(NewsNation) — The son of a deceased housekeeper for the Murdaugh family is in support of an exhumation but believes there was no foul play in his mother’s death.
Tony Satterfield’s mother Gloria died inside the Murdaughs South Carolina property in 2018 after she tripped and fell. Alex Murdaugh then stole millions of dollars of insurance money that was intended for the Satterfield family.
Tony Satterfield said during a February court appearance that Murdaugh told him he would get his insurers to take care of him and his brother financially. Murdaugh eventually got settlements of more than $4 million, but Satterfield said his family found out after the killings and never saw any of it.
When Tony Satterfield learned about the theft, he felt “betrayed, shocked,” he said Tuesday on “CUOMO.”
The Murdaugh family told Satterfield’s sons she tripped over the four family dogs and died as a result of her injuries. An autopsy was never performed.
Tony Satterfield has since, with the help of other lawyers, collected more than $4 million from banks, officials and other lawyers involved in the settlements.
Now, South Carolina Law Enforcement investigators say they want to exhume Satterfield’s body after a jury found Murdaugh guilty of killing his wife and 22-year-old son.
Satterfield’s attorney Eric Bland maintains that Gloria wasn’t intentionally killed. He says it will likely be difficult to determine if anyone or anything other than an accidental fall was responsible for her death.
“She flipped twice, so she had significant closed head injury and open head injury with 12 broken ribs,” Bland said. “The real issue is going to be if somebody was told before Paul or Maggie died … if they know something.”
The Associated Press and NewsNation writer Urja Sinha contributed to this report.