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Thread: Alex Murdaugh Sentenced to Life in Prison in 2021 SC Slaying of Margaret Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh

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    Alex Murdaugh Sentenced to Life in Prison in 2021 SC Slaying of Margaret Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh


    Margaret Murdaugh, left and Paul Murdaugh, right, were found shot dead at family hunting lodge in Colleton County on June 8.


    Alex Murdaugh


    August 26, 2021

    Murdaugh Murder Mystery Timeline: Solicitor intends to recuse himself from double homicide case

    News of the deaths of Paul Murdaugh, 22, and Maggie Murdaugh, 52, has led to national headlines. Not only for the mystery surrounding their murders but for the ties to other deaths in the Lowcountry of South Carolina: Stephen Smith in 2015 and Mallory Beach in 2019

    A son and mother found shot to death on their Lowcountry property.

    News of the deaths of Paul Murdaugh, 22, and Maggie Murdaugh, 52, has led to national headlines. Not only for the mystery surrounding their murders but for the ties to other death investigations in the area: Stephen Smith in 2015 and Mallory Beach in 2019.

    July 8, 2015: Stephen Smith, 19, is found dead on Sandy Run Road in Hampton County. No arrest is made.

    Feb. 24, 2019: Mallory Beach, 19, goes missing after a boat crash near Parris Island. A 911 call is placed from the scene of the crash at Archer's Creek.

    March 3, 2019: Following a week of searches, a boater discovers Mallory's body in a marsh area near the Broad River boat landing in Beaufort County.

    March 2019: The Beach family files a wrongful death lawsuit against a Beaufort County bar, convenience store and two homeowners all of whom, the suit claims, served Beach and her underage friends alcohol the night of the crash. The lawsuit was later amended to only name Richard Alexander "Alex" Murdaugh Sr., Richard Alexander "Buster" Murdaugh Jr., and Parker's convenience store.

    April 18, 2019: Paul Murdaugh is indicted on charges of boating under the influence causing death and two counts of boating under the influence causing great bodily injury.

    May 6, 2019: Murdaugh pleads not guilty to all charges.

    June 4, 2021: Court ordered mediation in the wrongful death lawsuit fails, which appears to make the case bound for trial.

    June 7, 2021: Alex Murdaugh disovers the bodies of his son Paul and wife Maggie at their 1,770-acre hunting lodge on Moselle Road in Islandton, Colleton County. A 911 call is placed at 10:07 p.m.

    "I need the police and ambulance immediately," Alex Murdaugh says in the 911 call. "My wife and child have been shot badly!"

    The Colleton County Sheriff's Office responds and secures the scene. South Carolina's State Law Enforcement Division is contacted at 10:28 p.m. to assist. SLED agents arrive at 11:47 p.m.

    Murdaugh family friend Tangie Ohmer tells WJCL: "It was just siren after siren..."

    June 8, 2021: Authorities confirm the identities of the deceased, referring to the incident as a double homicide. However, they say there is no threat to the public.

    June 11, 2021: A graveside service is held at Hampton Cemetery for both Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.

    June 14, 2021: The Colleton County Coroner confirms both Paul and Maggie Murdaugh died from multiple gunshot wounds. The estimated time of death is somewhere between 9 and 9:30 p.m.

    June 16, 2021: SLED creates a 24-hour dedicated tipline for the case: 803-896-2605.

    June 17, 2021: Alex Murdaugh's brothers, Randy Murdaugh IV and John Marvin Murdaugh, appear in an exclusive interview with ABC News in which they plead with the public to come forward with any information. They say they don't know whether the family has enemies but Paul Murdaugh had received threats.

    June 21, 2021: SLED releases a handful of heavily-redacted documents shedding light on what deputies discovered the night of the murders.

    June 23, 2021: Based on information gathered in the Murdaugh investigation, SLED says it is looking into the 2015 death of Stephen Smith in Hampton County. SLED does not elaborate on what information it obtained.

    June 25, 2021: Members of the Murdaugh family formally annonce a $!00,000 reward for information that leads to arrest in the double homicide.

    July 7, 2021: Attorneys representing a survivor of the boat crash that killed Mallory Beach filed a petition alleging law enforcement tried to shift the blame from Paul Murdaugh to their client, Connor Cook.

    July 14, 2021: During a court hearing, Circuit Judge Bentley Price said he would review the redactions made by SLED in publicly-released documents pertaining to the case and if he felt they weren’t legal, order more information released.

    July 22, 2021: SLED releases the 911 call placed by Alex Murdaugh the night Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were killed.

    Aug. 6, 2021: People magazine spotlights the double homicide of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.

