[ad_1]
Just being in the Murdaugh family orbit could be seen as a risk.
On July 8, 2015 — six years before the murders of Maggie and Paul — Stephen Smith, a fellow classmate of the Murdaugh boys, was found dead in the middle of a rural highway in Hampton County.
Per police recordings obtained by FITSnews journalist Will Folks, Stephen had mechanical problems with his vehicle and ran out of fuel while on his way home. He was walking on the isolated highway in search of help before he died. He was found lying in the middle of the road with severe head trauma. His shoes were still on his feet, his cellphone was still in his pocket, and his clothes were intact.
Upon closer inspection, Folks discovered that the police recording and the evidence at the scene of the crime did not add up: “If someone’s going to be the victim of vehicular strike, you’re probably not going to find them in the middle of the road. You’re probably not going to find them with loose-fitting shoes still on them. You’re probably not going to find them with the blood patterns the way they found the blood patterns. Probably not going to find them, again, positioned the way he was positioned.”
A police report suspected foul play was involved, but there was no further investigation and the case was dropped. The report also named Buster Murdaugh, Alex’s eldest son, whom many suspected was in a romantic relationship with Stephen. Buster and his brother Paul were both possible suspects in Stephen’s case.
“As soon as the Murdaugh name was tossed into the mix, of having something to do relationship-wise with Stephen, I feel like the view on his case changed entirely,” explained Olivia, a close friend of Stephen’s. “It went from finding justice for Stephen to defending the Murdaughs and making sure that everyone knew they had nothing to do with it.”
That same year, the Murdaugh family’s housekeeper and nanny, Gloria Satterfield, died after suffering a head injury. Per the Murdaughs, Gloria came to the family’s hunting lodge to pick up her check when the family dog jumped on her at the top of a flight of stairs, causing her to fall head-first. According to investigative reports, Alex said he spoke with Gloria moments after her fall. But it was later learned that that was false as Alex wasn’t even there.
Alex later approached Gloria’s sons, Tony and Brian Satterfield, at her funeral and encouraged them to sue him for insurance money. The effort, which was initially seen as helpful, turned out to be a scam when the Satterfields did not receive any of the $4.3 million that was promised to them.
The Satterfields’ legal team eventually received a confession of judgment from Alex for the entire sum of money. Alex was subsequently disbarred by the South Carolina bar and his numerous money schemes soon came to light. Alex was misappropriating money from his clients and he was also forced to resign from the firm.
[ad_2]
Source link