Murdaugh Murders Podcast - Soundbites Premium Preview - Closing Our Murdaugh Era (Part One): Untangling the Web To Weave Justice and Accountability

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Starting point is 00:00:39 Now that's a mountain of entertainment. Paramount Wolf. Hello, and welcome to a special edition of Soundbites. I'm Beth Braden, journalist and researcher for the True Sunlight podcast. Usually, Soundbites is a monthly recap show for our Lunar Shark premium. me a membership community, where I talk through the month's biggest stories from our podcasts. This month, Soundbites is for everybody. Why? Because we wanted to make sure that our long-time listeners have a proper refresh on the facts for Hulu's original series, Murdoch, Death in the Family

Starting point is 00:01:17 on Hulu, and Hulu on Disney Plus. And we wanted to make sure new listeners who find us as a result of the Hulu show can get a broad overview and familiarize themselves with the Murdoch case. So, you should know the following out of the gate. Former South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdoch, his banker Russell Lafitte, and his best friend, Corey Fleming, are all in prison or heading there shortly after pleading guilty. And Alex is unlikely to get out alive. Alex's wife Maggie and youngest son Paul are dead. A young woman, Mallory Beach, is forever 19 after dying in a preventable boat crash.

Starting point is 00:01:55 A young man who should be a doctor today. Stephen Smith was killed 10 years ago, and his mother still doesn't know what happened. A hardworking single mom, who worked as the Murdoch's housekeeper, named Gloria Satterfield, died at the Moselle property, and her two sons trusted Alex to help them obtain a settlement paid out by his homeowner's insurance. Instead, they were left in abject poverty and eventually evicted from their mobile home while Alex squirled away their settlement. In all, Alex stole more than $10 million worth of settlement money from at least 13 of his law clients. And that's just the victims and the money we know about.

Starting point is 00:02:37 So how did we get here? Well, I'll explain. First, there was a boat crash on Archer's Creek near Parris Island, South Carolina, around 2 a.m. on February 24, 2019. Alex Murdoch's youngest son, Paul, then 19 years old, was reportedly drunk. driving. Paul, his girlfriend, and four other friends on the boat were intoxicated when Paul hit a bridge piling. What happened next was a nightmare. Mallory Beach was thrown from the boat, and nobody could find her. Paul Murdoch was charged with boating under the influence resulting in death, and a civil suit relating to the crash loomed over the Murdoch family. Later, prosecutors

Starting point is 00:03:19 would recognize the boat crash as the catalyst to the 2021 double homicide of Paul and his mother, Maggie Murdoch. We're about to play a clip from the very first episode of the Murdoch Murdoch, published in June 2021, right after Maggie Murdoch and Paul Murdoch were murdered. At the time this podcast aired, nobody had been arrested for those brutal homicides. And the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office, which gave Alex a deputy solicitor's badge, was still in charge of the murder investigation. It wasn't until August 11th of that year that solicitor's, which Solicitor Duffy Stone recused himself. With all that in mind, here's Mandy in MMP Episode 1, explaining more about who the Murdochs were and why the crash marked a turning point of

Starting point is 00:04:07 the Murdoch family's standing in South Carolina's low country. 19-year-old Mallory Beach was ejected into the dark water during the crash. Her body was found a week later. Mallory was a bright, bubbly teenager who lit up every room she walked into. She was the embodiment of a sweet southern girl. Mallory had long, blonde hair, and a stunning smile. Most of all, she was the type of person who was genuinely kind to everyone she met. She suffered a horrific death on February 24, 2019, and so many lives were forever changed by her death. Paul was charged with three felonies in that crash, but he never spent a minute in jail.

Starting point is 00:04:47 So who was, Paul Murdoch? To understand Paul, we have to understand his family. Paul Murdoch's grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather all served as the solicitors of the 14th Judicial Circuit from 1920 to 2006. In South Carolina, a solicitor is an elected official similar to the district attorney. They are considered by many to be the most powerful position in the South Carolina judicial system. The Murdoch family power loomed large over law enforcement and influence courtrooms in the low country for the last 100 years. They are one of the most prominent families in the state. Many people say that the Murdochs are the law in Hampton County, one of the poorest counties in South Carolina with a depleting population in a vanishing industry.

Starting point is 00:05:33 Hampton is about an hour from Hilton Head, but it feels a world away, a place where time stood still and hasn't moved much since the 1950s. Hampton County is known as a judicial hellhole due to its longtime reputation of siding with plaintiffs and rewarding an unusually high amount for damages. The Murdoch family law firm files a majority of those big money lawsuits in Hampton County. So when we talk about how the Murdoch skin power over the last century, they did this not only through their roles as prosecutors, but also through their well-known law firm.

Starting point is 00:06:10 Over the years, I have spoken with over 100 people about the Murdoch family, about the power they had over others, about the favors they did for people, about their close ties to law enforcement, about their deep pockets, about their vast tracks of land, and about the disconnect between their private and public personas. Many called the boat crash South Carolina's Chappaquitic, a story entangled in the twisted web of politics, power, money, investigative failures, and flagrant cover-ups. Four weeks later, in July of 2021, MMP, Episode 5 explained more about what happened on the evening of February 23rd, 2019, in the hours leading up to the boat crash.

