Who is who? The key players in the Murdaugh saga and the family members involved [The State] – InsuranceNewsNet

The name Murdaugh once meant wealth, law, and multigenerational family in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

From now on, the inhabitants of their hometown of Hampton County are more likely to think of the mystery and allegations of criminal acts committed by a descendant of the prominent legal family, Alex Murdaugh.

First there was a boating accident in which a young woman died, then the murders of mother and son Maggie and Paul Murdaugh on their Moselle domain. wife and son of Alex Murdaugh were shot at close range, Paul with a shotgun, Maggie with an assault weapon, and left for dead near a dog pen.

Now Alex Murdaugh faces a slew of charges related to financial crimes and an attempt to fake his death in a roadside shooting.

Here are the key players in this unfolding story.

Alex Murdaugh

Alex Murdaugh comes from a long line of lawyers and prosecutors Hampton County in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Their influence cannot be underestimated, starting with his great-grandfather, Randolph Murdaugh Sr.., who founded the family law firm in 1910 and later became the local attorney without abandoning his original business. His son was elected to take his place in 1940. And Randolph Murdaugh III, Alex’s father, served as the attorney until 2005 when Pierre Dufie, an ally of Murdaugh, was elected to this position. Alex, a graduate of University of South Carolina, both as an undergrad and a law student, chose to follow another path, starting a legal business within the family business on personal injury lawsuits. He was charged with dozens of financial crimes, stemming from the way he handled a personal injury claim by his family’s longtime housekeeper. Gloria Satterfield to further indictments alleging he used a personal bank account to launder millions in ill-gotten gains as early as 2015.

Murdaugh stole money from clients, as well as money that should have been his Hampton law firm PMPED, according to the indictments. He was also indicted for insurance fraud and embezzlement. SC Supreme Court suspended his law license. He is detained in Richland County jailed on criminal charges involving his ruse to get someone to kill him so his surviving son Buster could recover $10 million of a life insurance policy. An SC judge in a civil case appointed receivers to take control of all his finances.

Maggie Murdaugh

Alex Murdaugh’s wife, Margaret “Maggie” Kennedy Branstetter Murdaugh was born September 15, 1968. She lived in Colombia, SummervilleEditorial, Hamptonand at the time of his death in the family Colleton lodge, Moselle, where she was shot June 7, 2021. She was 52 years old.

She graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1991, where she met her husband and was a member of Kappa Delta Sorority. The Murdaughs had two sons, Richard Jr.. known as Buster, and Paul, who was also shot in Moselle on June 7, 2021. The family spent their summers at Edisto Beach. She was a housewife, who once had a gift shop on Hampton’s main street years ago, and was an avid boater. She and Paul are buried in Hampton Cemetery.

Buster Murdaugh

Alex and Maggie Murdaugh’s eldest son graduated from Wofford College in 2018 and planned to work at the family law firm after graduation. He enrolled in University of South Carolina Law Schoolbut sources say he left after a cheating scandal in 2019.

Along with his father, he is named as a defendant in a civil lawsuit stemming from the 2019 boating accident that killed a 19-year-old Mallory Beach. It is alleged that Buster let his younger brother Paul use his ID to buy alcohol that day. He has not spoken publicly about his father’s deaths or legal troubles. He was photographed last September at the family home of Edisto Beach, SCand was reportedly spotted at The Venetian casino in Vegas after that.. The New York Post said he was staying with his mother’s sister Marian overseer in Charleston.

Paul Murdaugh

The younger of two sons of Alex and Maggie Murdaugh. He was fatally shot June 7 alongside his mother. At the time of his death, Paul, 22, was a student at University of South Carolina and was facing three felonies boating under the influence of charges related to the 2019 boating accident in Beaufort County who killed Mallory Beach. No trial had been set and he was out $50,000 obligation. The charges were dismissed after his death.

Six people were on the boat that night and all had been drinking alcohol, police said, describing them as “grossly intoxicated”.

