Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh could face murder charges this week, attorney says

By Dianne Gallagher and Eric Levenson, CNN

The family of Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced South Carolina attorney accused of defrauding legal clients and carrying out a failed suicidal fraud scheme, has been told he could soon be indicted on murder charges as well, his attorney told CNN.

“I am aware that SLED (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division) advised the family that they intend to seek murder indictments from a grand jury later this week,” attorney Jim Griffin told CNN. “We won’t have any comment until charges are actually brought against Alex.”

SLED spokesperson Renée Wunderlich issued a statement declining to add details.

“SLED’s investigation into the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh is still active and ongoing,” Wunderlich said. “Agents are committed to the integrity of the investigation, thus no additional information from SLED will be provided at this time.”

A spokesperson from the South Carolina Attorney General’s office told CNN they have no comment at this time about possible charges against Murdaugh.

The potential indictments would further a remarkable fall from grace for Murdaugh, the 64-year-old scion of a powerful political family in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.

The news of the possible indictments being presented was first reported by FITSNews.com on Tuesday.

Last June, Murdaugh called 911 to report that his wife Margaret, 52, and son Paul, 22, had been shot dead outside of their home in Islandton, according to SLED.

The investigation into those deaths has led to a series of events full of unexpected twists: the reopening of an investigation into a 19-year-old’s unsolved 2015 death; Murdaugh’s resignation as an attorney for a prominent legal group; an admission that he struggled with opioid abuse; and dozens of charges accusing him of stealing money from clients.

In one particularly bizarre incident, Murdaugh in September called police to report he had been wounded by a gunshot to the head. He soon admitted that he had conspired with another man to fatally shoot him so that his surviving son would collect a $10 million life insurance payout, according to authorities.

Since then, he has been indicted on a total of 71 charges accusing him of defrauding clients out of nearly $8.5 million in various schemes.

Several charges relate to the death of Gloria Satterfield, his family’s longtime housekeeper who died in a fall at the Murdaugh home in 2018. According to SLED, Murdaugh coordinated with her family to sue himself and reach an insurance settlement, saying he would give the family the proceeds. However, he secretly deposited about $3 million of that money into an account he owned, according to affidavits released by SLED.

In another development Tuesday, the South Carolina Supreme Court issued an order disbarring Murdaugh, having suspended his license to practice law in the state in 2021.

“Respondent concedes that disbarment is warranted in light of his admitted professional misconduct,” the order read. “However, our decision today turns not on Respondent’s concession, but rather derives from our constitutional authority and duty to protect the public from attorneys who are not fit to practice law.”

Murdaugh has been jailed in Columbia, South Carolina, with bond set at $7 million.

He has denied any involvement in his wife and son’s deaths. In a statement through his lawyers last September, he said their deaths had exacerbated his issues with opioid addiction.

“The murders of my wife and son have caused an incredibly difficult time in my life,” Murdaugh said at the time. “I have made a lot of decisions that I truly regret.”

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