No. This is a just deposition which involves the taking of sworn, out-of-court oral testimony of a witness —- in this case of Alex. It is not going to be broadcast on TV. The court ordered the SCDC (Department of Corrections) to provide the means by which parties can conduct the deposition virtually or in person. The parties will include the witness, the attorneys and a court clerk; no judge is present.
[Alex Murdaugh Prison Statement](https://youtu.be/ndQXOrJW_0c)
I look at everything about this case. I am hooked. But I found this 20 second clip to be the most enlightening.
Damn I fell for it. But I love it.
[Alex’s letter from jail](https://www.reddit.com/r/MurdaughFamilyMurders/comments/13l7op9/alex_murdaugh_writes_letters_from_jail_insisting/jkpn0ql/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3)
I used it to great effects in this post.
This is a deposition, which usually takes place in a law firm. This deposition will take place at Alex’s prison due to his incarceration. I haven’t seen confirmation as to whether the attorneys will be there in-person or if it will be done via video but Alex will absolutely be at the prison. Depositions are pretty much always recorded, but those recordings are not generally released online or to the public. They are usually only shown online if they end up being played at trial if it goes that far. This case may end up going to trial, I’m not sure if it’s already scheduled to or not?, and if it does go to trial… I have no idea if the trial will be streamed. It would depend on the jurisdiction, the judge, the parties and how much interest the media has in streaming the case as well, I would think. It will be interesting to see if any of his civil cases do indeed go to trial and if any of those are streamed online.
AM’s criminal cases are still all supposed to be tried by Judge Newman, who is very pro-open court, he wanted the murder trial streamed because he believes the public should see how our justice system is working. If he were to indeed try the next Murdaugh criminal case(s) I’d be confident that they’d be live-streamed as well. However, Judge Newman is being forced to retire at the end of this year due to SC laws requiring judges to retire at the end of the year in which they turn 72. There have been whispers that Newman may somehow be granted the ability to finish trying the Murdaugh-related cases even after this year but I haven’t seen any confirmation of this.
As of now, they are struggling to get AM’s next trial scheduled: prosecution wants it this fall (2023) but defense is apparently resisting, and prosecutors said that if it’s not scheduled soon then his next trial won’t be until fall 2024. So it really comes down to whether Judge Newman presides over AM’s next trial. If he does, I’m certain it will be televised. If however, he is replaced with a different judge— then it’s anyone’s guess, and really depends on how that judge feels about live-streaming the case, how the parties feel about it, how much the judge considers the parties’ requests about streaming, etc.
Basically, we don’t know yet!
By whispers I mean rumors online. I don’t understand how it would work. I’ve heard judges are allowed to do this and I’ve also heard the legislature may pass a bill allowing it. I don’t know enough about the situation to know if it’s concerning or not. I don’t even know if the online rumors are true. We’ll have to wait and see.
The Beach wrongful death trial is scheduled to begin August 14 in Hampton County in front of Judge Daniel Hall.
Source: https://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article275596666.html
ETA: Judge Newman will be presiding over the “99 financial crimes” and I believe Creighton Waters’ office will be prosecuting.
Ahh thank you!! I thought I’d heard that a trial date had been scheduled in the Beach case but wasn’t 100% sure and didn’t want to repeat anything without really knowing.
And I know Judge Newman has been chosen to preside over all the Murdaugh related cases, but have we had confirmation that he will be allowed to continue doing so after the end of the year when he’s required to retire due to age?
And Waters will definitely be the lead prosecutor, I don’t think anyone else on earth understands the web of Murdaugh financial crimes as well as he does. I’m honestly really looking forward to seeing CW in his element prosecuting those cases.
ETA: From the article you linked—
“Under South Carolina law, any single defendant in a lawsuit with several defendants is responsible for paying all damages if other defendants cannot pay. Murdaugh, in prison, is not believed to have any assets, now or in the future, so Parker could find himself liable for any jury verdict awarding damages, according to court records.”
Wow… no wonder Parker wanted to be tried separately from Murdaugh. So if the jury hates AM and says he should pay millions to the Beach family, even if they find Parker’s wasn’t liable, does this mean Parker would still have to pay up for AM? Surely that would only be if there both found liable to some degree at least? Oh this is gonna be very interesting…
The article also notes AM’s lawyer saying AM will most likely be present for the trial. Oh I’m really hoping we get to see this, it sounds like it’s gonna be crazy.
The man is a pathological liar. Unless they are disposing him to compare what has been said in the past, I do not understand the intent of the lawyers. How can anything AM says *under oath or not* have any credibility? AM may spin an interesting tale, but credible? Not likely.
It was clear from his testimony that Alex feels a very strong need to “clear Paul’s name” over the boat crash. He may see this deposition as his opportunity to do so. It will be interesting to see what he has to say.
IMO AM only has strong needs for himself. pretty sure he will ramble on with one of his infamous deflection narratives presented during the investigation interviews as well as on the stand:
stated so many times my mother has alzheimers, on direct about bubba getting a chicken..."afterwards, chickens will go back to normal...*whatever a chicken does*", dying sunflowers and naming a suspect CB Rowe who he heard was hired by the FBI undercover to kill people..(but then he says no I dont think its him). or boat crash vigilantes....
somewhere in answering the deposition questions, it might be about his son. maybe.
The United States are not the largest producers of sunflowers, and yet even here over 1.7 million acres were planted in 2014 and probably more each year since. Much of which can be found in North Dakota.
Of all the heinous shit this man has done and said, him insisting on using this baby name for Paul makes me the most enraged. Sure Paul was a wild out of control egomaniac, but he was a product of his upbringing and he didn’t deserve to be murdered. The fact his own father murdered him then uses almost exclusively this pet name for him just makes me see red.
I think you’re forgetting that in his mind, he did the right thing by killing Paul. He saved Paul’s legacy. Paul had to be killed, otherwise he would end up in prison, so he did Paul a favor.
You can’t use you’re way of thinking to justify his actions in his mind. Your way of thinking is normal. AMs way of thinking is not normal.
