SC - Paul Murdaugh & mom Margaret Found Shot To Death - Alex Murdaugh Accused - Islandton #22

[Seattle1]

Respectfully, that's not what I heard during the testimony. Starting at 34:00 below Jeanne Seckinger talks about disbursements/checks from PMPED's trust accounts to Forge.

Starting at 50:00 below Annette Griswold talks about PMPED disbursements to Forge and how Alex would not let Annette mail the checks, but he instead said he would walk them to Michael Gunn at Forge Consulting.

^^bbm

Thanks, @clearskies1. You are correct.

I recognize that my post was unclear when attempting to differentiate between AM stealing fees from his law firm PMPED and AM stealing the awards designated for his clients.

I should have said that the fees stolen from PMPED were disbursed only from the trust accounts of other attorneys.

I agree that AM stole client settlements (disbursed from PMPED trust) disguised as disbursements to the client c/o Forge Consulting (the legit structuring firm) by ordering Annette Griswald to issue the client disbursement c/o the shortened name of "Forge" where the only account holder that would benefit from the receipt of the misdirected monies was AM's own dba account at Bank of America.

And so disturbing to know that AM would go all 'crazy maker' on Annette each time she instinctively ordered the disbursement as "Forge Consulting," and not "Forge," to the personal disgust of the master fraudster, AM.

 

[mrjitty]

One reason why local media struggle to investigate local corruption / scandals is the news businesses have been cut to the bone since the 90s. With the loss of key advertising revenue from classifieds etc, the news room headcounts were cut - especially in print media. Unfortunately your local media often no longer has journalists who can spend weeks and months on long running stories which are very expensive, and may not generate content at first.

 

[escape2sc]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding -- but taking pictures of Alex by the tree is the same as a video of Alex by the tree.. it shows what he was wearing. Regardless, to me "not thinking about" something means he is not capable of careful planning. JMO.

true - but I don't think Alex ever entertained the thought that Blanca is a detail oriented person with an excellent memory of his clothing. IMO - Alex considered the work Blanca did for the family to be minial work performed by a working class person much in the same way Maggie referred to the Edisto workers as "Mexican". I doubt Alex paid much attention to what clothes he owned so why should the hired help ?

 

[arielilane]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1624233905678168066

https://twitter.com/x/status/1624239415835910144

 

[BrownRice]

Even though AM supposedly didn’t have life insurance on MM or PM, could he have been planning to file a claim under homeowners or umbrella policy insurance? But held off because he hadn’t planned on being suspect #1 so quickly? Was going to wait until things settled down.

I think there’s a small chance he may get off here. Even though the State doesn’t have to prove motive, it sure helps a jury convict. The walls were closing in on him, his misdeeds we’re coming to light, etc. Even though there were rumors of a divorce atty (or at least a consultation), that hasn’t come up. There was no clear cut financial motive for AM to kill them. There’s tons of evidence of his wrongdoings and how PMs pending trial could have ruined him financially (? - or maybe not ruined, but cut significantly into his fortunes), but to kill his wife and kid?

I hope there’s something that ties this all up in the next couple of days. I really dislike him and believe he did it. But there’s been some great dialogue here that has made me sit back and wonder if I could convict as a juror.

With that said, it’s impossible somebody else popped out of the bushes and shot them while he drove up to the house (after lying about not being there). But can you convict based on thinking well if it could not have been someone else, it must have been him?

 

[girlhasnoname]

MM's phone was still moving at 8:55. The defense will try to convince the jury that she was still walking with her phone at that time, while AM was at the house showering, getting ready to go to his mom's, and pacing around hundreds of steps waiting for MM to answer his calls before he drove off at 9:06. More convincing is the lack of PM's phone usage after just sending the video to Rogan. He never followed up. That to me is more convincing, but again, may leave enough room for reasonable doubt in some jurors' minds. Hope we get more clarification from the medical examiner.

I believe that was the time AM was picking up MM's phone and looking at messages, running up to the house to take a shower and get together his tarp/raincoat package filled with the clothes he was wearing at the time of the shooting and the murder weapons etc.

Of course, then he threw MM's phone out the window on his rush to check on dear Mamma and hide his stash. IMO

 

[girlhasnoname]

One very Odd thing AM said to SLED was that he tried to turn Paul over, picked up his Cell Phone and tried...THAT IS FREAKY WEIRD! Unless he was worried about what Paul's phone might have recorded! HE LIED TO EVERYONE!

