'We just want and need you back': Jury view clip of Richard Satchwell making media appeal for wife to return home

A retired garda sergeant has told the trial of Richard Satchwell, who is accused of murdering his wife before burying her in a shallow grave beneath their Cork home, that gardaí were suspicious "something untoward" had happened to Tina Satchwell more than six years before her body was discovered.

A senior officer also testified today that the UK truck driver told him Tina had physically assaulted him in the past and on two occasions, "knocked him out cold". Mr Satchwell said he had never once reacted to "these outbursts" and instead would "drive away and have a cry".

The jury also viewed video clips of Mr Satchwell making media appeals about his wife months after he is alleged to have murdered her, telling RTÉ viewers: "Tina come home, no one's mad at you, the pets are missing you like crazy, we just want and need you back".

The Central Criminal Court jury has heard that on March 24, 2017, Mr Satchwell told gardaí that his wife 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 Tina missing the following May but her body was not discovered for over six years, when gardaí found her decomposed remains in a grave that had been dug underneath the stairs of her home.

Evidence was also heard today that "home improvement works" were going on at Mr Satchwell's home when gardaí conducted an initial search in June 2017, with "relatively new" plasterboard on the stairs and a new red bricked wall underneath the stairway.

In her opening address on Tuesday, Gerardine Small SC, prosecuting, told the jury that after the body was recovered, Mr Satchwell told gardaí that he lost his footing and fell to the ground when his wife tried to stab him with a chisel. He told detectives that he held her weight off with a belt but that in a matter of seconds, she was dead in his arms.

Mr Satchwell, aged 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 19 and March 20, 2017, both dates inclusive.

Giving evidence today, now retired Sergeant John Sharkey of Youghal Garda Station told Ms Small that he was aware in late March or early April 2017 that Mr Satchwell had made a report at Fermoy Garda station "indicating loosely" that his wife had suddenly departed the family home.

He said gardaí monitored the situation in the hope that Tina would return home but that didn't happen. He said as time passed, the officers' concern for Tina's welfare grew.

Mr Sharkey said his colleague, Garda Thomas Keane, called to Mr Satchwell's home on May 2, 2017 and interviewed him about whether there had been any contact from Tina.

He said Mr Satchwell formally reported his wife missing on May 11, 2017 and this upgraded the investigation from what was "a casual inquiry of someone leaving home" to a formal missing person investigation.

He said the outcome of their inquiry, which included a trawl of CCTV footage from the town of Youghal, a social media campaign with pictures of Tina and house-to-house inquiries didn't lead them to her or productively further the investigation. "They were fruitless I suppose," he added.

Mr Sharkey said having reviewed the evidence available to him, he formed the opinion that "something criminal may have occurred" around late May or the start of June in 2017.

He said he called to Grattan Street on June 7, 2017 in possession of a search warrant but there was no answer at the door. He called Mr Satchwell, but he was not in the vicinity to allow gardaí access to the house. The services of a locksmith were used and gardaí gained access through the front door without any damage. A garda search team then conducted a formal search of the defendant's home.

In cross-examination, defence counsel Brendan Grehan SC asked the witness when matters moved from a missing person inquiry to "something perhaps suggesting more sinister".

Mr Sharkey said the accused formally reported Tina missing on May 11, 2017 and it was treated as a missing person case for a period of time. However, he said a number of inquiries were carried out in that time and due to a lack of progress and a lack of ability "to create any trace" of Tina he became suspicious in late May that "something untoward" had occurred.

"Was that a personal or corporate suspicion?" asked Mr Grehan. "I wasn't alone in this, it was a corporate suspicion. An Garda Síochána had that suspicion," he replied.

Mr Grehan put it to the witness that the June 2017 search wasn't intended to be a cursory or a simple exercise at Grattan Street but a "thorough one". "Yes, a thorough and formal search," Mr Sharkey replied, adding that full garda resources were deployed at the house.

The witness said that gardaí entered the house to begin the search around 7.30am on June 7 and it concluded at 5pm that day. He said there were approximately ten gardaí involved in the search team.

Inspector Daniel Holland told Ms Small that Mr Satchwell voluntarily attended Midleton Garda Station the day after the search. The Insp said they talked about the couple's relationship and Mr Satchwell explained how he had given up a lot of his life to be with Tina, that his family didn't approve of the relationship and they no longer spoke to him. The accused said he wanted to have children but Tina didn't.

The witness said Mr Satchwell told him that Tina was very headstrong and determined. "He also alluded to the fact she had physically assaulted him and on two occasions had knocked him out cold, unconscious," he said.

Mr Satchwell had told the Insp that Tina's mood had deteriorated prior to Christmas 2016 and she had assaulted him the week before she went missing. The accused told the officer that he had never once reacted to "these outbursts or physical assaults".

The witness added: "He said the way he dealt with it was to drive away and have a cry and he never physically retaliated and he didn't indicate to us he had reported these incidents".

Regarding Tina's mental health, the Insp said the accused told him how he asked her to seek help but she didn't wish to do so. Mr Satchwell said Tina wouldn't hurt herself as she was not the type of person to do anything to harm himself.

The Insp said the accused told him he fully expected Tina to return home but he was concerned that publicity from the social media appeals may be an obstacle to her returning, in that people might ridicule her for leaving in the first place.

The Insp said he asked the accused about a number of Western Union money transfer documents found at Grattan Street, which had been sent to a number of areas around the world. The witness said these transfers were for quite substantial amounts and worth thousands of euros.

The accused had told the officer that the couple wished to purchase or adopt 'Marmoset monkeys' and said his two laptops, which were taken from his house the previous day, contained emails which would explain this.

Under cross-examination, the Insp agreed with Mr Grehan that the accused had described himself as "obsessed" with Tina. He also agreed the accused referenced incidences of extreme anger by Tina, which led to "extreme assaults" on him.

The witness agreed he had asked Mr Satchwell why he put up with this, with the accused replying that Tina was "the perfect person" when she was not in a mood and he had long accepted her dark side. The accused said Tina carried a lot of baggage from her childhood and had a dysfunctional childhood.

Earlier, Garda Cathal Whelan said he had photographed Grattan Street on June 7 2017, which he described as an old, four storey narrow building. He said the house was untidy with dog faeces on the floor and a bird cage that hadn't been cleaned out for a long time. He said there were unwashed dishes lying around and it was in an unkept condition.

Asked by the prosecutor about the stairs, the witness said it was made of untreated wood with relatively new plaster board on it. He said a room on the second floor was overflowing with clothes on racks. He agreed building work in the house had started but wasn't finished.

Under cross-examination by Mr Grehan, Gda Whelan agreed a photograph he had taken showed a new red brick wall under the stairs.

Garda Denis Barry, who attended the house on June 7 2017 and seized two laptops, told Ms Small he noted some fresh plasterboard on the wall of the stairs.

He also agreed with the defence counsel that there were "home improvements works" going on at the house but they were unfinished. He further agreed he had probably noted in his statement that there was plasterboard on the stairs and a freshly bricked wall underneath the stairway but he no longer recalled that.

Forensic scientist Edward Connolly told Ms Small that he used a chemical called 'Bluestar' to trace blood in the house when he attended Grattan Street on June 7, 2017. He said he examined the stairs, stairwells, hallways and landings of the house but no blood was detected. He noted some renovations had also been completed in the house.

The jury also today viewed three of 14 open sourced media clips, including one where Mr Satchwell spoke to RTÉ's Pascal Sheehy on June 26 2017 saying: "Tina come home, no one's mad at you, the pets are missing you like crazy, we just want and need you back".

The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of five men and seven women.