    The South Carolina Attorney General's Office drops all charges against Paul Murdaugh in the death of Mallory Beach due to his own death.

    Aug. 11, 2021: 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone sends a letter to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson stating he intends to recuse himself from the investigations into the deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.

    Aug. 17, 2021: Following a Freedom of Information Act request, WJCL receives photos and videos from the South Carolina Attorney General's Office collected as evidence following the boat crash that killed Mallory Beach.
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Update: Alex Murdaugh shot by two men in Hampton County, family attorney says

    By Andrew Davis and Diante Gibbs
    WSAV News

    HAMPTON COUNTY, S.C. (WSAV/WCBD) — Murdaugh family friend and attorney Jim Griffin tells News 3 that Alex Murdaugh was shot while changing a tire on the side of Salkehatchie Road. Griffin says, according to Alex’s brother Randy, two men in a pickup truck drove up, got out and opened fire on Murdaugh. Multiple sources, including Griffin, tell News 3 that Alex Murdaugh called 911.

    Police say Alex Murdaugh was shot in the head in Hampton County and has been transported to a hospital in Charleston. Earlier this afternoon, law enforcement told News 3 that he had been taken to a hospital in Savannah.

    Law Enforcement says Murdaugh was shot at a property on the 15000 block of Salkehatchie Road.

    Officials with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) confirmed they are investigating the shooting in Hampton County, and confirm that the victim is Alex Murdaugh. SLED was called in to assist the Hampton County Sheriff’s Office in its investigation around 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

    Paul and Margaret Murdaugh were found shot to death in June by Alex Murdaugh, Paul’s father and Margaret’s husband. Still, no suspects have been arrested and this story, ready for the soap operas, has made national news ever since.

    The family of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh are also offering a $!00,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the double homicide of the mother and son.

    “I want to thank everyone for the incredible love and support that we have received over the last few weeks,” said Alex Murdaugh in late June.
    <aside>
    </aside>“Now is the time to bring justice for Maggie and Paul. Buster and I, along with Maggie’s mother, father and our entire family, ask that anyone with helpful information immediately call the SLED tip line or Crime Stoppers.”

    This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is reported.

    https://www.wsav.com/crime-safety/al...hkcoM7kzzZJgFU
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    The Murdaugh family saga: a tangled web of secrets and murder

    By Faith Karimi
    CNN

    A powerful family. A deadly boating accident. Two mysterious slayings. Drug addiction, stolen money and a botched shooting in an alleged insurance fraud scheme.

    It sounds like someone took a list of sordid elements and stuffed them all into a crime thriller so twisty it could only be fiction.

    But the tortuous tale of the Murdaughs, a prominent South Carolina family with shadowy secrets, is real. And it's far from over.

    The story took a fresh turn this week when investigators arrested patriarch Alex Murdaugh for allegedly hiring a hit man to kill him in a failed attempt to collect millions in life insurance for his surviving son, Buster. This came three months after Murdaugh's wife and other son were gunned down on the family's secluded estate.

    These events led authorities to open investigations into several other mysterious deaths -- dating back years -- with apparent ties to the Murdaughs.

    Now the family's legacy of influence is crumbling and the rural area around Hampton, some 75 miles west of Charleston, is buzzing with theories. The evolving saga has inspired at least one podcast and gripped amateur sleuths around the state -- and the nation.

    "Around coffee shops and barber shops, that's all people have been talking about," said Akim Anastopoulo, a Charleston attorney and former prosecutor who has crossed paths with Alex Murdaugh. "You cannot believe how this thing changes every day. The new information that comes out -- it's amazing because everyone is living this in real time."

    The mystery indeed has a tangled web of characters and events. To unpack it all, we have to go back at least six years.

    A family history of power and connections

    The Murdaughs have long been a potent legal dynasty in this part of the Carolina Lowcountry, a quiet stretch of farms, woods, marshland and small towns that feel far removed from the tourist bustle of Charleston or even Hilton Head, some 60 miles south.

    For nearly a century, the family controlled the local prosecutor's office.

    Beginning in 1920, Randolph Murdaugh Sr. was the first in three generations of solicitors for the 14th Judicial Circuit, which oversees prosecutions in five counties. His son, Randolph Murdaugh Jr., succeeded him in the position for nearly five decades.

    Randolph Murdaugh III -- Alex Murdaugh's dad -- then replaced him and served through 2005, marking 87 consecutive years that the family led prosecutions in the area.

    But even with the family no longer running the prosecutor's office, their connections run deep.

    The Murdaughs, including Alex and his younger brother Randy, have long been partners in a regional law firm with offices in three counties. They have focused mostly on personal injury litigation and have won big settlements for their clients.

