Gardaí found Tina Satchwell's body buried face down in her Cork home, murder trial told

Tina Satchwell vanished from her home on 3 Grattan St, Youghal, on March 20, 2017. File photo: Theresa Dingivan

WARNING: Some readers may find the following report upsetting

Tina Satchwell’s decomposed body was found lying face down in a grave in her Cork home, legs folded back up over her thighs.

No fractures were found on any of her bones including her skull, neck, and the very fragile and “matchstick like” floating bone which holds the tongue called the hyoid.

Defence barrister Brendan Grehan SC noted that the fracture of this u-shaped hyoid bone is commonly associated with strangulation.

Forensic anthropologist Dr Laureen Buckley, described in court as a “bone expert”, agreed that the fracture of this bone was “sometimes” associated with strangulation but not always.

Ms Satchwell’s skull and jaw bone had separated from her spinal column due to decomposition, she told the Central Criminal Court. Multiple other bones had also separated from her body, including two ribs, neck vertebrae and thoracic vertebrae.

The front of Ms Satchwell's remains were better preserved with soft tissue still intact as she had been lying face down in a damp, anaerobic environment. But the back of her body had become skeletal.

Ms Satchwell’s 12 ribs were visible but only the lower pair had become detached due to decomposition. Small bones from her toes were missing, but Dr Buckley said that they may have disintegrated over time which would not be uncommon.

Dr Bukley was present both at the search of the Satchwell’s home in October 2023 and at the subsequent post mortem examination in Cork. Ms Satchwell’s body had been found lying face down wrapped in plastic with a slab placed over her under the sitting room floor of 3 Grattan St, Youghal. 

Her legs had been folded back over her thighs. One arm was crossed over her chest, the other lying across her stomach. A plastic sheet had been placed under her body and folded over on top of her. This made it easy to remove her from the grave, to place her on a clean plastic sheet and into a body bag intact.

At the post mortem examination, on October 12, 2023, she was removed from the plastic sheet. Her body was in a dressing gown, with some soil on her remains, and a wallet in the pocket. Her body, lying face down, was turned around.

Richard Satchwell (pictured) has denied murdering Tina Satchwell at their home in March 2017. File photo

Dr Buckley found that Ms Satchwell had suffered no previous bone fractures in her life. Dr Buckley said that she is consulted by pathologists on bones, where human remains are decomposed or skeletonized.

Tina Satchwell, aged 45, vanished from her home on 3 Grattan St, Youghal, on March 20, 2017. Her husband Richard Satchwell, aged 58, reported her missing four days later. He has denied her murder at their home in March 2017 and is currently on trial in the Central Criminal Court, sitting in Dublin.

Mr Satchwell looked very pale, head newly shaven close to his head, arms folded on the bench in front of him, hunched over and eyes cast down this morning – a position he has adopted for much of the trial which is now in its third week.