'I KEPT BITS AND PIECES THERE'..JURY SEES PICS OF TINA'S BODY

THE jury in the Richard Satchwell trial studied photos of his wife's body in a black plastic bag buried underneath the stairs of his home.

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Mr Satchwell, 58, denies murdering his wife Tina in March 2017.

Her decomposed remains were found in a shallow grave under the stairs of their home on Grattan Street in Youghal, Co Cork, following an "invasive" Garda search in October 2023.

Yesterday, the jury of seven women and five men watched a video of Satchwell being shown Garda forensic photos of a "cubby hole" beneath his stairs where he told them he was kept "bits and pieces". It was taken while he was under arrest on October 11, 2023.

In the interview, Mr Satchwell was told to visualise the "picture" he had been painting on one wall of the room and a wall "of truth" on the other side where he was told statements by three people differed from what he had been telling gardai and the media for years.

He was also asked about his sex life, and said that sex with his wife Tina stopped after the death of her brother in 2012.

Later, the jury heard from Detective Garda Mairead Crowley of the Garda Technical Bureau, who showed and described photos she took of a body in a black plastic bag that was discovered after a hole was dug under the stairs of the Satchwell home on October 12, 2023.

They also heard about a cadaver dog named Fern that detected the presence of human remains under the stairs on October 11.

Det Gda Crowley led the jury through three booklets of photos she had taken - including pictures of the plastic bag that contained the remains of Tina, buried behind a red brick wall that was later removed.

The detective also led the jury through a video she had taken inside the home showing a couch, a cement mixer and "clutter" in front of the brick wall and stairs.

The written statement of Alan Ward, a specialised victim recovery search dog handler, was read out in court and detailed how he entered the house on Grattan Street with Fern on October 10, 2023.

PRESENCE