I think you’re spot on.
Maggie and Alex sold the family home on Holly St. in May. They moved out and he went to Moselle while she was in Edisto full-time by July.
In SC, you have to live apart for 1 year before you can file for divorce. That 1-year mark was soon approaching.
As you said, all assets were in her name. Alex was strapped for cash and she thought he was hiding cash from her in anticipation of the divorce. She ordered the audit and, if you are correct, very likely may have uncovered the truth in the process of it was done quickly.
Remember Creighton Waters said yesterday at the hearing that the motive was closely tied to the financial crimes.
MOO
Edit to add actual quote:
"Much of the information that has been gathered in the state grand jury case -- all of the 81 allegations of white collar fraud and other crimes, drugs and the like -- that has been gathered against Mr. Murdaugh over the course of that long investigation ... a lot of that provides the background and the motive for what happened on June 7, 2021," Waters said.
Disgraced former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the murders of his wife and son, who were found shot to death on the family's property in
www.kvoa.com
I think she uncovered the truth in an audit or more than likely suspected or knew the truth far earlier.
It was said early on that AM was not working that much. If we break that down, he was doing volunteer work for the DA's office and I don't remember if it was Fitznews or elsewhere said he hadn't been handling that many cases for the last few years (Maybe because the law firm knew he had a drug problem?)
Yet we see hundreds of thousands at a time running through bank accounts per the LaFfitte indictment. MM had to have wondered, in view of the fact he wasn't working that many cases (which she would have known by asking her FIL or BIL) where all the money he was spending was coming from.
We know from the indictment of LaFifitte (
https://www.fitsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/securepdfs/2022/07/Laffitte-Indictment.pdf) that he was putting very small amounts in MM's bank account, 7,500.00 and 10,000.00. But she had to see him spending large. So I think she became suspicious far earlier. She knew he had a drug habit, no way did his wife not know. She knows he is not working that much yet sees him spending large. Did she suspect he was dealing in drugs and become afraid she would be caught up in it and go to prison? Or did she suspect he was stealing from the law firm or client settlements? How much did she really know about those hundreds of thousands or even millions running through their bank accounts?
One thing that bothers me. I know people on here have disputed this, but I did not hear any dogs in that GS 911 call. MM and PM would have known if there were any dogs near the GS fall. AM is the only one who says the dogs were the cause, but yet MM halfway backs him up in a statement to the insurance company by saying one of the dogs (Bourbon I think) was very unruly and hard to handle. Was she aware he was ripping off the insurance companies by claiming their dogs did it?
Another thing that bothers me is their personal and/or corporate business income taxes. Money running through bank accounts in large amounts is reported to the IRS and also leaves a long money trail. BOA especially would have reported it, as big a corporation as they are, the IRS keeps a close oversight on them as does the FDIC and Treasury department. Especially since the Forge account at BOA had to have been listed as a business account (DBA or LLC or INC) since it was not in his personal name. Small banks also have to report it since they too have oversight from the IRS.
Even if AM did his own taxes, he would not have been so stupid as not to report that money going into his bank account, especially that Forge business account. (Everyone knows bank statements equal money trails the IRS can follow in an audit.) If a CPA did them they would have caught that money in a red hot hurry and asked a lot of questions about it.
But whether he did them or a CPA did them MM had to sign them either on a paper return or a form 8879 if they were filed electronically. By IRS law a preparer has to provide copies to the client. If they owned stocks or other investments that would have been reported on their tax return. In fact all income would have been. So I do not think MM was ignorant of the money going through their bank accounts. In view of the fact AM wasn't working that much where did she think that money was coming from? Wouldn't she have asked questions? Like "hey, here is 990,000.00 where did that come from?" He could not tell her he was mortgaging the property since it was in her name alone and she would have had to sign the mortgage papers.
The only way she would not have asked questions about their living large lifestyle is 1. she knew what he was doing or 2. she had a lot of money gifted to her by a relative and thought the outsized spending was from her money.
I think it was the latter, hence the audit of their personal finances she asked for.
As an aside I was shocked at how fast the Gates split up 113 billion in money and assets. Less than 3 months.
JMO