Murdaugh pleads the 5th in lawsuit over stolen law firm money - ABC NEWS 4
Alex Murdaugh is pleading The Fifth, in one case at least.
Court documents filed Friday in Colleton County show Murdaugh is refusing to answer accusations by his former law partners that he embezzled potentially millions of dollars from their firm and its clients.
Murdaugh is refusing to answer claims in that October lawsuit in order to avoid self-incrimination, a right of all accused criminals enshrined in the Constitution's 5th Amendment.
The 5th Amendment guarantees Americans several protections when facing criminal charges, but in Murdaugh's case the key clause is this: ”No person ... shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself."
Murdaugh is currently in jail without bond on two criminal charges related to an alleged fraud scheme involving his deceased former housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield. Murdaugh has been denied bond more than once. Most recently, a judge decided to keep him behind bars following a psychiatric evaluation by his lawyers.
State police have charged Murdaugh with two counts of breach of trust for reportedly masterminding a plot to steal millions of dollars in wrongful death settlement money intended for Satterfield's sons after she died from a fall on Alex's property in 2018.
Beyond that case, Murdaugh also is under indictment from a state grand jury on charges of insurance fraud, criminal conspiracy, and filing a false police.
Those charges stem from an early September incident in which Murdaugh was reportedly shot in the head by an accomplice as part of a failed assisted suicide plot meant to enrich his son, Buster, with the proceeds of a $10 million life insurance policy.
Counting those two cases and the alleged theft of money from his former law firm, Murdaugh currently is the subject of at least six separate open criminal investigations.
Other incidents tied to Alex Murdaugh that have spawned criminal probes include the deadly 2019 boat crash in Beaufort County involving Alex's son, Paul, and the 2015 death of Hampton County man, Stephen Smith.
Alex Murdaugh is under investigation for allegations of obstructing justice in the boat crash case, which saw 19-year-old Mallory Beach killed after a reportedly drunk Paul Murdaugh slammed the boat into bridge pilings at 29 mph.
A criminal inquiry into Stephen Smith's case was reopened in the weeks following the June 2021 murders of Paul Murdaugh and his mother, Maggie — Alex's wife.
Police said they found evidence during their investigation of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh's murders that led them to reopen Stephen Smith's case, which had gone cold in 2016.
Alex Murdaugh is a person of interest in Maggie and Paul's murders, his attorneys have confirmed. No arrests have been made in their deaths.
source: https://abcnews4.com/news/murdaugh-murders/murdaugh-pleads-the-5th-in-lawsuit-over-stolen-law-firm-money
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