Alex Murdaugh, a disgraced legal scion who is presently serving two life terms for the murder of his wife and kid, was brought before a South Carolina court to establish a date for the future trial linked to suspected fraud charges amounting to $8.8 million.
The purpose of Alex Murdaugh's appearance in court was to determine the date for his upcoming trial, according to New York Post.
Alex Murdaugh Faces Court Hearing to Set Trial Date
Murdaugh, 65 years old, arrived in the courtroom wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and handcuffs. To everyone's surprise, he was also brought in on a leash that was held by three deputies. The fact that this event was captured on livestreaming video highlights how serious his legal problems are.
Murdaugh appeared to have lost weight while he was incarcerated, and he exhibited signs of pain as his attorneys attempted to delay the trial until the following fall and obtain a change of venue.
They were successful in doing both of these things. Given the tremendous coverage the issue has received in the media and the attention it has garnered from the general public, his counsel, South Carolina state Senator Dick Harpootlian, contended that it would be impossible to have a fair trial in the state.
Despite the fact that the broadcast trial had already finished and come to a conclusion six months prior, Harpootlian claimed that the court clerk had unlawfully interfered with the jury's decision.
In spite of this, Judge Clifton Newman denied the defense's motion for a change of venue, reiterating that a jury must first be selected, and he scheduled the beginning of the trial for November 27.
The trial will begin with the alleged theft of around $3.5 million from Gloria Satterfield's estate. At the residence of the Murdaughs in 2018, Gloria Satterfield, a family maid who had worked there for a number of years, passed away under mysterious circumstances.
It is alleged that Murdaugh fabricated her children in order to get her death settlement checks and redirected them to his own account, as per Independent.
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Alex Murdaugh Faces Dual Charges in Ongoing Legal Saga
In addition to the allegations brought against him at the state level, federal authorities have also brought charges against Murdaugh in connection with the alleged fraud.
It is anticipated that he would enter a guilty plea to a variety of counts in a courtroom in Charleston the following week.
This will be the first time that he will acknowledge any wrongdoing. All of these federal allegations come from the alleged misappropriation of customers' settlements over the course of several decades and include money laundering, wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.
These charges were brought against him by the federal government. In addition to this, there are allegations that Murdaugh stole $7 million from the law practice that his family owns and laundered $2.4 million through a narcotics network in which he was reportedly involved.
He is also suspected of using a hitman in order to manufacture his own murder for the purpose of obtaining a life insurance payout of ten million dollars for his son, who is still alive. However, the effort to kill him via assassination was unsuccessful, and he only received a bullet wound to the head that was not deadly.
During the hearings that took place on Thursday, Murdaugh was observed speaking with members of his legal team, but he did not address the court directly.
The court also held hearings for his co-defendants, including the personal injury lawyer Cory Fleming, who is currently awaiting sentencing in the Satterfield case, and the former banker Russell Laffitte, who has already received a conviction from federal authorities and is awaiting trial at the state level for his involvement in Murdaugh's alleged fraud schemes.
The court also held hearings for his co-defendants in the Satterfield case. The court battles that Alex Murdaugh is engaged in continue to unravel, and each new chapter sheds light on more layers of intricacy and intrigue that surround the once-prominent legal figure, Daily News reported.