    "We're no different than anybody else. We've just been here as attorneys for a long time," Randy Murdaugh told ABC News in June. "I see words like 'dynasty' used, and 'power.' But we're just regular people ..."

    Randolph Murdaugh III died in June at the age of 81 -- three days after his daughter-in-law and grandson were killed.

    A boat crash in the middle of the night

    The Murdaughs' troubles, at least in the eyes of the public, began in February 2019.

    Paul Murdaugh, younger son of Alex Murdaugh, was piloting his father's motorboat with five friends early in the morning of February 24 when it struck a bridge on Archer's Creek, near Parris Island. He was 19 at the time and a student at the University of South Carolina.

    One of his passengers, Mallory Beach, also 19, was tossed from the boat. Her body was found a week later.

    A 911 call was placed from the crash site at roughly 2:30 a.m.

    Three people aboard the boat later told investigators that Paul Murdaugh was driving, although another passenger identified a different person as the driver, according to an affidavit.

    Investigators searching the boat found a cooler full of beer along with empty cans and bottles of alcohol, according to CNN affiliate WJCL.

    Authorities charged Paul Murdaugh with boating under the influence, causing great bodily harm and causing Beach's death.

    He pleaded not guilty and was still awaiting trial when tragedy struck the family again.

    A mother and son killed at the family estate

    On June 7, emergency dispatchers in Colleton County received a 911 call from a distraught Alex Murdaugh.

    He told them he had just arrived at the family's 1,700-acre estate in Islandton, an unincorporated hamlet, to find the bodies of his wife Maggie and son Paul lying on the ground by their dog kennels.

    "It's bad," he said.

    Maggie Murdaugh, 52, had been shot multiple times with a semiautomatic rifle. Paul Murdaugh, by then 22, had been shot at least twice with a shotgun.

    "And are they breathing?" asked the dispatcher.

    "No ma'am," Murdaugh said.

    The gruesome scene pointed to two shooters, leaving some observers wondering if it was connected to the family's legal history. Paul Murdaugh's uncles told ABC News that he had been received threatening messages online since the boating accident.

    Alex Murdaugh, 53, has denied responsibility in the killings, which remain unsolved.

    "My brother loved Maggie and loved Paul like nothing else on this earth..." Randy Murdaugh told ABC News. "So there's no possible way he could have anything to do with this, I can assure you."

    The slayings thrust the family into the national spotlight and have so far baffled police.

    They also brought new scrutiny to two previous deaths.

    A mysterious body on a country road

    In June, as investigators probed the shooting deaths of Alex Murdaugh's wife and son, they made a startling announcement.

    The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said it was opening an investigation into the death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith, whose body was found July 8, 2015, on a rural road some 8 miles west of the Murdaugh estate.

    At the time, police said Smith had a massive head wound and they believed he'd been struck by a vehicle. No suspect was ever charged.

    Authorities have not revealed what new information led them to reopen the investigation into Smith's death.

    Smith and Buster Murdaugh, 25, were classmates at Wade Hampton High School.

    The Murdaughs have not been accused of wrongdoing in his case, and no evidence has connected the family to Smith's death.

    But Smith's mother told CNN affiliate WCTV in June that she doesn't believe her son was the victim of a hit-and-run.

    Reopening of the investigation was long overdue, Sandy Smith said.

    "We've been waiting on this forever," she told the affiliate. "Stephen's always been put on the back burner. It's like nobody's looking for answers. Stephen's had no justice."

    A bizarre roadside shooting

    Most of the summer passed uneventfully. Then, on September 4, the Murdaugh saga took yet another turn.

    That day Alex Murdaugh called 911 and said he'd been shot in the head by an unidentified man while changing a tire on the side of the road not far from his home.

    A family spokesperson said the family expected Murdaugh to recover and asked for privacy, saying, "The Murdaugh family has suffered through more than any one family could ever imagine."

    But a week later Murdaugh admitted to authorities that he had conspired with the man -- identified by police as Curtis Edward Smith, a former client of Murdaugh -- to kill him as part of an insurance fraud scheme.

    Murdaugh had hoped his surviving son Buster could collect a $10 million life insurance payout, accoding to an affidavit to support charges against Smith.

    Murdaugh wanted to end his life, but believed his life insurance policy had a suicide exclusion, said his attorney, who added that his client wanted to protect his only living child. Murdaugh provided Smith with a firearm and told him to shoot him in the head, the affidavit said.

    Murdaugh also announced he had resigned from his law firm following allegations he had misappropriated funds, and said he was entering rehab for what one of his attorneys later specified was an addiction to opioids.

    "The murders of my wife and son have caused an incredibly difficult time in my life," Murdaugh said in a statement. "I have made a lot of decisions that I truly regret."

    Then the mystery deepened even further.

    A housekeeper's fatal fall

    On Wednesday, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division siad it was opening a criminal probe into the February 2018 death of Gloria Satterfield, a housekeeper who'd spent more than two decades working for the Murdaugh family.

    Satterfield, 57, died at the Murdaugh estate in what was declared at the time as a "Trip and fall accident," according to attorney Eric Bland, who is representing her estate.

    SLED said it is opening the investigation based upon a request from the Hampton County coroner that highlights inconsistencies in the ruling of Satterfield's manner of death, as well as information gathered during other ongoing probes involving Alex Murdaugh.

    The coroner's request said that no autopsy was performed on Satterfield and that "on the death certificate the manner of death was ruled 'Natural,' which is inconsistent with injuries sustained in a trip and fall accident."

    This week, Bland also filed a civil lawsuit alleging Murdaugh proposed the housekeeper's two sons sue him so they could collect their mother's life insurance settlement. Murdaugh then introduced the sons to a fellow attorney to represent them in the lawsuit without disclosing to them that the attorney was a close friend, Bland said.

    Satterfield's sons received a partial settlement of $505,000 but have not seen any of it to date, the lawsuit states.

    CNN has reached out to Murdaugh's attorneys for comment.

    And the twists and turns may be far from over

    Alex Murdaugh has been charged with insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, and filing a false police report. His law license has been suspended.

    "It's just such a crazy circumstance of events," said Anastopoulo, the Charleston attorney. "People that know them (the Murdaughs) are extremely shocked that this happened, because he's a well respected attorney."

    Murdaugh was arrested Thursday and appeared in court in handcuffs before being released on bond. The redhead known to friends as "Big Red" looked thinner and grayer than he had in previous family snapshots. At one point he appeared to wipe tears from his eyes.

    In a statement to CNN, his attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, said their client "is not without fault." But they blamed his issues on an opioid addiction.

    "These individuals took advantage of his addiction and his ability to pay substantial funds for illegal drugs," the attorneys said. "One of those individuals took advantage of his mental illness and agreed to take Alex's life by shooting him in the head."

    Murdaugh has announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the parties responsible for the deaths of his wife and son.

    Meanwhile, the criminal investigations continue on multiple fronts. Reporters are scouring the region for anyone who might have insight into the Murdaughs. And everyone wonders what's coming next.

    https://www.actionnewsnow.com/conten...575342662.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Senior Member CnCP Addict maybeacomedian's Avatar
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    Alex Murdaugh update: Murder charges pending; 'We want the truth,' family says

    - Michael M. DeWitt, Jr., Greenville News | July 12, 2022 -

    The state intends to seek criminal charges against suspended attorney Richard "Alex" Murdaugh in connection with the 2021 double homicide of his wife and younger son, according to Alex Murdaugh's younger brother, John Marvin Murdaugh.

    John Marvin Murdaugh told The Hampton County Guardian that agents with the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) met with family members early Tuesday "as a courtesy" to inform them that they intended to charge Alex Murdaugh in connection with the double homicide of Margaret Branstetter Murdaugh and Paul Terry Murdaugh.

    They said that charges would likely be coming before a grand jury soon, John Marvin Murdaugh said.

    "We have been in communication all along and they (SLED) told us they would let us know if any charges were coming against anyone," said John Marvin Murdaugh. "From day one all we have wanted is the truth. We seek justice and we want the truth."

    SLED did not discuss any details on when the charges would be announced or disclose any evidence during the conversation, John Marvin Murdaugh said.

    Robert Kittle, spokesperson for the S.C. Attorney General's Office, said that he could not confirm or comment on any pending charges, although multiple South Carolina media outlets are citing sources close to the case as saying they expect an announcement on Thursday.

    Jim Griffin, an attorney for Alex Murdaugh, sent the following statement to The Guardian Tuesday afternoon:

    "We have not been advised by anyone associated with law enforcement or the Attorney General's office that Alex will be charged with murder. I am aware that SLED advised the family that they intend to seek murder indictments against him from a grand jury later this week. We won't have any comment until charges are actually brought against Alex."

    Murdaugh's wife, Margaret, aka Maggie, 52, and his son, Paul, 22, were shot and killed at their Colleton County estate, Moselle, on the night of June 7, 2021. Not long after the killings, Murdaugh and his other son, Buster, offered a reward for anyone offering information that led to an arrest in the case.

    Murdaugh called 911 at 10:07 p.m. that night and reported that he had found the pair unresponsive and lying on the ground near the family's dog kennels. Both were shot multiple times.

    At the time of his death, Paul Murdaugh was facing three felony boating under the influence charges related to the February 2019 boat crash that killed Mallory Beach, 19, of Hampton.

    Since the killings, the Attorney General's Office and SLED have uncovered a web of financial and drug crimes allegedly involving Murdaugh that span more than a decade in several Lowcountry counties.

    Murdaugh is currently facing a total of 84 criminal charges and 11 civil suits and is being detained in Richland County's Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center on a $7 million bond he has been unable to meet.

    https://news.yahoo.com/alex-murdaugh...193746417.html
    https://archive.ph/8h58U

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    I wouldn't be surprised if he pushed the maid down the stairs for the insurance money.
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Personal connections show lawyer Alex Murdaugh's downfall

    By Jeffrey Collins
    Associated Press

    COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The shooting deaths of South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh's wife and son started a chain of investigations, strange happenings and legal maneuvers over the past 13 months that his lawyer said will soon lead to murder charges.

    But Murdaugh's life was quietly unraveling behind the scenes long before that. Authorities said he was stealing money, addicted to painkillers and desperately trying to avoid an in-depth examination of his finances tied to a wrongful death lawsuit involving his son — all while lying to just about everyone in his life.

    Like the whiteboard on a detective show, the spokes of a half-dozen investigations radiated from Murdaugh after the killings of Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and 22-year-old son Paul on June 7, 2021.

    Suddenly, a whole cast of people became players in the drama — the family of a teenager killed in a boat crash determined to fight for justice, the slain wife who led a quiet life, the Murdaugh client who may have been hired to stage an attempt on the lawyer's life and the housekeeper who died in a fall in the Murdaugh home.

    MALLORY BEACH

    More than a year before the killings, 19-year-old Mallory Beach died when she was thrown from a Murdaugh family boat after it crashed into a bridge pier. Police said Paul Murdaugh was drunk while driving the boat in February 2019.

    Beach's family demanded justice not just criminally, but in civil court too, filing a wrongful death lawsuit that still is awaiting trial.

    That lawsuit likely meant a close look at the Murdaugh family finances, Murdaugh fought the suit at every turn as Beach’s attorneys suggested he was fearful they would discover how he was managing to live so far above his current means. Prosecutors said they have learned since that Murdaugh was stealing money from his law firm and clients.

    The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating if Murdaugh, his family or his friends tried to obstruct the investigation into the boating crash. Others on the boat said Murdaugh was at the emergency room that night, looking up their rooms and trying to convince them to tell investigators his son wasn't driving.

    MAGGIE MURDAUGH

    Maggie Murdaugh married the sweetheart she met at the University of South Carolina and moved to tiny Hampton County, where Alex Murdaugh's father, grandfather and great-grandfather had been elected prosecutors.

    By all accounts, she led a quiet life, supporting her husband's work and raising two sons. Friends don't remember her working outside a brief time running her own gift shop. They remember a devoted mother who loved her family's coastal home about 60 miles (96 kilometers) away on Edisto Island.

    Maggie Murdaugh died near her younger son at the family's Colleton County hunting estate. Both were shot multiple times, the coroner said. Alex Murdaugh called 911 after discovering their bodies. He has said he had just returned home from visiting his mother and ailing father.

    Thirteen months later, Murdaugh's lawyer said the rest of the family was told Tuesday that state agents will seek indictments for murder against Murdaugh this week.

    CURTIS “EDDIE” SMITH

    Curtis “Eddie” Smith met Alex Murdaugh when he sued the tree company he worked for after hurting his back in 2007. Or they might have already known each other. Like many things with Murdaugh, exactly what transpired is murky.

    Murdaugh won a settlement for Smith, who said the two became friends. Murdaugh's lawyers said it was more of a business relationship, with Murdaugh buying drugs.

    A few days after the century-old Murdaugh family law firm discovered stolen money in September 2021, Murdaugh asked Smith to meet on the side of a lonely Hampton County highway, according to prosecutors. Murdaugh said he asked Smith to kill him so his surviving son could get $10 million life insurance policy. Smith said Murdaugh threatened to kill himself and the gun fired as Smith tried to wrestle it from his grip.

    The shot only grazed Murdaugh's head. Murdaugh's lawyers called Smith a drug dealer.

    “With a friend like that, who needs enemies?” Smith told an Associated Press reporter.

    Both men were indicted for the roadside shooting — Smith for assisted suicide, conspiracy and other charges; Murdaugh, for insurance fraud and filing a false police report after initially saying he was shot at randomly while changing a tire.

    In June, prosecutors suggested a much deeper relationship. They indicted both men again, saying Murdaugh wrote 437 checks worth $2.4 million that Smith cashed over eight years to try to hide theft and other illegal activity, including a drug ring involving the painkiller oxycodone.

    It was the 16th indictment against Murdaugh, who prosecutors said has stolen more than $8 million from clients and others.

    GLORIA SATTERFIELD

    Gloria Satterfield was a housekeeper for the Murdaughs for two decades before slipping into a coma and dying a few days after Alex Murdaugh said she tripped and fell in their home.

    Murdaugh steered Satterfield's family toward a friend to act as their attorney, according to a lawsuit. Murdaugh then strong-armed his insurers to pay more than $4 million in wrongful death settlements, prosecutors said.

    But Satterfield's family never saw a dime until their new attorneys came after him. Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter relentlessly attacked Murdaugh in court and in the media. Murdaugh eventually ended up behind bars on a $7 million bond.

    Bland compared Murdaugh to a bank robber, but using a pen and corrupt friends instead of a gun.

    Months later, the lawyer friend and a banker who prosecutors said secretly sent Murdaugh money meant to go into trusts for his clients were indicted.

    Bland and Richter have earned well over $4 million in legal settlements from Murdaugh, whose assets have been frozen, as well as Murdaugh's attorney friend and the bank Murdaugh used.

    The investigation into Satterfield's death continues. State agents said in June that they would exhume her body. Coroners in South Carolina are supposed to be notified of any suspicious death, but the Hampton County coroner wasn't told about Satterfield's fall.

    Another death investigation was reopened after the shooting deaths. Stephen Smith, 19, died in what investigators said was a hit-and-run, likely struck in the head by the mirror of a semitrailer on a Hampton County two-lane road in 2015. But Smith's mother said there was no broken glass or plastic shards from a mirror on the road where her son’s body was found.

    State agents haven't said what evidence in the Murdaugh case led them to reopen the Smith case.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime...34e5a811a771ff
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Alex Murdaugh charged with murders of wife, son; Attorneys release statement

    By Patrick Phillips
    WCSC News

    WALTERBORO, S.C. (WCSC) - The Colleton County Grand Jury handed down indictments Thursday morning against attorney Alex Murdaugh in the June 7, 2021, shooting deaths of his wife and son.

    Murdaugh faces two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

    Maggie Murdaugh, 52; and Paul Murdaugh, 22, were shot to death at the family’s hunting property in Islandton, a rural part of Colleton County. Murdaugh told investigators he went to the property after visiting with his ailing father and discovered the two bodies.

    Court documents released Thursday morning allege that Alex Murdaugh shot his wife with a rifle and shot his son with a shotgun. The documents provide no other new details.

    Murdaugh’s attorneys, Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian, released the following statement on the new charges:

    Alex wants his family, friends and everyone to know that he did not have anything to do with the murders of Maggie and Paul. He loved them more than anything in the world. It was very clear from day one that law enforcement and the Attorney General prematurely concluded that Alex was responsible for the murder of his wife and son. But we know that Alex did not have any motive whatsoever to murder them. We are immediately filing a motion for a speedy trial, we are requesting that the Attorney General turn over all evidence within 30 days as required by law and we demand to have a trial within 60 days of receiving that evidence.

    Thursday morning’s meeting of the grand jury was the first since Murdaugh’s attorney, Jim Griffin, said the State Law Enforcement Division notified Murdaugh’s family they were seeking indictments against Murdaugh.

    Griffin said on Tuesday he had not been personally informed about the charges by either SLED or the attorney general’s office. Under South Carolina’s Crime Victims’ Constitutional Rights the family was notified before the grand jury was contacted to seek the indictment.

    Thursday morning’s meeting of the grand jury was the first since Murdaugh’s attorney, Jim Griffin, said the State Law Enforcement Division notified Murdaugh’s family they were seeking indictments against Murdaugh.

    Griffin said on Tuesday he had not been personally informed about the charges by either SLED or the attorney general’s office. Under South Carolina’s Crime Victims’ Constitutional Rights the family was notified before the grand jury was contacted to seek the indictment.

    But Griffin said that if murder charges were filed, they would seek a bond hearing to have the facts on the record of the evidence against their client and declined to comment further.

    Maggie and Paul Murdaugh died from “multiple gunshot wounds” near the dog kennels at the family’s Islandton property.

    Since the investigation into the killings began, a state grand jury has handed down 16 indictments against him totaling 81 charges. He is accused of schemes to defraud victims of nearly $8.5 million.

    A county grand jury also indicted Murdaugh on three counts in a Labor Day weekend shooting incident that investigators called an insurance fraud scheme.

