Murdaugh – Cincy Link

Murdaugh killed family to gain pity, distract from other crimes

cincylink — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 04:28:16 +0000

A judge will determine whether evidence of disbarred South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh's alleged financial crimes is admissible in an upcoming double-murder trial that has drawn worldwide attention for its bizarre twists.Prosecutors recently said that Murdaugh killed his wife and youngest son last year to gain sympathy and distract others from his damning financial crimes. On Friday, prosecutors and defense attorneys debated the relevance of those years of alleged financial misdeeds that lined Murdaugh’s pockets with nearly $9 million.Murdaugh, the disgraced heir to a Lowcountry legal dynasty, has pleaded not guilty and repeatedly denied any involvement in the June 2021 slayings of his wife, Maggie, 52, and their son Paul, 22.According to prosecutors, at the time of the killings, Murdaugh was terrified about a pending motion that threatened to expose years of substantial debts and illicit financial crimes by revealing his personal records. Such a move would have spelled “personal, legal, and financial ruin” for Murdaugh, state grand jury chief prosecutor Creighton Waters wrote in a filing Thursday.Prosecutors said Murdaugh was a drug addict who helped run a money laundering and painkiller ring and stole millions from settlements he secured for mostly poor clients to fund an increasingly unsustainable lifestyle.According to Waters, high-profile, six-figure cases had failed to alleviate Murdaugh's financial woes, prompting Murdaugh to do anything to avoid his “day of reckoning” — including murder.Conveniently for Murdaugh, Waters said, the discovery of his slain family members temporarily suspended the increased scrutiny over his finances. Murdaugh would spend the following days collecting money to account for missing fees sought by his law firm, Waters said.“This is a white-collar case that culminated in murders," Waters told Circuit Judge Clifton Newman on Friday.A motive is not necessary for a prosecutor to win a murder conviction — a point Waters made in the state's latest filing. But Murdaugh's lawyers asked the state to spell out the motive in order to justify including a million pages of evidence related to over 80 counts of alleged financial crimes.Murdaugh’s defense attorneys insisted Friday that the alleged crimes amounted to character evidence that is not admissible into murder trials.Defense attorney Jim Griffin said it is ridiculous to claim that a person seeking to distract from financial crimes would then put themself at the center of a murder investigation.Griffin also said there is no reason to admit the financial documents since there’s no evidence that Murdaugh’s family knew of any alleged crimes or that Murdaugh stood to benefit from collecting any life insurance policies.The idea that Murdaugh sought to engender sympathy through the deaths is also illogical, according to Griffin, considering Murdaugh's father was dying on the day they were slain — an experience sure to provide plenty of pity.The defense has criticized what they see as the slow release of evidence linking Murdaugh to the slayings.Central to the defense's concerns is the presence of blood stains on a white T-shirt allegedly worn by Murdaugh on the night of the killings. Attorney Dick Harpootlian has argued that South Carolina Law Enforcement Division agents successfully persuaded a forensic consultant to reverse his initial judgment and instead say the stains must be backspatter from a bullet wound. Harpootlian said SLED destroyed the shirt and had evidence suggesting the stains were not a human's blood.Defense attorneys on Friday sought an evidentiary hearing compelling the state to provide all communications with the consultant. Prosecutors said any ruling on the bloody shirt's consideration would be premature as they themselves are still assessing whether they will use it as evidence.Throughout Friday’s hearing, Murdaugh, donning a blazer, sat unshackled and could occasionally be seen speaking with his attorneys.Prosecutors shared inklings of new details earlier this week. Within a minute of his first conversation with responding officers on the day of the killings, Murdaugh allegedly claimed the slaying must have been connected to the February 2019 boat wreck that killed teenager Mallory Beach.Beach was killed when authorities say an intoxicated Paul Murdaugh wrecked his father's boat — an event that ultimately led to dozens of charges accusing Alex Murdaugh of stealing nearly $5 million in settlement money from lawyers who sued him over the death. Murdaugh now faces additional charges involving money laundering, a narcotics ring, a staged attempt on his life and millions of additional stolen funds.And while Murdaugh seemed wealthy, prosecutors said it was a series of land deals worsened by recession that “permanently changed his finances.”The events of the past 18 months have marked a steep fall for the Murdaughs. The family founded a massive civil law firm over 100 years ago in tiny Hampton County, where — alongside four surrounding counties — Murdaugh’s father, grandfather and great-grandfather dominated the legal scene as the area’s elected prosecutors for more than eight decades.“The jury will need to understand the distinction between who Alex Murdaugh appeared to be to the outside world — a successful lawyer and scion of the most prominent family in the region — and who he was in the real life only he fully knew — an allegedly crooked lawyer and drug user who borrowed and stole wherever he could to stay afloat and one step ahead of the detection,” Waters wrote Thursday.

