Richard Satchwell, who was charged with murdering his wife Tina following the discovery of her body more than six years after her disappearance, is to go on trial at the Central Criminal Court next April.
The court was told on Wednesday that Mr Satchwell’s defence team, 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”.
The 57-year-old accused, with an address at Grattan Street, Youghal, Co Cork, is charged with murdering Tina Satchwell (45) at that address on March 20th, 2017. Ms Satchwell, from Fermoy, was reported missing on March 24th, 2017 by Mr Satchwell, a truck driver originally from Leicester, England who has been living in Cork for more than 20 years.
Gardaí found Ms Satchwell’s skeletal remains last October while excavating a concrete floor and walled-up area underneath the stairwell in the home she and Mr Satchwell shared.
Mr Grehan told Mr Justice Paul McDermott that he expected the case would take six weeks. Mr Justice McDermott set a trial date of April 28th next in the Central Criminal Court in Cork.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis