Alex Murdaugh faces court to plead guilty to stealing millions from clients

Prosecutors have responded to Alex Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial on the grounds of jury tampering allegations at his murder trial, stating that South Carolina investigators have found “significant factual disputes” with the claims.

The response filed on Friday by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson concedes a hearing may be needed to decide if the convicted killer should get a new trial - but moved to dismiss the motion for a “procedural defect” in the filing.

It’s the state’s first response to the bombshell motion filed by Murdaugh’s attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian last week that accused Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill of pressuring jurors to return a guilty verdict earlier this year.

Continued...

Curtis “Cousin Eddie” Smith has claimed that Alex Murdaugh made a bombshell confession about his wife and son’s murders before orchestrating the now-infamous botched hitman plot.

Mr Smith – a former law firm client, distant cousin and alleged drug dealer of Murdaugh – is facing a string of charges over the 4 September 2021 incident where he allegedly shot the double murderer in the head along the side of a road in Hampton County.

Now, in the new series of Netflix’s Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, released on Wednesday, the 62-year-old revealed never-before-heard details about the bizarre encounter.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Over the last few weeks, the sprawling crime saga surrounding Alex Murdaugh has once again been catapulted into the spotlight.

Six months after he was convicted of killing his wife Maggie and son Paul on 7 June 2021, Murdaugh filed a motion demanding a new trial based on a damning accusation against Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill.

His attorneys claim that Ms Hill tampered with the jury, pressuring them to find him guilty and breaking her oath as an elected official.

New details continue to emerge about this – including a random Georgia man’s unlikely links to the case – and legal experts have warned that if the allegations are in fact true, a new trial is almost certain.

At the same time, Murdaugh’s other criminal charges are progressing through the courts.

He appeared in court on 14 September for a hearing on a slew of state financial charges – marking his first court appearance since his murder trial sentencing.

On Thursday, he is slated to appear in court to plead guilty to 22 federal financial criminal charges including wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering – after signing a plea deal with prosecutors on Monday.

Now, Netflix has dropped its second series of “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal” – bringing new details and claims about the Murdaugh saga to light.

Here are some of the key revelations from the new series...

Speaking exclusively to The Independent’s Rachel Sharp, prominent defence attorney Duncan Levin says that the allegations against court clerk Rebecca Hill are ‘extremely serious’ and that – if true – Alex Murdaugh could and should be granted a new trial.

Court is in session in Charleston, South Carolina for Alex Murdaugh to change his plea from not guilty to guilty.

Judge Richard Gergel begins by asking procedural Murdaugh questions relating to consent and his competency.

Murdaugh says he has been sober for more than 700 days — he has been in prison for approximately two years.

He waives the right to a jury trial and confirms his wish to change his plea to guilty.

In the agreement, signed and filed in South Carolina US District Court on Monday, the double murderer confirmed he will plead guilty to 22 federal charges including wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.

While Murdaugh admitted to stealing millions from clients during bombshell courtroom testimony at his murder trial, this marks the first time that he has ever pleaded guilty to committing a crime.

Now, he faces up to 30 years in federal prison on some of the charges.

Under the agreement, federal prosecutors have agreed that the sentence would be served concurrently with any state conviction on the same charges.

The plea deal must be approved by a federal judge before it can go into effect.

If approved, it means that Murdaugh will likely remain behind bars for a long time – even if he wins his fight to be granted a new trial on murder charges.

In total, Murdaugh is facing more than 100 state and federal charges over his vast multi-million-dollar fraud scheme which went on for more than a decade.

According to prosecutors, Murdaugh worked with co-conspirators and friends ex-attorney Cory Fleming and ex-Palmetto State Bank CEO Russell Laffitte to swindle clients out of millions of dollars.

Among the victims was the family of Murdaugh’s dead housekeeper Gloria Satterfield – who died in a mystery trip and fall at the family estate in 2018.

Murdaugh allegedly stole more than $4m in a wrongful death suit payout from the family.

Fleming and Laffitte have already been convicted in federal court for their roles in the convicted killer’s white-collar fraud scheme, with the former sentenced to four years and the latter to seven years.

While Murdaugh has reached a deal on the federal charges, he is heading to trial on the state charges in November.

Count 1 - Conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud (Up to 30 years in prison, $1m fine)

Count 2 - Bank fraud (Up to 30 years in prison, $1m fine)

Couns 3-4 - Wire fraud (Up to 30 years in prison, $1m fine)

Counts 5-7 - Wire fraud (Up to 20 years, $250,000 fine)

Count 8 - Conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Up to 20 years in prison, $250,000 fine)

Counts 9-22 - Money laundering (Up to 20 years, the greater of a $250,000 fine or twice the value of the property involved)

Judge Gergel says that the plea agreement is not a waiver of Murdaugh’s right to appeal.

Murdaugh says: “I’m pleading guilty of my own free will and because I am guilty, and for several other reasons.”

When asked to clarify what the other reasons are, he says so that his surviving son, Buster, can see him take responsibility and that he can try and make things right with his victims.

As part of the plea agreement, Murdaugh must be completely truthful and provide any relevant evidence or records. If he does not, the agreement can be rescinded and further charges can be brought.

Murdaugh must also submit to a polygraph test related to his frauds and assets at the government’s request as well as helping to trace and retrieve all assets, money, and accounts — there was much speculation at the close of the murder trial as to whether money had been hidden away.

After a review of the charges against him, Murdaugh says there are a few issues he disputes and defers to his attorney, Jim Griffin.

Mr Griffin says Murdaugh wants to make clear that he was not intending to steal from the estate account of Donna Badger, one of his victims, only her surviving husband Arthur Badger.

NBC News’s Drew Tripp reports that Judge Gergel responded with a mildly sarcastic tone clarifying that Murdaugh admits to stealing, but not meaning to steal from the dead wife's estate account.

He then concedes he's OK with that clarification.

Mr Griffin also reiterates an issue from the civil case in the Satterfield matter, establishing for the record that he invented the story given to insurance adjusters about how his housekeeper Gloria Satterfield fell and injured herself on his property.

A further issue is brought up by attorney Phil Barber regarding the forfeiture matter in the plea agreement. There is a discrepancy in the total loss amounts in the fraud proceeds attributable to Murdaugh.

Murdaugh has admitted to nearly $9m, but the government believes the amount is over $10.5m but is not ready to present that case today. It is agreed to initially base the order on the lower figure.

The guilty plea is signed, accepted and entered into the record.

Court is then adjourned.