Alex Murdaugh is back in court Friday for a preliminary hearing ahead of his upcoming trial on alleged financial crimes.
The killer’s 55-year-old lawyer scion faces more than 100 financial crime charges alleging he embezzled $9 million from friends and clients of his former law firm.
Prosecutors are expected to argue that he murdered his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, to distract from his financial crimes and that his life spiraled out of control as he battled a secret opioid addiction.
Last month he pleaded guilty to 22 of the charges against him.
Murdaugh’s trial is scheduled to begin on November 27th. However, his lawyers have requested that the trial be moved elsewhere or withdrawn, citing concerns about the impartiality of the jury in the notorious killer’s case.
Similar allegations of jury tampering were raised at his murder trial earlier this year, when Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill was accused of improperly advising jurors to disregard Murdaugh’s testimony and pressuring them to reach a quick verdict to fell.
Alex Murdaugh was seen back in court Friday for a preliminary hearing as he faces more than 100 financial crime charges
Murdaugh speaks in court Friday with his defense attorney, Dick Harpootlian
Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian (left) speaks with prosecutor Creighton Waters (right), who is expected to argue that Murdaugh killed his wife and son to distract from his alleged financial crimes
In his financial crimes trial, Murdaugh faces 19 indictments and more than 100 counts accusing him of crimes including tax evasion, money laundering, forgery and fraud.
Ronnie Richter, a lawyer who represents victims of Murdaugh’s alleged financial crimes, has claimed that the legal scion’s actions amounted to a “Ponzi scheme.”
“Alex’s financial crimes are nothing more than a Ponzi scheme, and all Ponzi schemes work the same way – I have to keep stealing from new people to replace the money I stole from old people,” he said.
“All Ponzi schemes end the same way.” Sooner or later it’s like musical chairs: the music stops and someone is left without a chair.
“And that’s exactly what happened to Alex. The music stopped, he ran out of places to make money, and all of his financial crimes were exposed.”
The allegations against Murdaugh include that he stole more than $3 million from his late housekeeper’s estate and insurance carriers, siphoning off compensation funds for the 2018 “trip and fall accident” death of his longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.
The financial crimes case is expected to be presided over by Judge Clifton Newman, who this week recused himself from any future Murdaugh hearings for his murder conviction as his lawyers seek a retrial.
Newman came under fire a month after the trial for a controversial interview with NBC News in which he commented on the blockbuster trial just a month after its conclusion.
Murdaugh allegedly skimmed over $3 million in settlement money from the estate of his longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, who died in 2018 as a result of a “trip and fall accident.”
Murdaugh was convicted on March 2 for the June 2021 murders of his son Paul and his wife Maggie at their South Carolina hunting lodge. He is now serving a life sentence without parole and is appealing his sentence
Murdaugh’s lawyers are calling for the financial crimes trial to be moved out of the Lowcountry or postponed until at least March, arguing that his case could be marred by the media and public interest surrounding him.
Last week, Murdaugh’s attorney, Dick Harpootlian, cited responses to a pretrial jury questionnaire asking the extent to which potential jurors understand his criminal charges based on the “extensive media coverage.”
In response, Eric Bland, an attorney representing one of Murdaugh’s alleged financial victims, said the request was without merit because a juror is not selected based on his or her knowledge of the case.
“It’s a bit like the pot calling the kettle black. The fact is, you can go to Tanzania and try to hold the trial there, and there are people there who have heard about the Murdaugh affair,” Bland said.
“Just because people have heard about the Murdaugh affair doesn’t mean they can’t be fair, impartial and objective jurors.”
“You don’t have to pick a jury where 12 people have never heard of the Murdaugh affair.” They have to be willing to put aside whatever knowledge they have, listen to the evidence and be fair and impartial. That’s the standard and I think they can do it.”
Buster, Paul, Maggie and Alex Murdaugh are pictured in a photo presented to jurors during the trial in Colleton County Court on Tuesday, February 14th
Last month, Murdaugh pleaded guilty to some of the financial crimes he was accused of and said he wanted to “take responsibility” for 22 counts of financial fraud and money laundering.
“I want my son to see that I am taking responsibility,” he said, adding that his hope is “that by taking responsibility, the people I have hurt can begin to heal.”
His plea deal requires him to repay $9 million he admitted to stealing from clients of his law firm and ensures that any prison sentences will be served concurrently with those he receives from state courts.
As Murdaugh prepares to stand trial for his alleged financial crimes, the lead investigators in his murder investigation have revealed the moment they found crucial evidence in his case.
Investigators Brett Dove and David Owen broke their silence for the first time since the prominent South Carolina attorney’s trial in March and spoke to Dateline NBC in an episode airing tonight at 9 p.m. about the discovery of video evidence that shows he lied about his presence at the scene of the crime.
The evidence in question was a final cell phone video taken by Murdaugh’s son Paul on the night of the murder, in which a voice believed to be the patriarch could be heard claiming he was not at the crime scene .
“I listened to it three to four times to make sure I understood it because I couldn’t believe it,” Dove said, as Owen described the moment as “really exciting.”
“I can prove that Alex lied to me,” he added, agreeing that it was the crucial piece of evidence that “blowd the case wide open.”