SC - Paul Murdaugh & mom Margaret Found Shot To Death - Alex Murdaugh Accused - Islandton *Guilty* #41

[Edvis]

I still can't get over the repeated question "Are they dead" "Are they dead" because if not he would have been in even more trouble.

Just another tactic he used since he was well aware that both had passed. PM's injuries were as plain as day especially the injuries to his head. MM's injuries were also apparent with several wounds to her head as well. AM had been scurrying around there tending to his alibi deed's. The convicted killer as we know made sure of it sad to say.

 

[turaj]

What I would like to know is how Alex got so much snot to come out of his nose! Maybe he was having some kind of purposeful allergic reaction to those little candies or whatever he was eating throughout the whole trial? Maybe something was added to his water bottle? I really want to know!

All the waterworks from wherever they came seemed to not phase this jury one bit. I assume the defense team asked to talk to the jurors to gain more insight into how bad they failed. I would guess is was not DH doing the debrief. Some of their failures are more intangible and not easy to tell them. One seems to be that JG was FAR TO CLOSE to this case and it impacted his questioning. Another big issue was DH's attitude and tactics...he asked the jury in opening not to hold it against his client but seriously it does have an impact. He knows this but does it anyway. He is up for reelection in 2024 and I would hope that savvy SC voters would vote him out. I think his days in the courtroom are numbered to exactly what will be needed for his premier client AM.

 

[Megnut]

I still can't get over the repeated question "Are they dead" "Are they dead" because if not he would have been in even more trouble.

How long did it take for LE to arrive at Moselle? Alec ended the call with 911 to make some phone calls. As one does. And Google a restaurant. And look at a text/photo.

Then LE arrives and Alec is asking if Mags and PauPau are dead. Did he think they recovered? If he thought they might be alive, why wasn't he trying to render desperate aid?

I can sum up his performance then and on the stand:

Snot credible.

JMO

 

[10ofRods]

IMO I have absolutely no doubt that AM pulled on every lever he could that would consolidate his access to power.

Legal donations to politicians, and likely money under the table, as well.

He was enriching himself at the cost of clients who truly were in need of the money they won, and with his ill-gotten gains, I’m certain he greased a lot of palms along the way.

SOMEONE had to pay for JG and DH. I hope his family didn’t pay. At the moment I don’t fault Randy, because as far as we know he didn’t play the Murdaugh card the way the rest of them did. I know Randy is the Randolph namesake, but as of now IMO he’s a better guy than the rest.

I read that Alec's retirement account went to JG and DH for legal fees (likely including filing of an appeal or appeals). Maybe it's just $600K of that, there's apparently $300K being held for financial victims and I don't know about remainder.

'Murdaugh Murders’ Saga: Alex Murdaugh Cashing Out His 401K To Pay Attorneys, Defense Experts - FITSNews

Accused killer getting $600,000 to put toward his defense ...

www.fitsnews.com

IMO.

I'm many pages behind so I'm not sure if this has been brought up but something came to me today while I was cleaning up my house. The whole Pau Pau thing REALLY grates me for some reason but I have some thoughts about it.

I'm wondering when Convicted Murderer AM uses the name Pau Pau in his mind he's referring to the younger version of child Paul. They might have called him by that when he was a baby or small child. The more grown-up and adult Paul is a completely different person to him. So when he says " I could never hurt Pau Pau" he's referring to the innocent baby that was his son. He could/would never hurt his baby Pau Pau. But he has no problem killing the grown up Paul... The one who has brought him all of this trouble with his confrontation about the pills, his questionable drinking behavior, the boat crash etc, etc. Paul's friends said that when Paul was drinking heavily he would turn into a completely different person.( they referred to him as " Timmy", his alter ego) So I'm wondering if Convicted Murderer Alex used that to justify his actions to himself?

