'No dogs involved': Alex Murdaugh claims he lied about Gloria Satterfield's fatal fall
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA: In a federal court document submitted on Monday, convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh alleged that he had lied to his insurance company when he claimed that the family dogs had caused his late housekeeper Gloria Satterfield to trip and fall. Satterfield died on February 26, 2018, after falling on the steps of the family's primary mansion at the former hunting estate in South Carolina known as Moselle.
In response to Murdaugh being sued for fraud by Nautilus Insurance Company, his attorneys stated that "no dogs were involved in the fall of Gloria Satterfield." "Defendant invented Satterfield's purported statement that dogs caused her fall to force his insurers to make a settlement payment after Satterfield's death," the court document cited by Fox News read.
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Murdaugh, his former buddy, and other individuals sued
Murdaugh, his former buddy and ex-lawyer Cory Fleming, and other individuals were sued by Nautilus for fraud after it was claimed that they stole $3.8 million from the company and $500,000 from Lloyd's of London that was intended for the Satterfield children. Murdaugh has been charged by Nautilus with plotting an insurance fraud scheme by inciting the Satterfield kids to sue him and then enriching himself.
As he and his accomplices allegedly spent the windfall, Murdaugh informed the Satterfield boys that no settlement had been reached. Murdaugh's attorneys respond by pointing out that the Satterfields received almost $7.5 million as a result of the claim that the disbarred lawyer had misappropriated insurance money that was intended for them.
According to the documents, if Murdaugh lied about the facts surrounding the fall, the Satterfield estate wasn't entitled to the money in the first place. In order to avoid a verdict against him and to incite Nautilus to sue the Satterfield estate, according to attorney Eric Bland, who is defending the late housekeeper's family, Murdaugh is allegedly lying once more.
'Alex now says he allegedly made up the story'
In a statement on Twitter, he lashed out at Murdaugh saying “Seems there is buzz because liar Alex now says he allegedly made up the story that Gloria Satterfield didn't fall down Moselle stairs by his dogs." He added, "Since when did Alex become the modicum of honesty and credibility? A colleton county jury said that he’s not credible and Judge Gergel in his later order with Laffitte said he’s not credible," as reported by Fox Carolina. Blad continued, "Additionally, we recovered money for our clients from parties other than Nautilus for breaches of their duties to our clients and other claims. Technically the money that Nautilus paid never came to our clients. It was stolen by Alex so there is an argument that they still owe it to our clients by releases signed by the parties."
'This is nothing but noise'
Blad continued in his detailed statement, "These insurers had investigators investigate the claim thoroughly before they paid on the claim. Insurers are not in the business of paying out millions of dollars for frivolous or fraudulent claims. Additionally, they also had lawyers who did their jobs and investigated the claim before it was paid. This is nothing but noise. Just gutless people trying to continue to victimize Gloria’s siblings and children."