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Man who buried wife under stairs sentenced to life in prison

Gardai Tina has blond long wavy hair and blue eyes. She is wearing pink eye shadow and dark eyeliner. She has red lipstick on and long silver dangly earrings. Gardai
Tina Satchwell was 45-years-old when she was reported missing from her home in Youghal

A man who killed his wife and kept her body hidden for years under the stairs of their County Cork home has been sentenced to life in prison.

Tina Satchwell, who was 45, was killed by Richard Satchwell in March 2017 in their home on Grattan Street in Youghal.

The trial lasted almost five weeks, and the jury at the Central Criminal Court took just under 10 hours to find Satchwell guilty of murder last week.

The judge heard victim impact statements from Tina Satchwell's family before imposing the mandatory life sentence.

Speaking on Wednesday, Tina's cousin, Sarah Howard said that she 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."

Ms Howard always referred to Tina by her maiden name, Tina Dingivan, and said Satchwell had wanted her where he could still have the ultimate control – in his home under the stairs.

PA Media Richard Satchwell is wearing a black t-shirt and he has a bald head with square glasses on. He is looking down. The sky behind him is bright blue. PA Media
Richard Satchwell pictured leaving the District Court in Cashel, County Tipperary in October 2023

What did Richard Satchwell do?

Days after the murder, Satchwell, a British truck driver originally from Leicester, reported his wife missing and lied about what happened to her, including telling police savings of €26,000 were also missing.

On October 2023, gardaí (Irish police) returned to the couple's home in Youghal for a further search where they found her body buried in a makeshift grave.

Satchwell was re-arrested and changed his story saying his wife flew at him with a chisel and she died as he tried to hold her off.

He said he transferred her body to a disused freezer, buried her in a grave he dug under the stairs and cemented over her body.

Brian Lawless/PA Wire Members of Tina Satchwell's family gathered outside the Central Criminal Court in Dublin to speak to reporters. Sarah Howard speaks into a number of microphones. She has long, blonde hair tied back in a ponytail and is wearing a denim jacket over a white dress. Another of Tina Satchwell's relatives has her arm on Sarah's shoulderBrian Lawless/PA Wire
Tina Satchwell's family, pictured on 30 May, told the media the portrayal of the victim during the trial was "not true to who she was"

Satchwell appeared in court on Wednesday in a light blue shirt.

Satchwell's defence counsel Brendan Grehan told the court that he intends to appeal, and that he "never intended to kill Tina".

Satchwell had 14 previous convictions between 1999 and 2004. These included larceny from a shop, having a fraudulent tax disc, cheque book fraud, theft and public order.

The prosecution said his account was farcical and pointed out he was 6ft 2in (188cm) tall while Ms Satchwell was small and weighed only eight stone. The defence claimed there was no evidence of an intent to kill.

The jury deliberated for nine hours and 28 minutes, before reaching a unanimous decision that Satchwell intended to kill or cause serious injury to his wife.

Tina's family said she had been portrayed in court as someone that was not Tina.

During the trial, Satchwell attempted to portray Tina as violent and volatile, he also claimed that she frequently assaulted him.

No evidence of this violence was brought to the court and most witnesses told the court they had heard Satchwell's claims that his wife was violent after she went missing in 2017.