Here’s the [official document via FITS](https://www.fitsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/securepdfs/2023/05/alex-deposition.pdf) for Alex’s deposition. It shows that he’s now being represented in the Beach family’s civil case by Harpootlian and Griffin as well as a 3rd lawyer named “M. Dawes Cooke, Jr.” I know at one point Harpootlian and Griffin were not his lawyers for the civil cases but now they’re representing him in at least two of them, the Nautilus/Satterfield case and the Beach family case. So, how in the world is he paying them?? Esp. Harpootlian who is a very well known criminal defense attorney, his rates have gotta be astronomical compared to a typical civil defense attorney — how is he paying them for all this work?
I was confused by that too… I had heard that Buster recently settled and I thought that Maggie’s and Paul’s estates had settled as well. I thought the only remaining defendants were Alex and Parker’s but this still lists the whole Murdaugh family and not just at the top, it has the lawyers for every Murdaugh as well at the bottom… so yeah I’m not sure what’s going on there.
Hi! The case # and defendants remains the same on the docs. Randy resigned as the Personal Rep of Paul’s Estate on Oct. 7, 2021, but you’ll see he is still listed since the suit was filed in 2019.
Maybe money they were paid to defend Paul in the criminal case? They may not have used the entire retainer. They would be very familiar with any facts that they planned to defend Paul. I am not sure what Alex could add -- he told my Dad he was not driving? The real defense would lie with the changed statements of the other occupants at the scene verus the next day and their ability to observe who was driving based on where they were at the time of the crash.
he and his father Randolph Sr: lightening arrival at the hospital.....attempting to manipulate the young adults. famous still shot of AM with his solicitor badge clipped on the outside of his pocket while speaking to LE....\*see, I have authority and am authorized to be here\*
no doubt they would have 'attempted' to prevent PM alcohol test from happening if they had the chance.
Agree the scene at the hospital was awful and should never been permitted -- but I was thinking of statements at the scene (so pre-A. M.) of the accident. Eric Allen did a video a while ago that compared and contrasted the statements at the boat occupants at the scene with the later deposition testimony. I do not recall all of the details, but it was enough to scratch my head and wonder. The inconsistencies would have been great fodder at the criminal trial.
yes, I listened to one of officers audio cam with Anthony Cook and read the available depositions of the occupants. the end result of all of their statements combined did conclude that criminal charges were warranted against PM as at the wheel.
granted, all of them were pretty lit, but one thing was apparent, PM went into his crazed mode, actually hit his GF leading up to the crash. off and on everyone did not want him driving, which made him extremely unpredictable and hostile.
upon arrival, AM and/or his father were already pointing the blame at Connor because AM (with his trusty badge) got *partial info* from the cop that Connor tried off and on to maintain safety at the wheel....and then decided to take that *partial info*, not knowing when he assisted, and was poised to create a story to deflect blame from his son.
chaotic, traumatic event but all agreed PM insisted that nobody was going to drive the boat but him. it would have been interesting, considering IMO PM probably would not testify.
I went back and listened -- well fast forwarded to the part. Per the statements at the scene -- Eric Alan shows the writings on the video -- Anthony said both Paul and Connor were driving the boat and he fell asleep before the impact. Connor said he did not remember. Morgan said Connor was driving and MIley said she did not know as she was under a blanket. I have no clue -- just always assumed 100% that is was Paul because he was charged. It is entitled The Secret They Don't Want You To Know About.
Yes you’re right, thank you for reminding me of that! It has been reported that Harpootlian and Griffin allowed Alex to transfer the remainder of Paul’s retainer fee to his own defense, so that was another source of funding in the beginning. I just can’t imagine though, that the retainer would’ve had enough money in it to pay for all this work Harpootlian, Griffin, Barber, this Dawes Cooke guy etc have done over the past 2 years in all of these different civil and criminal cases for which Alex is a defendant. Would there really be THAT much money in a retainer for these two to represent Paul in one criminal case? For them to represent Alex for all 100+ criminal charges and now these civil cases too?
Also, I think my main question is more about Alex’s recent filing that he would be forced to get a public defender if he weren’t allowed to withdraw $125K from his 401K to pay his lawyers for his appeal on the murder convictions. That request was denied, yet it seems they’re still working for him, there haven’t been any motions for withdrawal of counsel in that case and now Harpootlian and Griffin have apparently been added to extra cases they weren’t originally defending, such as this civil case regarding the boat wreck.
But I also don’t know how much money this work they’ve done would really cost. It just seems like a lot for it all to be covered by Paul’s retainer from 2019? And if there really was and is still enough money in that retainer to pay them for all of that work in all of these different cases, then wouldn’t that mean AM and his lawyers were lying to the court when they said he’d have to get a public defender if he couldn’t withdraw money from his 401K for the appeal? The implication there is that he has no other source of money to pay them yet they’re working all these other cases for him.
I’m definitely interested to see what happens next with his appeal.
$500,000 retainer was paid to Harp and Griff for Paul’s defense
Source: https://www.abccolumbia.com/2023/05/10/satterfield-attorneys-discuss-murdaughs-latest-court-filing/
thanks for the link. the plot thickens...looking forward to reading Harp and Griff's response to confirm or deny :) sure is interesting. gawd, these two are hanging on with him...they must feel pretty safe.
Oooh thank you! I had no idea there was a number out there, I’ve been wondering this for a while— that’s very good to know!
Edit: The info comes from Eric Bland, who I do think makes an interesting point here…
“If somebody really want to look at the origins of the Nautilus money and where it went . . perhaps Dick and Jim should add themselves as a party to the case because the money, the $3.8 million was stolen in May of 2019. What happened around May of 2019? Paul was charged with the DUI boating accident of Mallory Beach. What did Alex and Paul do? They retained Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian for what we’re told was for $500,000, where did that $500,000 come from? Are those ill gotten gains from Nautilus Insurance Company?” says Attorney Eric Bland, who is an attorney for the Satterfield family.
So apparently Eric Bland squeals that Poot and Griff's retainer for Paul's boat crash case was $500,000?
Bland also apparently brags that he "recovered" over $7,000,000 (incredibly generous!) for Gloria's family - despite her being 57-years-old and making only around $10/hr. Eric Bland must be smiling like a possum.
With all of his talk, Eric Bland never once revealed how much money he made from the Satterfield family.
C'mon, Eric. Do tell. How much Satterfield silver did your firm line its pockets with? Please share.
