The judge who set Alex Murdaugh‘s bond at $7 million — with no option to pay 10 percent — will hear a motion to lower his bond at 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 10.
The hearing will be held virtually like last time, according to Ginny Jones, the public information director for the South Carolina Judicial Branch.
On Dec. 13, Judge Alison Lee, who is the presiding judge of the South Carolina Grand Jury, seemed to shock and befuddle Murdaugh and his “bulldog” attorneys with her decision to set Murdaugh’s bond higher than the $6.2 million he is accused of stealing so far.
In addition to a $7 million surety bond, Lee also included conditions such as house arrest, GPS monitoring, drug testing, mental health counseling and drug treatment.
This past Tuesday, Murdaugh’s attorneys — state Sen. Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin — filed a 17-page motion pleading for a bond reduction (see below) and claiming their client has less than $10,000 in his bank accounts.
In the motion — which was filed the day before FITSNews’ bombshell report about direct physical evidence linking Murdaugh to the murders of his wife and son — Harpootlian and Griffin argue that Murdaugh is not charged with violent offenses and therefore has a “constitutional right” to be released on bail in an “amount no higher than necessary to insure his presence at trial.”
“Mr. Murdaugh is a man who cannot pay his phone bill,” they wrote in their motion.
Murdaugh was arrested Oct. 14 in Florida and shortly after was incarcerated at the Richland County Detention Center, where he remains.
He was initially denied bond Oct. 19 on two charges of Breach of Trust for his alleged role in a scheme to steal $4.3 million from the family of the woman who helped raise his children for more than 20 years.
In response, Murdaugh’s attorneys filed a writ of habeas corpus with the South Carolina Supreme Court.
Murdaugh’s assets were placed into a receivership on Nov. 2 by the judge in the Mallory Beach wrongful death lawsuit, in which Murdaugh and his son, Buster, are co-defendants.
The receivership was requested by Beach attorney Mark Tinsley, who argued that the receivership is necessary for the many victims in this case to get justice. Tinsley said that it’s possible that there are more victims — like the Satterfield family — who were allegedly duped by Alex Murdaugh and are waiting to sue him.
Since that hearing, Murdaugh has been charged with 48 counts (see here and here) and stands accused of stealing from 10 more clients and his law firm.
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Multiple sources have told FITSNews that Murdaugh will face more indictments from the state grand jury this month and that we should expect to see one or more co-conspirator charged.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: Provided)
Liz Farrell is the new executive editor at FITSNews. She was named 2018’s top columnist in the state by South Carolina Press Association and is back after taking a nearly two-year break from corporate journalism to reclaim her soul. Email her at liz@fitsnews.com or tweet her @ElizFarrell.
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