Starting point is 00:06:54 Let's go back to the beginning on February 23, 2019, which was date night for Paul Murdoch, his girlfriend at the time, her two best friends, and their boyfriends. Newly released video shows Paul Murdoch, who is a small 19-year-old, purchased beer and White Clause from Parker's gas station in Ridgeland, South Carolina, around 5.30 p.m. on February 23rd. Paul fidgets as he's buying the booze. According to court documents, he was using his brother Buster's ID. While Buster had red hair like Paul, Buster was about 60 pounds heavier and 7 inches taller.

Starting point is 00:07:32 But the ID works. After he illegally purchases the alcohol, Paul Murdoch heads to the parking lot, where he raises his boxes of booze in the air, signaling victory to his friends waiting for him. Around 6.30 p.m., the friends meet at the Murdoch River home, which is owned by Paul's grandfather, Mardock before they leave in Paul's father's boat and head to an oyster roast. Around 8 p.m., the six friends arrive at the home of Christy Woods for an oyster roast. In her statement to police, she said she only served water and lemonade at the oyster roast. While at the Woods home, the three young couples consumed the alcohol that they stored on the boat,

Starting point is 00:08:07 according to depositions. Several adults at the party and Mallory Beach's boyfriend Anthony Cook, who was the oldest in the group, suggested that the group get an Uber because of the alcohol that they consumed. Christy told police that she offered for them to stay because it was cold outside. It was about 60 degrees, which is not pleasant, on the water at night. Paul, who was already allegedly intoxicated, then decided that he wanted to get a shot from Luther's in downtown Beaufort, according to depositions. On the way to downtown Beaufort, Paul's driving got worse, according to witness statements, that said he almost hit the Woods Memorial Bridge. It took two tries to park the boat in downtown Beaufort.

Starting point is 00:08:44 So while only Paul and Connor wanted to get shots, the rest of the group stayed behind. Surveillance video at the Waterfront Park captures the group. You can tell that Paul and Connor's girlfriends look annoyed that they are going to Luther's. According to depositions, they were just tired and wanted to go home at this point. Security cameras capture Paul and Connor entering Luther's at around 12.55 a.m. They sit down for a few minutes and order shots. Paul and Connor then purchased two rounds of shots, one lemon drop, and one Yeager shot each. While Connor said in deposition that Paul almost got into a fight and was throwing chairs while inside Luther's, this is not shown on the video.

Starting point is 00:09:26 Paul used his mother Maggie's credit card for the shots. His math does not add up on the tip. While Paul and Connor were at Luther's, the rest of the group waited at Waterfront Park. This footage is heartbreaking to watch. Mallory and her boyfriend Anthony appear to be doing their best, to make light out of the situation. You can tell Mallory and Anthony really love each other. She lights up when she looks at him. In the video, they share an inside joke

Starting point is 00:09:51 and they both laugh. These are some of their last moments together. Paul and Connor meet up with a group. Paul's girlfriend looks angry and they fight. Paul throws his hands up in the air and appears to yell at her. Paul looks drunk in a swing as he walks. At around 1.17 a.m.,

Starting point is 00:10:07 the kids loaded to the boat and they leave downtown Beaufort. In the video, you can see just how small a 17-foot boat is. They looked crammed. Once the boat entered Archer's Creek, it only took them seven minutes to travel 1.7 miles. According to witness statements, Paul's behavior and driving became worse at this point. You think you know this river better than me, Paul Murdoch said, according to a witness statement? This is my boat, and I'll be damned if anybody else drives. Everybody in the boat was trying to get Paul into letting Mallory's boyfriend Anthony Cook

Starting point is 00:10:40 drive the boat, according to depositions, but he refused. Paul started to scream horrible things at his girlfriend, according to a witness statement. As we said before, there was one final argument but Paul's girlfriend at the time then says, what are you going to do? Hit me like you did all those times before, according to a witness statement. Paul Murdoch pushed, spit on, and slapped his girlfriend in the face, according to multiple depositions. He then headed back to the helm of the boat and accelerated. According to GPS data released from SCDNR, the following times and speeds were recorded in the last seconds of their voyage. 2.20 a.m. and 3 seconds, 25 miles per hour. 220 a.m. and 31 seconds, 24 miles per hour. 2.20 a.m. and 33 seconds, 29 miles per hour.

Starting point is 00:11:30 2.20 a.m. and 40 seconds. GPS coordinates placed them at the bridge. Paul, Mallory, and Anthony were ejected into the water. Connor and Paul's girlfriend were severely injured. Blood was everywhere, and Mallory was gone. We have a Mallory Beach playlist. You can find it in the episode description to get all of the twists and turns. Remastered episodes with commentary are being released on the True Sunlight podcast feed through November 19th. But essentially, the solicitor's office that a Murdoch man had led for more than 80 years

Starting point is 00:12:13 recused itself from the boat crash the day after, but it took two more months for the state attorney general's office to charge Paul Murdoch with boating under the influence resulting in death. At his arraignment, the prosecutor, yes, the one responsible for proving the state's case against Paul, stopped a sheriff's deputy from handcuffing him and allowed his mugshot to be taken in the hallway of the courthouse. We also need to talk about the civil case that rose out of Mallory Beach's death. The month after Mallory died, her mother, Renee Beach, retained attorney Mark Tensley