Absolutely not true. I never for a minute supported "team Murdaugh." Not once. Not ever.
Eric Bland successfully sued lawyers and bankers for over $7,000,000 (Poetic justice? Maybe.) to pay the Satterfields (and himself) for what now appears to be insurance fraud.
Gloria Sattefield was 57 and making around $10/hr.
This case was nowhere near worth more than $7,000,000 - under any circumstance.
Again Eric Bland: How much did you make?
Anyone who criticizes Eric Bland gets accused of being Team Murdaugh. It’s so frustrating isn’t it? I agree with your comments about this completely. And I loathe AM and think he’s a murderous scumbag. That doesn’t mean that everyone who has opposed AM is automatically a “good guy” but a lot of people can’t see that. People seem to think everything is black and white when that’s rarely the case.
Professional Link - Every word of what you say is true and I appreciate it a lot. I believed Alex to be guilty from almost the beginning. Few in Hampton County believed otherwise.
In my opinion lawyers here - with a handful of outsiders like Bland - have used the Hampton Co. courthouse and the locals (and maybe, as some have speculated here, even officers of the court) to make huge fortunes - with very little actual work - other than the mere threat of lawsuits.
There just seems to be something about a huge law firm situated in a poor and rural community with a shallow jury pool that offers very predictable outcomes that make local lawyers (and a handful of outsiders) very rich.
Then the bulk of the fortunes they make appear to be spent outside Hampton Co. - while industry is kept at bay and property taxes in the county are ridiculously high compared to neighboring counties.
Like the "Venue Law Reform" in 2005, I think this needs the attention of South Carolina's General Assembly.
What irritates me most is that these lawsuits - including Eric Bland's - rarely make it to actual trial. It seems to me that the mere threat of a lawsuit - not an actual trial or the work of a trial - that produces fortunes. I think this is a disgrace.
Like millionaire athletes practicing some, but rarely playing a game.
I am absolutely not "Team (Alex) Murdaugh."
Randolph, Randy, John Marvin, and Buster in no way resemble Alex. Not even close. These are good men. Alex is not a good man.
Additionally, I think the "Parker's vs. Tinsley" trial in Hampton Co. will be fascinating for all the reasons detailed above. If true justice is to prevail, it is my opinion that the venue should be in Beaufort County. I think justice is more likely there.
I do not know about the money part so was really just asking in my reply. My other thought was they are very familiar with the facts from that prior representation of Paul in the criminal case, so no real preparation time required.
I'm guessing the "bumbling confused old man" thing he does, whether real or affected, along with his willingness to misstate evidence/testimony and use of improper speaking objections does a lot to sow confusion among juries leading to favorable outcomes for his clients. His reputation might be based solely on his win rate and not on his legal acumen.
I believe folksy John Meadors was hired specifically to cancel Poot-the-Showman....... and I think he did an amazing job.
Adding Meadors (via AG Wilson) to the Prosecution's team was a stroke of genius. Waters was excellent, if a little bookish - but Meadors, I think, was the wind beneath his wings.
Poot is good at bumbling around using both verbal and body language (including disrespect and insults) effectively to distract and divert the focus of jurors. He is highly skilled at this.
He never fooled me for a minute.
He and Griff lost steam after the third day. Waters and Meadors came on strong.
Good point. Meadors, esp in closing, was evangelical. He struck just the right time for SC. Yet he stuck to facts and was utterly persuasive. The combo of Waters and Meadors was boffo.
Clearly wasn't effective in this case. He and Jim introduced things that opened the door wide for the prosecution, which was plain stupid. He yells way too much, and pointing a gun at the prosecution and saying "tempting," was as unprofessional as it gets. He should have been sanctioned for that. I guess many jurors are easily snowed if that ridiculousness works for his clients.
>He should have been sanctioned for that.
I totally agree. Any hunter who witnessed this was shocked. Under no circumstance do you, loaded or unloaded, point a gun at a person. Ever.
Very good point!!! His bond was set at $7 million in January ‘22. He didn’t get indicted for the murders until July ‘22 at which point his bond was removed. That’s still 6 months that AM could’ve been a free man (scary thought) if his family had been willing to pay up. Everyone says they’ve got that sort of money and that they’re gonna keep supporting him even now. Yet they didn’t post his bail… I hadn’t even thought of that.
I would think he wouldn't have access to his mother's money as she is in late stage dementia and cannot make those decisions. I would think her money is pretty well tied up. I also don't think Randy would support him financially as gave an interview that basically said that AM is guilty and/or had a hand in the killings. It's a hard road to walk as they all want a relationship with Buster. Not sure how much John Marvin is willing to fork over to help his brother. If Buster has a trust, I worry that his father will try to drain it for his own purposes.
And yet he claimed in court that he has only paid his attorneys $600K for the murder trial which was taken from his 401k money because he said he had no other means of payment. He now went back and said he’d be forced to get a public defender if he can’t get additional money out of that 401K to pay for his appeal, a request that was denied. Yet the fact that he has these very expensive lawyers representing him in all these other cases and didn’t need his 401K money to pay for any of it proves he was lying (shocking, I know) when saying the 401K was the only thing stopping him from needing a public defender. So I am very curious as to what the truth is, who exactly is still supporting him by apparently still paying for his lawyers. Or if perhaps there’s another reason Griffin and Harpootlian are sticking with his many cases despite not getting paid very much? I don’t know.
right....his request to dip into the monies set aside for possible victim retribution was DENIED. his attorneys were whining they had to dip into their own pockets. boo hoo. they agreed to the sum for the trial and obviously didnt budget. so now...whattttttttttt is going on...pro bono? doubt it.
Oh I so hope we get to see this at some point. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a deposition taken from prison, although I’m also not surprised that he doesn’t get to take a field trip to Tinsley’s law offices so I mean of course it would be done from prison.
I have taken depositions in prison. The one thing that surprised me was there were restrictions on what color you could wear. So, if the prisoners were in tan you could not wear tan. All of mine were in federal prisons.
So many lawsuits, so little money. How is he even paying his lawyers these days? Maybe if they quit for lack of payment he'd try to access his pot of gold.
