Richard Satchwell to go on trial for murder of his wife next year

Alison O'Riordan

Richard Satchwell, who is charged with murdering his wife after the discovery of her body buried beneath the stairwell of their Cork home, will go on trial at the Central Criminal Court in April next year.

The court was told today that Mr Satchwell's defence team, which is led by Brendan Grehan SC, intends 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".

Mr Satchwell (57), with an address at Grattan Street, Youghal, Co Cork is charged with murdering his wife Tina Satchwell (45) at that address on March 20th 2017.

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

The British truck driver is originally from Leicester in the UK but has been a resident in Cork for over 20 years.

Gardaí found Mrs 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.

Mr Grehan on Wednesday informed Mr Justice Paul McDermott that the case, which originates in Cork, will take six weeks.

Mr Justice McDermott set a trial date for April 28th, 2025 in the Central Criminal Court in Cork. It was listed for case management on October 11th this year.

On March 26th this year, Mr 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 Mrs Satchwell's remains last year, 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.