Embattled South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh’s law license was suspended on Thursday, on the heels of officials releasing recorded jailhouse phone calls that apparently capture Murdaugh’s surviving son confronting him about illegal behavior.
The State acquired a December 22, 2021, phone call in which Alex’s son, Buster, suggests a search warrant was illegally served as Alex was incarcerated at the time. Before that, the pair was talking about how police confiscated Alex’s phone and tablet — with Alex stating “it doesn’t matter.”
“I understand that you’ve done some illegal s**t,” Buster was heard saying. That doesn’t mean detectives “can turn a cold shoulder to the laws of the United States.”
“Allegedly done illegal stuff,” Alex says amid laughs. “I’m kidding…It is what it is.”
More than 100 jailhouse phone calls were released to the public last week, despite Alex’s lawyers’ efforts to keep them private.
Murdaugh was arrested in October for allegedly stealing $4.3 million from the estate of his former housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, who suffered a fatal fall on his property in February 2018.
In that case, he is accused of stealing insurance payouts that were intended for Satterfield’s family. Authorities recently announced plans to exhume Satterfield’s body amid an ongoing probe.
At the time of his arrest in October, Murdaugh was out on bail and undergoing treatment at a rehabilitation center in Florida.
Murdaugh went to Florida after he survived an alleged suicide-for-hire plot that entailed a client shooting him in the head so his surviving son would receive a $10 million life insurance payout. The September 3 incident resulted in him being charged with insurance fraud.
A day before the shooting, Alex was forced out of his family law firm amid allegations he misappropriated funds. He announced he was entering rehabilitation for drugs two days after the shooting.
Since then, Murdaugh has been charged with 74 counts, as he has been accused of stealing money from a slew of clients and his former law firm.
On Thursday, the South Carolina Supreme Court suspended Alex’s law license — finding he had stolen funds from his former law firm.
The court wrote, “There is no factual dispute about whether Respondent engaged in dishonest conduct. Respondent’s admissions in the criminal proceedings that he engaged in conduct that violates the Rules of Professional Conduct satisfies ODC’s burden of proving that same misconduct in connection with the pending disciplinary proceedings.”
A hearing which will determine whether Alex is disbarred is scheduled for June 22. He remains jailed on a $7 million bond.
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[Featured image: Alex Murdaugh/Hampton County Sheriff’s Office]
