Embattled South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh waived extradition in Florida on Friday and will be returned to his home state to face charges related to millions in missing insurance money owed to the heirs of his former housekeeper’s estate.
Murdaugh, whose law license was suspended by the South Carolina Supreme Court following allegations that he embezzled money from his former law firm, was arrested in Orange County this week after investigators in South Carolina issued a warrant for his arrest, as CrimeOnline previously reported. He’ll face two felony accounts of obtaining property by false pretenses at a bond hearing on Tuesday in Richland County.
The State reported on Friday that Murdaugh agreed to “waive the issuance and service and all other procedures incidental to extradition proceedings” and remain in custody without bail. Murdaugh was reportedly at a rehab center in Orlando when he was arrested on Thursday.
Murdaugh family housekeeper Gloria Satterfield reportedly died in a “trip and fall accident” on the Murdaughs’ home in 2018. Murdaugh reportedly agreed to a settlement awarding Satterfield’s sons over $4 million dollars, but those men say that Murdaugh funneled the money into a “fake” business and kept it for himself.
Murdaugh has been named a person of interest in the fatal shooting of his wife Maggie Murdaugh and his son Paul Murdaugh in June. At the time of his murder, Paul Murdaugh was awaiting trial on DUI charges connected to the boating death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach. Those charges were dropped after the murders.
In September, Alex Murdaugh called 911 to say he had been shot in the head. He recovered quickly from his injury — reportedly a bullet graze — and a subsequent investigation accused him of hiring the shooter himself, in an effort to provide his surviving son with a $10 million life insurance settlement. Once released from the hospital, Murdaugh entered a treatment center for a reported opioid addiction. He’s been charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud in that incident and was released from jail on his own recognizance.
The day before the “suicide for hire” incident, Murdaugh’s law firm — founded by his great-grandfather — accused him of misappropriation of funds and forced him out.
Murdaugh has also been sued by the family of Mallory Beach, who accuse him and his other son of condoning and helping Paul Murdaugh buy alcohol while he was a minor before the boat crash, and by his former law firm.
See all CrimeOnline’s coverage of the Murdaugh family crises.
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[Featured image: Alex Murdaugh/Orange County Sheriff’s Office]
