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

Convicted killer and disgraced legal dynasty heir Alex Murdaugh appeared in federal court today where he pleaded guilty to a string of financial fraud charges – admitting that he stole millions of dollars from law firm clients for his own personal benefit.

The double murderer stood before U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel at the J. Waties Waring Judicial Center in Charleston where he waived his right to a jury trial and confirmed to the court his wish to change his plea to guilty.

Murdaugh had confirmed earlier this week that he’d plead guilty to 22 federal charges, which include wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.

“I’m pleading guilty of my own free will and because I am guilty, and for several other reasons,” Mudaugh said in court on Thursday.

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The saga surrounding Alex Murdaugh has taken yet another dramatic twist after a random Georgia man was thrust into the centre of the convicted killer’s bid for a new murder trial thanks to his now-deleted Facebook rant about his wife’s aunt.

Back on 15 February, Timothy Stone took to his Facebook page to fume that the family member had been “sticking her nose in my business”, according to court documents.

Mr Stone said he made the post in response to a private argument between the pair and then later felt “terrible” about it and deleted it the next day.

He then posted an apology on his account the next day, saying that he was driven by “Satan”.

Six months after former attorney Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murder, the Lifetime Network announced a new movie about the once prominent South Carolina dynasty that came crashing down following a fatal boating accident, a slew of financial crimes and the brutal slayings of his wife and son.

Lifetime’s 500th original movie Murdaugh Murders: The Movie is set to air in a two-night event next month and stepping into the role of the convicted killer is 69-year-old actor Bill Pullman.

First-look images from the movie obtained by Entertainment Weekly - and posted to social media by Lifetime - show a chilling Pullman, his reddish-blonde slicked back, violently grabbing actor Curtis Tweedie, who is portraying his slain son Paul Murdaugh. Lauren Robek plays his wife Maggie.

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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.

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’s what we found out...

A federal judge has granted a motion that would postpone the start of a prison sentence for former Palmetto State Bank CEO Russell Laffitte, Live 5 WCSC reports.

US District Judge Richard Gergel sentenced Lafitte to seven years in federal prison on 2 August.

He filed a motion to appeal on 8 August, followed by a motion for release pending that appeal on 14 August.

A week later Lafitte and prosecutors agreed to postpone the beginning of the prison term until today, 21 September, with the court saying it would give the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals an “adequate opportunity” to address the motion for release pending appeal. The appeals court has not yet ruled.

Judge Gergel granted Laffitte’s request for one more delay on Wednesday, granting him until 28 September to report to prison to begin serving his sentence.

In his order, the judge stated: “No further extensions will be granted.”

Juror number 785 remains something of a mystery.

She has never gone public with her identity and has never broken her silence by speaking to the press.

But, the mystery juror has caused quite a stir in the so-called “trial of the century”.

Juror number 785 first hit headlines back in March when she was ousted from Alex Murdaugh’s high-profile double-murder trial just hours before deliberations began.

After sitting through six weeks of graphic testimony about the slayings of Murdaugh’s wife Maggie and son Paul, Judge Clifton Newman dismissed the juror for apparently speaking about the case to at least three people.

If her dismissal wasn’t enough to shock the nation glued to the notorious trial, the juror also gained infamy due to a comedic moment where she asked to retrieve a dozen eggs from the jury room.

After that, juror 785 earned a new alias as the “egg juror”.

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Paul Murdaugh was pulled over by police for hosting a booze-fuelled boat party just days before he was brutally murdered by his father – and at a time when he was awaiting trial over a 2019 deadly boat wreck.

In the new series of Netflix’s “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal”, released on Wednesday, housekeeper and family friend Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson revealed that the 22-year-old had a fresh brush with the law in the run-up to the 7 June 2021 murders.

His father Alex Murdaugh was said to be taking care of the matter.

The incident took place around a week before Memorial Day weekend, when Ms Turrubiate-Simpson said Maggie told her that “Paul got in trouble again”.

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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 has the details...