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☆ Alex Murdaugh is scheduled to be sentenced today for nearly 2 dozen financial crimes
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Dakin Andone | Dianne Gallagher | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A federal judge on Monday is scheduled to sentence Alex Murdaugh – the 55-year-old former attorney already serving two life sentences for the murders of his wife and son – for nearly two dozen financial crimes following his guilty plea last year, according to the US Department of Justice. Murdaugh denies the claim, and his attorneys asked the judge to disregard the government’s motion during sentencing Monday. In a filing last week, prosecutors recommended Murdaugh be sentenced to between 17.5 and almost 22 years in prison. While Murdaugh insists he is innocent of the murders, he has admitted to the financial crimes, saying he was maintaining a yearslong opioid addiction. In exchange for his guilty plea, federal prosecutors agreed to recommend Murdaugh’s sentence be served concurrently with the one imposed in South Carolina, court filings show.

Persons: Alex Murdaugh –, –, Murdaugh, Maggie, Paul –, “ ‘, ’ confiding, Van der Sloot, Natalee Holloway, ”, Richard M, Gergel Organizations: CNN, US Department of Justice, US, Office, District, FBI Locations: District of South Carolina, South Carolina, Murdaugh

☆ New Murder Trial for Alex Murdaugh? A Judge Will Soon Decide.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At the climax of one of the most closely watched trials in South Carolina history, the packed courtroom was silent except for one woman: the court clerk, who read the guilty verdicts aloud in March 2023 that put Alex Murdaugh, a prominent lawyer, in prison for life for the murder of his wife and son. Now, a new court hearing is getting underway on Monday to determine whether the clerk, Rebecca Hill, improperly influenced the jurors who voted to convict Mr. Murdaugh, 55, and whether Mr. Murdaugh should have a new trial. A state police agency is investigating allegations from Mr. Murdaugh’s lawyers that Ms. Hill made comments during the trial that could have influenced the jurors’ votes. Among the allegations are that Ms. Hill told jurors not to be “fooled” by Mr. Murdaugh’s defense, that she had private conversations with a juror, and that she told jurors before they started deliberating that “this shouldn’t take us long.”Ms. Hill has not been charged, and she has denied many of the most serious allegations. She and the jurors are expected to testify on Monday at a hearing in Columbia, S.C., that is part of Mr. Murdaugh’s appeal of his convictions.

Persons: Alex Murdaugh, Rebecca Hill, Mr, Murdaugh, Hill, Ms Locations: South Carolina, Columbia

☆ A hearing to see if Alex Murdaugh gets a new murder trial begins today
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Dakin Andone | Dianne Gallagher | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The South Carolina Attorney General’s office, which led the prosecution against Murdaugh, has urged the courts to deny the motion. The evidentiary hearing Monday is expected to include the testimony of 11 jurors from the original murder trial and Hill. Murdaugh’s attorneys had indicated they also wanted to call alternate and dismissed jurors, as well as prosecutors and Judge Clifton Newman, who presided over the murder trial, as witnesses. Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill listens as prosecutor Creighton Waters makes closing arguments in Alex Murdaugh's murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse on March 1, 2023, in Walterboro, South Carolina. Alex Murdaugh's defense attorneys Dick Harpootlian, left, and Jim Griffin before a hearing on January 16 at the Richland County Judicial Center in Columbia.

Persons: Alex Murdaugh, Murdaugh, Colleton, Rebecca “ Becky ” Hill, Hill, “, ” Hill, Dick Harpootlian, Clifton Newman, Jean Toal –, Newman, –, Rebecca Hill, Creighton Waters, Alex Murdaugh's, Maggie, Paul, Alan Wilson, Ms, ”, ‘, ” Hill’s, Neil R, Gordon, Justin Bamberg, Will Lewis, Jim Griffin, Gavin McIntyre, ” Murdaugh’s, Judge Toal, ” CNN’s Devon Sayers Organizations: CNN, South Carolina Attorney, South Carolina Supreme, The State, TNS, Getty, Prosecutors, South Carolina, Judicial Center, Courier, South, South Carolina Law Locations: Colleton County, South Carolina, Colleton, Walterboro , South Carolina, The, Columbia , South Carolina, Richland, Columbia

☆ ‘Attracted by the siren call of celebrity’: What an Alex Murdaugh judge said about the clerk accused of jury tampering
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Zoe Sottile | Dianne Gallagher | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill was “attracted by the siren call of celebrity,” Toal said in her announcement of the ruling. “She wanted to write a book about the trial and expressed that as early as November 2022, long before the trial began,” the judge said. “Did clerk of court Hill’s comments have any impact on the verdict of the jury? The jury tampering case centered on statements allegedly made by Hill to jurors about Murdaugh’s guilt. The affidavit also said prior to Murdaugh testifying, Hill told the jurors “not to be fooled” by evidence offered by the defense.

