An influential American lawyer, whose wife and son were killed, was charged on Thursday with insurance fraud and false testimony for having unsuccessfully organized his own murder.
In the midst of a drawer case that is holding the United States in suspense, Alex Murdaugh, 53, surrendered to South Carolina police on Thursday morning.
A few hours later, a judge released him on parole against payment of a $ 20,000 bond.
The lawyer denies any responsibility for the deaths of his wife Maggie, 52, and his son Paul, a 22-year-old student, whom he discovered riddled with bullets on June 7 in front of the family hunting lodge.
Rehab
But he admits having asked a former client to shoot him down so that his last surviving son can get $ 10 million in life insurance.
The shooter injured him in the head on September 4, but Alex Murdaugh survived.
During the hearing Thursday, his lawyer Dick Harpootlian assured that he had suffered for twenty years from a serious addiction to opiates.
"The death of his wife and son made him crack," he pleaded.
While waiting to be tried for this failed scam, Alex Murdaugh is going to rehab.
His legal troubles will probably not end there.
South Carolina Police are also investigating charges of embezzlement at his law firm and have just opened an investigation into the death of his domestic worker in 2018.
A story upside down
At the time, Alex Murdaugh explained that Gloria Satterfield, who had worked for the family for over 20 years, fell down the stairs after tripping over a dog and death was classified as 'natural'. "Based on a request from the Hampton County Medical Examiner and information received in connection with other investigations involving Alex Murdaugh," police announced the initiation of criminal investigations.
In addition, she had already reopened in June an investigation into the death of a 19-year-old young man, Stephen Smith, found dead in 2015 along a road near the Murdaugh's house, visibly hit by a driver.
The police had explained that they had made this decision after receiving information as part of their investigation into the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, without giving further details.
This double murder remains for its part unclear.
The family legacy of Alex Murdaugh, whose father, grandfather and great-grandfather served as prosecutors for 87 years, has fueled suspicion of possible law enforcement complacency in the folder.
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