Starting point is 00:12:47 and filed a wrongful death lawsuit against several different defendants. The suit named Greg Parker, the founder of Parker's Kitchen convenience stores, two adults who allegedly served alcohol to Paul and the others at an oyster roast house party that night, Luther's rare and well-done restaurant where Paul is seen on camera taking shot, Alex Murdoch, Randolph Murdoch III, Alex's dad, and Paul's brother Buster, who allegedly allowed Paul to use his ID to buy alcohol from Parker's Kitchen Convenience Store. There was a hearing in the boat crash scheduled for June 10, 2021, just three days after the double homicide. While several of the boat crash defendants have settled and or been

Starting point is 00:13:30 dismissed from the case, there is still ongoing litigation between the Beach family and Parker's kitchen for allegations of civil conspiracy related to the release of footage of Mallory Beach's body. While Mandy was reporting on Mallory's death for the island packet, she saw a new hashtag pop-up on social media, Justice for Stephen. 19-year-old Stephen Nicholas Smith was found dead of massive head trauma in the middle of rural Sandy Run Road in Hampton, South Carolina, before dawn, on July 8, 2015. He was an openly gay man in the rural south. He was studying nursing with plans to eventually become a doctor. He had a twin sister.

Starting point is 00:14:11 He loved books and cats. His friends remembered him as inclusive and accepting to the other people in high school who didn't fit the typical mold. His mom, Sandy Smith, has never stopped pushing for answers about what happened to him. It's now been more than 10 years and she still doesn't know. Stephen's story was the focus of the second episode of the Murdoch Murder's podcast on June 30th, So what happened to Stephen Smith? Like the probe of the 2019 boat crash that killed Mallory Beach, the 2015 investigation and dismissed death was chaotic from the beginning, derailed by jurisdictional

Starting point is 00:14:50 perplexity and suspicions of investigative interference. Smith was found dead just before 4 a.m. on July 8, 2015, he was found in the middle of Sandy Run Road in Hampton County, South Carolina. Champney County, 911, where's your emergency? Hello, I just turned out a wrong. I see somebody laying out. You in the road. He's in the rules? Yeah.

Starting point is 00:15:25 Uh-uh. Somebody's going to hit him at a stop. Uh-huh. Somebody going to hit it. All right. We'll get it also headed out that way. Okay. All right.

Starting point is 00:15:35 at 407 a.m., a man named Michael Bridges of the Hampton County Sheriff's Office arrived on scene just seconds after he was dispatched. I'll be clear here. It's hard to understand from all of the reports when exactly the Hampton County Sheriff's Office arrived on scene. Whatever time deputies arrived, what they found was horrific. I know this because I've seen crime scene photos. Stephen's face was covered in blood. The bright young nursing student was dead. He was lying in the middle of a remote country road. Stephen had a seven-inch gash on the right side of his forehead. His head was warped by blunt force. Considering he had no other major injuries, investigators on scene were completely stumped. At first, they thought it was a hit and run

Starting point is 00:16:21 and called highway patrol to the scene around 5.37 a.m. By 6 a.m., the South Carolina law enforcement division, also known as sled, was called to the scene. The coroner ruled a death of shooting homicide, forcing investigators to search the area for ballistics evidence. Investigators from the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the Hampton County Sheriff's Office, and the state police found virtually no evidence. No bullets, no gunshot residue, no tire marks, no debris from a vehicle, nothing. Here is Corporal Michael Duncan, who is one of the initial investigators for the South Carolina Highway Patrol on scene. It is a two-lane roadway, level, site distance, not an issue.

Starting point is 00:17:06 However, it's collusion occurred approximately at night, approximately 1 o'clock in the morning to 4 o'clock. So visibility will be used with headlights only. There's no other ambient lighting in the area. As far as evidence here, there is only evidence of where the body was found. There's no car parts, no any type of parts to a car, or truck, or any other vehicle. Photographs and video were taken of the scene by Sergeant Booker. Also visited the mortuary, took pictures of the body at the mortuary. There is no body trauma other than to the head area.

Starting point is 00:17:54 There is some scrapes and scratches on his left and right arm, on his knuckles, some across his face. It does not appear to be, in my opinion, struck by a vehicle. In fact, after coming through over 100 pages of documents, it's hard to find any officials who believed that Stephen Seth was a hit and run. Hours later, Dr. Aaron Presnell, a pathologist at the Medical University of South Carolina, also noticed in USC, ruled that Stephen was killed in a hit-and-run incident. While the coroner believes that the death was a homicide in South Carolina, a pathologist who is a medical doctor must perform an autopsy on the victim to decide the cause and manner of death. Here is what the autopsy report said.

Starting point is 00:18:46 The cause of death was blunt force head trauma due to a motor vehicle crash. There was a 7.25-inch laceration on the right side of Stephen's forehead, along with bruises on both sides of his forehead. The right side of Stephen's skull had multiple fractures, bruising, and contusions. His right eyebrow was cut. His right shoulder was dislocated. He had cuts and bruises on his right hand. There were cuts on his right arm. There were cuts on his right fingers.

