Tina Satchwell case: Gardaí have until this evening to release or charge man in custody

Olivia Kelleher

Gardaí have until this evening to charge or release without charge a man in his 50s arrested for questioning in connection with the murder of Fermoy woman Tina Satchwell, who was reported missing by her husband in 2017.

The man in custody was arrested at a bus stop in Youghal, Co Cork at 12pm yesterday and is being held at Cobh Garda Station.

He can be detained for up to 24 hours under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984. However, as he decided to take his eight-hour sleep break he can now be held until this evening.

A major development occurred in the murder probe on Wednesday evening when human remains were found buried under concrete in a property at Grattan Street in Youghal. The remains were discovered in a walled-up area under a stairwell. It is understood some renovation work has been carried out on the property.

Local priest Fr Bill Bermingham said prayers at the house before the remains were taken to the morgue at Cork University Hospital for a postmortem examination. It will be ascertained at the postmortem if the deceased had suffered a violent death.

Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster and anthropologist Dr Laureen Buckley attended the scene yesterday. Dr Bolster carried out a preliminary examination of the remains found on site.

DNA

Samples of DNA from the remains will be compared with a DNA sample obtained from the family of Mrs Satchwell to see if there is a DNA match. A family liaison officer is in constant contact with the Dingivan family.

The house in Grattan Street has been the subject of a major search since Tuesday of this week. Scenes of crime officers brought chainsaws, Kango hammers, hack saws and pickaxes into the property as they commenced their search. Fencing was set up to allow gardaí to carry out their work away from public view.

A mini digger, a small dumper track and a mechanised jack hammer on a track machine were subsequently brought to the site.

Gardaí first arrested the man in custody at 5pm on Tuesday. He was taken to Cobh Garda Station for questioning. The man was released without charge late on Wednesday afternoon.

A lock-up shed outside Youghal which is being rented by the chief suspect in the case was also searched yesterday.

Briefing

A media briefing was held in connection with the case yesterday afternoon at Midleton Garda Station. Superintendent Adrian Gamble confirmed that a man was being detained for questioning in relation to the matter.

He urged members of the public who may have information on the murder case, no matter how insignificant they may view it to be, to contact gardaí at the station, the Garda confidential line or any garda station.

Supt Gamble confirmed that remains were found at the house on Wednesday evening.

“The family of Tina Satchwell continues 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.”

Tina was reported missing by her husband Richard in March 2017. In an interview with the Irish Examiner earlier this year, Teresa Dingivan, sister of Tina, said that time had stood still for the family since their beloved sibling vanished into thin air.

“So many days, weeks, months, years not knowing. Our hearts are breaking not knowing where she is. Someone must have known where she went, someone must know what happened to her. Just please put our minds at rest.”

The missing persons case was formally upgraded to a murder probe earlier this week. A 12-day search was carried out of Mitchell’s wood near Castlemartyr in Co Cork in March 2018 in connection with what was then a missing persons case.

Richard Satchwell had told police that he last saw his wife on March 20th, 2017 when she asked him to go Dungarvan to run an errand.

He reported her missing four days later having said that he presumed she had gone to stay with family in Fermoy.