Authorities Release 911 Call Of Housekeeper’s 2018 Fall At Murdaugh Lodge
Murdaugh's wife Maggie was the one who placed the call to Colleton County authorities on Feb. 2, 2018, after Satterfield fell while walking up the brick staircase outside Moselle.
Satterfield died nearly a month later, on Feb. 26, 2018, at Trident Medical Center, from the trip-and-fall injuries she reportedly sustained.
"My housekeeper has fallen and her head is bleeding," Maggie Murdaugh told the 911 operator shortly before 9:30 a.m. "I cannot get her up."
Alex Murdaugh now faces a slew of criminal charges, all of which have emerged since June 7 when Maggie and their son Paul were found shot to death outside Moselle, their hunting property in Colleton County.
In the 2018 911 call, Maggie Murdaugh continued answering the operator's questions, guessing at Satterfield's age, noting the housekeeper fell outside while going up brick steps.
Satterfield was "on the ground" and "not really" conscious, Maggie Murdaugh said. The housekeeper was awake and "mumbling" but otherwise not responding, according to the audio.
Satterfield was uncontrollably bleeding from the top of her head, Maggie Murdaugh said before handing the phone off to a man.
The man did not say his name on the call; in a statement released by Satterfield family attorneys on Nov. 30, Paul Murdaugh is identified as the other person on the call.
The man told the operator Satterfield "works for us." He spoke with dispatch the remainder of the call, which lasted over six minutes.
"She's cracked her head and there's blood on the concrete and she's bleeding out of her left ear and out of her head," he said. "She's cracked her skull."
The person appeared to grow irritated with the operator after she asked him whether Satterfield had ever suffered a stroke: "Ma'am, can you stop asking these questions?"
He later told the operator Satterfield wasn't unconscious, just mumbling.
"I believe she's maybe hit her head and maybe has a concussion or something," he said.
The operator informed him emergency services would soon arrive at the property but to call back if Satterfield's condition changed.
Once medics arrived, they rushed Satterfield to a hospital via helicopter, according to the dispatch report.
Ronnie Richter and Eric Bland, attorneys representing Satterfield's sons, said in a Nov. 30 statement it was painful for her family to hear the 911 exchange.
"Maggie and Paul's anguish and frustration with the 911 operator certainly seem genuine and is reassuring of their love and concern for Gloria," the statement said.
The Murdaughs are a prominent family in South Carolina and are known to be a legal dynasty. Three generations of Murdaughs have served as 14th Circuit solicitor covering the state's southern tip.
SLED's decision to release the 911 call from Satterfield's injury is the latest update in a case which has drawn international attention.
A state grand jury on Nov. 18 handed up five indictments totaling 27 offenses against Alex Murdaugh, 53, alleging he used a fraudulent bank account to siphon nearly $5 million from clients and fellow lawyers in five counties in South Carolina.
The largest fraud allegation remains the almost $3.4 million Murdaugh is accused of stealing from the wrongful-death settlements intended for Satterfield's family.
After her death, Murdaugh convinced Satterfield's sons to hire his friend and fellow attorney Cory Fleming of Moss, Kuhn and Fleming to represent them in a wrongful death suit, according to court records.
Unbeknownst to the sons, Fleming brokered multimillion-dollar settlements in the case and was directed by Murdaugh to deposit the sons' share of the money in a bank account he secretly controlled, records state.
The sons say they never saw a penny.
Fleming's law firm and Palmetto State Bank announced earlier this month a settlement had been reached with the sons.
Murdaugh's attorneys claimed in a Nov. 17 court filing the sons have received $6 million for their losses through settlements, and asked for the civil case to be dismissed. A judge has yet to rule on the request.
In the past six months, Murdaugh has confessed to a 20-year opioid addiction and was pushed out of his law firm amid accusations he stole millions from his partners and clients.
He told police in September he had a hitman shoot him in the head over Labor Day weekend, part of a scheme for his other son Buster to collect a $10 million life insurance payout upon his death.
Murdaugh survived the shooting and was charged.
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