Gardaí reviewing the file on the disappearance of Tina Satchwell became suspicious of a man when they found a significant amount of inaccurate information in several witness statements he had made to investigators.
The review by a team from the Cork North and West Division, headed up by Det Supt Seán Healy and Det Insp AnnMarie Twomey, began focusing on the suspect’s statements and found significant discrepancies between what he had said and what their inquiries had established.
Ms Satchwell, then aged 45, was reported missing by her husband, Richard Satchwell, to gardaí in Fermoy on March 24th, 2017. He said that four days earlier he had made Ms Satchwell breakfast before going to Dungarvan on a shopping trip, and that she was gone when he returned hours later.
Gardaí established an incident room at Carrigtwohill in late July to co-ordinate the case review, and an officer there spent almost three months examining the suspect’s mobile phone and email activity in the days and weeks following the disappearance.
A Garda source said a large amount of circumstantial evidence was gathered, but the discovery of human remains, believed to be those of Ms Satchwell, in a house on Wednesday was hugely significant and the force was confident it would be able to charge the man with murder.
“There was a pile of really good work done in the review over the last two years and some really good circumstantial evidence has been gathered, but the discovery of human remains in the suspect’s house should really seal the deal in terms of getting a charge from the DPP,” said one source.
Gardaí were aware that the man had carried out a number of alterations to his property in Youghal since Ms Satchwell’s disappearance in March 2017 and, following his initial arrest on Tuesday evening, Garda scenes-of-crime examiners equipped with cutting and digging tools moved into the house.
Two search teams were involved. One cleared an area of undergrowth and trees in an adjoining property using chainsaws and slash hooks. They entered that area by a separate entrance so there could be no question of cross-contamination of the house should anything have been found during their operation.
A second team examined a patio area slabbed by the homeowner and the interior of the three-storey house where he had also carried out his own renovations and alterations.
Gardaí with kango hammers began breaking up a concrete floor under the stairs on Tuesday evening after cadaver dog, Fern got a scent and, once they cleared away the concrete, began carefully removing earth. At a depth of almost a metre, they found human remains and the area was immediately cordoned off.
The services of the State Pathologist’s Office were requested, and assistant state pathologist Dr Margot Bolster carried out a preliminary examination of the heavily decomposed remains in situ before they were removed to Cork University Hospital for a postmortem.
A search of the property was ongoing on Thursday night and gardaí also carried out a scenes-of-crime examination at a lock-up shed being rented by the suspect near Youghal. Garda sources said nothing of any great evidential value was found at that location.
Supt Adrian Gamble of Midleton Garda station said officers were continuing to keep Ms Satchwell’s family updated on developments in the case, including on the discovery of the human remains at the house and the arrest of the homeowner. “The family of Tina Satchwell continue to be updated on the progress of this investigation by an appointed family liaison officer, and my thoughts and the thoughts of the investigation team continue to be with them at this difficult time.”