Persons: Jean Toal, Alex Murdaugh’s, Rebecca Hill, ” Toal, “, ”, Toal, Hill, ” Murdaugh, ” Hill “, Alex Murdaugh, Andrew J, Whitaker, Z, Murdaugh, Justin Bamberg, Will Lewis, Toal’s, ” Murdaugh’s Organizations: CNN, South Carolina, South, Judicial, South Carolina Law Locations: Colleton County, South Carolina, Richland, Columbia , South Carolina, Colleton

The unusual hearing Monday comes in response to allegations by Murdaugh's attorneys that a clerk of court tampered with the jury that convicted him of murder last year. Jury tampering is the basis for Murdaugh's appeal, but Judge Jean Toal’s rulings after a pretrial hearing this month have set a difficult standard for his lawyers to prove. Toal ruled the defense must prove that potential misconduct including alleged comments by Hill warning jurors not to trust Murdaugh when he testifies directly led jurors to change their minds to guilty. The hearing will be televised, but their faces cannot be shown and they will only be identified by their juror numbers. They said this enabled prosecutors to smear Murdaugh with evidence not directly linked to the killings.

Persons: — Alex Murdaugh, who'll, Becky Hill, Murdaugh, lording, Jean Toal’s, Toal, Hill, Murdaugh’s, Clifton Newman, He's, Paul, Maggie, Murdaugh hasn't Organizations: COLUMBIA, BBC Locations: South Carolina, Colleton County, Colleton, Richland

Toal took over the request for a new trial after the judge overseeing the case, Clifton Newman, recused himself late last year. Hill has sworn that she did not ask jurors about Murdaugh’s guilt and never suggested that he committed the murders. State police are investigating the jury tampering and misuse of office allegations against Hill but have not charged her with any crimes. He said Hill told an assistant during the trial that a guilty verdict would be good for her book sales. Toal also expressed openness to other ways of ensuring the jurors' privacy, such as obscuring their faces during testimony.

Persons: Alex Murdaugh, Becky Hill, Jean Toal, Toal, Hill, Clifton Newman, “, Jan, Newman, Murdaugh, Maggie, Paul, Jim Griffin, Griffin, ” Toal, Creighton Waters, Waters, Dick Harpootlian, Joe McCulloch, ”, ___ Pollard Organizations: South Carolina Supreme, Defense, Court, Associated Press, America Statehouse News Initiative, America Locations: Colleton

☆ The Best True Crime to Stream: Family Matters
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Maya Salam | More About Maya Salam | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The series incorporates interviews with friends, employees and acquaintances of the Murdaughs as well as with police, and incorporates a lot of home video footage of the family. Prepare to be stunned by how brazenly they move through their community, and the shamelessness with which they wield their power. But perhaps it is technology’s undeniable influence on the outcome of Alex Murdaugh’s trial that is the most jaw-dropping — for now. PodcastWhat “American Scandal,” from Wondery, does best is to give every story it tackles the time it needs for a full telling with the required context. And members of the tremendously influential Hearst family are found everywhere, starting with their influence on Patty, who moved to strike out on her own after growing disillusioned with their wealth and lifestyle, to the family’s public negotiations with her captors.

Persons: Mallory Beach, Paul, Stephen Smith, Gloria Satterfield, Alex Murdaugh’s, I’d, Patty Hearst —, William Randolph Hearst, Symbionese Liberation Army —, It’s, Hearst, Patty Organizations: Symbionese Liberation Army Locations: Mallory, Wondery

☆ Alex Murdaugh Pleads Guilty to Spate of Financial Crimes
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs | More About Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Why It Matters: Mr. Murdaugh is trying to get his murder conviction thrown out. But Mr. Murdaugh’s lawyers are seeking to get the conviction thrown out based on what they say was questionable behavior by the court clerk. What Happens Next: Mr. Murdaugh’s financial victims may confront him in court. Mr. Murdaugh is scheduled to be sentenced for the financial crimes on Nov. 28, at which point some of his victims may address the court. Creighton Waters, a prosecutor with the South Carolina Attorney General’s office, said in court on Friday that at the heart of the financial crimes was Mr. Murdaugh’s abuse of people’s trust, and his greed.