Starting point is 00:19:12 Blood was in his airways. The autopsy report mentions historical information that led the pathologist to believe that Stephen was killed by a vehicle. But there is no mention of any specific historical information that would lead them to this conclusion. Highway Patrol investigators were baffled by this ruling because they were told by Sled and the sheriff's office that they were not needed at the autopsy. They didn't think they were needed because they didn't think that this was a hit and run. The South Carolina Highway Patrol typically does not investigate murders. Highway Patrol investigators went to the scene multiple times to search for evidence. Time after time, they found

Starting point is 00:19:55 nothing. Stephen's 2015 case was originally investigated by the South Carolina Highway Patrol's multidisciplinary accident investigation team, also known as mate. In the mate case file, the Murdoch name comes up over 40 times in case notes, reports, and audio recordings. Multiple interviews included information that Buster Murdoch, or quote, the Murdoch boy, had something to do with Stephen's death. Buster Murdoch has repeatedly and vehemently denied that he had anything to do with Stephen's death. There were other names thrown around too,

Starting point is 00:20:31 Sean Connolly, Patrick Wilson, and Donterio Aiken. And according to Stephen's family, Alex Murdoch's older brother, Randy Murdoch, drove by the scene the day that Stephen was found. Eventually, the Highway Patrol ended up releasing the mate file publicly, but more on that in a minute. Stephen's case was frustratingly cold by 2016. Mandy and Liz did some preliminary work on it after the boat crash,

Starting point is 00:20:56 but there wasn't really anything they could report on. That changed in 2021 when South Carolina's state law enforcement division announced that it had learned some information during the course of Paul and Maggie's double homicide investigation that caused them to take Stevens case. Take a listen to this clip from Murdoch Murders Podcast episode 86. This is Liz explaining about the Highway Patrol's release of the redacted case file in 2021. Sometime in late June 2021, it was announced that SLED had found evidence prompting them to take over the Stephen Smith case. After that, the South Carolina Highway Patrol released their redacted case file to the media.

Starting point is 00:21:37 This was problematic then and it's problematic now. It was problematic for all the reasons we've already said, but also in June 2020, Stephen's case was an open case. The normal course of action would have been for highway patrol to hand the file over to SLED, not release it. Why? To protect the people who had spoken to investigators and to protect the investigation itself. Even though the investigation up and to that point had been questionable, it was still worth protecting the work that had been done, at least until Sled's investigators were able to make sense of things. Now, as you know, we are huge proponents of transparency, but transparency doesn't mean the reckless release of information.

Starting point is 00:22:24 South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act does not compel law enforcement agencies to release records or information that would interfere with a prospective law enforcement proceeding, or would deprive someone of a right to a fair trial, or an impartial adjudication, or would constitute an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy, or would constitute an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy, or would expose the identity of a confidential source, or would disclose current techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose current guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure would risk circumvention of the law

Starting point is 00:23:02 or would endanger the life or physical safety of any individual. Usually, and in our experience, law enforcement agencies aren't typically handing over open case files without a fight. In fact, in 2021, the posting courier sued Sled in an effort to get investigation files in the Murdoch murder case. They lost that fight. So the release of Stevens case was and is baffling. Do we like having case files released? Absolutely. But only to the extent that it doesn't put people at great risk or screw up the investigation. Neither of us have met an investigator who would advocate for or be okay with the release of an open case file,

Starting point is 00:23:48 especially one that included recordings of interviews. There are a lot of reasons for this, but one of the big reasons would be that the release of those interviews not only could affect people's willingness to share information in this case, but in all cases moving forward, especially in Hampton County where things are so secretive. It's hard enough to get people to do the right thing and tell police what they know, especially in cases that involve strong and deep-rooted power structures where there are potentially serious consequences. Wild, right?

Starting point is 00:24:25 In July 2025, we honored Stephen's life with a 3.6 mile walk from his grave in Gooding Cemetery in Hampton County to where he died on Sandy Run Road and back again. It was a muggy summer morning and more than 50 people made the trek accompanied to buy the Hampton County Sheriff, Hampton County deputies, and the SLED agent currently assigned to Stevens case. There is a $50,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the person or people who killed Stephen that night. Tips can be sent to Tips at SLED.s.com. That's tips t-I-P-S-L-E-D-S-C-D dot-S-C-D-G-O-V. We believe somebody knows something and that this case can still be solved.

Starting point is 00:25:19 To learn more about Stephen's case, check out the link in the episode description. That will take you to our Stephen Smith page on the website where you can find a playlist of the 29 episodes about his case. At Desjardin, we speak business. We speak startup funding and comprehensive game plans. We've mastered made-to-measure growth and expansion advice, and we can talk your ear-off about transferring your business when the time comes. Because at Desjardin business, we speak the same language you do. Business.

Starting point is 00:25:51 So join the more than 400,000 Canadian entrepreneurs who already count on us, and contact Desjardin today. We'd love to talk, business. The highway patrol angle of Stephen's case also brings us to the next piece in the Murdoch universe. One of the highway patrol officers who worked Stephen's case was Thomas Moore. Three years after Stephen died, in 2018, Thomas Moore was sitting in his police cruiser during a snowstorm when he was hit by another driver. The injuries he sustained in that crash resulted in spinal surgery, and he ultimately called on Alex's law firm. then known as Peters, Murdoch, Parker, Eltsroth, and Dietrich, or PMPED, to represent him in a lawsuit.

