South Carolina Mother and Son Murdered

[Howl]

1 minute ago, DalmatianCat said:

I keep going over this in my mind…children are at their mother’s funeral and her boss comes up to them and says, “Hey, why don’t you sue me for this?”

Yup, how crazy is that, anyway.  Pretty sure it was all planned out with an overall strategy to get access to an immense insurance payout...and it worked...initially. 

3 hours ago, EmmieJ said:

If so, maybe Paul somehow caused Gloria Satterfield's death:  maybe he was in a bad mood or rage and she just happened to get in the way, and got knocked down some stairs by him.  That sort of thing.  

Well, according to those who know,  Paul would become belligerent (violent?) when drunk.

It all sounds crazy, but then I think about Alex Cox, Lori Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell.  The bodies just started piling up. With Lori's 3rd husband, found dead in his home, there was insurance money that Lori "managed" since Tylee was a minor.  She thought having Alex murder Charles Vallow would bring an insurance windfall of around a million dollars, but oops, Charles had changed his beneficiary to his sister.  Then the death of Chad's wife Tammy brought an insurance windfall of hundreds of thousands of $$$$$ that financed a wedding on the beach in Hawaii, a nice rental condo, and, uh, lawyers' fees. 

 

[Howl]

Good grief! More financial shenanigans!  Alex Murdaugh confessed to owing a bit north of a half million dollars to brother Randy (also a lawyer) and law partner John Parker. 

Attorneys: Murdaugh trying to shield more money, deprive victims in new legal maneuvers

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Parker and Randy Murdaugh sued Alex Murdaugh late last week in Hampton County, asking the courts there to help them collect a combined $567,000 in cash and assets they said Alex owed them.

Lawyers for others with claims on the Alex Murdaugh estate (the Satterfields, Beaches and Cooks) are distressed because it's obvious that John Parker and  Randy Murdaugh are trying to be first in line to recover assets. 

A judge was successfully petitioned to freeze Alex Murdaugh's assets and hopefully the John Parker and Randy Murdaugh claims will not have precedence. 

Quote

All four attorneys' petitions for the Murdaugh asset freeze and financial oversight came in October amid apparent efforts by Alex Murdaugh and his son Buster to divest large amounts of cash and valuable real property.

I'm kinda thinking Buster Murdaugh, Alex' surviving son, may be as bad as his dad. 

[ifosterkittens]

13 hours ago, Howl said:

Lawyers for others with claims on the Alex Murdaugh estate (the Satterfields, Beaches and Cooks) are distressed because it's obvious that John Parker and  Randy Murdaugh are trying to be first in line to recover assets. 

I am not surprised Randy Murdaugh (brother of Alex) and John Parker (partner in law firm) are trying to cut the line and get paid first. The law firm said they would cover any client losses, and maybe the law firm insurance only covered so much and each partner had to kick in money to cover Alex's alleged misappropriations. Or maybe Randy and John Parker offered to kick in for the losses as part of an agreement they would get paid back from Alex. I would love to know how the law firm is fairing since it came out in September that Alex had allegedly misappropriated funds. 

So I mentioned before I would not be surprised if Alex had Maggie killed over money. Maggie was considering divorce and the audits/investigations into their personal and his professional finances could have brought Alex's alleged misappropriations to light, but if Maggie died before that happened he could keep it quiet. While truly terrible and absolutely unacceptable I can follow the logic. 

My question is if Alex killed Paul what was the reasoning? Was it money? Paul was facing serious criminal charges and his defense would likely be expensive. If Paul is dead and the charges against him are dropped would Alex and Buster have better odds with the civil lawsuit?

Could Alex have killed Paul because he was tired of cleaning up after him/making things go away? Steven Smith's death is now being reinvestigated from 2015. Did Paul (and/or Buster) have anything to do with it? Did Alex make the case go away? Did Paul play a role in Gloria Satterfield's death in 2018? Was Alex able to get it labeled as natural causes, no autopsy and once again make a crime against Paul go away? While Paul hadn't been legally found guilty in connection to Mallory Beach's 2019 death it seems Paul crashed the boat while driving drunk that resulted in Mallory's death in 2019. Alex allegedly did his very best to impede the investigation into Paul, and Connor Cook's lawsuit surely seems to corroborate that. Is it possible Paul involved in three deaths over 5 years? 

