Murder accused cut dressing gown belt so he could hold dead wife, court hears

Murder accused Richard Satchwell said he cut the dressing gown belt he had held to his dead wife’s throat so he could put her arm around him minutes after an incident at their home, a court has heard.

Satchwell told detectives investigating the murder of his wife, Tina Satchwell, that he wanted her arms around him, that he was numb and felt sick at what he had done.

He also told Detective Sergeant David Noonan that he would be going to prison and would “plead guilty”, saying he was holding “nothing back” from investigators.

The jury at Satchwell’s trial at the Central Criminal Court has been watching a police interview carried out after his wife’s remains were found under the stairs in the living room of their Co Cork home.

Satchwell was arrested for the murder of his wife in October 2023, after her body was found in a shallow clandestine grave, six years after he reported her missing.

Satchwell, 58, of Grattan Street in Youghal, is accused of murdering his wife between March 19-20, 2017.

He denies the charge.

Satchwell, originally from Leicester in England, formally reported his wife missing on May 11 2017.

He told Detective Noonan at Cobh Garda Station on the night of October 12, 2023, that the “longer bit” of the dressing gown belt was at the front of his wife’s robe.

He said that she usually bought a dressing gown that was a size up from her normal size and would swap that belt for an even larger size.

He said that he had used the belt to “fend” her off after he claimed she “flew” at him with a chisel on the morning of March 20, 2017.

Satchwell attempted to describe how he held the belt to her throat and how she went limp and fell into his arms.

The court heard claims that his wife’s arm was trapped under the belt and that he had to use nail scissors to cut through the material to free her arm.

He then held her dead body in his arms.

He said he had felt “sick” at what he had done and had buried her in phases.

When probed further about the details of how his wife died, Satchwell said it happened in “a flash”, and that his brain had no time to comprehend it.

Asked what he believed caused his wife’s death, he said that he was not sure but thought it was the belt blocking her air ways.

He claimed it happened in a matter of seconds.

However, Detective Noonan said it was not something that could happen in a couple of seconds, and told Satchwell that had been so “forthcoming and honest” throughout the interview.

“It seemed like forever, but also not forever if that makes sense,” Satchwell said.

He said he would not lie to the detective, adding that he was full of fear that morning.

“Did she come downstairs with the intention of attacking me or was it because I startled her? I don’t know,” he added.

He repeatedly told the detective that he was being honest about his account of what happened.

He said he did not brush her hair before he buried her, he did not try and manipulate her body or make it look like her body had been “groomed”.

“I put her in the way she was. I didn’t try and cover anything up. I didn’t do anything to the body to try and make it look like it was something it wasn’t,” he said.

Detective Noonan put it to Satchwell: “In your opinion, did the belt and how you were holding it cause her death?”

Satchwell replied: “I honestly can’t say for certain but to me, yeah. As to 100% on details, I can’t give that to you.”

He said he was not looking for sympathy and was “putting my hands up” to the crime.

“I am sick of living behind a mask,” he added.

When pressed for more details by Detective Noonan, who told Satchwell that his story did not make sense, Satchwell said he was “going to prison regardless” and there was “no point” in holding anything back.

He told the detective he would “plead guilty” and there would be no jury.

“I want to make that clear now. I am not trying to hold anything back from you.

“I have nothing to gain from twisting it. I have nothing to gain from what comes out, and I have nothing to lose.”

The jury was shown Satchwell’s third Garda interview which took place the following day, Friday October 13.

Dressed in a black T-shirt and grey jeans, Satchwell sat with his arms folded opposite Detective Garda Noelle McSweeney.

He told her there was “no intent” and “no premeditation” in his wife’s death.

“To me, the way things are is the way it happened. It if were premeditation there is thousands of country lanes myself and Tina used to walk down where I could have buried her,” he said.

“If there is such a thing, like you see on telly, where there is some trick where you can bring scars up on tissue, you will find a lot of bite marks on my body matching Tina’s dental records. Not just arms, back and cheeks.”

He added: “If we had visitors, I went up into the attic and stayed silent until they were gone.”

He claimed his wife hit him “so hard” she broke a tooth “clean off the root”.

“It was a few weeks before I went to the dentist to have the root pulled,” he said.

“But when I handed my car over to be forensic tested, the tooth was still in the car.

“These are all things. I was constantly getting teeth rebuilt and I don’t need you tell me, I can hear it, I can see it in your routine of questioning that in your head I was the violent person in the relationship.

“I put my hands up, I did that day, it’s the one time. I have never until that day defended myself against her.”

He said he “never controlled” his wife, and added that she went swimming every day and would change into a bikini and go to the steam room and there would no bruises on her body.

“I never until that day fended myself off against her and that only happened spur of the moment,” he added.

Satchwell was asked about an internet search on a laptop for quicklime.

He said he never purchased quicklime and never looked up the price.

He said the search was “one time”.

“I’ve got nothing to gain by lying. I’ve got nothing to lose by telling the truth,” he added.

“I’m not trying to cover up. I am not trying to embellish, I have never been a violent man. I have never hit a man in my life.”

When told by investigating gardai that Mrs Satchwell’s body was “well preserved”, he said it showed he made her “comfortable, which was my intention”.

He also said he had been living the life of a homeless man with a roof over his dead.

Describing the state of his home, he said there is mould on his couch and “dog shit” around the house.

“I haven’t changed my bed sheets for years. I was so deflated. I guess I am living the the kind of life as a homeless man with a roof over his head. I had no quality of life. I have no reason to clean up or do anything.”

He admitted he lied about his wife taking 26,000 euro in cash from their home, adding that their bank accounts where in arrears.

The trial continues.