Starting point is 00:26:41 Alex took his case. In May of 2021, the case settled for $125,000. Normally, an attorney takes their fee from the settlement and then the rest is dispersed to the client. In Thomas Moore's case, Alex took the proceeds check, forged Thomas Moore's name, and deposited it into an account that only he had asked. access to, and more on that scheme in a minute. It turns out, this wasn't the first time that Alex had taken somebody's money. Thomas Moore, Natasha Thomas, Hakeem Pinckney, Arthur Badger, Dionne Martin, Manuel Santis Christiani, Randy Droughty, Blondale Gary, Christopher Anderson, Johnny Bush,

Starting point is 00:27:26 Jamie and Risher, Sandra Taylor, Jordan Jinks, Elena Pliler, Hannah Plyler, and Gloria Satterfield, the Murdoch's longtime housekeeper. Alex stole settlement money from each of them, and these are just the victims we know about because of indictments relating to the thefts. Before I tell you about Gloria, though, listen to Mandy and Liz explain the forge scheme, because that was Alex's main way of stealing from his clients.

Starting point is 00:27:56 This is a clip from Murdoch Murder's podcast episode 22, first published in December 2021, indictments against Alex Murdoch for various financial crimes were still rolling in. First, a little refresher. In 2015 and 2018, ELEC opened two extremely fake business accounts at Bank of America using the name Forge, which closely resembles the name of a reputable settlement management agency out of Atlanta called Forge Consulting LLC, where, as a quick aside, there seemed to be an awful lot of men with the Roman numeral four after their names. Also fun to note, Eleg was apparently good friends with one of the agency's principles. So here's why this is

Starting point is 00:28:39 important. Lawyers have a fiduciary responsibility to their clients, which basically means they're obligated to advise their clients on financial decisions that would be in the client's best interest. Oftentimes, this means helping clients minimize their tax burdens and helping maximize their total takeaway through structured settlement plans. that provide annuities. The real Forge Consulting Company is a brokerage firm widely used by attorneys to set up settlement plans for their clients. This is not what ELEC did. Every one of those seven indictments involves ELEC's alleged scheme using his fake forge accounts.

Starting point is 00:29:22 And we will go over those seven indictments. Indictment number one, the Johnny Bush case. case. In June 2016, Elek allegedly pretended that $100,000 of Johnny's settlement money was used to pay someone to do, quote-unquote, accident reconstruction for Johnny's case. Elick apparently took $95,000 of that money by having a check cut from PMPED's client trust fund and then deposited it in his forge account. He then withdrew some of the money as cash, used some of it to pay his credit card bills and wrote checks to his associates, according to the indictment. Indictment number two, the Jamie and Risher case. In August 2016, Elick is accused of having a $90,000

Starting point is 00:30:14 check written from PMPED's client trust fund with the description regarding Jamie and Risher, who had received an unknown amount of money because of unspecified injuries. Elick deposited the money in his forge account and again used the money. the money that was supposed to go to Jamian, to pay his credit card bills, withdraws cash, and write checks to himself and his associates. Then, unbelievably, three years later, between August and November of 2019, Eleg won on a trip to New York and allegedly spent more than $5,000 of Jamian's settlement money on his flight and his meals.

Starting point is 00:30:52 That is hardcore. Indictment number three, the Randy Droughty case. In November 2017, Ellick is accused of having Randy sign a settlement disbursement form that showed that the firm was withholding almost $9,000 for medical bills and $750 for private investigator services. Instead of using that money for those purposes, Ellick allegedly deposited it into his forge account and used it for personal expenses. We have to point out that $10,000 is pennies to a lot of lawyers. Elyke Murdoch included, so why would he bother? Indictment number four, the Jordan Jenks case. In August 2018, Murdoch allegedly convinced his longtime family friend, Jordan Jenks,

Starting point is 00:31:45 who had come to him for help, that PMPED had to keep $85,000 of Jordan's settlement money to pay for a medical insurance lien. What did Elyke do with this money? you guessed it. He paid his credit card bills, got some cash, and wrote checks to his associates. I'm not done. Then, two months later, Ehrlich allegedly did it again, but this time he told Jordan the medical insurance lien was for $65,000. Let's be clear here. If someone believes they have the medical insurance lien for $150,000, that means they were significantly injured. I'm not done. Ellick is also accused of forging Jordan's signature on a disbursement sheet, which is a document on which a client acknowledges and improves the money he is receiving from his settlement. I'll say it again.

Starting point is 00:32:38 Ellick supposedly did this to a longtime family front. Indictment number five. The Blondell Gary Estate case. In April 2019, the same month his son was charged with three felony boating under the influence. charges in Beaufort County. Alec is accused of gaining the trust of the personal representative of the Blondell Gary estate and taking $112,500 of the estate's money from the client trust fund. He allegedly deposited this money into his forge account and used it to pay family

Starting point is 00:33:15 members, pay his credit card bills, withdraw as cash, and write checks to his associates. indictment number six, the Christopher Anderson case. Between February and July 2020, a full year after Ellick and his family have been in the press, Christopher came to Ellick for help. Christopher had been hurt on the job and was supposed to receive a $750,000 check for his injuries. Elick allegedly stole the entire $750,000 from Christopher and told him that the money was being held in an annuity account. for structured settlements. Reminder, this means that the $750,000 were supposed to go to the real forge, where it would have been used to purchase an insurance policy that would have earned Christopher interest over time. According to the indictment, Ellick apparently used Christopher's money to make loan payments, spend his cash, and write checks to his associates. Indictment number seven, the Sandrick Taylor case. Between November and December 2020, when the Murdoch family was already in the local media limelight, Elyke allegedly convinced the person representing

