SC attorney Alex Murdaugh denied bond on $3M theft charges

By JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A judge in South Carolina has denied bond for a prominent South Carolina attorney who has become embroiled in two multimillion-dollar insurance fraud cases months after he found his wife and son dead in their home. Circuit Judge Clifton Newman issued the decision Tuesday after hearing attorneys describe how Alex Murdaugh used portions of a $3.4 million insurance payment to pay his father, personal credit card bills and himself. The payments were supposed to go to the sons of his longtime housekeeper, who died in 2018 a few weeks after falling at the family’s home. Newman also ordered a psychiatric evaluation for Murdaugh. He said he’ll reconsider his decision after the evaluation.