Persons: Murdaugh, Maggie, Paul, Mr, Clifton Newman, “, ”, Newman, Creighton Waters, Waters Organizations: Prosecutors, South Carolina Attorney Locations: South Carolina

☆ Alex Murdaugh pleads guilty to state financial charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Dianne Gallagher | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Murdaugh was facing dozens of state charges in alleged schemes to defraud victims of millions. Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters said the deal would bring “finality to the matter” and ensure Murdaugh would “stay in state prison for a very long time.” The agreement, if approved, would see Murdaugh spend a total of 27 years in a South Carolina state prison, according to Waters. “Alex Murdaugh’s guilty plea will finally allow his financial victims to begin the process of healing,” Eric “EB” Bland and Ronnie Richter, attorneys for some of the victims, said in a statement. It also only covers the state financial charges and does not address any of the remaining county charges Murdaugh faces. Judge Newman sentenced Murdaugh to two consecutive life sentences in a South Carolina state prison, which Murdaugh is currently serving.

Persons: CNN —, Alex Murdaugh, Creighton Waters, Waters, Murdaugh, Clifton Newman, “, ” “, ” Murdaugh, ”, ” Newman, Newman, “ Alex Murdaugh’s, Eric “ EB, Bland, Ronnie Richter, Judge Newman, Alan Wilson, ” Wilson, Maggie, Paul, Becky Hill Organizations: CNN, Carolina Constitution, South Carolina, Murdaugh Locations: South Carolina, Beaufort County, Murdaugh, Waters, Carolina, Colleton

They said the court clerk, in charge of helping jurors and ensuring the trial ran efficiently, also had private conversations with the jury foreperson and pressured jurors to come to a quick verdict. And she pressured jurors to reach a guilty verdict quickly so she could profit from it,” defense attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian wrote. Hill’s book discusses how her Christian faith helped her navigate the sudden fame and responsibility that came with the Murdaugh trial. She said she became convinced of Murdaugh’s guilt when jurors and court officials visited the family home where the shootings happened. “I was mostly concerned about Alex being found innocent when I knew in my heart he was guilty,” Hill wrote.

Persons: —, Alex Murdaugh, Rebecca Hill, Clifton Newman, Murdaugh, Hill, “, Jim Griffin, Dick Harpootlian, didn't, Neil Gordon, “ I’ve, ” Gordon, Alex, ” Hill, Murdaugh didn't Organizations: COLUMBIA, Hampton County Guardian, South Carolina Attorney General's Locations: South Carolina, Colleton, Southern, Hampton County

☆ Murdaugh’s Lawyers Seek New Trial, Saying Clerk Tampered With Jury
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs | More About Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Alex Murdaugh, the once-influential South Carolina lawyer, was convicted in March of murdering his wife and younger son, the verdict was widely seen as a rebuke of corruption in a legal system that Mr. Murdaugh had bent to his benefit for years. Now, Mr. Murdaugh’s lawyers say that he is a victim of a corrupt judicial process, and are seeking a new trial and an F.B.I. In an explosive court filing on Tuesday, they claim that the clerk of court had a series of inappropriate conversations with jurors and committed other misconduct during his trial. Ms. Hill did not respond to several requests for comment. The state attorney general, Alan Wilson, said he was reviewing Mr. Murdaugh’s motion and would respond “through the legal process.”

Persons: Alex Murdaugh, Murdaugh, Rebecca Hill, ” Mr, Murdaugh’s, Hill, Alan Wilson Locations: South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Attorneys for convicted murder Alex Murdaugh want a new trial, accusing the court clerk of improperly influencing the jury. They're accusing the court clerk at his double murder trial of telling jurors not to trust him when he testified in his own defense. They say she also had private conversations with the jury foreperson, and pressured jurors to come to a quick verdict. The request filed by Murdaugh's lawyers on Tuesday also accuses Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill of giving jury members business cards from reporters. Murdaugh's lawyers said Hill's conduct was so egregious, it tainted the entire trial.

