(NewsNation Now) — South Carolina police are re-opening an investigation into the death of Alex Murdaugh’s housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield. The lawyer for her family said on NewsNation’s “Banfield” the Murdaughs never paid her sons the money he promised them in court.
“This is really an indictment on the South Carolina justice system,” lawyer Eric Bland said.
According to Bland, Alex Murdaugh told the boys their mother died because of a brain injury after the family dog tripped her down the stairs. The local coroner, Angela Topper, said Satterfield’s death was not reported to her office and an autopsy was not performed.
The children, now in their late 20s and early 30s, were promised a $500,000 settlement in court after they filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Murdaugh. However, a new lawsuit Bland filed this week on their behalf claims they have not received a dime.
It also has explosive allegations that Murdaugh told the boys to use a specific lawyer, which turned out to be a longtime friend of his. Bland is alleging Murdaugh and the lawyer, Corey Fleming, conspired to hide a $4 million life insurance payout from Satterfield’s kids.
Earlier this week, Murdaugh admitted to hiring a hitman to kill him so his son would receive a $10 million life insurance payment. The bullet only grazed his head and he survived. He’s facing insurance fraud charges.
On June 7 he found his wife, Maggie and other son, Paul, dead. He has not been charged in connection with those deaths.
Bland believes Murdaugh is in trouble either way.
“Like (the way) Al Capone went to jail for income tax evasion, not all the killings that he did, I believe that this case is at the epicenter of what’s going to happen ultimately in Hampton County to the Murdaughs and a lot of different people because of the amount of money that has not been accounted for,” Bland said on “Banfield.”
Still, Murdaugh’s attorney denies his client had anything to do with Paul or Maggie’s death, and said Alex had been spiraling downward and developed an opioid addiction.
NewsNation affiliate WCBD and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
