Gloria Satterfield's Family Still Plans To Exhume Her Body
Netflix’s true crime docuseries, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, just dropped its second season, diving deeper into the crimes that have been linked to a powerful family in South Carolina, the Murdaughs.
The series' first season explores the murders of Paul Murdaugh, 22, and his mother Margaret "Maggie" Murdaugh, 52, who were found dead at their family’s hunting lodge in June 2021. Alex Murdaugh, Paul’s father and Maggie’s husband, was eventually convicted of their murders in March of 2023, and sent to jail to serve two consecutive life sentences.
While Alex has maintained his innocence, a lot of questions have been raised about other mysterious events around the Murdaugh family, including the sudden death of the family's housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, back in 2018. Her name comes up a lot in the series, and her death is also linked to a financial lawsuit filed by her family against Alex Murdaugh.
But before diving into all of that, you might want to get more of a background on Gloria. So, who was Gloria Satterfield and what happened to her? Here’s everything you need to know.
Who was Gloria Satterfield?
Gloria was a longtime housekeeper for the Murdaugh family, according to People. She had two sons, who uncovered a scam by Alex to make money off of their mother’s death.
One of her sons, Tony Satterfield, said in court that Gloria worked for the family for more than two decades, per the Associated Press. She also babysat the Murdaugh’s sons and did whatever else the family asked of her when she worked for them, Tony said.
"She worked hard at what she did, and she loved what she did, she took honor in the job she did," Gloria's sister Ginger Harriott Hadwin previously told Dateline. "We thought of them as extended family also because Gloria did."
When was she born?
She was born in 1961. Gloria was 57 when she died in 2018, the AP reported.
What happened to Gloria?
In February 2018, Gloria allegedly fell "up" some steps in the Murdaugh family home and hit her head, causing a brain hemorrhage, per the AP. After her fall, she was in the hospital for 21 days, and eventually died from her injuries.
Ginger detailed the last time she saw Gloria alive on Dateline. “I just said, 'Gloria, I'll be back tomorrow. I love you.' She told me 'I love you too,’” Ginger said.
Her death was attributed to natural causes and no autopsy was done, despite the fall, according to the New York Times.
What did Alex Murdaugh say about Gloria Satterfield?
Alex initially said that the family’s dogs caused Gloria to fall on the stairs and hit her head, and that she had not been at the house to do work, per WSAV.
Later, Gloria's son's attorney stated that Alex had encouraged them to use his friend as their lawyer to sue him and get a wrongful death settlement after her death.
Did Alex lie about her death?
In May of 2023, Alex's lawyers filed court documents admitting that he “invented” the story about dogs causing Gloria’s fall in order to get an insurance payout, People reported.
"No dogs were involved in the fall of Gloria Satterfield on February 2, 2018," the documents said, per People. "After Ms. Satterfield's death, Defendant [Alex Murdaugh] invented Ms. Satterfield's purported statement that dogs caused her fall to force his insurers to make a settlement payment, and he stated that she was not on the property to perform work."
How did she die?
It's not clear what her cause of death is at this time, and local authorities are still looking into the case.
How much money did Alex steal from Gloria’s family?
Alex received a $4.3 million insurance settlement as a result of Gloria's death, and $2.765 million was supposed to go to her sons, per People. But when her sons didn't get the payout, they sued Alex.
In 2021, he was charged with stealing millions from the family, The New York Times reported. Specifically, he was charged with two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses, which is a felony.
In June of 2022, Alex admitted that he owed $4.3 million to Gloria's sons, which includes the initial settlement and lawyer fees, per The New York Times.
Is she being exhumed?
Four years after her death, Gloria’s family plans to exhume her body, Tony announced on Cuomo in March. Tony said he wants his mother to be exhumed “to see if there's any foul play or anything.” Worth noting: Tony said that he doesn’t think foul play was involved, but that he wants reassurance.
You can learn more of the details about Gloria's death in the second installment of Murdaugh Murders, streaming now on Netflix.
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