Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced South Carolina lawyer convicted of killing his wife and son in June 2021, admitted he lied about the death of his family’s longtime housekeeper Gloria Satterfield.
Murdaugh’s confession comes two months after he was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, 52, and their son, Paul Murdaugh, 22. He admitted he “invented” the story about Satterfield tripping over the family’s dogs in order to receive an insurance payout.
“No dogs were involved in the fall of Gloria Satterfield on February 2, 2018,” court documents filed by Murdaugh’s attorneys read. “After Ms. Satterfield’s death, Defendant [Alex Murdaugh] invented Ms. Satterfield’s purported statement that dogs caused her fall to force his insurers to make a settlement payment, and he stated that she was not on the property to perform work.”
The documents were in response to complaint filed by Nautilus Insurance Company alleging Murdaugh defrauded the company.
Satterfield allegedly died after a “trip and fall” accident at the Murdaugh’s home on February 2, 2018.
According to the 911 tape, a woman identified as Maggie Murdaugh called the police at 9:24 a.m. to report that Satterfield “has fallen, and her head is bleeding.”
At one point Paul gets on the phone and tells the dispatcher Satterfield “can’t talk”.
“She’s cracked her head and there’s blood on the concrete and she’s bleeding out of her left ear. And out of her head. She’s cracked her skull.”
“I was holding her up and she told me to turn her loose, and she was trying to use her arm but then she fell back over,” he says. “I believe she’s maybe hit her head and maybe has a concussion or something.”
Satterfield is flown to a hospital where she dies several weeks later.
After her death Murdaugh assured Satterfield’s adult sons they would receive money since she died on the Murdaugh proptery.
While a $4.3 million settlement was reached, lawyers for her children say they never received a penny. They were supposed to receive over $2.7 million.
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I’m not sure if this confession makes anything better or it simply clears Alex Murdaugh’s conscience.