Persons: Alex Murdaugh, They're, Rebecca Hill, ” “, Hill, ”, Jim Griffin, Dick Harpootlian, Murdaugh, Murdaugh's, Clifton Newman, “ I’m, “, Hill's Organizations: COLUMBIA, South, South Carolina Court of, Associated Press, Division Locations: Colleton, New York City, South Carolina, Hill, Carolina

☆ Family of Murdaugh Boat Crash Victim Reaches $15 Million Settlement
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs | More About Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When jurors reached a verdict this year in the trial of Alex Murdaugh, a fourth-generation South Carolina lawyer, they found him guilty of murdering his wife and younger son. But looming large over the trial was another tragic death: that of Mallory Beach, a 19-year-old woman who was killed in a boat crash involving the dead son years earlier. This week, Ms. Beach’s family agreed to settle that lawsuit with a co-defendant, the owners of a gas station convenience store that sold alcohol to an underage Paul Murdaugh — who was using his older brother’s ID — on the night of the crash. The $15 million settlement, which must still be approved by a judge, comes on the eve of a civil trial against Alex Murdaugh and the company, Parker’s Kitchen, that had been scheduled for next month. Shere, a lawyer for Parker’s, said in a statement that the company had been at a disadvantage in facing a joint civil trial with Mr. Murdaugh.

Persons: Alex Murdaugh, Paul Murdaugh, Beach’s, Alex Murdaugh’s, —, Murdaugh, Paul Murdaugh —, P.K . Shere, Parker’s Locations: Carolina, Mallory Beach

☆ Alex Murdaugh’s Trial Lasted Six Weeks. Two Days Mattered Most.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Valerie Bauerlein | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering his wife and son, a verdict that capped a South Carolina low country saga that attracted intense global interest. WALTERBORO, S.C.—In the end, it came down to the man himself. Of course it did. Alex Murdaugh is—or at least was, before he was disbarred—a talented trial lawyer. The fourth generation of Murdaugh men capable of cajoling, chiding—even crying on cue—to get juries to see things their way.

☆ Alex Murdaugh’s Murder Trial Moves to Jury Deliberations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Jennifer Calfas | Joshua Jamerson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The jury in the double-murder trial of disbarred South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh began their deliberations Thursday after his defense team gave closing arguments that called into question the state’s evidence and alleged motive. Mr. Murdaugh is accused of fatally shooting his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and son Paul on a rainy night in June 2021 at the family hunting estate, known as Moselle. He has pleaded not guilty.

☆ The Murdaugh Slayings: The Latest on Disbarred South Carolina Attorney Alex Murdaugh’s Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Valerie Bauerlein | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The disbarred South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh is facing trial for the alleged murders of his wife, Maggie, and son Paul. The trial is expected to last from Jan. 23 through late February at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., a town of about 5,500. The courthouse is about 20 miles from Moselle, the hunting property where Maggie and Paul were found dead on June 7, 2021. Mr. Murdaugh has been jailed for more than a year and faces a total of 99 felony counts, primarily related to allegedly swindling his clients out of $8.8 million. The 54-year-old Mr. Murdaugh pleaded not guilty to the murder charges and to most of the financial charges against him.

☆ Alex Murdaugh Says He Lied About Key Detail but Didn’t Kill Son and Wife
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Joshua Jamerson | Valerie Bauerlein | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WALTERBORO, S.C.—Disbarred lawyer Alex Murdaugh took the stand Thursday in his double-murder trial, saying during emotional testimony, “I didn’t shoot my wife or my son,” while admitting he lied to investigators about his whereabouts the night of the killings. “I want to testify,” Mr. Murdaugh said Thursday morning as Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman advised Mr. Murdaugh of his rights. Mr. Murdaugh’s testimony will continue Friday.

☆ Alex Murdaugh’s Murder Trial: Judge Says Jury Can Hear Alleged Financial Wrongdoing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Valerie Bauerlein | Jimmy Vielkind | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WALTERBORO, S.C.—A South Carolina judge ruled Monday that prosecutors can present evidence of alleged financial crimes committed by Alex Murdaugh as part of his continuing double-murder trial. The 54-year-old disbarred lawyer is accused of fatally shooting his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and son Paul at the family hunting estate on the night of June 7, 2021. Mr. Murdaugh has been jailed for over a year on a total of 99 counts, primarily related to allegedly swindling his clients out of $8.8 million but also related to alleged drug trafficking, money laundering and insurance fraud in a failed assisted-suicide attempt over Labor Day weekend in 2021.

