Tina's cause of death 'undetermined' due to decomposition of body

Top doc tells of findings from post-mortem :: Dressing gown belt 'may have been used to carry corpse' :: GP denies telling accused to 'stick it or leave it' on abuse claim

- BY PAUL HEALY Crime Correspondent

THE Assistant State Pathologist who examined the body of Tina Satchwell has told a court she could not determine a cause of death.

The 13th day of the trial of Richard Satchwell, 58, heard from Dr Margot Bolster, who examined Tina's skeletal remains after they were discovered under the stairs on October 12, 2023.

Satchwell denies the March 2017 murder of his wife Tina at their home in Grattan Street in Youghal, Co Cork.

Later in the day the Central Criminal Court heard a GP deny an account by Satchwell that she had told him to "stick it or leave it" after receiving scratches he said were from his wife.

Dr Bolster also stated under cross-examination that she believed that the belt of Ms Satchwell's dressing gown, which was wrapped in an "unusual" manner around the body and tied in a knot, could have been used to help carry the body.

The court heard that Dr Bolster attended the scene at Grattan Street in Youghal after Ms Satchwell's remains were found wrapped in black plastic in a 62cm-deep grave located under the stairs of the couple's home.

She described to the court being shown the body under the stairs after noting that the house was in a "state of long-standing disarray".

The remains were removed to University Hospital Cork for a post-mortem that was conducted by Dr Bolster, who said the remains were in a "soiled sheet" with some bones seen protruding from it.