Alex Murdaugh Admits To Lying About Dogs Causing Housekeeper’s Fatal Fall To Collect On $4 Million Insurance Policy

Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina lawyer who was convicted of killing his wife and son, lied when he said his dogs caused longtime family housekeeper Gloria Satterfield to trip and fatally fall in 2018.

At the time, Murdaugh said that one of his dogs got under Satterfield, causing her to fall and hit her head.

Murdaugh admitted he “invented the critical facts” about Satterfield’s death to receive millions of dollars in a settlement from the Nautilus Insurance Company. The company had filed a lawsuit against Murdaugh and others, alleging that it was defrauded.

According to court documents, lawyers claimed that Murdaugh also assisted the Satterfield estate’s executors in their insurance claim, who believed the details about Gloria’s death were true.

Satterfield’s sons filed a civil lawsuit against Murdaugh around this time, saying they never received their portion of the settlement after their mother’s death. The sons were supposed to receive $2.8 million of a $4.3 million insurance payout.

Eric Bland, an attorney for the Satterfields, claimed that the family doesn’t owe any money to Nautilus because all of the money was stolen by Murdaugh. State investigators allege that about $3.4 million was taken after all legal fees were paid.

Murdaugh, 54, was convicted in March of murdering his wife, Margaret, 52, and youngest son, Paul, 22, in June 2021. Prosecutors claim the murders were carried out to distract from his financial crimes and receive pity. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.