    This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

    https://www.live5news.com/2022/07/14...ase-statement/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  8. #8
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    Edited:

    Alex Murdaugh Allegedly Lured Wife to Cabin On Night She Was Killed — and She Texted Friend It Seemed 'Fishy'

    By Steve Helling
    People Magazine

    On the evening of June 7, 2021, Alex Murdaugh allegedly reached out to his wife Maggie, asking her to meet him at the family's 1,770-acre estate in the small town of Islandton, S.C.

    According to a law enforcement source close to the investigation, Alex told Maggie that his 81-year-old father, Randolph Murdaugh III, was in failing health and that she needed to see him before he died.

    According to several sources, Maggie and Paul had hit a rough patch in their marriage, and she was staying at the family's beach house on Edisto Island, approximately an hour away from the family's estate.

    The law enforcement source tells PEOPLE that Maggie initially declined to meet Alex at the family home, suggesting instead that they meet at the hospital. Ultimately, she consented to meet at the property, planning to follow Alex to the hospital in her own vehicle.

    On her way to the house, Maggie allegedly messaged a friend, saying that something about her husband's behavior felt "fishy," the law enforcement source says. "He's up to something," Maggie allegedly wrote to her friend.

    When Maggie arrived at the scene, she left her car running and walked to the dog kennels on the estate where her son, Paul, was taking photos of a dog he was watching for a friend.

    It's unclear what happened next — but Maggie, 52, and Paul, 22 were gunned down close to the dog kennels. Paul's body was found "half in and half out" of the dog kennels, authorities say.

    Paul was shot in the chest and head with a shotgun at close range. Maggie was shot multiple times, including one shot in the back and additional shots while she was lying on the ground. She had been shot with 300 Blackout ammo from an AR-style rifle. Both of them were pronounced dead at the scene.

    Authorities have not officially released who they believe the gunman was, but on Thursday they charged Alex Murdaugh, 54, with two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He will be arraigned next week.

    Investigators with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) have not divulged what evidence they have, but the law enforcement source tells PEOPLE blood spatter allegedly found on Alex Murdaugh's clothes indicates he was at the scene at the time of the murder, and not visiting his father at the hospital, as he later claimed.

    Murdaugh attorneys have not returned PEOPLE's calls for comment, but they maintain his innocence in a statement. "Alex wants his family, friends and everyone to know that he did not have anything to do with the murders of Maggie and Paul," his attorneys wrote. "He loved them more than anything in the world."

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime...2b300f67fc267d
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  9. #9
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Edited:

    South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh pleads not guilty to murdering wife, son

    By Kanishka Singh
    Reuters


    (Reuters) - A South Carolina attorney, who was indicted last week by a grand jury on charges of murdering his wife and youngest son in June 2021, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to the charges.

    Alex Murdaugh, already facing dozens of state charges, including embezzlement, was indicted by a Colleton County grand jury on Thursday on two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon in connection with the murders, state Attorney General Alan Wilson had said.

    Asked if he was guilty or not guilty, Murdaugh, who appeared in the Walterboro courtroom on Wednesday, responded, "Not guilty," according to footage from the court proceedings broadcast by WLTX. He was wearing a white shirt and khaki pants.

    His lawyers said last week they would file a motion for a speedy trial. The judge denied him bond on Wednesday.

    Murdaugh's wife Margaret and son Paul were killed on June 7, 2021, at the family’s property in Colleton County.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime...e5302c43f446fb
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  10. #10
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    Alex Murdaugh lawyer cites Trump FBI raid in demand for evidence in murders of wife, son: 'Manufactured drama'

    South Carolina prosecutors ripped Dick Harpootlian's press conference as a 'blatant attempt to create drama'

    By Danielle Wallace
    Fox News

    The lawyer defending the once powerful and now disbarred attorney, Alex Murdaugh, blasted South Carolina prosecutors on Wednesday for allegedly withholding evidence from the defense connecting the legal scion to the mysterious murders of his wife and son following a 13-month investigation.

    At a press conference he organized, Dick Harpootlian, a Democratic state senator, made a weak comparison to the unprecedented FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago, and calls since then to have the warrant unsealed to understand the grounds for the search.

    In a motion of his own Wednesday, the state’s lead prosecutor on the Murdaugh case, Creighton Waters, dismissed Harpootlian’s press event as "manufactured drama" delaying the case.

    Harpootlian accused South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office of failing to produce discovery before the 30-day maximum period allotted by law since Murdaugh’s murder indictment.