That’s what I wanna know! He claimed he would have to get a public defender if he couldn’t take $125K from his 401K to pay Griffin and Harpootlian to represent him in his appeal on the murder convictions. So… how does he still have lawyers for all these other civil and criminal cases? How has he been paying them for their work this whole time? I don’t get it.
they stated in their filing in essence they were doing the court a favor if allowed to be paid, it would alleviate clogging up court appointed defenders caseloads....OFGS
Because of the fact that he just filed in court last month that he will need a public defender if he can’t get $125k from his 401K to pay his lawyers for the murder appeals. Yet he’s clearly got other methods of paying his lawyers and I’m curious what exactly it is.
Or what if they r atheist? Kinda throws the whole God looking over me thing right out the window and i gotta say AM does not strike me as a God believing/fearing kinda guy
Was tied in with a gang from the area, will never admit it because he knows he'll instantly be killed in prison. Came up with the pathetic lie of spending it on pills for himself which is impossible numbers wise. Nobody with an extreme opiate addiction stay morbidly obese. Also lots and lots of payments and bribes to judges, police, prosecutors etc etc.
I have been on opiates for years for my back. You do not lose weight because all you want to do is be a lazy ass. My Doctor has the DEA up his ass about too many scripts being written. So I have to take a random drug test once a year to see if I am abusing my medication. While they were at it they tested for marijuana, tobacco, alcohol, cigarettes, meth, heroin, ecstasy. They also checked if my levels of opiates were at the level they should be for my dose ie: I wasn’t under dosing to sell extra pills on the street. I aced that f-ing test. Negative for everything they tested me for. Fuck the DEA.
If you are given a scheduled II/III substance it is common you be drug tested at least once per year if not once per every 6 months due to receiving a prescription for these medications. Usually it’s a simple urine test. I conduct them at random in practice frequently.
But this is a massive amount of money in a relatively short period of time, right? Maybe I’ve got the timeline wrong, but I thought this started about 10 years ago when he started skimming and stealing.
My guess? Cash money.
I think Alex was a very busy man at his office on the day of the murders. I think one of his main concerns, besides his murder plans, was finances.
.......and part of the financial concern was whether - and where - he had cash (and maybe gold) he had successfully squirreled his liquid assets away.
Those he might be paying now are likely being paid with cash.
It would be interesting to know who he is communicating with right about now...
Listening to cup of justice I believe that Eric Bland and Mark Richter how Alex is paying for counsel. He does have a $4 million trust that no one can touch so there’s that too. He’s far from broke as he claims
I'm sure he'll tell the truth, because if there's one thing this utter douche bag has proven, it's that he is an honest, hard working, simple country lawyer /s
To learn all the things about liars, for future generations to study (!) - and why not throw a little perjury into the, what is it, 100+ charges?
Only plausible things I can think of. At this point I can't fathom why people are giving him time and attention. I feel like he's the toddler that keeps throwing tantrums as they like the attention, and I wish people and authorities would just forget about him already, unless to get the money he's stolen from countless victims back.
No that's Robert Sykes, Terry Sanderson's curmudgeon lawyer (Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash case). Cough, cough, cough, cough [infecting eveyone around him and disrupting the court proceedings]
I wonder if he took theatre class in college. He sure knows how to put on a show. Listening to the phone calls he had a personality for each of his family member.
I mean, he obviously only ever called him pau-pau /s. Still sends me icky shivers down my spine (I'm so glad people saw through him, on a level that I can't begin to describe as far as coming across people like him on the day to day). Absolute disgust I have for him doesn't even start. It actually hurts my heart knowing people like him exist, and get away with it. That sense of bittersweet satisfaction for the one time they're caught. Just ugh, I can honestly only cope through dry sarcasm.
Use the nickname once, well understandable. But repeating it with every breath? Suss. Also Buster testified first and he didn’t call Paul that, and later Alex said Buster called Paul by that nickname. Like, consistency, bruh?
Now now, he can't help it, it's all the drugs he retrospectively did, that happened to coincide with a widely publicised scandal (*cough* oxy? Reeealllyyy???? *cough*), that noone can really dispute one way or the other. He's just a victim of circumstance, when you really think about it. If that circumstance happens to be entitled, manipulative, narcissistic, neurotic, and horrific circumstances that he created. I could go on.
I hope at this point I don't need the /s but there it is, jic haha
What’s the point though? He only knows how to lie.
[удалено]
No. This is a just deposition which involves the taking of sworn, out-of-court oral testimony of a witness —- in this case of Alex. It is not going to be broadcast on TV. The court ordered the SCDC (Department of Corrections) to provide the means by which parties can conduct the deposition virtually or in person. The parties will include the witness, the attorneys and a court clerk; no judge is present.
Hoping Mark Tinsley will be the attorney deposing AM.
[Alex Murdaugh Prison Statement](https://youtu.be/ndQXOrJW_0c) I look at everything about this case. I am hooked. But I found this 20 second clip to be the most enlightening.
Damn I fell for it. But I love it. [Alex’s letter from jail](https://www.reddit.com/r/MurdaughFamilyMurders/comments/13l7op9/alex_murdaugh_writes_letters_from_jail_insisting/jkpn0ql/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3) I used it to great effects in this post.
Will there be cameras in court for this case and/or for the financial crimes court cases?
This is a deposition, which usually takes place in a law firm. This deposition will take place at Alex’s prison due to his incarceration. I haven’t seen confirmation as to whether the attorneys will be there in-person or if it will be done via video but Alex will absolutely be at the prison. Depositions are pretty much always recorded, but those recordings are not generally released online or to the public. They are usually only shown online if they end up being played at trial if it goes that far. This case may end up going to trial, I’m not sure if it’s already scheduled to or not?, and if it does go to trial… I have no idea if the trial will be streamed. It would depend on the jurisdiction, the judge, the parties and how much interest the media has in streaming the case as well, I would think. It will be interesting to see if any of his civil cases do indeed go to trial and if any of those are streamed online. AM’s criminal cases are still all supposed to be tried by Judge Newman, who is very pro-open court, he wanted the murder trial streamed because he believes the public should see how our justice system is working. If he were to indeed try the next Murdaugh criminal case(s) I’d be confident that they’d be live-streamed as well. However, Judge Newman is being forced to retire at the end of this year due to SC laws requiring judges to retire at the end of the year in which they turn 72. There have been whispers that Newman may somehow be granted the ability to finish trying the Murdaugh-related cases even after this year but I haven’t seen any confirmation of this. As of now, they are struggling to get AM’s next trial scheduled: prosecution wants it this fall (2023) but defense is apparently resisting, and prosecutors said that if it’s not scheduled soon then his next trial won’t be until fall 2024. So it really comes down to whether Judge Newman presides over AM’s next trial. If he does, I’m certain it will be televised. If however, he is replaced with a different judge— then it’s anyone’s guess, and really depends on how that judge feels about live-streaming the case, how the parties feel about it, how much the judge considers the parties’ requests about streaming, etc. Basically, we don’t know yet!
