Richard Satchwell found guilty of murder of wife Tina

Her body had been buried under the stairs of their home.

The jury at the Central Criminal Court took almost nine and a half hours to find Mr Satchwell guilty of murder, reports RTÉ.

Mr Satchwell, 58, had reported his wife missing in March of 2017.

He claimed that he had been out running errands and when he returned to their home in Youghal, Co. Cork, Tina had left along with their savings of €26,000.

After six and a half years, Gardaí discovered that Tina had never left their home; instead, her skeletal remains were found buried under the stairs in the living room during a search of the house in October of 2023.

Her body was wrapped in black plastic and buried face down in a grave that Mr Satchwell had dug himself.

No cause of death could be determined due to the condition that her body was found in.

Upon being rearrested, Mr Satchwell changed his story and claimed his wife "flew" at him with a chisel on the morning of March 20 2017.

He claimed that his wife fell limp and collapsed in his arms after he held her off using the belt of her dressing gown, while she was attempting to stab him in the head with the chisel.

Mr Satchwell placed his wife's body in a disused freezer which was not plugged in. He then reported her missing at Fermoy Garda station.

Just two days later, he buried her under the stairs.

According to RTÉ, the jury did not believe Richard Satchwell was acting in self-defence when he killed his wife.

Their verdict of murder means they believed he intended to kill or cause serious injury.

Satchwell will be sentenced to the mandatory sentence of life in prison next Wednesday when victim impact evidence will be heard.