    "There was no reason, as I point out, that they couldn’t turn almost all of this over to us 32 days ago," Harpootlian told reporters Wednesday. "A number of search warrants have sealed affidavits – now sealed affidavits I shouldn’t have to explain to any of you because you turn on the news right now, they’re talking about sealed affidavits on a certain search warrant in Florida. The question is – after the indictment is brought, should they still be sealed? The answer is no."

    Murdaugh, 54, was indicted on July 14 by a Colleton County grand jury on two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime in connection to the double homicide of his college sweetheart wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and their 22-year-old son, Paul.

    The bare-bones indictment accuses Murdaugh of shooting his 52-year-old wife with a rifle and his younger son with a shotgun on June 7, 2021. He has pleaded not guilty.

    "This is again ‘gotcha’ prosecution. Trial by ambush. Give us the stuff," Harpootlian said Wednesday. "You went to a grand jury and said you have enough evidence to convict Alex Murdaugh and convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Where is it? I don’t have a shred of paper! I don’t have an email, I don’t have an exhibit, I don’t have any evidence."

    "Somebody wants to know about blood spatter. All I know about blood spatter is what I read in some blog. I’ve never seen any blood spatter evidence," he said, referencing local media citing unnamed sources. "They want to obscure this by saying, ‘well, you know, we need to get this sealed, this needs to be protected, we don’t want crime scene photos left out on tables.’ That is hooey!"

    Murdaugh’s lawyer also seemed to defend his own reputation for working the case.

    "This case needs to be resolved. Not just for Alex Murdaugh, but for the judicial system, for the state of South Carolina. We need to put this behind us and move on," Harpootlian said. "People say to me – How could you represent this guy? John Adams, the second President of the United States, represented the British soldiers who massacred the colonial protesters on the Boston Common, 4 were acquitted, two were hung. It is my duty to do that. It’s what keeps this country free. Abraham Lincoln defended 22 murder cases… Don’t they teach civics in high school anymore?

    In a 27-page motion provided to Fox News Digital, Waters defended his team’s handling of discovery.

    "Defendant Murdaugh’s motion is unfortunately a not unexpected but completely blatant attempt to create drama where formerly there was none. It is clearly aimed at generating content for the press conference defense counsel has called on this matter rather than actually doing anything meaningful to move forward litigation of the case," the motion outlining prosecutors’ stance says.

    "As with the rest of their motion, their claims of prosecutorial ‘coercion’ may make for exciting reading or content for a press conference, but they are detached from reality," Waters adds.

    The motion included emails between Waters to Judge Clifton Newton explaining that he agrees with the defense that an order must be issued unsealing the search warrants sealed by other judges early in the murder investigation. However, prosecutors – in disagreement with the defense – are proposing a protective order for some murder evidence, citing pre-trial publicity and the sensitive nature of the crime scene photos.

    "There is simply no last-minute effort to delay discovery," Waters wrote in one email.

    "This manufactured drama is just a well-known part of defense counsel’s playbook," the motion says. "The State has no desire to preclude the defense from any discovery and has every intent of moving this case to a public trial as soon as practicable. As soon as these two discovery issues are addressed and the Court green lights it, discovery will be sent."

    At the time of the bombshell murder charges, Murdaugh already was facing 81 financial and related criminal charges alleging he misappropriated $8.1 million from friends, former legal clients and the prominent personal injury law firm founded by his great-grandfather nearly a century ago.

    Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were found shot to death next to dog kennels on the family’s sprawling hunting estate in South Carolina’s rural Low Country when authorities responded to a frantic 911 call from Alex Murdaugh himself.

    The double homicide prompted a slew of investigations into Murdaugh and his financial dealings, and law enforcement has since reopened criminal probes into the mysterious deaths of Murdaugh’s former housekeeper Gloria Satterfield, as well as 19-year-old Stephen Smith, a former high school classmate of the Murdaugh’s surviving elder son, Buster Murdaugh.

    Murdaugh, also a former assistant prosecutor at the office his family previously controlled for generations, is also charged with orchestrating a botched suicide for hire plot for his distant cousin, former legal client and recently accused conspirator in an alleged opioid trafficking ring, Curtis "Eddie" Smith, to shoot him in the head on the side of a rural road so that Buster could collect a $10 million life insurance policy.

    Recently, Russell Laffitte, the fired CEO of Palmetto State Bank, which was founded by his family in the early 20th century, was federally indicted for allegedly helping Murdaugh steal and launder money from legal clients. A lawyer and Murdaugh’s former college roommate, Cory Fleming, has also faced state charges in connection to Murdaugh’s long-spiraling fall from grace.

    https://www.foxnews.com/us/alex-murd...factured-drama
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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