(USNewsBreak.com) – Alex Murdaugh was once a prominent South Carolina attorney with a strong legacy behind him. Then, a series of actions caused his fall from grace and landed him behind bars. In 2021, someone murdered his wife, Maggie, and one of his sons, Paul. Then came the accusations of financial crimes. Earlier this year, a jury found Murdaugh guilty of the deaths of his two family members, and a judge sentenced him to life in prison. Now, he’s received another sentence.
The Financial Crimes
A few months after the deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, Alex Murdaugh’s life began to unravel at a swift pace. When accusations surfaced that he’d been stealing from his company clients to the tune of millions of dollars, he resigned. Shortly after that, he called the police to report an intruder had shot him, which turned out to be a plot to ensure his surviving son, Buster, received a life insurance policy.
The disgraced attorney survived the botched shooting and had to stand trial for the financial crimes. Instead of going through with the trial, Murdaugh opted to take a plea bargain that saw him plead guilty to 22 counts of state crimes instead of the nearly 100 he faced for swindling clients out of their settlements and using the money to fund his extravagant lifestyle and opioid addiction.
Several of Murdaugh’s victims gave impact statements during his trial. Two of the most notable, packed with emotion, included his childhood friend, Jordan Jinks, whom he ruined financially, and Michael Satterfield, son of Gloria Satterfield, Murdaugh’s housekeeper, who died in a trip-and-fall accident on his property. Satterfield never received a multi-million dollar settlement from the insurance company following his mother’s death.
As part of the plea deal, Murdaugh had to waive his right to appeal. The prosecution and defense worked together to craft a 27-year sentence. Murdaugh has to serve at least 85% of that sentence — more than 22 years — before becoming eligible for parole. Some media reported that some saw the deal as a means to keep the former attorney behind bars should a court overturn his murder conviction.
Trying to Overturn the Murder Conviction
In March, a jury deliberated for just three hours before returning a guilty verdict in the deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh. An assailant shot them by the dog kennels on the family’s property. Alex has staunchly maintained his innocence, and his lawyers have filed the paperwork for a retrial, accusing the county clerk of tampering with the jury when she instructed them to “watch” Murdaugh’s body language and to avoid being “fooled” by his testimony.