COLUMBIA, S.C. —

Prosecutors recently said that Murdaugh killed his wife and youngest son last year to gain sympathy and distract others from his damning financial crimes. On Friday, prosecutors and defense attorneys debated the relevance of those years of alleged financial misdeeds that lined Murdaugh’s pockets with nearly $9 million.

Murdaugh, the disgraced heir to a Lowcountry legal dynasty, has pleaded not guilty and repeatedly denied any involvement in the June 2021 slayings of his wife, Maggie, 52, and their son Paul, 22.

According to prosecutors, at the time of the killings, Murdaugh was terrified about a pending motion that threatened to expose years of substantial debts and illicit financial crimes by revealing his personal records. Such a move would have spelled “personal, legal, and financial ruin” for Murdaugh, state grand jury chief prosecutor Creighton Waters wrote in a filing Thursday.

Prosecutors said Murdaugh was a drug addict who helped run a money laundering and painkiller ring and stole millions from settlements he secured for mostly poor clients to fund an increasingly unsustainable lifestyle.

According to Waters, high-profile, six-figure cases had failed to alleviate Murdaugh's financial woes, prompting Murdaugh to do anything to avoid his “day of reckoning” — including murder.

Conveniently for Murdaugh, Waters said, the discovery of his slain family members temporarily suspended the increased scrutiny over his finances. Murdaugh would spend the following days collecting money to account for missing fees sought by his law firm, Waters said.

“This is a white-collar case that culminated in murders," Waters told Circuit Judge Clifton Newman on Friday.

A motive is not necessary for a prosecutor to win a murder conviction — a point Waters made in the state's latest filing. But Murdaugh's lawyers asked the state to spell out the motive in order to justify including a million pages of evidence related to over 80 counts of alleged financial crimes.

Murdaugh’s defense attorneys insisted Friday that the alleged crimes amounted to character evidence that is not admissible into murder trials.

Defense attorney Jim Griffin said it is ridiculous to claim that a person seeking to distract from financial crimes would then put themself at the center of a murder investigation.

Griffin also said there is no reason to admit the financial documents since there’s no evidence that Murdaugh’s family knew of any alleged crimes or that Murdaugh stood to benefit from collecting any life insurance policies.

The idea that Murdaugh sought to engender sympathy through the deaths is also illogical, according to Griffin, considering Murdaugh's father was dying on the day they were slain — an experience sure to provide plenty of pity.

The defense has criticized what they see as the slow release of evidence linking Murdaugh to the slayings.

Central to the defense's concerns is the presence of blood stains on a white T-shirt allegedly worn by Murdaugh on the night of the killings. Attorney Dick Harpootlian has argued that South Carolina Law Enforcement Division agents successfully persuaded a forensic consultant to reverse his initial judgment and instead say the stains must be backspatter from a bullet wound. Harpootlian said SLED destroyed the shirt and had evidence suggesting the stains were not a human's blood.

Defense attorneys on Friday sought an evidentiary hearing compelling the state to provide all communications with the consultant. Prosecutors said any ruling on the bloody shirt's consideration would be premature as they themselves are still assessing whether they will use it as evidence.

Throughout Friday’s hearing, Murdaugh, donning a blazer, sat unshackled and could occasionally be seen speaking with his attorneys.

