Alex Murdaugh, the embattled South Carolina attorney at the center of multiple investigations following the deaths of his wife and son in June, was ordered held without bond pending a psychiatric evaluation as he faces charges related to mishandling funds in a former housekeeper's wrongful death lawsuit.
"There is no amount of bond that the court can set that can safely provide protection to Mr. Murdaugh, to the community," Judge Clifton Newman said during Tuesday a hearing.
Murdaugh faces two felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses tied to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the sons of his former housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield. The lawyer was arrested last week in Orlando after his release from a drug rehabilitation center.
Prosecutors argued Murdaugh duped Satterfield's family when he arranged settlement payments from the wrongful death lawsuit to be paid to a bank account he controlled under the guise of a legitimate company. They also argued the lawyer presented a danger to himself and others following his alleged scheme to arrange his murder last month in order for an insurance payout to be made to his son.
The two new charges Murdaugh faces represent "the tip of the iceberg," said Creighton Waters, a prosecutor for the state attorney general office. More will be revealed as the investigations around Murdaugh continue, Waters said.
Newman said he was not considering a personal recognizance bond for Murdaugh after prosecutors and attorneys for Satterfield's family made their case the lawyer had violated the family's trust.
Murdaugh had for years been a staple in the South Carolina legal community and had recently completed a drug rehabilitation program for an opioid addiction that fueled his misconduct, Murdaugh's defense attorneys said.
Murdaugh arranged for at least two payments – one for nearly $3 million and the other for more than $400,0000 – to be made to an account he set up to look like a legitimate settlement planning company after an attorney he recommended to the Satterfield family reached a settlement in their mother's wrongful death lawsuit without their knowledge, according to affidavits from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Waters mentioned at least one other check worth $118,000 Murdaugh misappropriated and suggested other crimes may have occurred.
"We have never seen such a breach of trust: a man who stole money from the very family of the housekeeper that helped raise his kids," added Satterfield family attorney Eric Bland.
Satterfield died after falling at Murdaugh's home in February 2018, which state police have said they are also investigating. Satterfield's death was ruled due to "natural" causes at the time, but the Hampton County coroner recently wrote a letter to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division urging it to open an investigation because her death was not reported at the time and an autopsy was not performed.
Money, murder, mystery:Another twist unfolds in case of former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh
Murdaugh told the Satterfield family to hire attorney Cory Fleming to represent them, arrest affidavits say. Murdaugh was a defendant in the family's lawsuit, but directed the family to hire Fleming, a close friend to Murdaugh, prosecutors allege.
Satterfield's sons, Michael "Tony" Satterfield and Brian Harriott, are also suing Murdaugh over the wrongful death settlement funds. The brothers said they were never paid "a dime," according to court documents filed earlier this month.
Each charge of obtaining property by false pretenses could bring up to a 10 year prison sentence for Murdaugh. His attorney, Dick Harpootlian, said last week Murdaugh has accepted he will likely spend some time in prison from the various charges he faces.
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