Alex knew Paul was communicating with his friend R about the dog's tail. He knew there was a video and he wanted to see if he had been captured on it, but he didn't have Paul's passcode.

I mean really, you walk up to your dead son whose brain is laying there and your first thought is going to be trying to get his phone for what purpose exactly? Alex is ice cold.

MOO

 

[girlhasnoname]

I'm not sure I follow this line of reasoning. AM claimed he was at his mothers home, 20 miles away from the kennels, at the time the murders were committed. But cell phone video shows he was actually on-site and not at his mom's place. The evidence generally points to Paul and Maggie being killed within a few minutes of the video being shot (although the defense may try to argue that point).




Sure, now the defense could come up with a brand-new alibi and say that for whatever reason AM lied originally. Maybe the jury will buy their explanation, I don't know. We'll see what happens when the defense team puts on its case.

But his original alibi, and the only one that's been offered to date as far as I know, was broken by Paul's video.

Yes, that darn alibi that he repeated several times to different people.

 

[girlhasnoname]

@Gardenista - $4 million according to Eric Bland, but there is also an untouchable trust and no one knows the details about that.

Very curious about this untouchable trust you mentioned in the previous thread.

And I'd bet my Starbucks that Alex had Randolph Sr. restructure that inheritance after Maggie and Paul's murder, basically on his death bed.

MOO

 

[girlhasnoname]

IDK but I hope it's someone that sheds light on the 9-4 road incident.

The only real witness that can speak truly to the roadside 'shooting' is Cousin Eddie. I just wonder if the State will be willing to call him as a witness. I think he can offer some real insight into Alex's criminal misdeeds, but it would be a gamble because the defense would eat his alive. I bet DH would do the cross IMO.

MOO

 

[girlhasnoname]

Yes to this.. and your previous post about the defendant and discussion I believe with the officers in the car. I could not reply to it since thread was locked……

If the area had not been secured, and the apparent assailant(s) were still out there….. one would think a natural reaction of the defendant would be along lines of: ‘have y’all checked the area? The house? Is there anyone else around here? Are we safe? Is there a sniper that could hit us right now? Are there other vehicles or disturbance on this 1,700 acre tract? Anyone check that yet?’

It seemed to be all about what he had been doing. Not about the fear and present danger or confusion one might perceive or a potential threat.

Alex was in that car trying to give the performance of his life. Establishing his alibi and convincing LE of his innocence. I've watched it several times and it is just so pathetically fake and self serving. I recommend everyone watch it and watch Alex's behavior.

I believe SLED suspected him that very night and because of his 'influence' had to work carefully to get solid information to charge him.

MOO

 

[LeeSanson]

For people who have been mentioning the PI undercover video footage of Paul (article from March 2022):

Questions remain about information, footage reportedly collected on Paul Murdaugh

Questions are swirling around secretive video footage and information a private investigator reportedly collected on Paul Murdaugh before he and his mother were shot to death at their Colleton County

www.postandcourier.com

and

There's a subscription wall in place in order to read the article. I didn't know this was even talked about in the media. Still very curious about what they were hoping to discover by following Paul around.

New Topic: Does anyone know how many homes Alex/Maggie owned? Which one was their primary residence? Were both Buster and Alex living at home in 2021? If so, which home?

- Also, has any of Maggie's family spoken out? If so, do they suspect Alex too?

 

[LeeSanson]

AM is looking at 45 years for tax evasion alone.

Alex Murdaugh charged with tax evasion; made $14M in 9 years

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced attorney accused of killing his wife and son, was indicted Friday by a grand jury in South Carolina on nine counts of tax evasion, adding to the slew of charges he faces in the aftermath of their deaths more than a year ago.

apnews.com

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced attorney accused of killing his wife and son, was indicted Friday by a grand jury in South Carolina on nine counts of tax evasion, adding to the slew of charges he faces in the aftermath of their deaths more than a year ago.

Prosecutors said Murdaugh, 54, made nearly $14 million as a lawyer over nine years, but also stole nearly $7 million from his law firm at the same time.

Through tax returns from 2011 to 2019, the grand jury indictments shed a light on a man who made millions at the law firm his family founded a century ago, but who also had large swings in income and stole about half as much money as he made from Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick.