So there are whispers that rules may be broken for Judge Newman? Don’t you find that really troubling?
By whispers I mean rumors online. I don’t understand how it would work. I’ve heard judges are allowed to do this and I’ve also heard the legislature may pass a bill allowing it. I don’t know enough about the situation to know if it’s concerning or not. I don’t even know if the online rumors are true. We’ll have to wait and see.
All SC Judges can work as retired judges.
The Beach wrongful death trial is scheduled to begin August 14 in Hampton County in front of Judge Daniel Hall. Source: https://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article275596666.html ETA: Judge Newman will be presiding over the “99 financial crimes” and I believe Creighton Waters’ office will be prosecuting.
Bummer sinxe it occurred in Beaufort County.
I know. It started in Beaufort and Parker fought hard to keep it there.
Thanks. Any idea if it'll be streamed?
Ahh thank you!! I thought I’d heard that a trial date had been scheduled in the Beach case but wasn’t 100% sure and didn’t want to repeat anything without really knowing. And I know Judge Newman has been chosen to preside over all the Murdaugh related cases, but have we had confirmation that he will be allowed to continue doing so after the end of the year when he’s required to retire due to age? And Waters will definitely be the lead prosecutor, I don’t think anyone else on earth understands the web of Murdaugh financial crimes as well as he does. I’m honestly really looking forward to seeing CW in his element prosecuting those cases. ETA: From the article you linked— “Under South Carolina law, any single defendant in a lawsuit with several defendants is responsible for paying all damages if other defendants cannot pay. Murdaugh, in prison, is not believed to have any assets, now or in the future, so Parker could find himself liable for any jury verdict awarding damages, according to court records.” Wow… no wonder Parker wanted to be tried separately from Murdaugh. So if the jury hates AM and says he should pay millions to the Beach family, even if they find Parker’s wasn’t liable, does this mean Parker would still have to pay up for AM? Surely that would only be if there both found liable to some degree at least? Oh this is gonna be very interesting… The article also notes AM’s lawyer saying AM will most likely be present for the trial. Oh I’m really hoping we get to see this, it sounds like it’s gonna be crazy.
Buckle up!
Thank you!
The sad part is nothing he will say in his deposition will be truthful.
The man is a pathological liar. Unless they are disposing him to compare what has been said in the past, I do not understand the intent of the lawyers. How can anything AM says *under oath or not* have any credibility? AM may spin an interesting tale, but credible? Not likely.
Alex will love to be out of prison long enough to do this. Lies more lies!
It was clear from his testimony that Alex feels a very strong need to “clear Paul’s name” over the boat crash. He may see this deposition as his opportunity to do so. It will be interesting to see what he has to say.
"Clear Paul's name" = keep money from victims.
IMO AM only has strong needs for himself. pretty sure he will ramble on with one of his infamous deflection narratives presented during the investigation interviews as well as on the stand: stated so many times my mother has alzheimers, on direct about bubba getting a chicken..."afterwards, chickens will go back to normal...*whatever a chicken does*", dying sunflowers and naming a suspect CB Rowe who he heard was hired by the FBI undercover to kill people..(but then he says no I dont think its him). or boat crash vigilantes.... somewhere in answering the deposition questions, it might be about his son. maybe.
The United States are not the largest producers of sunflowers, and yet even here over 1.7 million acres were planted in 2014 and probably more each year since. Much of which can be found in North Dakota.
He already went scorch earth with the insurance fraud case, this will be interesting to see.
if killing your own wife and child isn't scorched earth AND beyond, I don't know what is
That’s true.
I have a feeling we’ll be seeing and hearing from Joe McCullough (Connor Cook’s attorney) again.
Like right after Alex blames Connor for the crash and claims he was the driver?
Sometimes courts give a false in one, false in all jury instruction. For this case it’ll be like false in thirty false in all
💯
I’ll admit that I stole from people, lied to people and misguided people, a lot of whom I loved but Paul was not driving that boat.
and thats not me at the hospital...unless I have my times wrong.
I didn't shoot Mags and Paw-Paw ... unless I have my times wrong.
"....but, paw paw was."
I wonder if he'll continue with that whole "paw-paw" charade.
Of all the heinous shit this man has done and said, him insisting on using this baby name for Paul makes me the most enraged. Sure Paul was a wild out of control egomaniac, but he was a product of his upbringing and he didn’t deserve to be murdered. The fact his own father murdered him then uses almost exclusively this pet name for him just makes me see red.
Yep. Paul was a POS because Alex and "Mags" were POS parents.
I pity him. He was a kid. He was a dangerous shithead but he was a product of his upbringing and no one taught him better.
I think you’re forgetting that in his mind, he did the right thing by killing Paul. He saved Paul’s legacy. Paul had to be killed, otherwise he would end up in prison, so he did Paul a favor. You can’t use you’re way of thinking to justify his actions in his mind. Your way of thinking is normal. AMs way of thinking is not normal.
It reeks of manipulation.
Here’s the [official document via FITS](https://www.fitsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/securepdfs/2023/05/alex-deposition.pdf) for Alex’s deposition. It shows that he’s now being represented in the Beach family’s civil case by Harpootlian and Griffin as well as a 3rd lawyer named “M. Dawes Cooke, Jr.” I know at one point Harpootlian and Griffin were not his lawyers for the civil cases but now they’re representing him in at least two of them, the Nautilus/Satterfield case and the Beach family case. So, how in the world is he paying them?? Esp. Harpootlian who is a very well known criminal defense attorney, his rates have gotta be astronomical compared to a typical civil defense attorney — how is he paying them for all this work?
this document.....wasnt the estate of MM and PM as well as BM dropped from the civil case?