Prosecutors shared inklings of new details earlier this week. Within a minute of his first conversation with responding officers on the day of the killings, Murdaugh allegedly claimed the slaying must have been connected to the February 2019 boat wreck that killed teenager Mallory Beach.

Beach was killed when authorities say an intoxicated Paul Murdaugh wrecked his father's boat — an event that ultimately led to dozens of charges accusing Alex Murdaugh of stealing nearly $5 million in settlement money from lawyers who sued him over the death. Murdaugh now faces additional charges involving money laundering, a narcotics ring, a staged attempt on his life and millions of additional stolen funds.

And while Murdaugh seemed wealthy, prosecutors said it was a series of land deals worsened by recession that “permanently changed his finances.”

The events of the past 18 months have marked a steep fall for the Murdaughs. The family founded a massive civil law firm over 100 years ago in tiny Hampton County, where — alongside four surrounding counties — Murdaugh’s father, grandfather and great-grandfather dominated the legal scene as the area’s elected prosecutors for more than eight decades.

“The jury will need to understand the distinction between who Alex Murdaugh appeared to be to the outside world — a successful lawyer and scion of the most prominent family in the region — and who he was in the real life only he fully knew — an allegedly crooked lawyer and drug user who borrowed and stole wherever he could to stay afloat and one step ahead of the detection,” Waters wrote Thursday.

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Jury convicts Alex Murdaugh on 2021 murders of his wife, son

cincylink — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 15:09:37 +0000

THE DAY LATER IN THE YEAR. HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, THE JURY IN THE TRIAL OF ALEC MURDOCH IS DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT THE DISGRACED LOW COUNTRY ATTORNEY KILLED HIS WIFE AND SON. THE JURY BEGAN DELIBERATIONS SHORTLY BEFORE 4:00 THIS AFTERNOON. IT COMES AFTER SIX WEEKS OF TESTIMONY AND WHAT SOME ARE CALLING SOUTH CAROLINA’S TRIAL OF THE CENTURY. OUR TAGGART HOUCK HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THE TRIAL SINCE THE BEGINNING AND HE JOINS US LIVE OUTSIDE THE COURTHOUSE IN CARLTON COUNTY WITH WHAT WE’RE LEARNING. DAGEN. YEAH, WELL, THOSE DELIBERATIONS COULD LAST UNTIL 10:00 TONIGHT. MEDIA IS ADVISED TO STAY CLOSE BY. THERE’S A PRETTY LARGE PRESENCE HERE OUTSIDE THE COUNTY COURTHOUSE, BUT THIS IS ALL PART OF A BUSY DAY THAT ACTUALLY BEGAN WITH A CHANGE IN THE JURY. WE’RE GOING TO REPLACE THURSDAY BEGAN WITH THE REPLACEMENT OF A JUROR AFTER SHE ALLEGEDLY DISCUSSED THE CASE WITH TWO PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE TRIAL. AND WE DO APPRECIATE YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE IN CLOSING ARGUMENTS, THE DEFENSE CRITICIZED SLEDS INVESTIGATION AND SAID MURDOCK’S DRUG INDUCED PARANOIA WAS THE REASON HE LIED ABOUT BEING AT THE SCENE. MINUTES BEFORE THE MURDERS. HE LOT COMES. THAT’S WHAT ADDICTS DO. ADDICTS LIE. HE LIED BECAUSE HE HAD A CLOSET FULL OF SKELETONS THAT HE DIDN’T WANT ANY MORE ANYMORE. SCRUTINY ON HIM, BUT ADDED THAT DOESN’T MAKE HIM A KILLER. ON BEHALF OF ALEX, WE HAVE A BUSTER. HALF OF MAGGIE. YOU KNOW, HALF OF MY FRIEND PAUL. I RESPECTFULLY REQUEST YOU DO NOT COMPOUND A FAMILY TRAGEDY WITH ANOTHER. THANK YOU. IN REPLY, THE STATE CALLED THIS A COMMON SENSE CASE. HOW CAN YOU BELIEVE THEM WHEN THE ULTIMATE ISSUE WHEN THEY SAID THEY DIDN’T? WHEN THE ONLY THING THEY CORROBORATED FOR YOU THROUGHOUT THE INVESTIGATION, THROUGHOUT THIS TRIAL AND THROUGHOUT MR. WARD’S CROSS-EXAMINATION THAT HE’S A LIAR. AND THAT’S ALL YOU CAN JUDGE. PEOPLE ON. AND WHY WOULD HE LIE ABOUT WHERE HE WAS IF HE WERE INNOCENT? I THINK HE LOVED MAN. I THINK HE LOVED PAUL. BUT, YOU KNOW WHO HE LOVED MORE THAN THAT. YOU KNOW, HE LOVED MORE MEN. AND HE WAS GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT LIFE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT LIFE. HE LOVED ALEX AND HE EXERCISED THIS GREATEST POWER OF CHOICE TO MAKE SURE THAT 15. SO IF ALL OF YOU WILL NOW GO TO THE JURY ROOM AROUND 350, THE JURY BEGAN DELIBERATIONS. AND WHILE IT’S NOT REALLY CLEAR WHEN A VERDICT COULD BE REACHED, IT HAS BECOMING CLEAR THAT THIS WILL NOT RUN INTO THE WEEKEND. THE JURY, BY THE WAY, IS NOT SEQUESTERED IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY, TAGGAR

Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murder Thursday in the shooting deaths of his wife and son in a case that chronicled the unraveling of a powerful Southern family with tales of privilege, greed and addiction.The jury deliberated for less than three hours before finding Murdaugh guilty of two counts of murder at the end of a six-week trial that pulled back the curtain on the once-prominent lawyer’s fall from grace.Murdaugh, 54, faces 30 years to life in prison without parole. His sentencing has been scheduled for Friday morning.Through more than 75 witnesses and nearly 800 pieces of evidence, jurors heard about betrayed friends and clients, Murdaugh’s failed attempt to stage his own death in an insurance fraud scheme, a fatal boat crash in which his son was implicated, the housekeeper who died in a fall in the Murdaugh home, the grisly scene of the killings and Bubba, the chicken-snatching dog.In the end, Murdaugh’s fate appeared sealed by cellphone video taken by his son, who he called “Little Detective” for his knack for finding bottles of painkillers in his father’s belongings after the lawyer had sworn off the pills. Testimony culminated in Murdaugh’s appearance on the witness stand, when he admitted stealing millions from clients and lying to investigators about being at the dog kennels where the shootings took place but steadfastly maintained his innocence in the deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.“I did not kill Maggie, and I did not kill Paul. I would never hurt Maggie, and I would never hurt Paul — ever — under any circumstances,” Murdaugh said.Murdaugh’s 52-year-old wife was shot four or five times with a rifle and their 22-year-old son was shot twice with a shotgun at the kennels near at their rural Colleton County home on June 7, 2021.Prosecutors didn’t have the weapons used to kill the Murdaughs or other direct evidence like confessions or blood spatter. But they had a mountain of circumstantial evidence, led by a video locked on Paul Murdaugh’s cellphone for more than a year — video shot minutes before the killings that witnesses testified captured the voices of all three Murdaughs.Alex Murdaugh, 54, had told police repeatedly after the killings that he was not at the kennels and was instead napping before he went to visit his ailing mother that night. Murdaugh called 911 and said he discovered the bodies when he returned home.But in his testimony, Murdaugh admitted joining Maggie and Paul at the kennels, where he said he took a chicken away from a rowdy yellow Labrador named Bubba — whose name Murdaugh can be heard saying on the video — before heading back to the house shortly ahead of the fatal shootings.Murdaugh lied about being at the kennels for 20 months before taking the stand on the 23rd day of his trial. He blamed his decadeslong addiction to opioids for making him paranoid, creating a distrust of police. He said that once he went down that path, he felt trapped in the lie.“Oh, what a tangled web we weave. Once I told a lie — I told my family — I had to keep lying,” he testified.Prosecutor Creighton Waters grilled Murdaugh about what he repeatedly called the lawyer’s “new story” of what happened at the kennels, walking him moment by moment through the timeline and assailing his “fuzzy” memory of certain details, like his last words to his wife and son.A state agent also testified that markings on spent cartridges found around Maggie Murdaugh’s body matched markings on fired cartridges at a shooting range elsewhere on the property, though the defense said that kind of matching is an inexact science.Murdaugh comes from a family that dominated the local legal scene for decades. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were the area’s elected prosecutors for more than 80 years and his family law firm grew to dozens of lawyers by suing railroads, corporations and other big businesses.The now-disbarred attorney admitted stealing millions of dollars from the family firm and clients, saying he needed the money to fund his drug habit. Before he was charged with murder, Murdaugh was in jail awaiting trial on about 100 other charges ranging from insurance fraud to tax evasion.Prosecutors told jurors that Murdaugh was afraid all of his misdeeds were about to be discovered, so he killed his wife and son to gain sympathy to buy time to cover his tracks.Murdaugh’s lawyers will almost certainly appeal the conviction based on the judge allowing evidence of the financial crimes, which they contend were unrelated to the killings and were used by prosecutors to smear Murdaugh’s reputation.

Disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murder Thursday in the shooting deaths of his wife and son in a case that chronicled the unraveling of a powerful Southern family with tales of privilege, greed and addiction.

The jury deliberated for less than three hours before finding Murdaugh guilty of two counts of murder at the end of a six-week trial.

Murdaugh, 54, faces 30 years to life in prison without parole when he is sentenced, which in South Carolina is typically right after the verdict but can be delayed if a judge chooses.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh surrenders

cincylink — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 04:19:02 +0000

Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina lawyer whose wife and son were shot and killed in June, is now in custody on charges related to a subsequent insurance fraud scheme, according to the Hampton County Sheriff's Office.Murdaugh turned himself in just before 11 a.m. and is expected to have a court hearing at 4 p.m.(Video above/below shows Murdaugh arriving at the detention center) According to court documents, Murdaugh arranged for a former client to kill him so that his surviving son could collect a life insurance payout of about $10 million.TIMELINE: The Murdaugh MurdersOne of Murdaugh's lawyers, Jim Griffin, told CNN that they have been informed an arrest warrant has been issued for Murdaugh on charges of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. Murdaugh plans to voluntarily surrender at the Hampton County jail by 2 p.m., according to Griffin.Murdaugh was shot in the head on a roadway on Sept. 4 but survived. A family spokesperson had previously blamed the shooting on an unidentified man in a blue truck. However, Murdaugh admitted to authorities Monday that he had conspired with a man — identified by police as Curtis Edward Smith — to kill him as part of the scheme, according to an affidavit to support charges against Smith.Smith went before a judge to face the charges Thursday morning. Read more about that court appearance here and watch the entire hearing below: Murdaugh decided to end his own life, but believed his life insurance policy had a suicide exclusion, his other attorney, Dick Harpootlian, said, and that the scheme "was an attempt on his part to do something to protect" his eldest and only living child.Additionally, state investigators have announced the opening of two other investigations regarding the 2015 unsolved death of a teen as well as the 2018 death of the Murdaugh family's housekeeper.The killings of his wife and son have not been solved, and Murdaugh has denied responsibility.Questions remain over housekeeper death, attorney saysThe South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) announced on Wednesday that it was opening a criminal investigation into the February 2018 death of Gloria Satterfield and the handling of her estate.Satterfield was the Murdaugh family housekeeper for more than two decades before dying in 2018 after what was described as a "trip and fall accident" at the Murdaugh home, according to attorney Eric Bland, who is representing her estate.SLED said it is opening an investigation based upon a request from the Hampton County coroner that highlights inconsistencies in the ruling of Satterfield's manner of death, as well as information gathered during SLED's other ongoing investigations involving Murdaugh."The decedent's death was not reported to the Coroner at the time, nor was an autopsy performed. On the death certificate the manner of death was ruled 'Natural,' which is inconsistent with injuries sustained in a trip and fall accident," the coroner's request to SLED said.Bland filed a lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of Satterfield's estate against Alex Murdaugh, the estate's former attorney Cory Fleming, as well as Palmetto State Bank.Bland told CNN on Wednesday that following her death, her family trusted Murdaugh to help them bring a lawsuit against himself on behalf of the estate."Certainly there were questions by my clients because after she unfortunately fell, she was airlifted to a hospital and she had a traumatic brain injury, she never was able to communicate with them for the next three weeks until she died," Bland told Cuomo. "So, it was Alex Murdaugh who told the story of that she had