What actual consequences will Alex face? I can possibly see Alex facing prison time for embezzling from the law firm and Gloria Satterfield. I think once Alex's alleged misappropriations from the law firm came to light they were so massive the law firm had to report Alex, and start the forensic accounting process because they couldn't easily cover the losses.  With all the lawsuits Alex is facing I can't imagine he could make enough restitution to keep it quiet. Alex is also facing the criminal charges over attempted insurance fraud in an attempt to die by assisted suicide and leave Buster the $10 million policy. So more possible prison time. Plus the expense of attorneys for the criminal charges. 

Alex is facing four civil lawsuits Beachs, Satterfields, Cooks and now the one from his brother Randy and former law partner John Parker. He must be looking at huge civil attorneys bills before even factoring in the possible settlements/judgements. Hopefully the money was frozen in time, and the court will over see all the money so Alex and Buster (or people on their behalf) can't hide it, or pay off Randy and John Parker and screw everyone else. 

Alex's dad passed from cancer three days after Maggie and Paul died. I've read Alex's mother has dementia, and I hope her assets are safeguarded. From all the alleged illegal activities Alex has pulled I would hope someone makes sure he can't take advantage of his mom and her finances. 

[Howl]

I doubt if Alex Murdaugh will ever be a free man...a judge has denied bail after a psychiatric eval.   

Spoiler

“After considering the arguments of counsel, the evaluation submitted, pending charges and other investigations, and the apparent character and mental condition of the defendant, the Court finds that the Defendant is a danger both to himself and the community,” South Carolina Judge Clifton Newman wrote in a two-page order that does not detail the results of the evaluation.

Murdaugh is not going back to rehab. 

[ifosterkittens]

Things are not getting better for Alex. 

Alex's new charges: "The 27 counts include seven of money laundering; four of breach of trust; seven of obtaining signature or property by false pretenses; eight of computer crimes; and one of forgery. Friday's charges were laid out in five indictments, describing five separate schemes in five counties where Murdaugh's firm operated. Some are several years old and some took place in the months before his wife and son were killed. All 27 counts are felonies and if convicted of all the charges in just one of the plots, he would face more than 100 years in prison, prosecutors said." 

New indictments: Alex Murdaugh stole almost $5 million - ABC News (go.com)

 

[Howl]

I hope Murdaugh is under suicide watch, wherever he is being held.  

Hopefully there are sane, grounded, law-abiding extended family members who can support Buster, the older son, who now essentially has no family.  He's 25 and (according to one source) was kicked out of law school in 2019 for plagiarism.  This is assuming he hasn't been compromised by the curse of family corruption or is struggling with addiction, like his father, which may be extremely unlikely.  He now has power of attorney for his father's assets and was also named in court proceedings to freeze those assets.   A photo of Buster gambling at the Venetian casino in Las Vegas was part of those court proceedings, because who wouldn't go to Las Vegas to gamble when court proceedings related to your and your father's assets are underway! 

Greek tragedy all the way around. 

 

Edited November 22, 2021 by Howl

[ifosterkittens]

I would hope Alex is under suicide watch, and given the high profile nature of the case they are probably taking every precaution. 

@Howl I agree, and also hope Buster has some solid, reliable family members and maybe a friend or two to help him through this difficult time. I wouldn't be surprised is Buster is a spoiled brat who had everything handed to him, but hopefully with the right people around him he can build a new life he can be proud of. He probably would benefit from some therapy given all the changes and loss in his life. 

ISB, but if Buster suspects his father was behind the murder of his mother and brother that would be devastating. I cannot imagine having to even wonder such a thing. 

[ifosterkittens]

Imagine me as Emily D Baker dramatically saying y'all, pause, y'all. 

"Suspended Hampton attorney Alex Murdaugh said he does not owe any money to the heirs of his deceased former housekeeper because they have already been more than compensated for the $4.3 million they say they lost, according to a response filed in Hampton County Wednesday. In a three-page response to a Hampton County lawsuit filed by the sons of Gloria Satterfield, Murdaugh argued that because Satterfield’s heirs have already received more than $6 million in settlements, Murdaugh doesn’t owe the heirs any money. Satterfield died in 2018 after a fall at Murdaugh’s house. “South Carolina law prohibits plaintiffs from obtaining a double recovery for the same injury,” the filing said.

