SATCHWELL'S MONKEY BUSINESS ON DAY TINA DIED

Email said that wife was going to leave him as animals Terry and Thelma hadn't arrived'

- BY PAUL HEALY

He denies the murder of his wife Tina, whose decomposed body was found in a shallow grave in the home she shared with the 58-year-old following an "invasive" Garda search in October 2023.

Dublin's Central Criminal Court heard how a detective found an email sent by the accused on March 20, 2017 - the day he said his wife died.

In it, he told an international monkey organisation that his wife was going to leave him because the marmosets hadn't turned up.

Detective Garda Dave Kelleher got court approval to search emails on two laptops seized from Satchwell's home in Grattan Street, Youghal in June 2017.

He told the court how a search of one of the laptops showed a Google search dated on March 27, 2017 in which the person searched the word "quicklime".

The search led to a video "Quicklime and water reaction" on YouTube.

The video showed quicklime being added to water in a blue basin and the chemical reaction taking place.

ODOUR

Det Gda Kelleher was asked by defence counsel Brendan Grehan if he googled what the purpose of quicklime is. He said it can be used in construction and also as an "odour suppressant" in mass graves.

The witness also agreed it can be used in the decomposition process.

He further agreed with the defence barrister that there were attempts by Satchwell to buy two monkeys between 2015 and 2017 - and he was sending money and also receiving money via Western Union.

Agreeing it appeared to be "a scam", the detective said the animals "never arrived."

It came after Det Gda Kelleher had outlined his examination of two laptops seized from Satchwell's home in 2017 in which he found emails - Rickiesat@live. ie, Richard.richardsatchwell.satch@ gmail.com and [e-mail].