Starting point is 00:34:25 Sandra's estate that Sandra's wrongful death case wasn't worth more than 30 grand. Elyke allegedly told this person that because it was so low, he wasn't going to even take his usual fee. So nice of him. But really, Eleg got more than $180,000 for Sandra's estate and allegedly took more than $150,000 for himself and spent it on credit. card payments, payments to family members, and checks written to his associates. Keep in mind, nobody goes to a personal injury lawyer because things have gone right for them. They go because something unthinkable has happened. And what happened to Gloria Satterfield, the Murdoch family housekeeper, is especially unthinkable.

Starting point is 00:35:10 On the morning of Friday, February 2, 2018, Alex Murdoch's wife, Maggie, called 911 from the family hunting property that they called Moselle. to say that her housekeeper had fallen and was bleeding. Here's a clip of the 911 call originally shared in MMP Episode 20. 9.24 a.m. 38 seconds. February 2, 2018. 2, 2018. Come here. 9.1. Where's your emergency thing?

Starting point is 00:35:46 4147, Movedale Road. Okay, can you give me the address from what I'm going to make sure you got it right? Yes, 4-1-47, Bozell Road. Okay, what's going on up there? I'm sorry? What's going on out there? My housekeeper has fallen and her head is bleeding. I cannot get her up.

Starting point is 00:36:10 Okay, you said she's fallen and she's bleeding from the head? Yes. Okay. How old is she? I'm not sure, like 58 maybe. maybe. You know if she saw some standing or not? No.

Starting point is 00:36:24 No. Where she saw from? From the, she fell going up the steps, at the bridge steps. Okay, so she outside or inside? Outside. Okay. How many steps is there? Eight.

Starting point is 00:36:40 Okay, if she on the ground or is she up near the top? She's on the ground. She's on the ground. She's on the ground. conscious? No, not really. Is she awake at all? Yes.

Starting point is 00:36:55 Okay. Is she just not, like, responding appropriately, but she is awake? Man, she's not, no, she's not responding. Okay, I just, I've already got them on the way, me asking questions, does not slow them down, ma'am. Knowing if she's conscious is one of the things that the medical. one of the things that the medic needs to know she's responding at all to you no okay so she's not responsive at all well i mean she's mumbling okay so she is somewhat conscious um is she breathing okay yes is she bleeding from anywhere yes her head okay are you guys able to

Starting point is 00:37:40 control the bleeding no can you put a clean rag or anything on it yeah i got it okay is she bleeding from like her face, the back of the head. I'm not an ambulance coming. Sir, my namblake. Where exactly is she bleeding from on her head? I'm not sure at the top of her head. Okay. Okay.

Starting point is 00:38:02 Okay. What happened? What happened? She just fell back down. Can I get off this phone so I can go down there? Can I have your name and phone number? Are you able to bring the phone down? down by her?

Starting point is 00:38:18 What? Are you on a cell phone where you can walk down there and talk? I'm on a cell phone. Okay. Can you bring it with you so we can ask her some questions about what kind of pain she's having? Hello? Yeah. Can you ask the patient what kind of pain she's having?

Starting point is 00:38:33 Ma'am, she can't talk. Okay. Do you know? She's cracked her head and there's blood on the concrete and she's breathing out of her left ear. Okay. She's bleeding out of her ear. And out of her head. She's criss in her skull.

Starting point is 00:38:46 Okay. All right, the other lady said that she had tried to stand up and sell down again? No, I was holding her up. Okay. She told me to turn her loose and she was trying to use her on, but then she fell back over. Okay, do you guys know who she is? Yes, she works for her. Okay, do you know she's ever had a stroke or anything before?

Starting point is 00:39:06 Ma'am, can you stop asking her on the way? I already have them on the way. Me asking questions does not slow them down in any way. These are relevant questions that I have to ask for the end, One of my questions is, has she ever had a stroke? I don't believe she's ever had a stroke now that I know that. Okay. Is she able to talk to you guys at all, or is she unconscious now?

Starting point is 00:39:28 She's not unconscious. She's just mummling. Okay. I believe she's maybe hit her head and maybe other thing. Okay. Do you know what her name is? Gloria Satterfield. You said Sanderfield? Sam.

Starting point is 00:39:41 Sam? You said Sanderfield? Sata. The rest of the 911 call is Paul telling the ambulance will need to go in order to get up to the house since it sits so far off the road. After that, Gloria was taken to a hospital. Here's Mandy later in MMP Episode 20 explaining what happened next. So while there are very few documents about this 2019 incident at Moselle, a series of Facebook post from Tony Satterfield, one of Gloria Satterfield's sons, sheds light on the extent of

Starting point is 00:40:22 glorious injuries. On February 2nd, 2018, Tony Satterfield posted the following on Facebook. So for those of you who don't know, my mom fell, hit her head pretty hard. She had to be flown out to Trident Medical and has a hematoma, a couple of broken ribs. She is responding, knew who I was, and even knew her social to give to the registration list. On February 3rd, Tony Satterfield said that Gloria was complaining of headaches and her hematoma had gotten better. Tony posted that his mother was going to have surgery on her ribs which were cracked during the incident and that surgery was scheduled for February 5th. While Tony posted that that surgery went well, things appeared to take a turn after that operation.