Now I'm not sure if he uses this same warped way of thinking about MM? Did he really call her "Mags" instead of Maggie or Margret? I don't recall if any of the witnesses called to the stand by Convicted Murderer Alex's defense team used that term for her. So the same thing might apply. He would never hurt Mags but he had no problem killing Maggie. She was the one who wanted to move out of Mosselle?? She might have been looking into getting a divorce which would place even more stress on his financial situation. She may also have confronted him about his drug use, etc,etc.

It's just the kind of shady, slimy Murdaugh way to get around the rules and justify his behavior. He's the mild mannered, aw shucks, local, corn pone attorney by day but when THE jones comes calling he then turns into this Junkie Monster Murderer after working hours. He no longer sees Pau Pau his son or Mags his wife. No, he sees Paul and Maggie, the mean people who are out to get him and take away HIS pills, HIS money, HIS hunting property and ultimately HIS power. He wasn't going to let them get away with that so he killed them.

I'm no psychologist or psychiatrist but this is all my opinion of course.

To me, it sounds like Judge Newman had a similar theory when he gave the opinion that Alec Murdaugh might be "two different persons" in "one individual" (in his sentencing speech). "The person standing before me now may not be the same person who killed his wife and son." Something like that.

Some people are definitely capable of this kind of disassociation, IMO. Great post.

 

[Wallendo]

I hope the financial crimes do go to trial so we can see where the money went.

I suspect AM's long-term goal was to retire in the Hampton / Hilton Head area where he was a big fish in a small pond. I doubt he would have taken off for Belize or another foreign country. As a result, any of the $50,000/week given to Cousin Eddie would need to be in a place where he could access it, so foreign accounts wouldn't be particularly desirable. Cryptocurrency might be an option. I don't see Cousin Eddie being that savvy.

I personally don't think there is great hidden wealth out there. If there were great wealth, AM could have easily taken PM (and maybe MM) and left for a country with no extradition treaty with the US. If I had to guess, I would say he lost millions in his real estate schemes, and that is where much the money went.

The testimony in his trial by the practice manager was that sometimes AM would take home a million dollar bonus during his prime years. That is a lot of money, about $600,000 after taxes, but I suspect he was spending every penny of that. We know he was borrowing money from Palmetto State.

Now that he is convicted, I wonder if previously unknown girlfriends will come forward who may have been getting some of that $50,000 a week.

 

[turaj]

I hope the financial crimes do go to trial so we can see where the money went.

I suspect AM's long-term goal was to retire in the Hampton / Hilton Head area where he was a big fish in a small pond. I doubt he would have taken off for Belize or another foreign country. As a result, any of the $50,000/week given to Cousin Eddie would need to be in a place where he could access it, so foreign accounts wouldn't be particularly desirable. Cryptocurrency might be an option. I don't see Cousin Eddie being that savvy.

I personally don't think there is great hidden wealth out there. If there were great wealth, AM could have easily taken PM (and maybe MM) and left for a country with no extradition treaty with the US. If I had to guess, I would say he lost millions in his real estate schemes, and that is where much the money went.

The testimony in his trial by the practice manager was that sometimes AM would take home a million dollar bonus during his prime years. That is a lot of money, about $600,000 after taxes, but I suspect he was spending every penny of that. We know he was borrowing money from Palmetto State.

Now that he is convicted, I wonder if previously unknown girlfriends will come forward who may have been getting some of that $50,000 a week.

i think you can count in "previously unknown girlfriends" to surface now unless they still feel threatened by the remaining clan. I am sure that AM follows in the footsteps of all the other murdaugh solicitors who I am certain also had the "girlfriends". Most paid to shut up. Most will continue to shut up but some may talk hoping for even more money.

 

[Katrinepa]

Who is the man interviewing Murdaugh? LE? Insurance representative?

Bryant McGowan is his name.

 

[Cindizzi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1633886489347014663

 

[Ray_of_hope]

"Alex Murdaugh bought Moselle back in 2013 from Boulware’s wife Jeannine Morris Boulware, according to property records.

Murdaugh allegedly bought the entire property for just $5, FITS News reported – a move sometimes used so the seller can avoid paying capital gains taxes.

