The body of Tina Satchwell was found wrapped in black plastic, dressed in her dressing gown and pyjamas and with shards of glass in her head and arm, a court has been told.
Mrs Satchwell was found buried in a deep clandestine grave under the stairs at the home she shared with her husband, Richard Satchwell.
A forensic officer said he noticed poured concrete was different to other cement on the ground under the stairs during a search of the property in Co Cork in October 2023.
Satchwell, 58, of Grattan Street in Youghal, is accused of murdering his wife Tina Satchwell between March 19 and 20 2017.
He denies the charge.
He initially claimed he believed she had left their family home because their relationship had deteriorated and she had taken 26,000 euros in cash they kept in the attic.
Her remains were found buried under a concrete floor under the stairs in their home.
Detective Garda Karen McCarthy told the Central Criminal Court in Dublin that she took samples from the body of Mrs Satchwell at Cork University Hospital where a post-mortem examination was taking place on October 12.
Detective McCarthy said that she recovered Mrs Satchwell’s dressing gown with a belt around it, her pyjama top and bottoms, underwear and a purse that was found in the left pocket of the gown.
She said that the purse contained a Public Services Card with the name of Tina Satchwell, a Holland & Barrett rewards card, as well as a membership card for Rathcormac car boot sale.
The court was also told that shards of glass were found in her head and arm and that she had been wrapped in a blanket.
A sample of her head hair and toenail were also taken for DNA testing.
The jury also heard about the moment a forensic archaeologist found a hand as they dug under the stairs of the Youghal home.
Detective Garda Brian Barry, who is involved in the investigation of major crime scenes, was accompanied by building contractors to help in the invasive search on October 10, 2023.
They were alerted to an area at the stairs by the garda search dog, Fern.
Detective Barry said that he used purple lighting to look under the stairs and could see different coloured concrete.
He described it as “newer concrete” which he said was “very suspicious to me” and was “unusual”.
“I certainly took an interest in this,” he told the court.
The builders used special kango hammers to break the concrete and they dug until they discovered black plastic sheeting about 64cm from the ground level.
Detective Barry said it was unusual and he was “very suspicious”.
The contractors were told the stop digging and Detective Barry contacted the crime scene manager to require the forensic archaeologists to attend the area.
Retired detective sergeant Shane Curran, a former member of the technical bureau and crime scene manager of the search, said that the dog was returned to the scene and confirmed the presence of human remains by going into ‘freeze mode’.
He said that two archaeologists and later a forensic anthropologist assisted in the recovery of the remains.
He said they found the human remains of Mrs Satchwell buried deep under the concrete. He said that it was around 74cm to the depth of the burial site.
The retired detective agreed that the process was slow and painstaking to ensure that all evidence was preserved.
He described the excavation as “complex”, and said that Mrs Satchwell’s remains were fully excavated on the morning of October 12.
He said that metal detection equipment and ground penetrating radar was also used during the search, which had been scheduled to last a week.
The court was told that the initial plan was to remove walls inside the property and knock down an extension at the back of the building as part of the search.
This plan did not proceed following the discovery of Mrs Satchwell’s remains.
The trial continues.
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