Longtime Murdaugh housekeeper Gloria Satterfield’s body to be exhumed, SLED says

The body of Gloria Satterfield, a key figure in the investigations swirling around disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh, is to be exhumed from its burial place, according to the State Law Enforcement Division and a lawyer for the family.

“This is a complex process that will take weeks, not days,” a statement from SLED released early Friday afternoon said. “This investigation is still active and ongoing. As such, no additional information from SLED is available at this time.”

Satterfield family attorney Eric Bland said SLED requested permission to exhume the body of Satterfield, who was the Murdaugh family’s longtime housekeeper, and the Satterfield family has given its permission.

“We don’t know when,” Bland said. “We didn’t want to go to court and fight it.”

Bland said SLED will let the family know when the exhumation will take place. “We’re going to be there. It will be done in a respectful fashion.”

No autopsy was ever done after Satterfield’s death, according to officials.

Satterfield, 57, had worked as a housekeeper in the Murdaugh home for some 20 years and was close to the family. Her death in late February 2018 followed a daytime fall on the steps at Murdaugh’s rural Colleton County estate, was largely passed over at the time as an accident.

But in September of last year, two lawyers — Bland and his colleague Ronnie Richter — investigating allegations of insurance fraud related to her death, filed a civil lawsuit alleging that Murdaugh and another lawyer, Cory Fleming, had orchestrated a plot to deprive Satterfield’s sons of a $4.3 million insurance payout in Satterfield’s death.

The money came from various companies that insured Murdaugh and his property. Unknown to Satterfield’s sons, Murdaugh and Fleming had pressured the insurance companies to make a $4.3 million payout in such a way that Murdaugh and Fleming wound up with nearly all the money, with Murdaugh getting the lion’s share, according to lawsuits and criminal charges later brought against Murdaugh and Fleming.

Since then, Murdaugh and Fleming have had their law licenses suspended and a state grand jury has indicted both on numerous charges of financial fraud.

In September, when the allegations involving a massive insurance theft from Satterfield’s estate first came to light, SLED Chief Keel said his agency was going to look at Satterfield’s death with fresh eyes.

At that time, Keel said SLED would look at not only questions surrounding the distribution of insurance proceeds in Satterfield’s death, but also check out how she came to die.

“We’re going to follow the facts, wherever they are,” Keel said.

SLED also said at that time it had received a request from Hampton County Coroner Angie Topper to look into the case. Topper said the coroner’s office was never notified of Satterfield’s Feb. 26, 2018, death. Her death certificate said her manner of death was “natural.”

Most stories about how Satterfield died at the Murdaugh’s house say she tripped on some dogs and fell.

Bland, who has looked into Satterfield’s death, says that appears to be the best explanation.

“I guess SLED wants to rule out any foul play,” Bland said. “We don’t think that anything happened other than she fell, and that Alex was using her death as an opportunity for him to make money. We certainly don’t think he pushed her down the stairs, or she was killed, or anything like that.”

Satterfield was transported to Charleston with head injuries. She remained in a hospital until Feb. 26, when she died.

This story was originally published June 3, 2022 at 1:35 PM with the headline "Longtime Murdaugh housekeeper Gloria Satterfield’s body to be exhumed, SLED says."