Legal team may apply for Richard Satchwell conviction appeal to be prioritised by court

Richard Satchwell was sentenced to life in prison on June 4 for the murder of his wife Tina Satchwell.

The appeal being taken by Richard Satchwell against his conviction for the murder of his wife Tina could be the subject of an application by his legal team to be given priority status to be heard in the Court of Appeal.

However, sources say at present that grounds for his appeal have not yet been lodged with the Courts Service and it could be between a year and 18 months before the case comes to court.

The 58-year-old was sentenced to life in prison on June 4 for the murder of his wife on March 20, 2017, by a jury of seven women and five men. The trial ran over four weeks before Justice Paul McDermott at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin. 

He had pleaded not guilty to the murder at their home on 3 Grattan St, Youghal, where his wife’s skeletal remains were found in a shallow grave under a concrete floor in the house in October 2023. 

The search which led to the discovery of the body was the second invasive search of the house since her disappearance, with the first having failed to locate her remains in June 2017.

After her remains were discovered, Satchwell admitted killing her and burying her remains under the floor of their home, claiming that she had attacked him with a chisel. He said she went limp and died in his arms after he held the belt of her dressing gown to her neck to protect himself.

Ms Satchwell, formally Dingivan, was reported missing by her husband on March 24, 2017, when he told gardaí that she had asked him on the morning of March 20 to go to Dungarvan to buy parrot food for their pet bird, as well as other items of shopping. He claimed she was gone when he returned from Dungarvan.

Appeal

While Satchwell’s legal team lodged a notice to appeal his conviction on the day of his sentencing, the notice was formalised on August 18, with documents being submitted by the team on his behalf.

While it is expected that a number of grounds for an appeal will be submitted, none have been, to date.

A source said that the setting of a date for the hearing of the appeal will be dependent on how long it takes the legal teams for Satchwell and for the State to prepare paperwork.

The source explained: “The length of time the appeal takes depends on the parties and when they get their paperwork done. I think if it was heard before next summer, he would be lucky. 

"It’s not that there is a huge waiting time but particularly for a life sentence, there would be a lot of work to do. The grounds have not even been submitted yet. It is up to the parties – they could speed it along if they want and anyone can make an application to have it prioritised.”