How did Gloria Satterfield die? Probe renewed in Murdaugh housekeeper's death
The South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has opened an investigation into the 2018 death of the Murdaugh family's former housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, the agency announced on Wednesday, September 15. This came just one day after investigators said that Alex Maurdaugh had hired a hitman to kill him in a botched assisted suicide scheme, after his wife and son were murdered, for which no one has been charged yet. Murdaugh was once a powerful lawyer working in the South Carolina Lowcountry as a prosecutor for several years. He has not been charged with any crimes.
What happened to Gloria Satterfield?
Gloria Satterfield was a longtime housekeeper of the Murdaughs. On February 26, 2018, the 57-year-old woman died “as a result of injuries sustained in a trip and fall accident” in a Hampton County home belonging to the family. The Daily Beast obtained a letter written to SLED, in which Hampton County Coroner Angela Topper urged the state authorities to open an investigation into the death of the housekeeper, as there were “inconsistencies” in the case. According to Topper, neither was Satterfield's death reported to the coroner when the incident occurred, nor was an autopsy performed.
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“On the death certificate, the manner of death was ruled ‘natural’, which is inconsistent with injuries sustained in a trip and fall accident,” Topper said. “In light of these inconsistencies noted above, I feel that it is prudent to pursue an investigation into Gloria Satterfield's death.”
The SLED said that the probe will also deal with how Satterfield's estate was dealt with, which was allegedly orchestrated by lackeys of Murdaugh. “She had been a housekeeper for the Murdaughs for 25 years. She had been a fabric of the family,” attorney Eric Bland, who is representing Satterfield’s two sons, said. “The Murdaughs certainly viewed Gloria as part of the family.”
Just hours before the probe, Satterfield's sons, Brian Harriott and Tony Satterfield, filed a lawsuit against a number of people, including Murdaugh. They filed a lawsuit over a $500,000 settlement for their mother's death, which they allegedly did not receive. Besides raising questions about what happened to an alleged insurance payout, the suit accuses Murdaugh of having guided the sons to make attorney Cory Fleming, a close friend, sue Murdaugh for damages.
“It was Alex’s idea to take these boys to Cory Fleming,” Bland, the attorney representing the sons of the late housekeeper, said. “It was an unusual situation to bring a claim against Alex personally so that Alex could turn it over to his insurance.”
Murdaugh's shooting was a self-orchestrated incident
Alex Murdaugh was traveling to Charleston through a longer route when his car broke down on September 4. An unidentified person shot him in the head while he was out trying to change a tire. He was soon released from the hospital and investigators say that it was a well-thought event with Murdaugh being at the helm of it. Reportedly, Murdaugh staged the shooting hoping that if he died, his sole surviving son, Buster, would receive a $10 million insurance payout.
Since the staged shooting, Murdaugh has been accused of misappropriating funds by his old law firm. Reportedly, this matter is also being investigated by the top law-enforcement agency in the state. Bland believes that Satterfield's death coming into focus again is related directly to the crime and chaos surrounding the Murdaugh family at the moment.