' in their Cork home, prosecuting counsel has told a jury at the Central Criminal Court. Even after his wife's remains were found six and a half years later, there was no 'road of Damascus moment' and he instead gave a 'farcical' account of how she had died, Gerardine Small SC said. Actions by Mr Satchwell from shortly after the time he said his wife died on March 20th 2017, such as creating an email to a money sanctuary which suggested she was still alive, were 'conniving and full of guile', and involved creating 'a digital footprint' that he could avail of later on. Right to the 'bitter end', while a forensic search of his home was underway, he was 'absolutely brazen' and his narrative only changed after the skeletal decomposed remains of his wife were found in October 2023, counsel said. READ MORE The jury might expect that discovery to be 'a road to Damascus moment' but it was not, she said. He embarked on another narrative, 'another web of deceit, which has more holes than a block of Swiss cheese, it is laden with discrepancies'. He had claimed his wife flew at him with a chisel and for some reason he lost his footing and his wife was on top of him with a chisel trying to stab him. 'Curiously, this eight stone lady never managed to stab this man, who was six foot two', but he, for some reason, had grabbed her clothing and said he was holding her off because he was 'terrified', counsel said. He had given no detail of this 'totally implausible account' and that was because it was 'absolutely farcical'. Ms Small on Friday began closing the case for the prosecution against Mr Satchwell (58), who has denied the murder of his wife at their home at No 3 Grattan Street, Youghal, on March 19th and 20th 2017. The jury of seven women and five men is hearing closing speeches on Friday and will be charged from Monday by Mr Justice Paul McDermott. They will begin considering their verdict after the charge concludes. Ms Satchwell's decomposed skeletal remains, the jury has heard, were discovered during a forensic search of the property on October 11th 2023, about six and a half years after Mr Satchwell reported his wife missing. After the discovery, Mr Satchwell told gardaí that his wife had come at him with a chisel on the morning of March 20th 2017, he had used the belt of her dressing gown to fend her off, she 'went limp' and died. The prosecution's case is that he put her body in a freezer in the shed before burying her in a grave site dug in the floor under the stairs. The assistant state pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, has told the court that advanced decomposition due to lapse of time meant Ms Satchwell's cause of death could not be determined at a post-mortem carried out in October 2023. In her address today, Ms Small told the jury this was a case that is 'screaming out for your common sense, your experience'. To return a murder verdict, they must find Mr Satchwell killed his wife unlawfully and that, at the time, he had the requisite intent for murder, she said. They could infer intent from the surrounding circumstances, the actions, reactions, omissions and lies of Mr Satchwell, the manner in which he concealed the body, the 'whole web of deceit he wove'. It was not until Ms Satchwell's body was found that narrative changes and all of this must be examined when considering intent, she said. The prosecution does not have to prove a motive but Mr Satchwell himself said several times that his wife had said she would leave him and had told him she had wasted 28 years on him, she said. The jury should look at what he did and did not do at the time, she said. He did not seek medical help, did not call emergency services, guards, ambulance, he did 'nothing at all'. The address resumes after lunch.
