A psychiatric evaluation has been completed on disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh — the man at the center of multiple criminal investigations in the ongoing Murdaugh Murders saga, multiple sources told FITSNews Tuesday morning.
One week ago, South Carolina circuit judge Clifton Newman denied Alex Murdaugh’s bond in front of a packed Richland County court room. When he denied bond, Newman ordered Murdaugh’s defense team — made up of two of the most expensive attorneys in the state — to set up a psychiatric evaluation for their client.
“I’m not satisfied as to his mental condition,” Newman said in court.
According to multiple sources, all parties are now waiting for Newman to review the evaluation and recommend further action.
It is not immediately clear who conducted the evaluation and what those results were. Multiple sources close to the situation told FITSNews that the evaluation is under seal.
If Newman accepts the results of the evaluation, the court could schedule another bond hearing for Murdaugh, although it is not clear right now when that would be.
Depending on the results of the evaluation, the court could transfer Murdaugh to a psychiatric facility for further observation.
A Murdaugh family spokeswoman declined to comment on the evaluation.
“I haven’t seen it,” Murdaugh spokeswoman Amanda Loveday told this news outlet.
During last week’s bond hearing, Newman appeared to be concerned about Murdaugh’s mental state for a number of reasons.
While defense attorneys argued in court that Murdaugh was a recovering 20-year drug addict who needed to go back to rehab for further treatment, Newman appeared to be unconvinced that Murdaugh’s 30-day rehab stay was enough to make him stable again.
To recap, Murdaugh is facing two felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses related to the Gloria Satterfield case. Those charges stem from an investigation by South Carolina attorneys Eric Bland and Ronald Richter — who uncovered a shocking paper trail showing how Alex Murdaugh allegedly stole $3.6 million from Satterfield’s grieving family.
One month before he was charged in that case, Alex Murdaugh was arrested for another set of charges stemming from a bizarre suicide-for-hire insurance fraud scheme where he claimed to be shot in the head on Labor Day weekend.
A paper trail of evidence shows that Alex Murdaugh led the pack in a scheme to steal millions of dollars in Satterfield’s 2019 wrongful death settlement.
After Gloria died, Murdaugh recruited his best friend Cory Fleming to sue him on behalf of her estate and convinced Gloria’s sons to sign over their personal representative rights to Westendorf so that Fleming wouldn’t be legally obligated to tell the Satterfield family what was going on with the settlement, according to Bland.
The $4.3 million settlement that was signed by Judge Carmen Mullen was not entered into the public record — a major violation of court procedure.
Murdaugh and Fleming allegedly claimed they were devising a structured settlement for Satterfield’s sons through a legitimate company called Forge Consulting LLC. Instead, Fleming made checks out to “Forge” after Murdaugh opened up a Bank of America account under that name.
“Alex Murdaugh opened up a bank account at Bank of America under the name of Forge, got the check cashed and walked away with the money,” Bland said.
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Before Bland filed a lawsuit, Satterfield’s sons hadn’t received a dime of the $2.8 million they were entitled to receive in the settlement.
Alex Murdaugh, whose father, grandfather, and great grandfather all served as solicitor over a five-county region for nearly 100 years, has unraveled before the public eye ever since the alleged shooting.
Days after the alleged shooting, a family spokesperson released a statement that said Alex was going to rehab for his drug addiction and he resigned from the firm.
Partners at PMPED, the law firm started by his great grandfather, have accused Murdaugh of stealing millions from the firm. PMPED recently filed a lawsuit against Murdaugh.
Murdaugh is still a person of interest in the double homicide investigation of his wife and son, his attorney told Fox Carolina last month. Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were found murdered on June 7, 2021. No arrests have been made in the double homicide.
Last week, three attorneys who are suing Murdaugh on behalf of alleged victims filed motions asking the court to lock up and recover Alex and Buster’s Murdaugh’s assets.
On Friday, Oct. 29, Judge Daniel Hall will hear motions filed by Mark Tinsley, who is representing Mallory Beach‘s family, Eric Bland, the attorney who found a paper trail of evidence showing how Murdaugh allegedly stole $3.4 million from Gloria Satterfield’s grieving family, and Joe McCulloch, who is suing the Murdaughs on behalf of boat crash survivor Connor Cook.
The hearing will be held at noon Friday at the Chesterfield County Courthouse, which is about three hours northeast of Hampton, South Carolina.
Tinsley — who is representing Mallory Beach’s mother Renee Beach in the wrongful death lawsuit against Alex Murdaugh, his son Buster Murdaugh, and Parker’s gas station — first filed the motion to freeze Alex Murdaugh’s assets on Friday. Judge Hall has presided over the Beach case for years now.
In the motion, Tinsley asks the court to appoint two outside parties — attorney John T. Lay Jr. and former U.S. attorney Peter M. McCoy Jr. — to have control over Alex and Buster Murdaugh’s assets, which is known as “receivership” in the court. This would give Lay and McCoy broad powers to not only lock up Alex and Buster Murdaugh’s assets, but to sue for the recovery of their assets as well.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR..
Mandy Matney is the news director at FITSNews. She’s an investigative journalist from Kansas who has worked for newspapers in Missouri, Illinois, and South Carolina before making the switch to FITS. She currently lives on Hilton Head Island where she enjoys beach life. Mandy also hosts the Murdaugh Murders podcast. Want to contact Mandy? Send your tips to mandy@fitsnews.com.
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1 comment
How did the attorney office a.m worked for not now for the longest time he was stealing all these outrageous large amounts of $ of their clients?Isn’t there a boss that makes sure every attorney is doing his HONEST job? It’s as bad as a good portion of the state troopers here in mass.w/lieing on their overitime status of work.Why is it my small paycheck is enough even though I know it could or should be more.I guess ’cause I’m not a CHEAT! and I know the meaning of the words Honest & Fair.