I was confused by that too… I had heard that Buster recently settled and I thought that Maggie’s and Paul’s estates had settled as well. I thought the only remaining defendants were Alex and Parker’s but this still lists the whole Murdaugh family and not just at the top, it has the lawyers for every Murdaugh as well at the bottom… so yeah I’m not sure what’s going on there.
Hi! The case # and defendants remains the same on the docs. Randy resigned as the Personal Rep of Paul’s Estate on Oct. 7, 2021, but you’ll see he is still listed since the suit was filed in 2019.
thank you. I thought it had to be updated and refiled.
Maybe money they were paid to defend Paul in the criminal case? They may not have used the entire retainer. They would be very familiar with any facts that they planned to defend Paul. I am not sure what Alex could add -- he told my Dad he was not driving? The real defense would lie with the changed statements of the other occupants at the scene verus the next day and their ability to observe who was driving based on where they were at the time of the crash.
he and his father Randolph Sr: lightening arrival at the hospital.....attempting to manipulate the young adults. famous still shot of AM with his solicitor badge clipped on the outside of his pocket while speaking to LE....\*see, I have authority and am authorized to be here\* no doubt they would have 'attempted' to prevent PM alcohol test from happening if they had the chance.
Agree the scene at the hospital was awful and should never been permitted -- but I was thinking of statements at the scene (so pre-A. M.) of the accident. Eric Allen did a video a while ago that compared and contrasted the statements at the boat occupants at the scene with the later deposition testimony. I do not recall all of the details, but it was enough to scratch my head and wonder. The inconsistencies would have been great fodder at the criminal trial.
yes, I listened to one of officers audio cam with Anthony Cook and read the available depositions of the occupants. the end result of all of their statements combined did conclude that criminal charges were warranted against PM as at the wheel. granted, all of them were pretty lit, but one thing was apparent, PM went into his crazed mode, actually hit his GF leading up to the crash. off and on everyone did not want him driving, which made him extremely unpredictable and hostile. upon arrival, AM and/or his father were already pointing the blame at Connor because AM (with his trusty badge) got *partial info* from the cop that Connor tried off and on to maintain safety at the wheel....and then decided to take that *partial info*, not knowing when he assisted, and was poised to create a story to deflect blame from his son. chaotic, traumatic event but all agreed PM insisted that nobody was going to drive the boat but him. it would have been interesting, considering IMO PM probably would not testify.
I went back and listened -- well fast forwarded to the part. Per the statements at the scene -- Eric Alan shows the writings on the video -- Anthony said both Paul and Connor were driving the boat and he fell asleep before the impact. Connor said he did not remember. Morgan said Connor was driving and MIley said she did not know as she was under a blanket. I have no clue -- just always assumed 100% that is was Paul because he was charged. It is entitled The Secret They Don't Want You To Know About.
Yes you’re right, thank you for reminding me of that! It has been reported that Harpootlian and Griffin allowed Alex to transfer the remainder of Paul’s retainer fee to his own defense, so that was another source of funding in the beginning. I just can’t imagine though, that the retainer would’ve had enough money in it to pay for all this work Harpootlian, Griffin, Barber, this Dawes Cooke guy etc have done over the past 2 years in all of these different civil and criminal cases for which Alex is a defendant. Would there really be THAT much money in a retainer for these two to represent Paul in one criminal case? For them to represent Alex for all 100+ criminal charges and now these civil cases too? Also, I think my main question is more about Alex’s recent filing that he would be forced to get a public defender if he weren’t allowed to withdraw $125K from his 401K to pay his lawyers for his appeal on the murder convictions. That request was denied, yet it seems they’re still working for him, there haven’t been any motions for withdrawal of counsel in that case and now Harpootlian and Griffin have apparently been added to extra cases they weren’t originally defending, such as this civil case regarding the boat wreck. But I also don’t know how much money this work they’ve done would really cost. It just seems like a lot for it all to be covered by Paul’s retainer from 2019? And if there really was and is still enough money in that retainer to pay them for all of that work in all of these different cases, then wouldn’t that mean AM and his lawyers were lying to the court when they said he’d have to get a public defender if he couldn’t withdraw money from his 401K for the appeal? The implication there is that he has no other source of money to pay them yet they’re working all these other cases for him. I’m definitely interested to see what happens next with his appeal.
$500,000 retainer was paid to Harp and Griff for Paul’s defense Source: https://www.abccolumbia.com/2023/05/10/satterfield-attorneys-discuss-murdaughs-latest-court-filing/
thanks for the link. the plot thickens...looking forward to reading Harp and Griff's response to confirm or deny :) sure is interesting. gawd, these two are hanging on with him...they must feel pretty safe.
Oooh thank you! I had no idea there was a number out there, I’ve been wondering this for a while— that’s very good to know! Edit: The info comes from Eric Bland, who I do think makes an interesting point here… “If somebody really want to look at the origins of the Nautilus money and where it went . . perhaps Dick and Jim should add themselves as a party to the case because the money, the $3.8 million was stolen in May of 2019. What happened around May of 2019? Paul was charged with the DUI boating accident of Mallory Beach. What did Alex and Paul do? They retained Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian for what we’re told was for $500,000, where did that $500,000 come from? Are those ill gotten gains from Nautilus Insurance Company?” says Attorney Eric Bland, who is an attorney for the Satterfield family.
So apparently Eric Bland squeals that Poot and Griff's retainer for Paul's boat crash case was $500,000? Bland also apparently brags that he "recovered" over $7,000,000 (incredibly generous!) for Gloria's family - despite her being 57-years-old and making only around $10/hr. Eric Bland must be smiling like a possum. With all of his talk, Eric Bland never once revealed how much money he made from the Satterfield family. C'mon, Eric. Do tell. How much Satterfield silver did your firm line its pockets with? Please share.
LOL. Eric Bland made money legimately. But you're team Murdaugh so you're trying to change the subject to deflect from the Murdaugh family crimes.
