Alex Murdaugh Case: Body of Housekeeper Who Died in 2018 to Be Exhumed, Authorities Say

The body of Alex Murdaugh’s housekeeper who passed away in 2018 is set to be exhumed, authorities said, according to The State.

Gloria Satterfield, who worked as a housekeeper for Murdaugh for 20 years, died in 2018 after what was believed to be a fall at the disgraced attorney’s Colleton County estate in South Carolina.

Now, Satterfield has become a key figure in the multiple investigations around the South Carolina attorney, including who murdered his wife and son in June 2021.

Satterfield’s body is to be exhumed from its burial place, according to the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and a lawyer for the family, The State reported.

“This is a complex process that will take weeks, not days,” a statement from SLED released 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 the Murdaugh family’s longtime housekeeper, and the Satterfield family has given its permission.

SLED announced earlier last week that it is continuing to investigate the circumstances of Satterfield's death after a judge and financial overseer approved Murdaugh's confession of judgement, in which he acknowledged that Satterfield's family is owed $4.3 million in insurance settlement money he is accused of stealing, according to ABC 4.

By giving a confession of judgment, Murdaugh admits Satterfield's family is owed $4.3 million they sought from him in a lawsuit filed last September, according to ABC 4.

The $4.3 million figure represents the amount of insurance settlement money Murdaugh is accused of stealing from the Satterfield estate following her death, ABC 4 reported.

"This judgment is both meaningful and symbolic for (Satterfield's) sons to have obtained from Alex Murdaugh for a number of reasons," the attorneys representing the Satterfield family said in a statement last Monday obtained by Fox 28. "By this judgment, Mr. Murdaugh admits that the allegations contained in the complaint against him are true and admits that he stole the $4.3 million settlement funds that belonged to Gloria’s estate. This sad saga on so many levels is nearing the end for Gloria’s family."

Inside Edition Digital has reached out to Murdaugh’s attorney for comment on the latest developments and has not heard back.

Murdaugh has been jailed since last fall on several charges that include counts of breach of trust, forgery, money laundering, and computer crimes. He faces a total of 79 charges and if convicted faces over 700 years in prison, according to Greenville Online.

He has not entered a formal plea in any of the charges he faces, according to the State Attorney General's Office.

He's also accused of attempting to arrange his own death and was ordered to psychiatric evaluation last October by a South Carolina judge.

In June 2021, his son, Paul Murdaugh, 22 was found shot to death alongside his mother, Margaret, 52, at a family hunting lodge. Alex Murdaugh told authorities at the time that he found the two there already dead. No arrests have been made in that shooting to this day.

In October 2021, Murdaugh was named a person of interest in the murders of his wife and son according to his attorney, however, the allegations have never been confirmed by SLED, and the agency has not released any updates since the June 7 killings, except that there is no threat to the public.

Murdaugh has not been charged in the murders of his son and wife.

He is currently incarcerated on $7 million bond, the largest in South Carolina’s history.

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