Richard Satchwell to appeal against his conviction for the murder of his wife Tina

Richard Satchwell had admitted burying his late wife Tina Satchwell beneath a concrete floor in their East Cork home

It is understood the appeal was lodged on June 4, the day Richard Satchwell was jailed for life for his wife's murder. File picture: PA

Richard Satchwell has lodged an appeal against  his conviction for the murder of his wife Tina Satchwell, who he admitted to burying beneath a concrete floor in their East Cork home.

The appeal was lodged on June 4, the day he was jailed for life for his wife's murder, it is understood.

Satchwell, 58, pleaded not guilty to the murder of his wife on March 20, 2017 at their home on 3 Grattan St, Youghal.

But following a four week trial in front of Justice Paul McDermott and the jury of seven women and five men, he was found guilty of her murder.

Ms Satchwell’s skeletal remains were found in a shallow grave under a concrete floor in the sitting room of her home during an invasive search of the property in October 2023.

Missing persons report 

Her husband first told gardaí that his wife was missing on March 24, 2017.

He said that on the morning of March 20, 2017, Mrs Satchwell had asked him to go to Dungarvan to buy parrot food [for their parrot Valentine] and for some other items in Aldi.

But when he got back, he said that his wife was gone.

Gardaí strongly suspected something criminal had happened to Mrs Satchwell.

Up to 10 gardaí searched the Satchwell’s house on June 7, 2017 for 12 hours.

Gardaí discovered a filthy, unkempt home, with dog faeces on the floor and a bird cage that had not been cleaned in a long time.

Luminol, a chemical that detects the presence of blood, was used by Dr Edward Connolly, forensic scientist with Forensic Science Ireland, throughout the “complete” house, including the stairwells.

No traces of blood were found.

But photos taken in the home on that search prompted a second, invasive search at the home in October 2023.

‘Home improvements’ and a new red brick wall were noted under the stairwell in the sitting room and that area was excavated.

Below this concrete, a skeletal hand emerging from sandy soil was the first sighting of Mrs Satchwell, who had vanished more than six years earlier.

Her body was found in a supine position with loose skeletal parts in a grave beneath that wall.

Mr Satchwell was arrested for his wife’s murder that day, October 12, 2023.

Sudden change in Satchwell's story

After more than six years saying that his wife had left him, he suddenly changed his narrative.

Now, he told gardaí that he had been making Mrs Satchwell breakfast on the morning of March 20, 2017, when he heard a scraping noise by the staircase.

He followed the noise and claimed he found his wife scraping plasterboard he had recently erected by the staircase with a chisel.

He claimed he said ‘Tina, what are you doing?’ And she then ‘flew at him with a chisel,’ he said.

He fell to the ground and she jumped on top of him, trying to stab him in the head with the chisel, he claimed.

He said he held the belt of her dressing gown to her neck to protect himself and “in a flash” she “went limp” and fell into his arms dead.

He later buried her under the stairs in the sitting room and concreted over her shallow grave.