Read more at: https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/crime/article255904931.html#storylink=cpy

So Alex's attorneys are saying Satterfield's sons have been paid enough, you don't need me to kick any money in, let me out of this suit. 

[Howl]

19 hours ago, ifosterkittens said:

So Alex's attorneys are saying Satterfield's sons have been paid enough, you don't need me to kick any money in, let me out of this suit. 

I thought the Satterfields had not received ANY money from any "settlement".

[ifosterkittens]

6 hours ago, Howl said:

I thought the Satterfields had not received ANY money from any "settlement".

They hadn't in September when they filed suit. Recently (maybe just this month) they have received a settlement of more than $6 million. I can't find the other parties listed that paid the $6 million, but I believe it is other lawyer Corey Flemming (Murdaugh's former college roommate, BFF, and godfather to one of his sons) that Murdaugh originally said would handle it, maybe his firm, his insurance, all kicked in to cover the $6 million.  

Article written on Nov 23, 2021 Satterfield heirs' lawyers say Alex Murdaugh owes more money in missing millions case (msn.com)

"Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter, attorneys for Gloria Satterfield's heirs, filed papers Tuesday countering Murdaugh's claim that he owes nothing. The detained Hampton lawyer, through his attorneys, said the Satterfield estate has already been more than compensated for the $4.3 million the heirs said was lost.

In September, the lawyers sued Murdaugh and others, accusing them of siphoning all insurance proceeds from a death settlement meant for Satterfield's sons.

Last week, Murdaugh's lawyers, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, asked that the suit be dismissed because Satterfield's sons had received more than $6 million from other parties. "South Carolina law prohibits plaintiffs from obtaining a double recovery for the same injury," they said.

Murdaugh's attorneys also suggested the judge could suspend the lawsuit until the criminal case against their client is finished.

Bland and Richter argued Tuesday that $4.3 million is not the full amount that would be owed to the heirs should they win their case — it would be higher than that."

[Howl]

What's your take on this?  The insurance company paid out, yes? Of this six million, did it all go to the Satterfield heirs or was a substantial chunk taken out for lawyers' fees?  Not sure how much is skimmed off for state and Federal taxes as well, but still.  Six million seems like a staggering amount, but the actual amount going to the heirs could be much, much less. 

Apparently, Murdaugh's lawyers are working hard to lock up the assets of the Murdaugh estate and everybody else is trying to get access to cover Alex's rampant theft/embezzlement. 

If Alex did attempt to fake his own murder so his son Buster would reap a 12 million insurance windfall, their perception of how much money you need to get by in life is drastically different from my own.

A reminder from WIKI: From 1920 to 2006, three members of the family consecutively served as solicitor (i.e. district attorney), in charge of prosecuting all criminal cases in the state's 14th circuit district, leading locals to call the five-county district "Murdaugh Country".  

"Buster" is a family nickname that passed on to Alex and Maggie's older son.  I'm speculating on a "bad seed" scenario happening in that family, maybe starting with Alex, maybe with his father.  Hard to say when the professional corruption was happening in that family's professional life, but it was certainly already entrenched during the decades of Alex's father's  reign as DA (solicitor) and seemed to go off the rails with Alex's addiction. 

[ifosterkittens]

6 hours ago, Howl said:

What's your take on this?  The insurance company paid out, yes? Of this six million, did it all go to the Satterfield heirs or was a substantial chunk taken out for lawyers' fees?  Not sure how much is skimmed off for state and Federal taxes as well, but still.  Six million seems like a staggering amount, but the actual amount going to the heirs could be much, much less. 

I have no idea how much the attorneys representing the Satterfields would get, but from my very limited knowledge when attaining larger settlements the attorneys can get a significant percentage. Clearly not the same, but Ron Richards could have gotten 45% of the money if he recovered any money from Tom Erika Giradi (no longer in effect, but that is a huge chunk, plus he would have gotten certain expenses on top of that 45%). Once you factor in attorney fees and taxes the amount each son will not be close to 3 million. All made up numbers because I don't know how this all works, but I wonder if each son would end up with about a million, maybe less. 

You said Buster was kicked out of law school for plagiarism in 2019, so I wonder what he has been doing for work or school since then. If he wasn't going to become a lawyer and join the family firm, how was he going to support himself? 

