A South Carolina grand jury indicted Alex Murdaugh on tax evasion on Friday, a month ahead of his trial for the murders of his wife and son.
Greenville News reported that Murdaugh, 64, failed to report $6,954,639 of income garnered from illegal acts from 2011 through 2019. The Attorney General said Murdaugh owes $486,819 in state tax.
In addition to the nine counts filed against Murdaugh in Hampton County, he faces a total of 99 charges for defrauding his clients and his family law firm.
Greenville News reported that Murdaugh’s murder trial in Colleton County is expected to begin in late January.
In June 2021, Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, 52 and 22, were found fatally shot at the family’s lodge in Colleton County, South Carolina. Alex is believed to have acted alone in their slayings. Maggie was reportedly killed with a rifle while a shotgun was used in Paul’s slaying.
Alex was allegedly filmed driving away from the lodge at 9:06 p.m. — an hour before he called 911 to report their deaths.
Prosecutors suggested Alex killed his wife and son to distract from allegations that he stole $9 million from clients.
Months after their slayings, in September 2021, Alex suffered superficial head wounds when he allegedly had former client Curtis Smith, 61, shoot him in the head so his surviving son, Buster, would receive a $10 million insurance payout. A day before the shooting, Alex was forced out of his family law firm amid allegations he misappropriated funds.
Two days after the apparent botched suicide, Alex announced he was entering rehabilitation for drugs. Shortly thereafter, he was charged with insurance fraud in connection with the suicide-for-hire plot and released on bail.
However, in October 2021, Alex was rearrested upon leaving a rehabilitation center in Florida 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 was accused of stealing insurance payouts that were intended for Satterfield’s family.
Authorities plan to exhume Satterfield’s body amid an ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death.
In June 2022, Alex and Smith were indicted for allegedly purchasing and distributing oxycodone in multiple counties.
Alex was charged with Maggie and Paul’s murders days after he was formally disbarred by the South Carolina Supreme Court. He remains jailed on $7 million bail.
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[Featured image: Alex Murdaugh/Hampton County Sheriff’s Office]
