Alex Murdaugh arrested in housekeeper death settlement funds case
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Former South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh is in custody after state legislation enforcement arrested him on felony charges tied to the insurance coverage proceeds from the demise of his household’s former housekeeper.
Murdaugh has been charged with two felony counts of acquiring property by false pretenses, in accordance with a press release launched Thursday morning from the State Regulation Enforcement Division.
He was taken into legislation enforcement custody Thursday morning after his launch from a drug rehabilitation facility in Orlando, Florida, in accordance with SLED.
SLED had been investigating allegations that Alex Murdaugh had misappropriated settlement funds after the demise of Gloria Satterfield, who died in an obvious journey and fall incident in 2018 on the Murdaugh household residence in Hampton.
Murdaugh was taken to a correctional facility in Orange County, Florida, the place he shall be held till an extradition listening to. After that listening to, he shall be introduced again to South Carolina for a bond listening to, in accordance with SLED.
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SLED Chief Mark Keel launched a press release Thursday stating that the state’s investigation is ongoing.
“As we speak is merely another step in a protracted course of for justice for the various victims in these investigations. I wish to commend the arduous work and dedication that our brokers have proven during the last 4 months,” Keel stated. “They’ll proceed to work tirelessly on behalf of those that had been victimized by Alex Murdaugh and others. As I’ve stated beforehand, we’re dedicated to following the info wherever they might lead us and we is not going to cease till justice is served.”
The case shall be prosecuted by the South Carolina Lawyer Common’s Workplace.
Murdaugh’s lawyer, Dick Harpootlian, didn’t instantly return a name or electronic mail searching for remark.
Satterfield’s precise demise from Feb. 26, 2018 can be underneath examination by SLED after Hampton County Coroner Angie Toper requested an investigation. She stated Satterfield’s explanation for demise was listed as “pure,” which is inconsistent with the accidents she suffered.
The attorneys for Satterfield’s kids launched a press release Thursday after Murdaugh was charged.
“As we speak is a bittersweet day for the Satterfield and Harriott Households. The households are extraordinarily grateful to legislation enforcement, SLED and the South Carolina Lawyer Common’s workplace for its investigation and at the moment’s prison fees in opposition to Alex Murdaugh,” attorneys Eric Bland and Ronald Richter stated in a press release to The Greenville Information. “The households and their attorneys are happy with how our justice system has carried out itself for the reason that household had the braveness to file its preliminary lawsuit on September 15, 2021 detailing the theft of the cash recovered for the heirs of Gloria Satterfield in connection along with her demise.”
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Bland and Richter, of their assertion, went on to debate the household being betrayed by these that they had trusted and the way “their beloved one’s demise was used as a automobile to complement others over the shoppers.”
“The underside line is nobody is above the legislation,” the assertion reads.
Murdaugh has been on the heart of a number of large-scale prison investigations and civil lawsuits which can be nonetheless unfolding. The saga consists of the taking pictures deaths of his spouse and son, Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, allegations of Alex Murdaugh stealing funds from his family’s law practice, a drug habit and a botched murder-for-hire plot to go after a $10 million life insurance policy.
Separate lawsuits are additionally tied to a February 2019 deadly boat crash that concerned Paul Murdaugh. SLED can be now investigating the 2015 beforehand unsolved demise of 19-year-old Stephen Smith in mild of the Maggie and Paul Murdaugh killings.
Comply with Daniel J. Gross onTwitter: @danieljgross.