Murdaugh: Death in the Family – Who was Gloria Satterfield, and what happened to her? Details of the Murdaugh housekeeper, explored

Murdaugh: Death in the Family
Murdaugh: Death in the Family (Image via YouTube/ Hulu)

The recently released true crime series Murdaugh: Death in the Family goes back to the enigmatic death of Gloria Satterfield.

She was a housekeeper of the influential Murdaugh family for many years. In February 2018, Gloria passed away due to a fall at the Murdaughs' Moselle estate in South Carolina. Her death opened a can of worms in the form of a legal and financial scandal, which brought to light the family's extensive corruption.

The conditions surrounding her demise and the swindling of her wrongful death settlement are at the core of both the real inquiry and the series Murdaugh: Death in the Family.

The Hulu production portrays Satterfield's death as the starting point of the Murdaugh family's very public disintegration. But who was Gloria Satterfield, and what were the actual events surrounding her death?


Who was Gloria Satterfield, and what happened to her?

Gloria Satterfield in Murdaugh: Death in the Family (Image via Hulu)
Gloria Satterfield in Murdaugh: Death in the Family (Image via Hulu)

Gloria Satterfield was recognized as a very kind and generous person. Being the firstborn of a family of eight, she worked as the Murdaughs' housekeeper for more than 20 years. She would take care of Alex Murdaugh's children while taking care of her own. Her dedication, work ethic, and participation at the local food bank were some of the attributes of her character that people talked about the most.

Satterfield's son, Tony, told PEOPLE:

“She loved Maggie and Alex and Paul and Buster just awfully. She loved what she did, her job. She took pride in it. She talked highly of them.”

After all those years being a part of the family, Satterfield’s passing raised suspicion. According to The Independent, on February 2, 2018, she was said to have fallen down the stairs after tripping over the family dogs and hitting her head at the Moselle house.

Unfortunately, she succumbed to the stroke complications on February 26, 2018. The accident was referred to as a "trip and fall" right from the start; however, the investigation was later deemed flawed. The police and the coroner were not alerted, her death certificate stated “natural causes” (which was incorrect), and no autopsy was performed.

Tony and Brian Satterfield, her sons, were led by Alex Murdaugh to submit a wrongful death claim through his homeowners’ insurance, which was supposed to be the future security for the boys.

Tony further stated in an interview with PEOPLE:

“Every now and then, he would reach out and see how we were doing. And kind of update us and say, ‘It's a hard case, we're still working on it. Time's on your side.’”

But it was nothing more than a plan. Alex, banker Chad Westendorf, and attorney Cory Fleming took the $4.3 million payment. The cash was transferred to Murdaugh’s accounts, and the sons of Satterfield were totally unaware that they had been paid.

Years later, the fraud was revealed. In 2021, Satterfield’s family, along with lawyer Eric Bland, gained over $6.5 million from lawsuits that brought Murdaugh and his accomplices' crimes to light, as reported by Greenville News.

In September 2021, authorities scrutinized Satterfield's death case again since they discovered some inconsistencies. They were allowed to dig up her corpse for further forensic tests in June 2022. Legal ramifications extended into 2023: attorney Cory Fleming accepted 23 counts, among them money laundering, and was handed a 13-year prison term. Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of stealing settlement money and received a 27-year sentence due to his various financial crime convictions.

The lead prosecutor on Murdaugh's case, Creighton Waters, told PEOPLE:

“The reality is there is not one person out there who knew who he really was. And ultimately, I think that that was very much the hardest part on his victims, on his law partners, on his family and friends, to have been so fooled by someone for so long. When you have a man who so many people thought they were close with but no one knew who he really was, that's really chilling.”


What is Murdaugh: Death in the Family about?

A still from Murdaugh: Death in the Family trailer (Image via YouTube/ Hulu)
A still from Murdaugh: Death in the Family trailer (Image via YouTube/ Hulu)

Murdaugh: Death in the Family reveals not only South Carolina’s most notorious legal family but also their unexpected downfall. The series, released in October 2025, portrays the family’s ascent to power along with the events that exposed injustice and crimes at the very heart of the case.

The first episode showcases the Murdaughs’ lives: They were a legal dynasty, and their influence on law enforcement and the justice system was substantial. The second and third episodes concentrate on the accident involving a boat that led to the death of Mallory Beach; the perpetrator in this case was the youngest son of the family, Paul Murdaugh.

The public became aware of the family’s misconduct, and they were even investigated for financial fraud.

The death of Gloria Satterfield is another story told, which Murdaugh: Death in the Family depicts as a post-accident collapse of the family. In reality, she passed away before the accident. However, the show takes these long-drawn-out accidents and conspiracies to depict the Murdaughs’ playbook of cover-ups.

The later episodes of Murdaugh: Death in the Family deal with the double murder of Maggie and Paul at the Moselle estate, while the proof against Alex Murdaugh continues to pile up, resulting in his conviction and multiple life sentences.

Besides, the series digs into other family scandals, such as stealing from clients, continuous trust violations, etc., rendering these long-concealed crimes as the reason for the fall of one of South Carolina’s mightiest families.


Also Read: Murdaugh: Death in the Family – Who was Randolph Murdaugh and what happened to him? Details revealed

Edited by Sahiba Tahleel