tripped and fell down the stairs over his dogs.""They trusted him," Bland said. "He hand-walked them to his best friend and college roommate to bring a lawsuit against himself on behalf of the estate."According to Bland, a number of claims were made which all contributed to a settlement, but none of those settlements ever ended up in court, except one for around $500,000 from Lloyds of London insurance."There's no court orders approving any of these settlements. And it's required under the law, if you have a wrongful death or survival case, a judge has to approve the settlements. None of that exists in the court record, and our clients never found out that these cases had settled these claims, until it was printed in the paper by investigative reporters," Bland said.According to the attorney, the claims were settled for more than $2 million, of which his clients have received no part. "It's our job to get them answers, and get them their money back," Bland added.In addition, police are investigating the unsolved death of Stephen Smith, 19, on June 22, roughly two weeks after the killings of Murdaugh's wife and son.SLED said the probe was being reopened based on information gathered while investigating the double homicide.Former client charged in suicide schemeThe man who allegedly shot Murdaugh earlier this month was directed to do so by him, according to an affidavit.Smith, 61, was charged Wednesday with assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, according to SLED.Murdaugh was not fatally wounded when he was shot Sept. 4. Afterward, he called 911 to report he had been shot on a road in Hampton County, South Carolina, according to SLED, and he was taken to a hospital in Savannah, Georgia.Authorities initially described Murdaugh's injury as a "superficial gunshot wound to the head," though Murdaugh's attorneys said his skull was fractured in the shooting.Murdaugh allegedly provided Smith with a firearm and directed Smith to shoot him in the head. Smith admitted Tuesday to being present at the shooting and to disposing of the firearm afterward, the affidavit states.It's not clear whether Smith has retained legal counsel. The Colleton County Sheriff's Office said Smith had a bond hearing on Wednesday morning and received a $5,000 cash surety bond for the meth charge and a personal recognizance bond for the marijuana charge. He was transferred to Hampton County custody on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.Murdaugh had represented Smith as his attorney on at least two occasions dating back to 2010, according to court records from the Colleton County 14th Judicial Circuit.He first represented Smith in a personal injury lawsuit that Smith brought against a land management company, and Murdaugh is also listed as Smith's attorney for a 2013 traffic infraction, the court documents show.CNN contributed to this report

HAMPTON COUNTY, S.C. —

Murdaugh turned himself in just before 11 a.m. and is expected to have a court hearing at 4 p.m.

(Video above/below shows Murdaugh arriving at the detention center)

According to court documents, Murdaugh arranged for a former client to kill him so that his surviving son could collect a life insurance payout of about $10 million.

TIMELINE: The Murdaugh Murders

One of Murdaugh's lawyers, Jim Griffin, told CNN that they have been informed an arrest warrant has been issued for Murdaugh on charges of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. Murdaugh plans to voluntarily surrender at the Hampton County jail by 2 p.m., according to Griffin.

Murdaugh was shot in the head on a roadway on Sept. 4 but survived. A family spokesperson had previously blamed the shooting on an unidentified man in a blue truck. However, Murdaugh admitted to authorities Monday that he had conspired with a man — identified by police as Curtis Edward Smith — to kill him as part of the scheme, according to an affidavit to support charges against Smith.

Smith went before a judge to face the charges Thursday morning. Read more about that court appearance here and watch the entire hearing below:

Murdaugh decided to end his own life, but believed his life insurance policy had a suicide exclusion, his other attorney, Dick Harpootlian, said, and that the scheme "was an attempt on his part to do something to protect" his eldest and only living child.