Moselle was just one of several homes that the high-powered attorney – and alleged financial fraudster – owned."

Three bodies, 1,700 acres and a whole lot of hogs: Alex Murdaugh’s $4m Moselle estate

The Moselle estate had a mysterious past even before Maggie and Paul’s murders with ties to a suspected drug smuggler and a housekeeper’s fatal fall, reports Rachel Sharp

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Ray_of_hope]

""Erin" described Maggie as always smiling, and said Maggie had confided in her that she was seeking a divorce."

Maggie Murdaugh's Former Nail Tech Speaks to Court TV | Watch Court TV

"Erin" described Maggie as always smiling, said Maggie told her she was seeking a divorce, said Maggie loved people and was more than a murder victim.

www.courttv.com

 

[ch_13]

I personally don't think there is great hidden wealth out there. If there were great wealth, AM could have easily taken PM (and maybe MM) and left for a country with no extradition treaty with the US. If I had to guess, I would say he lost millions in his real estate schemes, and that is where much the money went.

I think fleeing from U.S. authorities these days is a lot harder than most people imagine. It's not just a matter of going to a non-extradition country. If you're not a citizen, have no ties to the country, and are simply there on a tourist visa, why would they want you? Perhaps if you've stashed away billions, but for someone with $5-10 million in ill-gotten gains? That's pocket change to the rulers of those countries. And if they did want your money, they'd simply take it from you and kick you out.

I do agree that AM doesn't have some big, secret stash. After all, he was clearly under a lot of financial pressure in the days leading up to the murder. His debts were making his position at the law firm very precarious. Wouldn't he have at least covered the missing trust account money that Jeanne Seckinger had discovered if he had access to liquid funds?

 

[10ofRods]

Do we know the extent of the Ponzi aspect of Alec's schemes?

If his story about buying that "real estate investment firm" is accurate, he had a terrible sense of what a get rich scheme might be.

He was constantly shuffling money. And CE is crucial to that scheme, somehow. I too believe he didn't have some big secret stash. If he was in fact trying to run a drug business on the side, then he ought to have seen income from that business, somehow (if instead, he was terrible at running a drug business because he himself was a primary end user, that makes some sense).

I've known people like this on a much smaller scale. The degree of their financial misconduct was not discovered until either after their deaths or late in life (as when they or their families needed funds for healthcare). Indeed, one was a devout religious woman who had been skimming off the top of the family account (and had stolen her childrens' college fund).

Why? What did she do with the money? She filled her basement up with towering racks of unpainted ceramics, as she liked painting ceramics and giving away the results. She made candy plates, cookie boxes, holiday decor galore. Her son, upon finding out all his college money was gone, was so upset about the pile of trinkets left behind and his wife quietly tried to rehome the biggest offenders (I ended up with musical Santa/Stocking figure).

That woman was merely addicted to ceramics (and sets of paints and brushes and patterns and on and on - she spent over $100,000 on this stuff over about 10 years). I can't imagine what it would have been like if this woman's drug of choice was an opiate.

IMO. True story.

 

[Seattle1]

I personally don't think there is great hidden wealth out there. If there were great wealth, AM could have easily taken PM (and maybe MM) and left for a country with no extradition treaty with the US. If I had to guess, I would say he lost millions in his real estate schemes, and that is where much the money went.

^^rsbm

I agree. A big part of his take-down occurred when AM couldn't cobble up the $800K he hijacked from the firm after he took checks payable to his fake Forge account and/or himself from Chris Wilson.

And knocking on the door of Palmetto Bank during this time only exposed him further when he was trying to ward off the law firm's CFO.

$792K would be a drop in the bucket for someone hoarding millions in secret or foreign accounts. Nope -- an addict has no discipline and I think AM's family lived paycheck to paycheck as evidenced by MM's estate. According to probate filings for MM, their joint bank accounts, investments, etc. only totaled about $4K (50% was reported as part of her estate), and MM's personal accounts totaled only $56. MOO

 

[geevee]

How long did it take for LE to arrive at Moselle? Alec ended the call with 911 to make some phone calls. As one does. And Google a restaurant. And look at a text/photo.

