SC - Paul Murdaugh, 22 and mom Margaret, 52, found shot to death, Islandton, 7 June 2021 #8

[StrangerThanFiction]

Probably some special code or algorithm programmed into the software. Any time someone enters the name Murdaugh into the system as a defendant, the system automatically deletes it after a few hours.

It's a feature, not a bug.

Brilliant!

 

[StrangerThanFiction]

MOO is that the housekeeper knew too much. She was in their employ for years. She took care of the kids and the house. Kids and their friends sometimes reveal things without realizing it. She heard it, or saw evidence of something and someone silenced her. Too bad they didn't do an autopsy. I would imagine it could still be done if she wasn't cremated (thinking of the Tammy Daybell case).

I feel bad for her boys. It’s been a few years and they have probably been used to building their lives without mom. To have this all ripped open again at this time seems so cruel. What was done beforehand was cruel. It’s just adding insult to injury. MOO

 

[StrangerThanFiction]

Pull quote (from a much longer piece):

This week, SLED issued a pair of brief, written statements from Keel as the agency announced two major developments in the ‘Murdaugh Murders’ saga.


The first development? The opening of a criminal investigation into allegations of financial misappropriation at Alex Murdaugh’s former law firm, Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth and Detrick (PMPED).


“As with all cases, SLED is committed to conducting a professional, thorough, and impartial criminal investigation, no matter where the facts lead us,” Keel said in a press release announcing this inquiry on Monday.


Keel’s “no matter where the facts lead us” reference struck me as pretty fortitudinous. After all, multiple law enforcement, prosecutorial and court sources have informed me this inquiry is likely to break the seal on a much larger public corruption scandal – one which could soon spread far beyond the family, the firm and the fourteenth judicial circuit, a five-county region of the Palmetto Lowcountry where the Murdaughs (and PMPED) have operated with impunity for decades.


This public corruption inquiry would represent another escalation of this saga – which, again, already features six active criminal inquiries.


“Keel’s promise was a bold one considering where some of these probes could potentially lead – and considering some of the powerful people who could conceivably be implicated during the course of these investigations,” I noted earlier this week.


Still, sources familiar with the various cases assured me Keel meant exactly what he said.


“No stone will be left unturned,” one of these sources told me bluntly.

Fan-damn-tastic! Thank you for taking time to do that, Oakie.

 

[StrangerThanFiction]

Adding to my post above: I could see it coming. The appointment by AM of Dick Harpootlian as his attorney and spokesman, signaled to me, that the politicians are circling the wagons. Harpootlian is as "deep inside" as an insider gets in the Palmetto State.

Agree.

 

[sds71]

According to Bland, a number of claims were made which all contributed to a settlement, but none of those settlements ever ended up in court, except one for around $500,000 from Lloyds of London insurance.

“There’s no court orders approving any of these settlements. And it’s required under the law, if you have a wrongful death or survival case, a judge has to approve the settlements.
None of that exists in the court record, and our clients never found out that these cases had settled these claims, until it was printed in the paper by investigative reporters,” Bland said.

“It’s our job to get them answers, and get them their money back,” Bland added.


The lawsuit was filed a day after FITSNews first reported on claims from Satterfield’s sons that they received no money from a $500,000 settlement their attorney Cory Fleming — a well-known friend of the Murdaugh family — reached with Alex Murdaugh three years ago.

However, FITSNews sources said the actual payouts related to Satterfield’s death may have been much larger.

“The settlement amount may have been hidden from them — the real amount,” an attorney close to settlement told FITSNews.

South Carolina law enforcement opens criminal investigation into 2018 death of Murdaugh family's housekeeper

Murdaugh Murders: Gloria Satterfield’s Sons Sue Alex Murdaugh Over Alleged Stolen Money

 

[Oakie]

Agree.

I expect that there will be a flurry of document-shredding in Columbia when the AM trial gets to the "discovery" phase.

 

[moonriverfarm]

Dick Harp is a cog in the M Wheel of Fortune.

 

[Oakie]

Dick Harp is a cog in the M Wheel of Fortune.

I'd say it's the other way around. Dick H is serving as AM's attorney, but he's not doing so to represent the interests of AM. He serves another entity.

 

[Elley Mae]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.islandpacket.com/news/local/crime/article252500903.html
https://apps.sc.gov/PublicReporting/Contributions/ContributorResults.aspx

 

[Elley Mae]

If AM donated to Harpootlian campaign is that not a conflict of interest or something?

 

[Mirandartv]

If AM donated to Harpootlian campaign is that not a conflict of interest or something?

Nope. Their interests do not conflict at all. They are completely in line with covering for each other.

 

[Oakie]

Nope. Their interests do not conflict at all. They are completely in line with covering for each other.

LOL you beat me to it.

I wouldn't describe them as equals, however.

This is only speculation, but it's informed speculation (I know a lot of political deep-insiders, mainly as an accident of birth......) I predict that, if we ever find out the whole story (and that's an unlikely if), we'll learn that it wasn't AM who approached DH to ask him to serve as his attorney. We'll learn, instead, that it was DH who approached AM, to say, "You need me as your attorney"....and both of them would have understood that to mean, that AM did not have a choice in the matter.

 

[Moma J]

Anything DICK says should be hard to believe. JMO

Oh I’m almost positive 100% he had life insurance on his wife and boys. That’s an easy couple of million to pick up for AM. MOO

 

[Mirandartv]

LOL you beat me to it.

I wouldn't describe them as equals, however.

This is only speculation, but it's informed speculation (I know a lot of political deep-insiders, mainly as an accident of birth......) I predict that, if we ever find out the whole story (and that's an unlikely if), we'll learn that it wasn't AM who approached DH to ask him to serve as his attorney. We'll learn, instead, that it was DH who approached AM, to say, "You need me as your attorney"....and both of them would have understood that to mean, that AM did not have a choice in the matter.