Additionally, state investigators have announced the opening of two other investigations regarding the 2015 unsolved death of a teen as well as the 2018 death of the Murdaugh family's housekeeper.

The killings of his wife and son have not been solved, and Murdaugh has denied responsibility.

Questions remain over housekeeper death, attorney says

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) announced on Wednesday that it was opening a criminal investigation into the February 2018 death of Gloria Satterfield and the handling of her estate.

Satterfield was the Murdaugh family housekeeper for more than two decades before dying in 2018 after what was described as a "trip and fall accident" at the Murdaugh home, according to attorney Eric Bland, who is representing her estate.

SLED said it is opening an investigation based upon a request from the Hampton County coroner that highlights inconsistencies in the ruling of Satterfield's manner of death, as well as information gathered during SLED's other ongoing investigations involving Murdaugh.

"The decedent's death was not reported to the Coroner at the time, nor was an autopsy performed. On the death certificate the manner of death was ruled 'Natural,' which is inconsistent with injuries sustained in a trip and fall accident," the coroner's request to SLED said.

Bland filed a lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of Satterfield's estate against Alex Murdaugh, the estate's former attorney Cory Fleming, as well as Palmetto State Bank.

Bland told CNN on Wednesday that following her death, her family trusted Murdaugh to help them bring a lawsuit against himself on behalf of the estate.

"Certainly there were questions by my clients because after she unfortunately fell, she was airlifted to a hospital and she had a traumatic brain injury, she never was able to communicate with them for the next three weeks until she died," Bland told Cuomo. "So, it was Alex Murdaugh who told the story of that she had tripped and fell down the stairs over his dogs."

"They trusted him," Bland said. "He hand-walked them to his best friend and college roommate to bring a lawsuit against himself on behalf of the estate."

According to Bland, a number of claims were made which all contributed to a settlement, but none of those settlements ever ended up in court, except one for around $500,000 from Lloyds of London insurance.

"There's no court orders approving any of these settlements. And it's required under the law, if you have a wrongful death or survival case, a judge has to approve the settlements. None of that exists in the court record, and our clients never found out that these cases had settled these claims, until it was printed in the paper by investigative reporters," Bland said.

According to the attorney, the claims were settled for more than $2 million, of which his clients have received no part. "It's our job to get them answers, and get them their money back," Bland added.

In addition, police are investigating the unsolved death of Stephen Smith, 19, on June 22, roughly two weeks after the killings of Murdaugh's wife and son.

SLED said the probe was being reopened based on information gathered while investigating the double homicide.

Former client charged in suicide scheme

The man who allegedly shot Murdaugh earlier this month was directed to do so by him, according to an affidavit.

Smith, 61, was charged Wednesday with assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, according to SLED.

Murdaugh was not fatally wounded when he was shot Sept. 4. Afterward, he called 911 to report he had been shot on a road in Hampton County, South Carolina, according to SLED, and he was taken to a hospital in Savannah, Georgia.

Authorities initially described Murdaugh's injury as a "superficial gunshot wound to the head," though Murdaugh's attorneys said his skull was fractured in the shooting.

Murdaugh allegedly provided Smith with a firearm and directed Smith to shoot him in the head. Smith admitted Tuesday to being present at the shooting and to disposing of the firearm afterward, the affidavit states.

It's not clear whether Smith has retained legal counsel. The Colleton County Sheriff's Office said Smith had a bond hearing on Wednesday morning and received a $5,000 cash surety bond for the meth charge and a personal recognizance bond for the marijuana charge. He was transferred to Hampton County custody on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

Murdaugh had represented Smith as his attorney on at least two occasions dating back to 2010, according to court records from the Colleton County 14th Judicial Circuit.

He first represented Smith in a personal injury lawsuit that Smith brought against a land management company, and Murdaugh is also listed as Smith's attorney for a 2013 traffic infraction, the court documents show.

CNN contributed to this report

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