☆ Video Places Alex Murdaugh at Scene of Double Murder, Prosecutors Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Jennifer Calfas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

South Carolina prosecutors used videos, cellphone data and text messages to build their case this week in the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, the scion of one of the state’s most powerful families who is accused of killing his wife and son. Prosecutors on Wednesday played a video captured on the phone of Mr. Murdaugh’s younger son, Paul, the night he and his mother, Maggie, were found dead at the family hunting estate. The video, they said, places Mr. Murdaugh at the scene of the 2021 shootings moments before prosecutors said they occurred.

☆ Both sides portend 'gruesome' details of the killings of Alex Murdaugh’s wife and son in trial's opening statements
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | Phil Mccausland | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Paul Murdaugh was shot with buckshot from a 12-gauge shotgun in the chest, shoulder and finally the head, which did "devastating damage," Waters said. Margaret Murdaugh was shot with the rifle in the abdomen and leg before being shot in the head. It did grow gruesome as Murdaugh's lawyer, Dick Harpootlian, in his opening arguments detailed the grisly state of Paul and Margaret's bodies after they were shot. Members of Murdaugh’s family, including his older son, Buster, 26, and his brothers John Marvin and Randy Murdaugh were all present for the opening statements on Wednesday. His troubles grew worse when his son Paul was involved in a deadly boat crash in 2019, which led to the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach.

But the perceived spectacle means that not only will Murdaugh be on display — so will the county seat of Walterboro, population 5,460. “We didn’t want this, but it’s happening, and it’s here,” Scott Grooms, Walterboro’s director of tourism and downtown development, said last week. A portrait of Randolph "Buster" Murdaugh Jr., Alex Murdaugh's late grandfather, was removed from the Colleton County Courthouse ahead of Alex Murdaugh's trial. From left, Paul, Margaret and Alex Murdaugh. While he didn’t know Alex Murdaugh personally, he said few with longstanding ties in the area had not been touched by the Murdaughs’ orbit in one way or another.

☆ Alex Murdaugh, disgraced South Carolina lawyer accused of killing wife and son, faces new legal trouble
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Prosecutors said Murdaugh, 54, made nearly $14 million as a lawyer over nine years, but also stole nearly $7 million from his law firm at the same time. The latest indictments bring the total number of charges against the disgraced attorney to more than 100. In his best year, Murdaugh reported making $5.3 million in 2013 after making $2.4 million the year before. Murdaugh said he made just $219,000 in 2017 and only $1.6 million over the next two years, according to the indictment. Murdaugh and his family were the biggest players in the legal scene in tiny Hampton County.

Then, in 2019, Paul Murdaugh was involved in a boat crash that resulted in injuries and claimed the life of a 19-year-old passenger, Mallory Beach. Waters said that the plaintiffs were expecting to get a "personal recovery" from Murdaugh, whose financial situation was growing increasingly bleaker. via FacebookState grand jury subpoenas had been issued in the boat crash case in 2021, and at the time of the killings of Margaret and Paul Murdaugh on June 7, Paul Murdaugh was facing trial. The bodies of the wife and son were discovered by Alex Murdaugh at the family's hunting estate in rural Islandton, about 65 miles west of Charleston. But with the death of his wife and son, Murdaugh benefited because his law firm halted its questioning and a hearing in the boat case was canceled, according to Waters.

☆ Alex Murdaugh's banker convicted for role in alleged scheme to steal money from clients' legal settlements
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Former Palmetto State Bank CEO Russell Laffitte was allowed to remain free on bail as he awaits sentencing at a later date. Former Palmetto State Bank CEO Russell Laffitte exits federal court in Charleston, S.C. on Sept. 6. Laffitte loaned Murdaugh and himself money from those settlements, diverting that money from personal injury or death cases. An employee at Laffitte’s bank testified she confronted Murdaugh about missing fees from one of his cases hours before the killings. More than a third of the witnesses in Laffitte’s trial were his relatives, with most of them testifying for prosecutors.

BAMBERG, S.C. — Pamela Pinckney was in the hospital, bruised and in pain from several broken bones, when a lawyer named Alex Murdaugh offered his help. Pinckney estimates Murdaugh and his alleged co-conspirators pocketed $1 million owed to her family. Pamela Pinckney remained hospitalized as she endured several operations. Alex Murdaugh told me and my entire Pinckney family that he has our best interests, we don’t have anything to worry about and we’re like family to him,” Pinckney said. Alex Murdaugh is escorted out of the Collation County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., on July 20, 2022.

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