by South Carolina prosecutors will tie Alex Murdaugh “in a bun” at his future financial crimes trial, according to Eric Bland, an attorney representing the family of Murdaugh’s deceased housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.
After a Colleton County jury found Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife and son in June 2021, the former attorney still faces trial for his 99 alleged financial crimes from 19 separate indictments, some of which he had already admitted to on the stand during his murder trial.
“The question is [Murdaugh] will he make the government go through the motions to do so or will he plead guilty?’ Bland asked in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“I don’t think he will plead guilty because it will put him in a position to now only have two more financial crimes to be convicted of, where he would end up with life without parole, which would be a backstop if the murder conviction was ever overturned or remanded for new trial. So, I think they’re going to tie him up in a pretzel.”
ALEX MURDAUGH: A TIMELINE OF SOUTH CAROLINA’S ONCE POWERFUL FORECLOSURE ATTORNEY
Alex Murdaugh’s latest mug (South Carolina Department of Corrections)
Bland believes Murdaugh will want another trial because he is being held in an isolation cell at the Kirkland Reception and Assessment Center.
“Any chance he could get out and see the world, I think he would take advantage of,” Bland explained. “Well, I fully expect him to fight these charges.”
Satterfield’s sons will “absolutely” testify in a future trial against Murdo, their lawyer said.
MURDAUGH’S FIRST RESPONDER REVEALS NEW DETAILS OF CRIME AFTER GUILTY
The Satterfields recovered a multi-million dollar settlement from their mother’s death that was rightfully theirs after Murdaugh allegedly stole it. They even got an apology from the disgraced attorney, but still want to “hold Alex accountable” for his other crimes, Bland said.
The Satterfields were able to recover a multi-million dollar settlement from their mother’s death that was rightfully theirs after Murdaugh allegedly stole it and even apologized to the disgraced lawyer. But they still want to “hold Alex accountable” for his other crimes, Bland said. (Brice Herndon Funeral Home/Joshua Boucher/The State via AP)
In February 2018, the Murdaugh family reported that Satterfield tripped and fell down some steps in Moselle and later died at a hospital.
An autopsy was never performed and Satterfield’s death certificate said she died of natural causes, which her family and Hampton County Coroner Angela Topper later disputed as her injuries were inconsistent with that conclusion.
ALEX MERDO’S WHO’S WHO IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA FAMILY DYNASTY
Prosecutors say Murdaugh secured $4.3 million in insurance settlements for Satterfield’s family after her death, but the former attorney kept most of the money for himself, never notifying the family that he had secured a payout.
Tony Satterfield answers questions during the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh at the Colleton County Courthouse, February 9, 2023. (Joshua Boucher/The State/Pool)
Tony Satterfield testified during the double-murder trial that Murdo never paid him a penny of the $4.3 million settlement. He didn’t even know the case was settled until he read a news story about it.
Murdaugh testified that he remembers “lying to Tony and looking him in the eye multiple times.”
ALEX MURDAUGH COMMERCIAL VIDEO EXPLOITS A DISABLED FORMER CLIENT
The former attorney allegedly hired hitman Curtis “Cousin Eddie” Smith to shoot him on Labor Day 2021 in what he described as a $10 million insurance buyout plan for his oldest son, Buster, but the bullet missed his head Murdaugh.
Curtis Smith is the man Murdo said he called when he wanted someone to kill him so his surviving son could collect on a $10 million life insurance policy. (Colleton County Sheriff’s Office via AP, File)
The day before, his family’s generations-old personal injury law firm forced Murdaugh to resign after learning he had allegedly embezzled millions from the firm and its clients, including Satterfield’s family.
Murdo paid Smith using funds obtained from the Satterfield settlement, according to Satterfield’s lawyers.
“As far as the murders, they really didn’t take a stand on that,” Bland said of the Satterfields. “They don’t think it’s their place to discuss the murders. Now, financial crimes [trial] goes up. They want justice. They want to see that he has to pay, like everyone else does to get justice when they commit a crime.”
Alex Murdaugh is arraigned in Colleton County Court on March 3, 2023. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)
The lawyer added that the Murdoch murder trial made the state of South Carolina “look great,” describing Judge Clifton Newman as “America’s judge.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“[Except] for that crazy phone call about the bomb scare, everything went smoothly. There was no riot, no confrontation of different factions in front of the courthouse,” he said. “We have seen when there have been other verdicts in other states that there is a backlash from the public and there can be riots. … It was very safe. It was highly respected. I think Judge Newman is America’s judge.”
The South Carolina Division of Law Enforcement has launched an investigation into Satterfield’s death.
Danielle Wallace of Fox News contributed to this report.
