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Richard Satchwell (57) appeared before a special sitting of Cashel District Court where it was heard he replied “guilty” when the charge was put to him.
The charge came just 48 hours after Gardaí discovered the skeletal remains of the Cork woman while excavating a hidden compartment in a concrete floor and walled-up area underneath the stairwell of her Youghal home.
It was confirmed via dental records that the skeletal remains were those of Tina.
Richard Satchwell of Grattan Street, Youghal, Co Cork appeared before Judge Miriam Walsh at the special court sitting in Tipperary this morning charged with the murder of his wife.
The State has charged that on March 20 2017, at a location in Cork, he murdered his wife contrary to Common Law.
Satchwell appeared in court wearing a black T-shirt and grey slacks.
He remained silent during the brief court sitting.
Members of Tina’s family travelled from her hometown of Fermoy to attend the court hearing.
A Garda liaison officer was appointed to the family last Tuesday.
Det Garda David Kelleher of Cobh Garda Station gave the court evidence of the arrest, caution and charge of the defendant.
He said that, when the charge was formally put to the defendant at Cobh Garda Station at 8pm on Friday night, Satchwell replied: “Guilty or not guilty – guilty”.
Satchwell, a delivery truck driver, was arrested at 12 noon last Thursday in Youghal and questioned at Cobh Garda Station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.
He had been previously arrested on Tuesday but was released without charge on Wednesday night.
As the charge involved is murder, bail cannot be dealt with by the district court.
Any bail application must now be dealt with by the High Court.
Inspector Aidan Lonergan applied for a remand in custody.
Judge Walsh remanded him in custody to appear again before Clonmel District Court by video-link on October 17 next.
Defence solicitor Eddie Burke asked that his client be remanded in custody to Cork rather than Limerick Prison.
He also applied for free legal aid and pointed out that his client was not employed.
While the defendant has an address in Youghal he is originally from the East Midlands in the UK.
The couple were 26 years married when Tina vanished without trace in March 2017.
The charge followed a major four-day Garda operation which saw Tina’s missing person investigation dramatically upgraded to a murder probe and a property in Youghal subjected to an intensive examination and excavation.
The Garda search of the Youghal property remains ongoing though it is being slowly wound-down.
Gardaí used jack-hammers, drills, mini-diggers and a shrub clearance machine as part of their painstaking examination of the house since Tuesday which involved targeted excavations both inside and outside the property.
It also involved the use of a specially trained Garda cadaver dog and breathing apparatus for officers laboriously inspecting drains and culverts.
Tina’s heartbroken family have paid an emotional tribute to her.
Her older sister, Teresa, who is based in the UK, said she prayed that her sibling can now rest in peace and be reunited with their beloved mother.
“RIP to my beautiful sister Tina – you can rest now, love. We found you love…I love and miss you.”
“You are now with mum – fly high my beautiful girl. Give mum a big huge hug – you will always be with me.”
Teresa said her sister was “adored” by her family and friends.
She said she was “kind, considerate, funny, stylish, bubbly and independent.”
Special public vigils in memory of Tina will be staged in Youghal on Saturday afternoon and in her native Fermoy on Monday evening.
An impromptu shrine of flowers, cards and candles has been erected outside the Youghal property where her remains were discovered on Wednesday night.
Prayers for Tina and her family have been offered at Masses in Youghal and Fermoy.
Tina vanished without trace on March 20 2017 from her home in Youghal.
She was originally from Fermoy in north Cork but had travelled to the UK in her teens where she met her husband.
The couple lived in Fermoy for many years before relocating to Youghal – a move Tina described as “a dream” given how she adored the seaside.
Despite multiple searches, public appeals for information and dozens of hours of CCTV security camera footage being examined, no trace of Tina was found until this week. The last major targeted search in respect of her disappearance occurred in March 2018 when 60 Gardaí and support officials conducted a painstaking examination of Mitchel’s Wood outside Castlemartyr in east Cork. Nothing of significance was discovered in that major 12 day search. Until this week, the garda investigation included 400 different lines of inquiry, over 100 hours of CCTV footage and 170 statements. Searches conducted included the painstaking examination of Mitchel’s Wood as well as offshore operations around Youghal Bay. Tina did not have a passport and there was no indication she had purchased tickets to travel overseas by either plane or ferry.
Her keys and mobile phone were also left behind in her house when she vanished.
She had also left behind her beloved dog ‘Ruby’ who she was inseparable from. As part of their six year hunt for Tina, Gardaí searched CCTV footage from all Irish ports and airports, including those in Northern Ireland with the assistance of the PSNI, without any sighting of her being found. UK police also checked for Tina at their ports and airports – and at locations in England where she had previously lived or had friends.
Gardaí repeatedly insisted since 2017 they were convinced Tina never left Ireland.
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