RICHARD SATCHWELL HAS pleaded not guilty to the murder of his wife, whose body was discovered buried beneath the stairwell of their Cork home in 2023. 

Satchwell (58), with an address at Grattan Street, Youghal, Co Cork, is charged with murdering his wife Tina Satchwell (45) at that address on 20 March 2017.

The trial of the truck driver, who is originally from Leicester in England but has been a resident in Cork for over 20 years, began in Dublin today. 

When the single charge of murder was put to him, he replied: “Not guilty.”

The court is currently selecting a jury for the trial, which is expected to last five weeks.

The court previously heard that Richard Satchwell’s defence team, which is led by Brendan Grehan SC, intended to call a significant amount of evidence in the case, including from witnesses with whom the accused “communicated with by way of interview and the media as well”.

Tina Satchwell, a native of St Bernard’s Place in Fermoy, was reported missing on 24 March 2017 by her husband.

Gardaí found Tina Satchwell’s skeletal remains in October 2023, more than six years after she was reported missing, while excavating a concrete floor and walled-up area underneath the stairwell of the home she and her husband shared on Grattan Street in Youghal.

On 26 March this year, Richard Satchwell was sent forward for trial to the Central Criminal Court after being served with the book of evidence. Free legal aid was granted and there was no State objection.

Prior to the discovery of Tina Satchwell’s remains, gardaí followed 400 lines of inquiry, carried out multiple searches, watched hundreds of hours of CCTV and took witness statements from 170 people as part of the investigation.

With reporting from Press Association