[Howl]

Word on the street is that there is substantial physical/forensic evidence linking Alex Murdaugh to the murder of his wife and son, but he hasn't been charged with homicide YET.  

Oddly, the wife was murdered with a different firearm than the son.   One of the weapons, a rifle, was known to belong to the Murdaughs.  Not too surprising, since the murders happened at their hunting lodge.  

I'm listening to Nancy Grace (lawzamercy, that woman) discussing this on her podcast.  I pulled out my earbuds with the first commercial break, but after Nancy re-played Alex Murdaugh's 911 call.  She wasn't buying it, and assumed it was faked hysteria after he'd shot them both. 

Her point is that the wife was getting ready to divorce his sorry ass.  Alex would not only lose money, his house of cards of rampant embezzlement  and other malfeasance would be exposed. 

Lots of details in this Jan. 5 article: 

MURDAUGHS  Physical Evidence Directly Ties Alex Murdaugh To Double Homicide, Sources Say  Bombshell development in the case that has captivated the nation …

Edited January 7, 2022 by Howl

[ifosterkittens]

Adding some more charges for Alex and his buddies (article from May 4, 2022): "The grand jury indicted Murdaugh on four new charges, suspended attorney Cory Fleming on five new charges and former banker Russell Lucius Laffitte on 21 charges, South Carolina Attorney General’s Office spokesman Robert Kittle said." "Altogether, through 15 indictments containing 79 charges against Murdaugh, the State Grand Jury has indicted Murdaugh for schemes to defraud victims of $8,492,888.31. Although some of the amounts as to Fleming and Laffitte overlap as to the alleged amounts for Murdaugh, as to Fleming, through two indictments containing 23 charges against him, the State Grand Jury has indicted Fleming for schemes to defraud victims of $3,725,203.85. As to Laffitte, through three indictments containing 21 charges against him, the State Grand Jury has indicted Laffitte for schemes to defraud victims of $1,832,772.30."

https://www.wistv.com/2022/05/04/alex-murdaugh-2-others-indicted-additional-charges/

I wonder how long it will take to officially charge Alex with the murder of his son and wife if they ever do. For now, they've got him on financial crimes. 

[Howl]

Thanks for this update, @ifosterkittens.  Talk about flop sweat and desperation -- my goodnes,  that's a LOT of corruption and crime-ing, tangled web and whatnot.   If Fleming and Laffitte are wrapped up in anything to do with those murders -- actual bricks are being shat. 

So that's pretty much it for the Murtaughs, except for the remaining son who doesn't seem like a wholesome, productive guy. 

Edited June 2, 2022 by Howl

[clueliss]

I highly recommend Murdaugh Murders Podcast (Fitz News/Mandy Matney) about this.  She’s been investigating/researching this for 3 years.  And the tangled, twisted mess here is mind boggling.

[Bluebirdbluebell]

I watched a three part special on the Murdaughs. Here are my main takeways:

Part 1) The Murdaughs were prosecutors for a long time. Alex's great-grandfather, grandfather, and father were all the states' attorney and named Randolph Murdaugh.

Most of this part was on the boat accident. There were 6 people on the boat (three hetero couples).  Paul Murdaugh was allegedly a very bad person. The accident could possibly have been avoided if he hadn't been drinking, and hadn't been speeding. His friends wanted to drive, because Paul was drunk. Paul wouldn't let them drive. 

Paul called his grandfather, a former prosecutor named Randolph Murdaugh III, after the accident. Most of his friends went to the hospital. Mallory Beach's boyfriend wanted to look for her. 

Paul's father Alex showed up at the hospital to convince Paul's friends to say someone else was driving. No one would agree. Paul's friends were rightfully pissed at Paul. One of the girls had the hospital kick Alex Murdaugh out of her room.  

Part 2) It dealt with the four other deaths mentioned. Mostly of this part dealt with rumors, as a lot of evidence had not been released.

Gloria Satterfield didn't die at the Murdaugh's house. She fell down the stairs at their house and she was taken to hospital where she lingered on for at least a few days. 

Part 3) Alex Murdaugh's financial crimes. This was mostly stuff we knew. Alex's brother who worked with Alex is Randy Murdaugh so probably Randolph Murdaugh IV.

