Richard Satchwell has been given a life sentence for the murder of his wife Tina at their home in Co Cork.
Tina’s family said the trial had taken a physical toll on them and it was difficult to hear her name “tarnished” in court during the trial.
The British truck driver, 58, had denied murdering his wife between March 19 and March 20 2017.
The jury at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin reached the unanimous verdict last Friday after nine hours and 28 minutes of deliberations.
On Wednesday at the sentencing, Tina’s sister and niece paid tribute to her as a kind and gentle woman who loved animals.
Referring to her using her maiden name Dingivan, they described the distress of having Tina’s name “tarnished” during the trial and the “appalling” manner in which she was buried.
In her victim impact statement, Tina’s sister Lorraine Howard said thinking about the way Satchwell buried her sends “shivers down my spine every time I think about it”.
“He treated Tina’s body with such disrespect. He showed Tina’s dog in death more respect by getting the dog cremated and making a shrine.”
She said she and Tina had been inseparable growing up, and although they had a falling out, she said that they would have made up and become best of friends again if Satchwell had not “stole that from us”.
“Richard Satchwell stole that from many people even before he murdered Tina, by isolating her and alienating her from many friends when she was alive,” she told the court.
She said she has nightmares about Tina’s final moments and what she went through.
“He wanted Tina where he could still have the ultimate control – within his home under the stairs.”
She said that the narrative from Satchwell that Tina had been violent “couldn’t be further from the truth” and said the trial had taken a physical toll on her, her mother and their family.
She said the trial was already “unbearable” but the mention of her brother’s suicide made “an already horrendous situation worse” and was “intolerable” for the family.
“I will never be able to forgive Richard Satchwell for what he has done,” she added.
Tina’s niece Sarah Howard said that her aunt was murdered “by someone who claimed to love her” and that she could not understand how someone who was “supposed to love and protect her could do something so cruel”.
She said that listening to Tina’s name being “tarnished” during the trial was difficult and said the “undignified” way in which Tina was buried caused her “huge amounts of distress”.
She said that Tina would have loved to go wedding dress shopping with her and would have been an “incredible” support when her baby was born.
She said she had to leave her newborn baby girl to give evidence in the trial.
She also said she was “horrified” to discover that the chest freezer Satchwell had offered her was used to put Tina’s body in.
“To hear this just horrified me – to think I could have taken it into my family home and used it. What sort of person (could) do that?
“I ask the court – consider not just the crime but the cruelty that followed it and the deception, the stolen years and the false hope he gave us all that one day she might turn up.”
Satchwell appeared in court on Wednesday in a light blue shirt.
His barrister Brendan Grehan SC told the court that Satchwell intends to appeal, and that he insists he “never intended to kill Tina”.
Mr Grehan also said that Satchwell said “despite anything he said in the trial, Tina was a lovely person”.
Before the sentencing hearing, Tina’s mother Mary Collins was seen carrying a brightly coloured bouquet into the courthouse.
The court heard previously that the couple married in the UK on Tina’s 20th birthday, and later settled in Co Cork, first in Fermoy before moving to Youghal in 2016.
The trial heard that on March 24 2017, Richard Satchwell went to gardai and claimed his wife had left their Youghal home four days ago because their relationship had deteriorated.
Satchwell also claimed Tina had taken 26,000 euros in cash from savings they kept in the attic, which the court later heard they did not have the capacity to save.
He formally reported his wife missing in May 2017 and claimed to investigators that his wife was sometimes violent towards him.
In the following years, he made over a dozen media appearances in which he spoke extensively about the morning he claimed Tina left the house and never returned.
After her remains were found buried under a concrete floor under the stairs in their home in October 2023, Satchwell claimed to gardai that Tina “flew” at him with a chisel.
He further claimed that to protect himself, he held a dressing gown belt to her neck before she went limp.
His denial of the charge was ultimately rejected by the jury who found him guilty of murder.
Outside the Criminal Courts of Justice after sentencing, Superintendent Ann Marie Twomey said that the investigation team were “happy that justice has been served for Tina”.
“We are thankful that this investigation has provided answers and a sense of justice for Tina’s family and the wider community,” she said.
“While no resolution can erase the pain of loss, we sincerely hope that the conclusion of this case brings some measure of comfort to Tina’s family.
“We extend our deepest gratitude to the witnesses in this case and all of those who assisted us throughout the investigation. Your assistance formed an essential part of the journey.
“We would like to acknowledge the support of the wider community, especially those in Fermoy and Youghal.
“Finally, we the investigation team, are happy that justice has been served for Tina.”
