Death of Murdaugh housekeeper who fell in home yields criminal investigation

[Judi Lynn]

Erik Ortiz and Catie Beck 10 hrs ago

The death three years ago of a longtime housekeeper and nanny for the Murdaugh family will be the subject of a criminal investigation, South Carolina authorities announced Wednesday, yielding yet another unexpected turn in a case that has entangled a prominent legal family.

A spokesman for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said the death of Gloria Satterfield has prompted a review following a request from the Hampton County coroner and based on "information gathered" during a separate investigation involving Alex Murdaugh, the legal scion whose wife and son were fatally shot in June.

Satterfield's death "was not reported to the coroner at the time, nor was an autopsy performed," Hampton County Coroner Angela Topper wrote in a letter to state investigators in her request. "On the death certificate, the manner of death was ruled 'natural,' which is inconsistent with injuries sustained in a trip and fall accident."

Earlier Wednesday, an attorney for Satterfield's family filed a lawsuit in Hampton County court accusing Murdaugh and others of breach of fiduciary duty in failing to pay them as part of a wrongful death settlement.

Satterfield was 57 when she died in February 2018 from injuries sustained from a fall in the Murdaugh home, where she was employed for more than two decades. According to the suit, "the exact details of the fall remain unclear" to her two sons, Michael "Tony" Satterfield and Brian Harriott, who were supposed to get $475,000 in direct payment to "compensate them for the grief, sorrow and mourning associated with the loss of their mother."

More:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/death-of-murdaugh-housekeeper-who-fell-in-home-yields-criminal-investigation/ar-AAOuhlP?li=BBnb7Kz

[IcyPeas]

1. This is the most bizarre story.

[Tetrachloride]

2. Wiki

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murdaugh_family

[blogslug]

3. This family has more skeletons than a Spirit Halloween Store

yikes!

[Skittles]

4. the man is a walking Lifetime movie

did he kill his wife and kid too?

[Demovictory9]

6. ID movie, definitely

[ZZenith]

5. Keeping this front and center.

Can’t let the corrupt law enforcement in South Carolina keep letting this family skate.

Pretty sure if the threads keep getting pulled this will reveal a whole lot of ugly.

[jimfields33]

7. Isn't the entire family dead now?

[Treefrog]

8. No, the elder son is alive.

He was the one the father intended to benefit from his “assisted suicide.”

[Scrivener7]

9. Didn't the father survive his "assisted suicide" attempt?

[Tomconroy]

11. Seven shots and one superficial wound. Some suicide attempt.

[Scrivener7]

13. Lol. He should get his money back from his accomplice.

[Tomconroy]

14. Why didn't he call out to the hitman: "Hey! Come Back! I'm not dead!"

[Scrivener7]

15. Lol!

[ZZenith]

20. He was never meant to be whacked.

It was a ruse to make it look like someone was after him as well as his wife and son. They weren’t counting on the cameras outside the church, so when their story fell apart they concocted they “insurance money for the son” angle.

Something is rotten in the state of South Carolina.

[liberal_mama]

23. I agree. As a lawyer, he would have known and understood the terms of his life insurance policy.

They said he "believed" his life insurance had a suicide clause and most policies do, but this clause only lasts the first two or three years of the policy. I'm sure a lawyer would know this.

I'm just a housewife without a legal degree, but when I took out life insurance on myself and my husband to protect our three children, I read and understood the terms.

[kcr]

10. Crazy

It's like someone, somewhere, has discovered their ability to make the novels they read actually come to life.

[alphafemale]

12. If she worked their 20 years she basically raised those kids.

She overheard something or saw something.

Exhume the body.

[exboyfil]

16. Apparently he got a pay out

From his Home Owners policy which he kept instead of going into her estate. Also someone needs to look at the county coroner/medical examiner on the inaccurate death certificate. Where is the police report?

[Baitball Blogger]

18. +1

[Hortensis]

21. Yes, somewhere there's a $505,000 payout from the housekeeper's death.

I doubt offhand that any authorities will be found to be colluding in these crimes, mostly likely all too common negligence plus the normal bias that works for "fine upstanding members of the community."

[XanaDUer2]

17. I see a People Investigates show on ID

they love stories about rich people

[Hekate]

19. This is going to make a helluva book & movie. Southern Gothic hardly scratches the surface.

[liberal_mama]

22. He's a lawyer! He would have known that the suicide clause on his life insurance was only 2 years

and he could have just quietly killed himself instead of hiring this elaborate murder scheme. This is one of the craziest things I've ever heard.

Too bad Ann Rule has passed away. She would have written a great book about this.

[exboyfil]

24. John Berendt might be too old

but this has a feel of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil or possibly Erik Larson.

John Grisham is saying I could have written that but no one would believe it.

[liberal_mama]

25. You are so right! John Berendt would be the perfect author of the book about this case

I've read thousands of books and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is one of my favorites. What a story! I've re-read it several times.

I haven't read much Erik Larson, but I have his newest book on my Kindle to read soon.