Alex Murdaugh Accused Of Pocketing Insurance Money In Housekeeper’s Death

Embattled South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was arrested Thursday in Florida after the family of his housekeeper accused him of insurance fraud. 

Murdaugh, 53, is facing charges of obtaining property under false pretenses. Authorities took him into custody after he was released from a drug rehabilitation facility in Orlando. An extradition hearing was held Friday.

Gloria Satterfield worked for the Murdaugh’s for more than two decades before dying in a “slip-and-fall accident” at their home. Her two adult sons were entitled to $2.7 million in life insurance as a result of her death. Murdaugh reportedly negotiated an insurance settlement in secret and pocketed the money. 

Murdaugh’s attorney, Dick Harpootlian, said in a statement to CNN that his client “to fully cooperate with this investigation, as he has with the investigation into the murder of his wife and son.”

His wife, Maggie, 52, and his son, Paul, 22, were found shot to death outside the family’s home in June. Murdaugh then arranged to have himself killed so his surviving son would be eligible for his $10 million life insurance policy. He was found on the side of a road with a gunshot wound to the head, which he survived.