SC - Paul Murdaugh & mom Margaret Found Shot To Death - Alex Murdaugh Accused - Islandton #24

[NCWatcher]

Although addiction is in DSM-V and it's nearly unavoidable to discuss in this case, IMO. Addiction is mental illness in my opinion (former professor at UCLA's Neuropsychiatric Institute). Anyway, I won't discuss it further, but I will add that he sounds like what we called a Weekend Warrior (mostly professionals in one of our studies, btw - mostly doctors). When they need lots of energy, they don't use. But they need to come down sometime and rest. I'm trying to avoid most DSM labels - but addiction is right there in the book.

DSM-5 Criteria for Addiction Simplified

The DSM 5 has eleven criteria for substance use disorders based on decades of research.The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, or DSM-5, is the American Psychiatric Association’s goldstandard text on mental health that was crafted by hundreds of mental health...

www.addictionpolicy.org

Could be. But if the latest count of $50K/wk for pills was 500 pills a week, not only does that sound pretty much impossible to me (over 70 pills a day?) it is flat out is impossible if he wasn't using every day. His colleagues seemed to find him frenetic during the week but he couldn't just be a weekend user. He'd have practically no opiate tolerance with 4-5 days off, 2-3 days on and no one could use 500 pills in even 3 days. So I don't know. He may have used certainly but I am not buying he had a heavy opioid habit. Alcohol sure. Maybe other drugs when he thought he needed a "boost."
JMO

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

How many pills a day would an addict take?

I recently looked into this, and according to the link below, taking 100 mg of oxycontin or oxycodone a day would cost less than than $10,000 a year.

How Much Do Drugs Cost: The Steep Price Of Addiction

How much drugs cost is determined by several factors, but the high price of prescription and illicit drugs can cause financial hardships.

www.addictioncenter.com

 

[clearskies1]

AM was allegedly getting cash back from Eddie Smith when he gave Smith checks. So possibly it was a way to hide money in terms of the boat case? JMO.

"Prosecutors say Alex Murdaugh wrote a total of 437 checks to Smith over an eight year period for more than $2.5 million. The checks, all under $10,000 to avoid banks having to report the amounts and draw attention to the scheme, would then allegedly be cashed by Smith. He would get some of the money, the rest would be given back to Murdaugh."

Murdaugh accomplice accused of helping steal $2.5 million from clients

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSAV) – New indictments against Alex Murdaugh and accomplice Curtis “Eddie” Smith were announced by South Carolina’s attorney general on Tuesday. A state grand jur…

www.wsav.com

 

[Aquarian]

I think what we know about before and after don't line up with this. He wanted them to come out there that night. I don't think Maggie would have been out there if he didn't ask her to and it sounds like Paul was asked to come as well to look at the fields he would need to fix. The cartel people would have to show up there without alerting anyone and the dogs not going crazy. It had to be at some point just right after Paul takes that video because nothing is amiss in that recording that we hear.. just talking about Bubba having a chicken. So the cartel shows up and uses Alex's guns to shoot 2 people (not only that but the odd way Paul was shot seems even more odd when thinking about a stranger from a cartel using this shotgun to shoot that way, he wouldn't need to be crouching down to hide. he would likely just come at him and Paul would have surely been alerted by something.. mom screaming about strange men being there.. he was in that room like nothing was amiss just getting something for the dogs when he was surprised. I don't see strange drug cartel people arriving like that, getting access to Alex's weapons, not alerting anyone and then shooting Paul the way he was shot. I think I'd need to see the property from overhead and look for possible ways that a sneak attack could have happened. IF Alex didn't want his family dead, surely he'd be trying to fight them off or something? Also, if Alex didn't personally shoot them, why change clothing? Why toss Maggies phone? Then he would formulate a plan to go to his moms in that short time because his car is started at 9:06. I'm not sure why Alex even left that property that night if it was a cartel that came and left, if his claim was he was napping why not just say he woke from a nap and found them. He had to leave to dispose of evidence, it's the only way. Unless the cartel wanted to frame Alex?

I agree with this. But I can’t figure why he felt the need to pitch Maggie’s phone. Why not dump Paul’s phone if he felt there was something incriminating on it? That bit is confusing to me.

 

[littlepaw54]

"CS photos...what's CS mean?" What in the world!?

crime scene?

 

[Ravenmoon]

How many pills a day would an addict take?

I can't answer that.
Tolerance can build up after repeated use.
That would also depend upon the amount of milligrams per pill.
Plus, we don't really know if he was talking other drugs with it..
I mean,........ he isn't the most truthful person alive, is he?

JMO

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

The way he threw the knife across the road was pretty much the same as the way he threw the phone across the road.

 

[ch_13]

People keep claiming that the payments to Cousin Eddie were to launder money but that makes no sense to me.

1. The money was already laundered! That's why AM set up the Forge dba accounts at Bank of America. Once in that account, the money looked like it was from a legitimate business enterprise. As long as the Satterfield's and his other victims never cottoned on that he was stealing from them, he could have kept that going for a long, long time. It was only the boat crash and murders which unraveled his scheme.
2. Criminals launder money by passing it through seemingly legitimate business or financial entities: cash businesses like restaurants, buying and selling real estate, etc. You don't hand it to a shady low-level drug dealer like CES. That's the opposite of what you would do to launder money.
3. When you launder money, you get it back minus whatever fees or other costs to do the laundering. And the money now looks like legitimate income. That's the whole point of the thing. We see the outgoing money, but based on the testimony so far there's been no incoming money, which would have shown up on tax returns, in his regular bank accounts, etc.

I don't know what was going on with the payments between Eddie and Alex. It could be drugs, gambling or something else. And I know this case has been so crazy that the most out there speculation has been shown to be true. Still, I don't see any money laundering going on with these payments, whatever else may be happening.

