Richard Satchwell has been found guilty of murdering his wife Tina at their home in Youghal, Co Cork, in 2017.
After a trial lasting just over four weeks, the jury at the Central Criminal Court took almost nine and a half hours to find Satchwell guilty of murder.
The 58-year-old truck driver reported his wife missing in March 2017 and repeatedly lied to gardaí, journalists, family and friends, telling them he had come home from running errands to find she had left him, taking their savings of €26,000 with her.
It took more than six and a half years before gardaí discovered Tina had never left their home at Grattan Street in Youghal.
They found her skeletal remains buried under the stairs in the living room during a search of the house in October 2023.
The house had previously been searched in June 2017.
Ms Satchwell's body had been wrapped in black plastic and buried face down in a grave dug by Mr Satchwell under the stairs.
She was still wearing a dressing gown and pyjamas. Her wallet was in her dressing gown pocket.
Due to the condition of the body no cause of death could be determined. The court heard there was no evidence of any broken bones.
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Satchwell was rearrested by gardaí when Ms Satchwell's remains were found and he changed the story he had been telling since March 2017.
In his new account, he said his wife "flew" at him with a chisel on the morning of 20 March 2017.
He claimed she collapsed, limp, into his arms after he held her off from him using the belt of her dressing gown, while she was trying to stab him in the head with the chisel.
He told gardaí he held her in his arms that night and later transferred her body into a disused freezer which was not plugged in. He later offered to give the freezer to his wife's cousin Sarah Howard and gave it away after advertising it online.
While her body lay in the freezer, Satchwell travelled to Fermoy to his wife’s relatives on 24 March asking if they had seen her. He then reported her missing at Fermoy Garda Station.
Two days after that he buried his wife in the area under the stairs.
He said he tried to make her as comfortable as he could.
He told gardaí it was like a "self-funeral" and said he got tulips from the local supermarket to put into the grave before covering her with concrete.
He claimed the fact that parts of her body had been preserved by the burial meant that he had achieved his intention of making her comfortable.
Before burying her, the court heard Satchwell booked and attended a driving course and went to a car boot sale where he told acquaintances his wife was sick.
Gardaí searched the house in Youghal in June 2017 but did not find Ms Satchwell.
Satchwell made numerous public appeals for his wife to "come home", as well as giving interviews to journalists describing in detail what had happened on the morning his wife disappeared.
He claimed his wife had been violent to him on many occasions in the past but that he had never physically defended himself.
He stuck to his story until gardaí dug up the floor and discovered the remains.
The prosecution described Satchwell as "shamelessly brazen" and said his new narrative was a farcical web of deceit.
Prosecuting counsel Gerardine Small said his account had more holes in it than a block of Swiss cheese and was implausible and self serving.
Satchwell was a strong man who was 1.8m (6'2") in height while Ms Satchwell was 1.6m (5'5") and weighed 50kg (eight stone).
Ms Small told the jury the case was screaming out for their common sense and experience of life.
The defence claimed there was no evidence of any injuries to Ms Satchwell's body and there was no evidence of any intent by Satchwell to kill her or cause serious injury to her.
They claimed he was besotted with his wife and that after her death he lied out of panic and shame. Once he had lied, they said, he could not stop.
The jury did not believe Richard Satchwell was acting in self defence when he killed his wife.
Their verdict of murder means they believed he intended to kill or cause serious injury.
Satchwell will be sentenced to the mandatory sentence of life in prison next Wednesday when victim impact evidence will be heard.
