South Carolina Housekeeper’s Body will be Exhumed in Death Investigation
In a case that will likely appear on a CSI show or police drama at some point, South Carolina law enforcement officials announced that they will exhume the remains of Gloria Satterfield, a former housekeeper for suspended attorney Alex Murdaugh.
According to news sources, Satterfield, who spent more than two decades as a housekeeper for the Murdaugh family, died in 2018 in what was described as a “trip and fall accident” at the Murdaugh home, according to attorney Eric Bland, who is representing her estate. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said last year that it was opening a criminal investigation into Satterfield’s death, based upon a request from the Hampton County coroner that highlights inconsistencies in the ruling of Satterfield’s manner of death, as well as information gathered during SLED’s other ongoing investigations involving Murdaugh.
“The decedent’s death was not reported to the Coroner at the time, nor was an autopsy performed. On the death certificate the manner of death was ruled ‘Natural,’ which is inconsistent with injuries sustained in a trip and fall accident,” the coroner’s request to SLED said.
After Satterfield’s death, a $500,000 wrongful death claim was filed against Murdaugh on behalf of Satterfield’s estate, Bland said. According to him, the estate has not yet received any of the $500,000 owed as the result of a civil settlement in 2018. SLED says the exhumation process will take weeks, not days. The investigation is still active and ongoing.
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