 

[clearskies1]

Why are AM eyes not swollen and red after days of supposedly crying? Mine do. They almost swell shut. I think he is acting and no tears. How can his family stand defending him?

I also thought he looked very well rested and composed in his second LE interview three days after the murders. JMO.

 

[Cindizzi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1626350502651863040

 

[passionflower]

I agree with this. But I can’t figure why he felt the need to pitch Maggie’s phone. Why not dump Paul’s phone if he felt there was something incriminating on it? That bit is confusing to me.

Just MOO but maybe AM thought MM taped or had phone on when Paul was killed. No witness no phone AM is not a brilliant person JMOO

 

[Katrinepa]

Why are AM eyes not swollen and red after days of supposedly crying? Mine do. They almost swell shut. I think he is acting and no tears. How can his family stand defending him?

He's a Narcissist to the Max, and while he Wails loudly at times, but recovers one a dime, he rarely sheds a tear, or runny nose. The tissues he holds are Props for his loud sounds, but watch his body language. Faking it all the way! Pathetic excuse for any kind of Being... MOO

 

[arielilane]

I am sorry if these questions have already been answered. I've been watching most days of the trial and I had two questions in the back of my head that I never heard answers to.

1. Do we actually know for a FACT that AM had a drug addiction? Both prosecution and defense admit that AM is a congenital liar. Could he be lying about the drug addiction? Is there any debate about this?
2. Did the prosecution present evidence of where AM's phone was at the time of the murders? Yes, there is the Snapchat video from PM but what about the data from AM's phone? What does his phone show? How did I miss this piece of data?

1. Not sure if an addiction was confirmed but he did go to a drug rehabilitation center for an opioid addiction.


2. AM/No log activity - He said Murdaugh's phone did not show any activity from around 8 p.m. until just after 9 p.m. when he called his wife twice before driving to Alameda to visit his mother who has Alzheimer's disease. Murdaugh returned home just after 10:00 p.m. and called 911 to report the killings, Waters said.
Opening statements given in former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial

Drugs he tested positive for:

The purported medical records of embattled legal scion Alex Murdaugh show that the now-suspended South Carolina lawyertested positive for two types of drugs — barbiturates and opiates — when doctors examined him after a roadside shooting that eventually left him facing a scad of criminal charges.

Citing 'Medical Records' from Roadside Shooting, Alex Murdaugh Claims He Tested Positive for Barbiturates, Opiates When Examined by Doctors

The purported medical records of embattled legal scion Alex Murdaugh show that the now-suspended South Carolina lawyer tested positive for two types of drugs — barbiturates and opiates — when doctors examined him after a roadside shooting that eventually left him facing a scad of criminal charges.

lawandcrime.com

 

[arielilane]

There have been numerous other stories of other drug dealers getting busted for taking personal checks listed in several of the previous AM threads. No idea which ones. I know far more stupid drug dealers than smart ones.

Strange that personal checks are used. Times have changed. moo

 

[Aquarian]

I know a lawyer that had a drink called a "cocktail " whiskey and pills. Did it all the time and function perfect.

All about tolerance , but AM appears to be a big wussy to me. Just can’t see him handling all of it. He cries and falls apart at a drop of a hat. Can’t see how he could carry on with large doses of anything. In addition, I learned having worked in PACU, red headed ppl tend to be less tolerant of drugs and anesthesia, I’ll MOO on that, but I’ve experienced it many times.

 

[Seattle1]

I know a lawyer that had a drink called a "cocktail " whiskey and pills. Did it all the time and function perfect.

Depending on your age, based on today's standards, I think it's safe to say that 50% of us were raised by functioning alcoholics. Some were better at functioning than others. But I'm from the school of you do better when you know better. JMO

 

[arielilane]

AM was allegedly getting cash back from Eddie Smith when he gave Smith checks. So possibly it was a way to hide money in terms of the boat case? JMO.

"Prosecutors say Alex Murdaugh wrote a total of 437 checks to Smith over an eight year period for more than $2.5 million. The checks, all under $10,000 to avoid banks having to report the amounts and draw attention to the scheme, would then allegedly be cashed by Smith. He would get some of the money, the rest would be given back to Murdaugh."

Murdaugh accomplice accused of helping steal $2.5 million from clients

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSAV) – New indictments against Alex Murdaugh and accomplice Curtis “Eddie” Smith were announced by South Carolina’s attorney general on Tuesday. A state grand jur…

www.wsav.com

Banks will still notice that trend... moo even being under $10K.

 

[Seattle1]

Strange that personal checks are used. Times have changed. moo

I've not looked at the financial indictments for some time but I recall there were more "cashier's checks" than personal checks. Nonetheless, the checks could still be traced to AM and/or Forge. MOO

 

[Batman's Mommy]

AM was all about sending people to cash checks. Cousin Eddie, NT, no telling who else...

The money in the Forge checking account is a paper trail until it is cashed out of the account. IMO, the bank account may have had a mechanism that would cause the account to be frozen if certain amounts were withdrawn. I don't know the protection parameters BOA puts on business accounts, but IMO, there was probably something that would flag the fraud department about activity.

IMO, AM knew this, and $50k seems like it was the winning number.

Also, AM writing the checks to Cousin Eddie, if an audit of the account were to occur, AM would probably claim that Cousin Eddie was the client and it was Cousin Eddie's money....

Just a thought. I am very familiar with how trust accounts work for attorneys. I have first-hand knowledge and experience.

JMO.moo

 

[clearskies1]

Banks will still notice that trend... moo even being under $10K.

Yes, guess these weren't reported though?