BEAUFORT, S.C. — A plea agreement was reached Friday in South Carolina Case against convicted murderer Alex MurdaughThis was days before the start of his trial for dozens of alleged financial crimes.
Murdaugh, 55, has previously appeared in Beaufort District Court Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman He agreed to plead guilty to several charges, including a case accusing him of embezzling insurance settlement funds in The Murdough family’s housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, dies.
Prosecutor Creighton Waters of the state Attorney General’s Office said the deal means Mrudga will serve a “lengthy sentence” that “ensures that Mr. Mrodga will remain in state prison for a very long time.”
For more on the case, see “The Mardo Murders: Inside the InvestigationOn “Dateline” at 9 ET/8 Central on Friday.
The issue of the sprawling state, which played a role A pivotal role Mardouh’s double murder trial in February included 101 financial charges and an alleged loss of $8.8 million to those affected by the scheme he allegedly committed while he was a personal injury lawyer.
Murdaugh is serving two consecutive life sentences after being convicted of shooting his wife, Margaret, 52, and their youngest son, Paul, 22, in 2021.
The agreement between the state’s attorney’s office and Murdaugh’s defense team means he will avoid a trial that was scheduled to begin on November 27, which would have once again put the spotlight on the disbarred attorney.
Murdoch’s trial received extensive media coverage, given his lineage Scion of a powerful legal family Set in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, and his strange actions following the death of his wife and son at their country home.
Case, classified for the first time as An unsolved double murderand quickly disintegrated into broader allegations Financial frauda Hitman plot And Drug AddictionAnd other strange inquiries were revived Deaths associated with the Murdoch family.
Murdo has declared his innocence in the killing of his wife and son since a grand jury indicted him on murder charges last year. Prosecutors claimed he killed them to gain pity before being exposed for a slew of financial crimes.
he He pleaded guilty in federal court In September, he was charged with nearly two dozen counts of financial fraud and money laundering. As part of the plea deal, Murdaugh must pay restitution to “each identifiable victim,” according to the agreement with federal prosecutors, who accused him of stealing about $9 million from customers in a “pattern of criminal activity” dating back more than a year. a decade.
In addition, he may be subject to a polygraph test and could be called “to give full and truthful testimony before any grand jury and at any other trials or other proceedings,” prosecutors said.
In turn, his federal sentence must be served at the same time as any sentence imposed in his state case.
This is a breaking news story. . Please check back for updates
Juliette Arcodia reported from Beaufort and Eric Ortiz from New York.