The latest indictments bring the total number of charges against the disgraced attorney to more than 100.

Murdaugh’s lawyers adamantly deny he had any role in the killings, but they have acknowledged his role in taking money from clients.

Nine counts of willful attempt to evade or defeat a tax were added to Murdaugh’s charges Friday. Prosecutors said he dodged nearly $487,000 in state income taxes. He faces up to five years in prison on each count if convicted.

Most of the other charges against Murdaugh deal with either stealing $8.8 million in lawsuit settlement money from badly injured clients, or families of people killed in wrecks or on the job, as well as a drug ring and money laundering scheme, according to the indictments handed down in nearly two dozen waves since September 2021.

On a podcast last night, the attorney stated that even WITHOUT being charged with double murder, Alex is facing at least 700 years in prison if convicted of all his 'white collar' crimes.

Alex loves to stall. That's all he has now is 'time'.
This is why he acted like the 'Tasmanian devil' all the time. He's always wheeling and dealing. Borrowing and stealing. Robbing 'paul' to pay 'peter'. All he did was finagle in order to buy more time. So I suspect he plans on doing the same thing with the court system. He's got nothing else but time and I worry he'll spend more time in front of a judge than behind bars at this rate.
I wonder if they tried making any plea deals with him. I can't imagine him ever seeing the light of day again but I don't know if he sees it the same way.
He might be a bit delusional because he's never faced consequences before.

I highly suspect he's a sociopath/psychopath because we know he's a narcissist. Every psychopath is a narcissist but every narcissist isn't a psychopath. But I think he fits both. His emotions seem forced and fabricated. He's lived a life of privilege and deception (real curious about what Maggie's family thinks about Alex now)

Also....if he had 20 years of opioid addiction...how the hell was he cured in a matter of days or weeks? Because if that's true (which I doubt) that rehabilitation center deserves a gold star.

I don't think anything Alex says/claims can be or SHOULD be trusted.

 

[Katrinepa]

i thought the CFO of the law firm testified that all the attorneys received a set salary. All other earnings were held until the end of the year and then divided equslly. Did I misunderstand?

Then how was AM taking a few hundred thou here and there…a check that belonged to his brother…then a scam check…etc? And why were those checks issued if this should have been in the common pool shared by all?

When was the wedding band found? I would love to know if he sold her diamond, just lost track of the band. Ole sentimental AM…

He arranged that Fees, Monies due would be Directly made out to him and/or his Fake account, which he created and had a similar name to an Actual Forge Account. Basically, he diverted the monies, Mafia style. MM's wedding ring was found on the floor of Maggie's car by the 'friend/housekeeper/cook/errand runner' woman-She being ex Military and very detail oriented and observant.

 

[Katrinepa]

The attorney fees was not divided equally at the end of the year. The firm took about 7 percent for overhead and the remainder was distributed to the partners based on how much each had brought in that year.

My understanding is that Alex would have the attorney fee check made out to him personally, rather than to the firm. And re the money that the firm received that was supposed to go to the client, he would have the firm cut a check to Forge (which was Alex's company) because it sounded like a legit business (Forge Consulting) that arranged structured settlements for clients. Alex would then keep the client's money.

I think the wedding band was found about a week after the murders. JMO.

Spot on.

 

[stmarysmead]

As top producer, let’s say AM hits near that one million dollar bonus every year. He still has his base salary, and he is also stealing a couple hundred thousand here and there. Occasionally, he dips his beak into big money like the Satterfield settlement.

Did he also have a family trust fund providing income even if he could not touch principle?

Where is this money going? Nice Vineyard vines shirts but he is not having clothes custom made on Savile Row. Those two houses should have long been paid off even just from his bonuses.

Wasn’t he trying to get a big mortgage on Edisto? Wasn’t he bouncing checks that his crooked banker friend had to cover?

Was he just a conduit and a lot of money was passed on elsewhere?

Why is it that Randy and the other lawyer that testified…do not press to have hundreds of thousands of dollars he stole…paid back to them? Interesting that he had no consequences even when exposed and his these atty victims just let him KEEP the money? Why?