Starting point is 00:41:12 On February 7th, Tony wrote, update on my mom. Not out cold, will not wake up. And in another post on February 7, 2018, Tony Satterfield wrote that his mother has stage three kidney disease, which did not help the situation. Over the next week, it sounded like her status improved slightly, but on February 20th, it seems like things went south really quick. Tony Satterfield posted, it appeared that Gloria's heart had stopped, and they had to do CPR. In addition to giving us insight into how difficult those last few days were for Gloria and her family, Tony's post tell us just how loved Gloria was. After a difficult day on February 20, 2018,

Starting point is 00:42:00 Tony reflected on how grateful he was that he and his mother had been able to say, I love you to each other in the previous days. He was also thankful that his mother was able to see that he had a personal relationship with Jesus, and that he got his dream job at Beaufort Memorial Hospital. In just five days later, Tony Satterfield posted a tragic update. The family made the heart-wrenching decision to take Gloria off of the ventilator because the life that she was living was torture and it was no quality of life that she would want to live. Gloria Satterfield 57 died at Trident Medical Center in North Charleston on February 26, 2018.

Starting point is 00:42:38 One of the questions that remains in the minds of those familiar with the medical care in the low country is that this? Why was Gloria, a trauma patient with a head injury, taken to Trident Medical Center in Somerville? This isn't to cast aspersions on the staff at Trident. It's simply to acknowledge this. Is Trident the hospital where the Murdox would have been taken if it were one of them who had received the head injury that day? The new BMO ViPorter MasterCard is your ticket to more. More perks. More points. More flights. More flights. More of all the things you want in a travel rewards card, and then some. Get your ticket to more with the new BMO ViPorter MasterCard

Starting point is 00:43:23 and get up to $2,400 in value in your first 13 months. Terms and conditions apply. Visit BMO.com slash ViPorter to learn more. You know what's better than the one big thing? Two big things. Exactly. The new iPhone 17 Pro on TELUS is five-year rate plan price lock. Yep, it's the most.

Starting point is 00:43:44 powerful iPhone ever, plus more peace of mind with your bill over five years. This is big. Get the new iPhone 17 Pro at tellus.com slash iPhone 17 Pro on select plans. Conditions and exclusions apply. Gloria's death was devastating to her family, but that devastation was an opportunity for Alex. Take a listen to Cup of Justice co-host Eric Bland, who is also the attorney for the Satterfield family. when he spoke to Mandy for MMP Episode 21. Gloria dies February 26, 2018, after following February 2, 2018.

Starting point is 00:44:26 At the funeral, Alex says to the aunts, uncles, and the kids, I'm going to take you to go see a lawyer, and that lawyer I know is going to bring a claim against me because I am going to admit that I was negligent, responsible for your mother's death, because my dogs tripped her and she fell down the stairs. And he's going to bring a wrongful death claim and I'm going to turn it over to my insurance carriers

Starting point is 00:44:50 and then I'm going to tell them I'm at fault and you guys are going to get money as a result of your mother's death. But you can't tell anybody that I'm kind of organized in this because I can get trouble. Two months goes by. Obviously, the boating accident happened in February of 2019. March, they have a mediation and they settle with a mediator from Charleston named John Austin

Starting point is 00:45:13 and Corey's representing the estate and obviously Alex is a defendant and they go before the mediator and they compromise or whatever and they agree the total claims are going to settle for $4,305,000. So what happened? The check went straight to Corey Fleming. How did Alec end up with the money?

Starting point is 00:45:36 Alex told Corey, now Alex's the defendant, we're going to do a structure. We're going to buy an annuity for these kids through a company called Forge Consultants in Atlanta. The only problem is Corey never got any documents from Forge. And he's taking direction from the defendant who tells him, after you take your fees, write the check to Forge and send it to a PO box in Hampton, South Carolina. So the check is made out the forge. Alec Murdoch gives him a P.O. box where it's sent to. The check goes in the P.O. box. Alec Murdoch opened up a bank account at Bank of America under the name of Forge.

Starting point is 00:46:18 Got the check, cashed it, and walked away with money. And that brings us to now. This is October 9th, 2021. This week has been nonstop development. element in the glorious Satterfield case. Attorney Eric Bland and I are going to walk you through every single step that has happened this week. I feel like I have spent an entire week on the phone with Eric, bless his heart. As a Satterfield case unfolded so quickly. Eric is working tirelessly to get justice for his clients and him and his partner Ronald Richter have done more to expose

Starting point is 00:46:58 the bad actors in this case in the last three weeks than anyone has done in the last last three years since Gloria Satterfield died. So we're going to rewind and go back to Sunday, October 3rd when Eric Bland announced that Elyke Murdoch's best friend, Corey Fleming, along with his law firm, reached a settlement in this case. But before the new settlement was reached on Friday, Satterfield's two sons hadn't received a single dime from their mother's wrongful death settlement, which ended up being 4.3 million. There we go with that forged scheme again. You already heard about Corey and his role in the Satterfield case, but that was not his

