Jailed South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh reportedly urged his son to connect with college officials and lawyers to get back into law school.
According to The State, jailhouse phone calls suggested Buster Murdaugh was not allowed to return to USC’s law school due to low grades and plagiarism. A jailed Alex Murdaugh was reportedly recorded telling Buster that he needed to contact law school administrators and Karl “Butch” Bowers — a high-powered attorney whom the Murdaugh family allegedly paid $60,000 to covertly help Buster.
“He’s got to make it a full-time job,” Alex told his brother in December. “He’s got to study five and six hours every day, six days a week.”
The State reported that four generations of Murdaughs —including Alex — attended USC law school. It appears Buster did not return to law school, but the reasons for that remains a mystery.
More than 100 jailhouse phone recordings were released this month, despite Alex’s attorneys’ efforts to keep them private.
Alex 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, Alex 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.
Earlier this month, South Carolina Supreme Court suspended Alex’s law license for allegedly stealing funds from his former law firm. This week, Alex waived his right to a hearing and said he will accept whatever penalty the court hands down — which can include disbarment.
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.”
Alex remains jailed on a $7 million bond.
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[Featured image: Buster, Maggie, Paul, Alex/Facebook]