[Howl]

Another mystery is a young man  found dead in the middle of a rural road in the area and it did not appear that he had been struck by a car.  His death was never solved and the investigation did not appear thorough.  It's not exactly tied in to the Murdaugh's but not discounted either. 

[Bluebirdbluebell]

4 hours ago, Howl said:

Another mystery is a young man  found dead in the middle of a rural road in the area and it did not appear that he had been struck by a car.  His death was never solved and the investigation did not appear thorough.  It's not exactly tied in to the Murdaugh's but not discounted either. 

They mentioned Stephen Smith's death in the documentary I watched. He was mentioned in part two. 

After the murders of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh, law enforcement reopened the case. The show mentioned a lot of rumors, but the show had no real evidence to tie the Murdaughs to Stephen. Law enforcement is not revealing a lot, but it seems there is an on-going investigation.

[clueliss]

I haven’t watched the documentary that you all are referring to.

 

Again my familiarity with this entire case is from the podcast.   And the podcast goes into in-depth detail about all sorts of stuff related to these people. Including the fact that Alex Murdaugh  was basically skimming money out of clients funds for personal use. People who were in comas and on life-support.

 

And the podcast goes into in-depth detail about all sorts of stuff related to these people. Including the fact that Alex Murdoch was basically skimming money out of clients funds for personal use. People who were in comas and on life-support.

 

I’ve gotten behind but the last podcast I had listened to was one that I had a lot of recordings from jail phone calls to Alex Murdaugh . I have them oriented around the other son getting kicked out of law school trying to get back into law school and family connections to get him reinstated in law school.

[Howl]

There was also the Gloria Satterfield scam.  It went something like this, although I'm fuzzy on the exact details. 

Supposedly, Gloria Satterfield gets tangled up with a dog on the front porch at the hunting lodge and falls down the steps, taken to the hospital and subsequently passes away from the injuries sustained in the fall. 

Alex Murdaugh goes to the Satterfield sons and (weirdly) tells them to sue the Murdaughs over Gloria Satterfield's death, which they do.  

Insurance company pays out, BUT *somehow* the Murdaugh's are in charge of the disbursement of the settlement; the Satterfield sons don't see any of the money and didn't know there had been an insurance payout. 

It just occurred to me ** what about this scenario:  Alex Murdaugh sets up the "accidental" death of Gloria Satterfield (actually murder), with the insurance scam in mind, to get a bit influx of cash?  I would not put anything past this guy. 

 

[clueliss]

There’s a shady bank in SC that the law firm/Murdaugh used for the client accounts for things like the payouts that’s now in a load of hot water.  
 

also the news at the beginning of the podcast I just listened to indicated that Murdaugh now has drug trafficking charges against him. 

[Howl]

18 hours ago, clueliss said:

There’s a shady bank in SC that the law firm/Murdaugh used for the client accounts for things like the payouts that’s now in a load of hot water.  

Thanks for this information.  Another piece of the puzzle that was the Murdaugh crime machine.  

Can you clarify about the drug trafficking charge?  Was it mainly to support Alex Murdaugh's habit (I assume he had one of some kind) or was it on a larger scale?

[Howl]

On 6/1/2022 at 9:52 AM, ifosterkittens said:

Altogether, through 15 indictments containing 79 charges against Murdaugh, the State Grand Jury has indicted Murdaugh for schemes to defraud victims of $8,492,888.31. Although some of the amounts as to Fleming and Laffitte overlap as to the alleged amounts for Murdaugh, as to Fleming, through two indictments containing 23 charges against him, the State Grand Jury has indicted Fleming for schemes to defraud victims of $3,725,203.85. As to Laffitte, through three indictments containing 21 charges against him, the State Grand Jury has indicted Laffitte for schemes to defraud victims of $1,832,772.30.

A truly staggering amount of money and for what?  One doesn't expect this level of  blatant corruption in current times, but I suspect if this had not come to light because of Alex Murtaugh's unraveling, the crime juggernaut would have just kept on. 

Hopefully, this will allow that entire county to be cleaned up, but you never know. There have to be so many people who are complicit or not in a position to say anything.

That family has been in power for multiple generations - were all the previous Murdaughs corrupt?  How could this extent of corruption just begin with Alex Murdaugh?  Hopefully, all involved will  end up in prison. 

[clueliss]

Fits News now has a YouTube channel and a search gave me this on the drug charges (and I think money laundering)

 

Spoiler