Starting point is 00:47:44 first time scheming with Alex to defraud clients. In 2009, a deaf man named Hakeem Pinckney, his mother, Pamela, and a cousin were in a serious car accident that left Hakeem paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a ventilator to breathe. Corey Fleming represented Hakeem's mother in a civil lawsuit related to the car accident. In 2022, an indictment laid out what Corey and Alex did with the Pinkney money. So, in 2012, Pamela Pinkney's case was settled for $350,000. That money went into a trust account at Corey's law firm. About 220,000 of it was due for medical bills. The difference belonged to

Starting point is 00:48:27 Pamela Pinkney and should have been dispersed to her. Instead, Corey funneled most of the settlement money to Alex, but also secured a private plane and other expenses related to their enjoyment of the College Baseball World Series in Nebraska that year. Ultimately, Corey was disbarred, pleaded guilty in both state and federal court, and is finishing a 46-month sentence at Jessup Federal Correctional Institution in Jessup, Georgia. When he is released from there in March 26, he will report to the South Carolina Department of Corrections to serve the remainder of his 13-year sentence. As of October 2025, Corey is in the process of appealing the 13-year sentence. As for Russell Lafitte, the small-town banker from Palmetto State Bank, he took his chances on a

Starting point is 00:49:16 trial in federal court in late 2022, where he was found guilty on six different charges relating to his participation in Alex's schemes. Russell, as a banker, was agreeing to serve as the personal representative and or conservator for several of Alex's clients, which is a job that he could get paid for. According to the feds, Russell was loaning himself and Alex's money from the conservator accounts Russell was responsible for managing. Check out the link in the description for our Russell Lefeet playlist because wait until you hear how he treated two sisters who lost their mother and brother in a car accident. After the 2022 trial, Russell was sentenced to seven years in prison. Though he managed to stave off reporting to prison for almost a year. Then, after serving just over a year

Starting point is 00:50:05 at a minimum security facility in Florida, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his conviction and Russell was home in time for the 2024 holidays. In April 2025, he opted to plead guilty instead of going to trial again. On September 29th, Russell was sentenced again, this time for five years in federal prison, with credit for the roughly four. 14 months he has already served. He is expected to learn his state sentence at some point this fall. Oh, and here's a fun fact. Russell's wife's brother, so Russell's brother-in-law,

Starting point is 00:50:41 is married to Jeannie Seconder, the chief financial officer at the law firm in Hampton where Alex worked. Hampton is tiny. So how did Alex pull this off with just two other people helping him? He didn't. There were at least two other people involved. One is Chad Westendorf, the vice president at Palmetto State Bank. Despite the fact that Tony Satterfield was capable of serving as the personal representative for his mother's estate,

Starting point is 00:51:10 Alex was able to get Chad Westendorf appointed to the position, effectively shutting Tony and his brother out of the process and paving the way for Alex's theft. Chad Westendorf was never charged with any crime. The other man was attorney Chris Wilson, who was a friend to Alex and occasionally worked cases with him. In one of their civil suits, Wilson's law firm received fees that were supposed to be split with Alex's law firm. Instead, Alex asked Wilson to write the check directly to him instead of the firm. Something Wilson should have known was not standard procedure. Alex then cashed the check and kept the money. Wilson helped cover for Alex in the summer of 2021 by telling Alex's law

Starting point is 00:51:52 partners that he had the fees in his account, despite the fact that he knew he'd written a check for that money to Alex. When the depth of Alex's financial crimes came to light in September 2021, Wilson came clean to. Wilson was never charged with any crime and testified against Alex in the double homicide trial. Now, I hate to leave you on a cliffhanger, but part one is already really long and has a lot of information. Part two of explaining the Murdox will be available to Lunas Shark Premium subscribers in November after the final episode of Murdoch, Death in the Family, is released. And we're offering 50% off of our premium Soak Up the Sun annual membership through November 19th. Soak Up the Sun members get the part two of this episode, as well as ad-free

Starting point is 00:52:43 episodes of true sunlight and cup of justice, bonus episodes like Liz and Mandy's Girl Talk, extended episodes, bonus drops, deep dives, access to case files, live streams, and a curated premium member experience that complements each episode of Murdoch Death in the Family. Our librarian, Kate Thomas, and I are very proud of the work we've done on the premium companion content, and we'd love for everybody to come see it. Premium membership also supports our ability to follow the truth and shine sunlight in all of our cases. Work continues to get justice for Scott Spivey, Krista Bauer-Gilly, Stephen Smith, and Sarah Lynn Kalucci. Visit us at lunashark.supercast.com or check the link in the description.

Starting point is 00:53:30 And until next time, stay pesky. provided by Sam Berlin, case file management provided by Kate Thomas. Learn more about our mission and membership at LunaSharkmedia.com. Interruptions provided by Luna and Joe Pesky. Murdoch, Death in the Family Official podcast is here. Thank you, Patricia Arquette, Jason Clark, and the cast to uncover all things Murdoch. Family first. To unravel the story piece by piece was really surprising because you don't want to believe it.

Starting point is 00:54:30 Murdoch, Death in the Family Official Podcast, Wednesdays, and stream Murdoch, Death in the Family on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus for bundle subscribers. Terms apply.

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