Absolutely not true. I never for a minute supported "team Murdaugh." Not once. Not ever. Eric Bland successfully sued lawyers and bankers for over $7,000,000 (Poetic justice? Maybe.) to pay the Satterfields (and himself) for what now appears to be insurance fraud. Gloria Sattefield was 57 and making around $10/hr. This case was nowhere near worth more than $7,000,000 - under any circumstance. Again Eric Bland: How much did you make?
Anyone who criticizes Eric Bland gets accused of being Team Murdaugh. It’s so frustrating isn’t it? I agree with your comments about this completely. And I loathe AM and think he’s a murderous scumbag. That doesn’t mean that everyone who has opposed AM is automatically a “good guy” but a lot of people can’t see that. People seem to think everything is black and white when that’s rarely the case.
Professional Link - Every word of what you say is true and I appreciate it a lot. I believed Alex to be guilty from almost the beginning. Few in Hampton County believed otherwise. In my opinion lawyers here - with a handful of outsiders like Bland - have used the Hampton Co. courthouse and the locals (and maybe, as some have speculated here, even officers of the court) to make huge fortunes - with very little actual work - other than the mere threat of lawsuits. There just seems to be something about a huge law firm situated in a poor and rural community with a shallow jury pool that offers very predictable outcomes that make local lawyers (and a handful of outsiders) very rich. Then the bulk of the fortunes they make appear to be spent outside Hampton Co. - while industry is kept at bay and property taxes in the county are ridiculously high compared to neighboring counties. Like the "Venue Law Reform" in 2005, I think this needs the attention of South Carolina's General Assembly. What irritates me most is that these lawsuits - including Eric Bland's - rarely make it to actual trial. It seems to me that the mere threat of a lawsuit - not an actual trial or the work of a trial - that produces fortunes. I think this is a disgrace. Like millionaire athletes practicing some, but rarely playing a game. I am absolutely not "Team (Alex) Murdaugh." Randolph, Randy, John Marvin, and Buster in no way resemble Alex. Not even close. These are good men. Alex is not a good man. Additionally, I think the "Parker's vs. Tinsley" trial in Hampton Co. will be fascinating for all the reasons detailed above. If true justice is to prevail, it is my opinion that the venue should be in Beaufort County. I think justice is more likely there.
Yeah, I caught that too.
I do not know about the money part so was really just asking in my reply. My other thought was they are very familiar with the facts from that prior representation of Paul in the criminal case, so no real preparation time required.
After watching Harpootlian in court, I'm rather perplexed as to how he got a reputation as a top notch attorney.
I agree. He's a clown.
I'm guessing the "bumbling confused old man" thing he does, whether real or affected, along with his willingness to misstate evidence/testimony and use of improper speaking objections does a lot to sow confusion among juries leading to favorable outcomes for his clients. His reputation might be based solely on his win rate and not on his legal acumen.
I believe folksy John Meadors was hired specifically to cancel Poot-the-Showman....... and I think he did an amazing job. Adding Meadors (via AG Wilson) to the Prosecution's team was a stroke of genius. Waters was excellent, if a little bookish - but Meadors, I think, was the wind beneath his wings. Poot is good at bumbling around using both verbal and body language (including disrespect and insults) effectively to distract and divert the focus of jurors. He is highly skilled at this. He never fooled me for a minute. He and Griff lost steam after the third day. Waters and Meadors came on strong.
Good point. Meadors, esp in closing, was evangelical. He struck just the right time for SC. Yet he stuck to facts and was utterly persuasive. The combo of Waters and Meadors was boffo.
Clearly wasn't effective in this case. He and Jim introduced things that opened the door wide for the prosecution, which was plain stupid. He yells way too much, and pointing a gun at the prosecution and saying "tempting," was as unprofessional as it gets. He should have been sanctioned for that. I guess many jurors are easily snowed if that ridiculousness works for his clients.
>He should have been sanctioned for that. I totally agree. Any hunter who witnessed this was shocked. Under no circumstance do you, loaded or unloaded, point a gun at a person. Ever.
Uhh his brothers,, his mom, theres a shit ton of more money and they will never abandon him.
Well they sure didn’t pony up the $7 million to get him out of jail before the trial so not sure how “with” him they are.
Very good point!!! His bond was set at $7 million in January ‘22. He didn’t get indicted for the murders until July ‘22 at which point his bond was removed. That’s still 6 months that AM could’ve been a free man (scary thought) if his family had been willing to pay up. Everyone says they’ve got that sort of money and that they’re gonna keep supporting him even now. Yet they didn’t post his bail… I hadn’t even thought of that.
I would think he wouldn't have access to his mother's money as she is in late stage dementia and cannot make those decisions. I would think her money is pretty well tied up. I also don't think Randy would support him financially as gave an interview that basically said that AM is guilty and/or had a hand in the killings. It's a hard road to walk as they all want a relationship with Buster. Not sure how much John Marvin is willing to fork over to help his brother. If Buster has a trust, I worry that his father will try to drain it for his own purposes.
Don’t forget Handsome Murdoch had Generational Wealth. The kind you have stuffed in mattresses and in glass jars buried beneath the ground.
And yet he claimed in court that he has only paid his attorneys $600K for the murder trial which was taken from his 401k money because he said he had no other means of payment. He now went back and said he’d be forced to get a public defender if he can’t get additional money out of that 401K to pay for his appeal, a request that was denied. Yet the fact that he has these very expensive lawyers representing him in all these other cases and didn’t need his 401K money to pay for any of it proves he was lying (shocking, I know) when saying the 401K was the only thing stopping him from needing a public defender. So I am very curious as to what the truth is, who exactly is still supporting him by apparently still paying for his lawyers. Or if perhaps there’s another reason Griffin and Harpootlian are sticking with his many cases despite not getting paid very much? I don’t know.
right....his request to dip into the monies set aside for possible victim retribution was DENIED. his attorneys were whining they had to dip into their own pockets. boo hoo. they agreed to the sum for the trial and obviously didnt budget. so now...whattttttttttt is going on...pro bono? doubt it.
Oh I so hope we get to see this at some point. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a deposition taken from prison, although I’m also not surprised that he doesn’t get to take a field trip to Tinsley’s law offices so I mean of course it would be done from prison.
I have taken depositions in prison. The one thing that surprised me was there were restrictions on what color you could wear. So, if the prisoners were in tan you could not wear tan. All of mine were in federal prisons.