Fully agree (my ex was connected enough that after we were married I learned the oh so hilarious story of how once when he was arrested, "Nanny stroked a check and Judge showed up at the jail at 3 AM in his pajamas and bedroom slippers to sign him out with a PR bond." ). Really hoping the feds step in here....and that they understand how important it is that feds that work in SC are not the ones that are handling it.

ETA: Oh....and the fact that it is Dick........you know what I'm saying, without saying here.....

 

[Oakie]

Fully agree (my ex was connected enough that after we were married I learned the oh so hilarious story of how once when he was arrested, "Nanny stroked a check and Judge showed up at the jail at 3 AM in his pajamas and bedroom slippers to sign him out with a PR bond." ). Really hoping the feds step in here....and that they understand how important it is that feds that work in SC are not the ones that are handling it.

I actually hope the Feds don't step in here (except, perhaps, for a tax-evasion investigation). The broader investigation will get shut down for sure then.

How shall I put this delicately? Dick Harpootlian represents the interests of a certain group of people, who have inserted him into this affair, in order to provide them with a window into the investigation. Read between the lines.

And don't think for a minute, that Mr. Keel doesn't realize this. I think that SLED will do a better job of investigating this, for the time being, at least until public exposure makes it impossible for the federal Justice Department to sweep it under the rug. Even then, I wouldn't bet that justice will ultimately be served.....it's a crap shoot at this point.

 

[Mirandartv]

I actually hope the Feds don't step in here (except, perhaps, for a tax-evasion investigation). The broader investigation will get shut down for sure then.

How shall I put this delicately? Dick Harpootlian represents the interests of a certain group of people, who have inserted him into this affair, in order to provide them with a window into the investigation. Read between the lines.

And don't think for a minute, that Mr. Keel doesn't realize this. I think that SLED will do a better job of investigating this, for the time being, at least until public exposure makes it impossible for the federal Justice Department to sweep it under the rug. Even then, I wouldn't bet that justice will ultimately be served.....it's a crap shoot at this point.

I really hope for justice in this case....all of these cases. I'm not sure it can be had. The only reason I was really hoping for the feds is because that was the only way I ever saw consequences for my ex. But I already know that the ones that work in SC aren't really the ones you want on it either. I didn't realize that it spread that far out beyond the state. Ugh.

 

[Luna20]

I think Corey has some explaining to do. If the insurance company(s) agreed to settle, whether it's $500,000 or $4,000,000, it's his responsibility to see that the Satterfield estate receives their part of the settlement because he is their lawyer. Alex shouldn't have any access to that money.

Where did the money go? As far as I know, Cory hasn't said.

I haven’t seen or heard anything from Cory. Interestingly the website for Corys firm was recently down for a day or 2. It occurred around the same time AM was trying to change his tire…on his own car that doesn’t have spare tires.

 

[RAISINISBACK]

Wow, AM introduced them immediately to his college friend Attorney Fleming because the lawsuit was filed the same day she fell!?

That's shades of RM being the second person, behind the coroner, to call Stephen Smith's family the day he was found dead and offer his services pro bono. (Except it's on the "record" that Fleming got $177,000 in fees for Satterfield case)

That the money was actually 4 million, not $505,000 is just mindblowing. The Satterfield's attorney is saying AM appropriated it all!

What do you think, jail time for something like that?

I think the hospital and doctors that cared for her for 3 weeks (probably in intensive care since she was in a coma) and never got paid for their services is going after him with both hands now.

JMO

 

[RAISINISBACK]

The feds will likely step in if the state isn't going to do something about it if this is true. In just one quick Google search on my phone I found Deairich R. Hunter who ended up with fed charges for misappropriation funds from a settlement for a client that only came to $100k.

Lawyer Pleads Guilty To Stealing Money Intended For His Clients-Scheme Cost Victims More Than $100,000-

And the more that gets out on how corrupt this all is, the greater the chance of them stepping in. The drug story is there to help him in this situation as well, IMO. Embezzlement has few defenses, but being mentally impaired due to health reason or drugs/alcohol is one of them. All MOO...

God bless the RICO Act.

 

[RAISINISBACK]

I really hope for justice in this case....all of these cases. I'm not sure it can be had. The only reason I was really hoping for the feds is because that was the only way I ever saw consequences for my ex. But I already know that the ones that work in SC aren't really the ones you want on it either. I didn't realize that it spread that far out beyond the state. Ugh.

I am sure the IRS is already watching this all. But an investigation from them could be a long time coming. Illegal income is still income and subject to taxes.

For example if the embezzlement started in 2018 the filing date for 2018 is 04/15/2019. So that means the last filing date for filing a return (assuming AM filed his return in a timely manner) or to amended his return to include the illegal funds would be 3 years from the last filing date which would be 04/15/2022.

With Covid if the embezzlement started in 2019 the filing date for 2019 return is 07/15/2020. So that means the last filing date for filing a return (assuming AM filed his return in a timely manner) or to amended his return to include the illegal funds would be 3 years from the last filing date which would be 07/15/2023.

With Covid if the embezzlement started in 2020 the filing date for 2020 is 06/15/2021. So that means the last filing date for filing a return (assuming AM filed his return in a timely manner) or to amended his return to include the illegal funds would be 3 years from the last filing date which would be 06/15/2024.

The IRS will wait until those 3 + years pass (because legally he has 3 years to amend his return to include the illegal money and pay taxes on it) before they launch a criminal investigation into the missing money. If he has not amended his tax returns to include the illegal money then he will be charged with tax evasion.

BTW that goes for all those supposed millions CES obtained for drugs. Plus the state could come after him for sales tax. lol