A disgraced former South Carolina lawyer, already serving two life sentences without parole for the heinous murders of his wife and son, faced a scathing reprimand from the judge in his recent embezzlement case.
Richard “Alex” Murdaugh faced sentencing after entering a plea deal that added 27 more years to his prison term. Before his sentencing and after hearing several victim impact statements, he apologized to victims from whom he’d stolen money and/or their loved ones.
While many had harsh words for Murdaugh, he may not have anticipated Judge Clifton Newman’s blistering condemnation, labeling him “empty.”
Murdaugh, 55, was on the verge of facing trial to defend himself against charges related to financial crimes. That includes embezzling $4.3 million from insurance funds meant for the family of his deceased housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield. However, he unexpectedly pleaded guilty to 22 charges, encompassing offenses such as money laundering, criminal conspiracy and fraud. Through this plea agreement, he was absolved of 101 state counts filed against him.
“It is so important to me that you know how bothered I am by the things that I did,” said the ex-lawyer, while still denying he killed his wife and son, at the sentencing hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 28.
Newton, who will retire before the year ends, spoke directly to Murdaugh.
“You seem empty; I don’t see anything. Hopefully, something will emerge in your spirit, in your soul,” he said.
Murdaugh’s enterprise was “the unicorn of all thefts,” said the lawyer for the maid’s estate and others.
“This is someone who has tarnished the legal profession and the state,” Bland said, adding, “He’s on the Mount Rushmore of criminals.”
In addition to the exploitation of his domestic worker, prosecutor Creighton Waters detailed Murdaugh’s extensive history of deceit and fraud that spanned from around 2008.
Juggling this dishonesty with a burgeoning…
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