Then LE arrives and Alec is asking if Mags and PauPau are dead. Did he think they recovered? If he thought they might be alive, why wasn't he trying to render desperate aid?

I can sum up his performance then and on the stand:

Snot credible.

JMO

In the 911 call that was made public it had a couple things redacted from it, from what I gleaned in the full call being played at trial, in the redacted portions he said he was going to the house to get a gun, and that when he checked the bodies for signs of life, he could see their brains - so he knew undoubtedly they were both dead before even calling 911.

I too have thought he was only asking if they were 'officially dead' so he could be positive they couldn't tell LE who shot them, and he could proceed with the alibi he came up with.

I also think he started with something of a different plan than what happened, the timeline is a little too tight for a long-thought-out plan.

 

[UnapologeticallyAspie]

I read that Alec's retirement account went to JG and DH for legal fees (likely including filing of an appeal or appeals). Maybe it's just $600K of that, there's apparently $300K being held for financial victims and I don't know about remainder.

'Murdaugh Murders’ Saga: Alex Murdaugh Cashing Out His 401K To Pay Attorneys, Defense Experts - FITSNews

Accused killer getting $600,000 to put toward his defense ...

www.fitsnews.com

IMO.


To me, it sounds like Judge Newman had a similar theory when he gave the opinion that Alec Murdaugh might be "two different persons" in "one individual" (in his sentencing speech). "The person standing before me now may not be the same person who killed his wife and son." Something like that.

Some people are definitely capable of this kind of disassociation, IMO. Great post.

Do you think people can consciously make the choice to disassociate?

Edit to add: or rather do you mean compartmentalize?

 

[Katrinepa]

Can't forget water access and boat docks. AM got into something. PM's actions were shedding light. PM had to go, and so did MM (I do personally believe that she was considering leaving him and that just would not do.).

According to many reports, she was looking to divorce him. moo

 

[Cindizzi]

https://www.courthousenews.com/south-carolina-man-with-financial-ties-to-murdaugh-jailed-on-new-indictment/

CHARLESTON, S.C. (CN) — A co-defendant of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh faces new charges of embezzling public money and identity fraud, according to jail records.

Jerry Rivers was quietly booked Jan. 17 into the Richland County jail on the eve of his alleged co-conspirator’s double murder trial for the slayings of his wife and son.

Rivers, 40, was being jailed on an 11-count indictment, the jail's website shows. He faces two counts of obtaining property under false pretenses, three counts of insurance fraud, five counts of embezzling public funds and identity theft.

It was not clear if a detention hearing has already been held for Rivers. His defense attorney, Rose Mary Parham, did not respond to requests for comment. Robert Kittle, a spokesman for the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, said his office would not comment on the active investigation.

Rivers was previously arrested on allegations he obstructed state authorities as they pursued Murdaugh’s money trail.

[…]


Waters said Rivers and Roberts were “downstream” beneficiaries of more than $8 million dollars Murdaugh admitted to stealing from former clients of his family’s law firm before the murders on June 7, 2021, at the family's hunting estate.

In 2021 alone, Murdaugh wrote almost $90,000 in checks to Rivers, the prosecutor said.

[…]

 

[Cindizzi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1633905496204935168

 

[Cindizzi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1633893930621124623

 

[Diddian]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1633893930621124623

Isn't the Lafitte home for sale? I assume that withdrawing as counsel will then allow them to take a place in line as unsecured creditors for distribution of proceeds from that sale (if it has not already happened).

ETA: I see that a sale was pending on the home in April 2022 (and according to Zillow, sale was completed on 6/30/22). So, presumably proceeds have already been paid out. So maybe not a source for his attorneys.

Former Bank CEO Russell Laffitte Puts Varnville House Up For Sale

Latest in Murdaugh Murders Saga: The former CEO of Palmetto State Bank, Russell Laffitte, has put his house up for sale.

www.fitsnews.com