Alex Murdaugh has claimed he lied when he told aid workers and investigators that his dogs caused housekeeper Gloria Satterfield’s fatal ‘trip and fall’ at his hunting lodge on the Moselle.
It is a sensational development in what remains an ongoing investigation into the circumstances of the 57-year-old’s death following an incident at the Murdaugh family home in 2018.
Murdaugh, 54, made his “confession” in legal documents obtained by DailyMail.com in response to a fraud lawsuit bought against him by insurance company Nautilus.
The company donated millions to Satterfield’s sons when Murdaugh encouraged them to sue him after their mother’s death, assuring them he would admit liability.
He did so to pocket the money himself and advised the brothers to use the services of attorney Corey Fleming without telling them that Fleming was his best friend and co-conspirator in what has been described as a “depraved plot to cheat them out of prison. guaranteed payday.
Alex Murdaugh, who was convicted of the murder of his wife and son on March 3, has claimed he lied when he told first responders and detectives that his dogs caused housekeeper Gloria Satterfield’s fatal ‘trip and fall’.
Gloria Satterfield was previously reported to have died following a fall at Murdaugh’s home in 2018. She was the family’s housekeeper and nanny for 25 years.
Murdaugh, 54, made his ‘confession’ in legal documents obtained by DailyMail.com in response to a fraud lawsuit bought against him by insurance company Nautilus
In the complaint, the company states that it was Paul and Maggie who were in the Moselle when the incident happened while Paul was calling 911
When Nautilus settled the case, Murdaugh hid it from Tony and Brian Satterfield and took the lion’s share of the money meant for them. Fleming took $600,000 in legal fees.
Now sticking to the story that spawned a multi-million dollar payout five years ago, Murdaugh has changed his tune.
According to the Satterfields’ lawyer Eric Bland, he did this in an attempt to cheat the housekeeper boys again.
In court documents filed May 1, Murdaugh says, “No dogs were involved in the fall of Gloria Satterfield on February 2, 2018. After Ms. Satterfield’s death, [he] fabricated Mrs. Satterfield’s alleged statement that dogs had dropped her to force his insurers to make a settlement payment.”
With Bland’s persistence, the Satterfield sons recovered north of $7.5 million of the insurance money from other liable parties and obtained a separate $4.3 million judgment against Murdaugh.
But if Murdaugh fabricated the circumstances of Satterfield’s death, then the claim was fraudulent, meaning that no money should ever have been paid out and that, while Murdaugh cheated Nautilus, he owes Satterfield’s sons nothing at all.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, Bland said, “Are you going to believe anything that comes out of the mouth of a convicted double murderer, con artist and liar?
“This is a desperate offer from a desperate man with desperate lawyers.”
Nautilus filed their lawsuit against Murdaugh in June 2022.
In the DailyMail.com complaint, the company states that it was Paul and Maggie who were in the Moselle when the incident happened while Paul was calling 911.
According to the court documents, “Immediately after the fall of Gloria Satterfield on February 2, 2108, [Murdaugh] rushed to the crime scene and arrived for EMS. On March 29, 2018, Murdaugh stated that Ms. Satterfield briefly regained consciousness during which time she stated that Murdaugh’s dogs caused her to fall. This statement was not heard by anyone else and is contradicted by Mrs Satterfield’s later statement to hospital staff that she had no idea what caused her to fall.’
Murdaugh also claimed that Satterfield was on his property “not to do work for Murdaugh and his family, but to collect a check for work done by someone else, thus avoiding an employee’s defense of damages” .
The insurance policy documents seen by DailyMail.com show that Murdaugh took out a $5 million umbrella policy to cover Moselle a month before Satterfield’s fall.
According to the court papers, “Immediately after the fall of Gloria Satterfield on February 2, 2018, [Murdaugh] rushed to the crime scene and arrived for EMS
Insurance policy documents viewed by DailyMail.com show that Murdaugh took out a $5 million umbrella policy to cover the Moselle a month before Satterfield’s fall
Gloria Satterfield died following the Murdaugh hunting lodge incident in Moselle in February 2018
Heartless text messages have revealed how Murdaugh lied to his former housekeeper’s son about a $4 million wrongful death benefit, after she died in a fall at his estate.
The disgraced lawyer, 54, promised Tony and his brother Bryan, a vulnerable adult, that he would “look after” them after their mother Gloria died following the fall in February 2018.
During the double murder trial, Tony told the court that Murdaugh promised to give the couple $100,000 each and cover Gloria’s medical expenses. But he went on to steal more than $4.3 million from two insurance policies without giving them a dime.
“When the defendant came to you around the time of your mother’s funeral and said he would help you and file a claim on your behalf, why did you agree?” asked prosecutor Creighton Waters.
“Because I trusted him,” Satterfield said.
Satterfield testified that he was not made aware of the settlements until June 2021, after the murders.
“Did you ever get a dime from Alex Murdaugh?” asked Waters.
“No,” Satterfield replied.
Although Gloria Satterfield was killed in an accident, her death was never reported to the Hampton County coroner.
State Law Enforcement Division agents said they would exhume her body about a year after the deaths of Murdaugh’s son and wife, but never announced any findings or reopened the investigation into her death.
Murdaugh told Satterfield’s sons (Bryan, left, and Tony, right) at her funeral in February 2018 that he would get insurance bills for her death and take care of them, according to a lawsuit filed by the sons
The Murdaugh family told the sons that their mother had tripped over the family’s dog. Gloria died in hospital about four weeks later from a head injury. She was never able to relay the day’s events.
However, the boys’ lawyer, Eric Bland, has stated that they do not suspect foul play was involved. Bland later secured $4.3 million for Gloria’s children after suing Murdaugh.
Two months after his conviction for the cold-blooded murder of his wife, Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 21, and charged with numerous financial crimes.
It’s hard to remember that Murdaugh was once considered a lawyer of stature, with a great reputation to lose.
Alex Murdaugh pictured on March 7 as he was transferred to South Carolina jail
Murdaugh during his sentencing March 3 for the murders of his wife and son
Murdaugh with his wife Maggie and son Paul. He killed them both in 2021 on the family property
But when his fraud related to Satterfield’s payout came to light in September 2021, it was as shocking as it was damaging and came as one of the first major revelations that imploded his life.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Department announced that they would open a criminal investigation into Satterfield’s death on September 15, 2021.
The decision was prompted by a letter written by Hampton County coroner Angela Topper to Mark Keel, then SLED Chief, expressing her concern that no autopsy had ever been performed on Satterfield whose death, she noted, was considered ‘natural’, which was incompatible with tripping and falling.
SLED has expressed a desire to exhume Satterfield’s body – a move that has the support of both of her sons.