 

[mrjitty]

Alex was in that car trying to give the performance of his life. Establishing his alibi and convincing LE of his innocence. I've watched it several times and it is just so pathetically fake and self serving. I recommend everyone watch it and watch Alex's behavior.

I believe SLED suspected him that very night and because of his 'influence' had to work carefully to get solid information to charge him.

MOO

+1

One of the problems for noob showrunners who cast themselves in a murder mystery is they are not experienced actors.

An experienced actor thinks through how his character would react to the source material and then deliver an emotional performance accordingly.

AM was too busy in show runner mode and forgot to deliver the performance. Where is the urgency? The confusion? The anger? The distress?

His dialogue is too focussed on exposition. He doesn’t live the experience.

 

[Katrinepa]

There's a subscription wall in place in order to read the article. I didn't know this was even talked about in the media. Still very curious about what they were hoping to discover by following Paul around.

New Topic: Does anyone know how many homes Alex/Maggie owned? Which one was their primary residence? Were both Buster and Alex living at home in 2021? If so, which home?

- Also, has any of Maggie's family spoken out? If so, do they suspect Alex too?

Maggie owned a Beach house(Edisto), where she was living mostly at the time of he murders. The main house is in Hampton, SC, and apparently AM co owns 7 islands in Beaufort County with a deceased Drug Smuggler, Barrett T. Boulware. The Moselle property in Colleton County(purchased by AM in 2013) was previously owned by Boulware as well. Complicated, as some properties are co owned...

 

[BrownRice]

On a podcast last night, the attorney stated that even WITHOUT being charged with double murder, Alex is facing at least 700 years in prison if convicted of all his 'white collar' crimes.

Alex loves to stall. That's all he has now is 'time'.
This is why he acted like the 'Tasmanian devil' all the time. He's always wheeling and dealing. Borrowing and stealing. Robbing 'paul' to pay 'peter'. All he did was finagle in order to buy more time. So I suspect he plans on doing the same thing with the court system. He's got nothing else but time and I worry he'll spend more time in front of a judge than behind bars at this rate.
I wonder if they tried making any plea deals with him. I can't imagine him ever seeing the light of day again but I don't know if he sees it the same way.
He might be a bit delusional because he's never faced consequences before.

I highly suspect he's a sociopath/psychopath because we know he's a narcissist. Every psychopath is a narcissist but every narcissist isn't a psychopath. But I think he fits both. His emotions seem forced and fabricated. He's lived a life of privilege and deception (real curious about what Maggie's family thinks about Alex now)

Also....if he had 20 years of opioid addiction...how the hell was he cured in a matter of days or weeks? Because if that's true (which I doubt) that rehabilitation center deserves a gold star.

I don't think anything Alex says/claims can be or SHOULD be trusted.

What podcast are you listening to? I’ve listened to a couple and there were a few I really disliked and some liked. I can’t remember which was which

 

[MinnesotaMary]

Alex was in that car trying to give the performance of his life. Establishing his alibi and convincing LE of his innocence. I've watched it several times and it is just so pathetically fake and self serving. I recommend everyone watch it and watch Alex's behavior.

I believe SLED suspected him that very night and because of his 'influence' had to work carefully to get solid information to charge him.

MOO

Yes. Watch The Behavior Panel's vid' on youtube (I watched it at 1.5X speed...). Isn't it somethin' how an entire group of people readily and ENTIRELY bought that garbage Alex was selling them? Just a couple notes: 1. How Alex says 'bye now - I gotta make a bunch of phone calls' - lol - WHO would tell a 911 operator such a thing??! Alex should have been worried the two murderers were lurking and he should have fled the property. And 2. Alex making those quick phone calls telling everyone to 'come on over' and gather in an area of the house where he could sneak Blanca in to destroy all the evidence !!! Alex was all, 'ok I totally fooled all those idiots, just like I always do - that was even easier than I expected (I thought it'd take maybe 12 minutes until I could pop 3 big wags of gum into my mouth again, but it only took 3 minutes ). So, my life moves on forward....... wife gruesomely murdered.....some gruesomely murdered and head even blown off. Next! funerals and then it's all done. Whew - it's FUN to get to start a new life like this - maybe I should have done this years ago! !'.

PS: Who here would want to date Alex Murdaugh...he'd buy you an engagement ring and propose on one knee... you'd live happily ever after with him on some 1-2K acre property he'd buy to replace the other..... :-I