A jury will return to court on Friday to resume considering its verdict in the trial of Richard Satchwell, who denies the murder of his wife at their Co Cork home.
The skeletal remains of Tina Satchwell were found under the couple’s home in October 2023, more than six years after her husband reported her missing.
Mr Satchwell (58), a lorry driver, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his 45-year-old wife Tina at their home at No 3 Grattan Street, Youghal, on March 19th and 20th, 2017.
The trial, which enters its 23rd day on Friday, heard evidence from more than 50 witnesses.
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The jury began considering their verdict about 3pm on Tuesday, continued their deliberations on Wednesday and again on Thursday. When they were sent home at their request at 3.45pm pm on Thursday, they had deliberated for eight hours and 37 minutes.
They are due to resume their deliberations at 11.30am on Friday.
Relatives of Ms Satchwell, including her mother Mary Collins, half-sister Lorraine Howard and cousin Sarah Howard were again in court on Thursday.
The jury has three possible verdicts open to it – not guilty of murder; guilty of murder; and not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.
The judge has directed they may also consider, depending on their view of the evidence, a defence of partial self-defence or full self-defence.
The trial heard Mr Satchwell went to Fermoy garda station on March 24th 2017, where he told a garda his wife had disappeared from their home four days later, he believed she had left him and had taken €26,000 cash savings. He told a garda he was not concerned about her safety.
After gardaí interviewed him in early May 2017, he formally reported his wife as a missing person about a week later.
Gardaí, increasingly concerned something untoward had happened to Ms Satchwell, obtained a warrant to search the couple’s home in June 2017 when devices were seized.
In October 2023, gardaí carried out a full invasive search of the property, using a cadaver dog. Skeletal remains identified as Ms Satchwell were found on October 11th, 2023, buried in a grave site about one metre deep in an area under the stairs in the sitting room.
Mr Satchwell, who had been arrested but released before the remains were found, was rearrested and, during another interview with gardaí, told them his wife had flown at him with a chisel on the morning of March 20th, 2017.
He fell and she came on top of him trying to stab him with the chisel, he claimed. He said, while fending her off with the belt of her dressing gown robe, which was up around her neck, she went limp and died.
He told gardaí there was “no premeditation” and he had not called emergency services due to “panic and shame”. He said he placed her body on the couch before moving it to a freezer for about two days after which he buried it in a grave dug by him under the stairs and which he had cemented over.
A post-mortem examination of the remains was, due to lapse of time, unable to establish a cause of death. The jury heard there was no evidence of fractures to the bones, including the hyoid bone in the neck.