Other family members

John Marvin Murdaugh, the brother of Alex Murdaugh, was at the crime scene to speak with investigators following the homicide of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh. A friend of John Marvin has given several interviews saying the family is “confident that justice will be served”. Randolph “Randy” Murdaugh IV, also Alex’s brother, started working at the family law firm in 1991, according to the firm’s website. He was one of the first people Alex Murdaugh called after being shot in the head September 4, 2021.

Mallory Beach

She was 19 when a boat driven by Paul Murdaugh crashed into a bridge pier, throwing her into the water. Her body was found a week later about five miles from the crash site. The cause of death was drowning.

She was from Hampton and attended the University of South Carolina, where she played football. She worked in a shop in Beaufort.

Stephane Smith

The 19 year old Hampton County was found dead on a road near Hampton in 2015. Authorities disagreed on whether he was killed in a hit-and-run accident or homicide. No arrests were made in the case which eventually went cold.

Two weeks after the investigation into Murdaugh’s double homicide began, SLED announced that it was reopening Smith’s investigation due to information received in its Murdaugh investigation. No official statement has linked the Murdaughs to Smith’s death.

Curtis Edward Smith

Smith is accused of helping Alex Murdaugh set up a failed suicide attempt. Smith was arrested in September for helping Murdaugh stage a suicide so Murdaugh’s son Buster could recover $10 million on a life insurance company. The alleged plot failed and Murdaugh – in addition to Smith – now faces criminal charges in this September 4 incident. Smith, a former client of Murdaugh, said he did not shoot Murdaugh and retrieved the gun and disposed of it. The state reported that Smith received $155,970 of Murdaugh in 17 bank checks of October 2020 through May 2021 which were cashed in various banks around Hampton and Beaufort counties.

Gloria Satterfield and the family

Gloria Harriot Satterfield was a longtime housekeeper for the Murdaugh family and helped raise the boys. She slipped and fell on the steps of the Moselle house in February 2018 And died. She was 57 years old. Her obituary said she “loved tennis, loved children and her favorite color was purple. Above all, she will be remembered for her laughter and outgoing personality.

Murdaugh is accused of making insurance settlements meant for her sons, Brian “Little B” Harriott of Furman and Michael Anthony “Tony” Satterfield Beaufort for his own use. Her obituary said “she loved like her family, Alec and Maggie Murdaugh and their family.

Russell Laffitte

The former CEO of Palmetto Bank in Hampton was accused of helping Alex Murdaugh defraud customers. He faces 21 counts, including breach of trust with fraudulent intent, computer crime and criminal association. His bail was set at $1 million and it displayed the required 10%. He is required to wear an ankle bracelet to monitor his whereabouts and is not allowed to leave the state. Laffitte holds 9% of the shares of State Bank of Palmetto, said a lawyer, but was fired last year by the bank’s board. He attended Newberry College.

Chris Wilson

The Bamberg-based lawyer – whose friendship with Murdaugh dates back to college when the two attended the University of South Carolina law school together – cooperated with law enforcement in the investigation of Murdaugh’s alleged financial crimes. He is mentioned – but not identified by name – as an “attorney from another firm” in two of the 15 state grand jury indictments that allege Murdaugh stole $8.4 million from customers and associates. Wilson has not been charged and his attorney Seller Bakari described him as an innocent victim. Also on the night Maggie and Paul were murdered, Murdaugh and Wilson spoke to each other on their cell phones at the approximate time authorities said Maggie and Paul were likely shot – between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m.according Jim Griffinone of Murdaugh’s lawyers.

Cory Fleming

Beaufort lawyer Cory Fleming is accused of participating in a multi-million dollar theft scheme orchestrated by Murdaugh. He was charged with multiple financial crimes. The 44-page state grand jury indictment against Fleming was unsealed Wednesday morning by the state judge Alison Lee and announced by the state attorney general’s office. Fleming, 53, who was known as Murdaugh’s close aide and was his classmate at the University of South Carolina School of Law, was the first Murdaugh associate to be charged in connection with alleged financial crimes. The indictment charges Fleming with money laundering, criminal association, misrepresentation and breach of trust with fraudulent intent. He is free on $100,000 obligation.

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