Alex Murdaugh trial latest: Prosecution finds ‘significant disputes’ in convicted murderer’s jury tampering claims

Prosecutors 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.

An investigation was launched by the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), which the AG claims is still ongoing, but has said has “revealed significant factual disputes as to claims in (Murdaugh’s) motion.” Prosecutors have not elaborated on the details of the “factual disputes”.

Cory Fleming, Alex Murdaugh’s co-conspirator in several financial crimes, was sentenced to 20 years in state prison on Thursday in Beaufort County.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson responded to the sentence:

“In South Carolina, no one is above the law. We’re pleased with Cory Fleming’s sentencing and hope his victims feel a little relief today. Our office has worked tirelessly on this case, just like the rest of the Murdaugh-related cases, and we are committed to seeing each and every one through to the end.”

Russell Laffitte, formerly the highly regarded CEO of South Carolina’s Palmetto State Bank, was sentenced on Tuesday to seven years in federal prison and millions in restitution payments for his role in helping disgraced legal scion Alex Murdaugh steal large sums of money from his clients and law firm.

Prosecutors said the banker helped Murdaugh steal from his law firm PMPED and its clients through elaborate forms of financial misconduct, including setting up conservatorships for former clients then allowing Murdaugh to plunder them.

“Today just goes to show that nobody is above the law,” Justin Bamberg, a lawyer representing some of Laffitte’s victims, told South Carolina’s The State newspaper on Tuesday.

The former banker, the heir of a prominent local family, allegedly pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars himself in payments and untaxable fees managing clients’ settlement money.

Laffite was also ordered to pay $3.5m in restitution. He was convicted of six charges related to wire and bank fraud in November.

An ongoing state police (SLED) investigation into alleged jury tampering during Murdaugh’s widely watched double murder trial has found unspecified “significant factual disputes” with the claims made last week, according to South Carolina Attorney General’s office response filed on Friday.

Prosecutors suggested his defence attorneys got some details wrong when they accused the court clerk of improperly influencing the jury and said the motion was  “procedurally defective” because it did not say when or how they learned of the evidence supporting “serious claims” against her.

The defence must show they did not know of any such evidence during the trial, according to prosecutors.

The defence team alleged that Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill told jurors not to trust his testimony, pressured them to reach a quick verdict and held private conversations with the foreperson.

Gloria Satterfield died in February 2018 following a mysterious trip and fall at the Murdaugh family home on their 1,700-acre Moselle estate in South Carolina.

Satterfield worked for the Murdaugh family for more than 20 years as their housekeeper.

She was found at the bottom of the steps leading into the family’s home one morning in February 2018.

She never resumed consciousness and died from her injuries three weeks later on 26 February.

At the time, Murdaugh claimed that she had tripped over the family’s dogs and hit her head, and her death was regarded as an accidental fall.

However, her death certificate cited her manner of death as “natural” and no autopsy was ever carried out.

Murdaugh claimed he would bring the wrongful death suit against himself on behalf of Satterfield’s sons.

In reality, the insurance company paid out $4m in a wrongful death settlement over Satterfield’s death. Murdaugh and Fleming then allegedly stole the money for themselves with the housekeeper’s sons not getting a dime.

Alex Murdaugh appeared before a judge in a South Carolina courtroom on financial fraud charges for the first time since he was hauled away after being sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul earlier this year.

The disgraced attorney was shackled and handcuffed but smiled as he entered the courtroom in Beaufort County on Thursday before he shuffled to the defence table wearing a bright orange jumpsuit.

Netflix dropped the trailer for season two of “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal” on the day Alex Murdaugh appeared in court for the first time since he was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his wife and son.

Season one focused heavily on the boat accident and the fallout  while season two will tell of the June 2021 killings of Paul and Maggie.

The new season can be streamed on Netflix starting on 20 September.

Prosecutors have responded to Alex Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial, stating that South Carolina investigators have found “significant factual disputes” with allegations of jury tampering by the court clerk.

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.

The defence team last week alleged that Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill told jurors not to trust his testimony, pressured them to reach a quick verdict and held private conversations with the foreperson.

Prosecutors said in the filing that Murdaugh’s defence team must show that they did not know about the alleged jury tampering during the murder trial.

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