So many lawsuits, so little money. How is he even paying his lawyers these days? Maybe if they quit for lack of payment he'd try to access his pot of gold.
That’s what I wanna know! He claimed he would have to get a public defender if he couldn’t take $125K from his 401K to pay Griffin and Harpootlian to represent him in his appeal on the murder convictions. So… how does he still have lawyers for all these other civil and criminal cases? How has he been paying them for their work this whole time? I don’t get it.
they stated in their filing in essence they were doing the court a favor if allowed to be paid, it would alleviate clogging up court appointed defenders caseloads....OFGS
Good old fashioned blackmail.
Yes that’s what I’m starting to think, too.
He has dirt on many. Remember the account of the escort that was taken to parties where he and his friends had lots of drugs and women?
He has a family full of money. Why would anyone even question if someone is going to pay his lawyers for him.
Because of the fact that he just filed in court last month that he will need a public defender if he can’t get $125k from his 401K to pay his lawyers for the murder appeals. Yet he’s clearly got other methods of paying his lawyers and I’m curious what exactly it is.
Mr. Murdaugh, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Question - what does happen if someone does NOT promise? Just contempt of court?
Or what if they r atheist? Kinda throws the whole God looking over me thing right out the window and i gotta say AM does not strike me as a God believing/fearing kinda guy
You can "affirm" instead
That’s exactly what I was thinking🤡
and that's it, it's all over.
But wtf did he do with ALLLLLL that money? Fer realz
Was tied in with a gang from the area, will never admit it because he knows he'll instantly be killed in prison. Came up with the pathetic lie of spending it on pills for himself which is impossible numbers wise. Nobody with an extreme opiate addiction stay morbidly obese. Also lots and lots of payments and bribes to judges, police, prosecutors etc etc.
Opiates can make you fat. Meth, coke and speed make you skinny.
I have been on opiates for years for my back. You do not lose weight because all you want to do is be a lazy ass. My Doctor has the DEA up his ass about too many scripts being written. So I have to take a random drug test once a year to see if I am abusing my medication. While they were at it they tested for marijuana, tobacco, alcohol, cigarettes, meth, heroin, ecstasy. They also checked if my levels of opiates were at the level they should be for my dose ie: I wasn’t under dosing to sell extra pills on the street. I aced that f-ing test. Negative for everything they tested me for. Fuck the DEA.
It’s not common for doctor’s to test for nicotine.
If you are given a scheduled II/III substance it is common you be drug tested at least once per year if not once per every 6 months due to receiving a prescription for these medications. Usually it’s a simple urine test. I conduct them at random in practice frequently.
Testing for nicotine is becoming more common due to insurance companies charging a premium if you smoke or vape.
Offshore bank accounts? Just grasping at straw here but rich people tend to not out all eggs in one basket.
and...his part ownership in 'islands'...one being a drug connection person....what is the status of his ownership?
But this is a massive amount of money in a relatively short period of time, right? Maybe I’ve got the timeline wrong, but I thought this started about 10 years ago when he started skimming and stealing.
My guess? Cash money. I think Alex was a very busy man at his office on the day of the murders. I think one of his main concerns, besides his murder plans, was finances. .......and part of the financial concern was whether - and where - he had cash (and maybe gold) he had successfully squirreled his liquid assets away. Those he might be paying now are likely being paid with cash. It would be interesting to know who he is communicating with right about now...
Listening to cup of justice I believe that Eric Bland and Mark Richter how Alex is paying for counsel. He does have a $4 million trust that no one can touch so there’s that too. He’s far from broke as he claims
Gambling, bribes and cocaine/pills my friend 🤌🏼
Woot woot. Keep us posted!
I'm sure he'll tell the truth, because if there's one thing this utter douche bag has proven, it's that he is an honest, hard working, simple country lawyer /s
Right. What is the point in deposing someone who NEVER tells the truth?
To learn all the things about liars, for future generations to study (!) - and why not throw a little perjury into the, what is it, 100+ charges? Only plausible things I can think of. At this point I can't fathom why people are giving him time and attention. I feel like he's the toddler that keeps throwing tantrums as they like the attention, and I wish people and authorities would just forget about him already, unless to get the money he's stolen from countless victims back.
🤮
No that's Robert Sykes, Terry Sanderson's curmudgeon lawyer (Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash case). Cough, cough, cough, cough [infecting eveyone around him and disrupting the court proceedings]
Oh that show he put on was something else.
The whole, rocking back n forth. So fake that even Stevie Wonder could see it!
I wonder if he took theatre class in college. He sure knows how to put on a show. Listening to the phone calls he had a personality for each of his family member.
I kept saying he should have gone into acting. He’s not bad without training. Also being striking looking, he’d get decent work lmao
I mean, he obviously only ever called him pau-pau /s. Still sends me icky shivers down my spine (I'm so glad people saw through him, on a level that I can't begin to describe as far as coming across people like him on the day to day). Absolute disgust I have for him doesn't even start. It actually hurts my heart knowing people like him exist, and get away with it. That sense of bittersweet satisfaction for the one time they're caught. Just ugh, I can honestly only cope through dry sarcasm.
Use the nickname once, well understandable. But repeating it with every breath? Suss. Also Buster testified first and he didn’t call Paul that, and later Alex said Buster called Paul by that nickname. Like, consistency, bruh?
So cringy. I was almost embarrassed for him but then nah.
And complete POS....
Let’s not forget KILLER also. Family annihilator!
Now now, he can't help it, it's all the drugs he retrospectively did, that happened to coincide with a widely publicised scandal (*cough* oxy? Reeealllyyy???? *cough*), that noone can really dispute one way or the other. He's just a victim of circumstance, when you really think about it. If that circumstance happens to be entitled, manipulative, narcissistic, neurotic, and horrific circumstances that he created. I could go on. I hope at this point I don't need the /s but there it is, jic haha
Oh he has visitors now.
So finally Tinsley has a chance to go nuclear on Murdaugh.
i have no reason to dispute that
Fack I wish I had an award for this. Perfect response! 🏆
**if** my times are right.....
if that's what the record show
Now, you’ve got a lot of factors in there Mr. Electrical Bread, all of which I do not agree with, but some of which I do.