Murdaugh Murders Podcast - TSP #18 - Actually, Alex Murdaugh WANTS to Be Difficult + Cory Fleming Isn’t Really Sorry At All

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Starting point is 00:01:00 I don't know if the federal government will end up allowing Ellic Murdoch to pull off yet another scheme that uses the justice system for his own gain. But Dick and Jim's latest call for US Marshals to seize almost $2 million, meant for Ellic's victims, feels very familiar. It feels like the world that existed in the 14th Circuit before everyone knew who the Murdoch's were and what they were up to. My name is Manny Matney. This is True Sunlight, a podcast exposing crime and corruption previously known as the Murdoch

Starting point is 00:01:42 Murders Podcast. True Sunlight is a Luna's Shark production written with journalist Liz Farrell. Hello and happy Thursday. For some reason, I didn't expect to be stuck in Murdoch land still this fall. I was admittedly in denial thinking these cases would wrap up quietly and we can move on to solving other mysteries. But here we are, another week with another episode full of updates and important information on the never-ending Murdoch saga. While there is so much more to talk about today,

Starting point is 00:02:35 I want to start off by talking about CrimeCon and the concept of accountability. So, CrimeCon calls itself the number one event for true crime. It's essentially a 5,000 person convention where true crime fans go to network, listen to their favorite podcasters, authors, and investigators, etc. This year, as Elik Murdoch's trial was likely the biggest event in true crime, there were a lot of Murdoch guest speakers. And to be clear, our team did decline to attend due to a couple reasons. Scheduling was one,

Starting point is 00:03:12 and the other, not gonna lie, as soon as I heard the dick and gym were going to be there, the whole concept seemed very icky to me. I don't like to spend my weekends in the presence of evil. However, a bunch of our friends and fans did go to crime-con, and I was having a good time watching their updates from my couch. I loved seeing Creighton Waters absolutely shredding it on the guitar in front of each cheering crowd. I loved seeing crowds of thousands gathering to listen to Dr. Kenny Kinsey and Creighton Waters speak. loved seeing crowds of thousands, gathering to listen to Dr. Kenny Kinsey and Craternwater

Starting point is 00:03:45 speak. Call me crazy, but it makes me happy to see good people getting the praise and recognition that they deserve. And while John Monk of the State newspaper framed the event as if Dick and Jim were on the same rock star level as Cratern and Dr. K, first hand accounts in photos say otherwise. My friend Brandy Churchwell, who you all should follow in her awesome podcast 13th Jor, which I was on this week, snapped a photo of Dick and Jim's meet and greet. The photo was taken 20 minutes into their one hour meet and greet, and it was… not

Starting point is 00:04:22 something Annie Rockstar would brag about, like ever. Picture Dick and Jim, a fancy crime-con photo backdrop, lights, cameras, crime-con staff, and a long, empty roped line in front of them. As someone on Twitter said, it looked like the TSA line dreams are made of. It was literally my worst nightmare. Having a party, meet and greet, book signing, whatever, and then nobody shows up? I worry about this all of the time, as we are still in the process of planning events and book signings for my book Blood on their Hands, which will be out this November, by the way.

Starting point is 00:05:04 Every time I plan anything like that, I feel like a little kid again trying to plan a birthday party and worry that no one will show up for it, and I think about how devastating that would be. Because this is clearly a worry so close to my heart, it's really not in my nature to make fun of anyone who puts themselves out there. However, dick and gym are the exception, because I have been thinking a lot about the amount of time that these two have wasted with their shenanigans. I think about all of the hours I have spent debunking their ridiculous lies. I think about all of the taxpayer money these two men have wasted, and taxpayer money in my state by the way, which could go to so many other things. I think about the sexist and disrespectful remarks that Dick has made.

Starting point is 00:06:02 I think about how the two of them are now trying to vilify Judge Newman of all people, and I think about them doing all of this on behalf of Elik Murdoch the Murderer. And it makes me mad. And then I think, huh, this empty line at a meet and greet for Dick and Jim, maybe this is what accountability looks like, and maybe this is why our work is so important. Even if the system won't hold these two accountable for the awful things that they have done,

Starting point is 00:06:36 which is way beyond advocating for their client, by the way, maybe this is accountability. Think about it. Walking into a room full of true crime fanatics, thinking you will be worshipped when in reality, most people want to stay far, far away from you. I wasn't gonna say anything about this little meat and greek, but then two media outlets, the state and long crime legitimized these lies. Law and crime reporter Anjana Levy interviewed Dick and Jim this weekend and Dick said that crime con is its own, quote, microcosm, quote, in this microcosm as

Starting point is 00:07:17 ridiculous as it sounds were celebrities. And then on the video, Anjana Levy agreed with them and said, you are celebrities. Now this is a reporter who presents herself as unbiased. And this is an example of why I don't believe there is such a thing as journalism without any bias. Yet she agrees with Dick and Jim that they are celebrities at crime con. Despite evidence, and not just that one photo, clearly stating otherwise. I don't want to pick on Levy, but reporters have got to wake up and realize that Dick and

Starting point is 00:07:56 Jim are making them look really bad. They should realize that when they print Dick and Jim's claims without fact checking or adding extremely important contacts to their stories, like a simple line, saying these guys have been caught before lying about this. They are only hurting themselves, their own credibility, and the public's trust in journalists. I mean, look at what Dick and Jim have done to Becky Hill. And Becky Hill was nice to them too. Dick and Jim are not rock stars. They are not celebrities.

Starting point is 00:08:30 They are well known for poorly representing a family killer and thief, and that is what the world will remember them for. I think Dick and Jim's crime-con appearance should show the world that we are too smart to fall for their antics. Dick and Jim should feel alone and like they're up against the world. After all, they are fighting for an evil man and they should not be celebrated for that. Ever. They should feel entirely alone in that endeavor.

Starting point is 00:09:02 That is where accountability begins. We know now that we can't rely on those who police lawyers in our state to do anything about Dick's gun pointing in court or Jim breaking prison rules for his propaganda documentary, but we can. Remind our millions of listeners of who these men really are and why they do not deserve to be celebrated. And that is a big deal. In the past week, it feels like the monsters we thought had been slain were given some sort of a lickser and they've powered back up. Most of the monsters.

Starting point is 00:09:44 One monster finally got what's been coming to him. Russell can't admit defeat LaFitte. Again, I say, finally, has been ordered to report to federal prison by noon today. Late Wednesday morning, the federal court of appeals denied his motion to remain free on bond while the court decided his case. We weren't surprised by that. Judge Richard Gurgles' sternly worded order last week seemed to predict this outcome. It's rather funny, so we're going to have David read from part of it.

Starting point is 00:10:16 The general rule is that a defendant sentenced to a period of imprisonment who has filed an appeal shall be detained unless the court finds that the appeal raises a substantial question of law or fact likely to result in one reversal, two, an order for a new trial, three, a sentence that does not include a term of imprisonment, or four, a reduced sentence. The District Court in Pentectin noted that the statute governing release pending appeal does not contain an exception which, quote, allows a defendant to remain on bond pending appeal of a motion to remain on bond pending appeal. Remember, Russell's appeal could take years, and he wanted to put her around his farm until that day came.

Starting point is 00:11:12 He used a tricky one, but not tricky enough. Alas, this so-called gentle giant who has repeatedly denied ever being a co-conspirator in Alex Crimes was dealt a triple blow this past week. First, there was that denial, which arrived shortly before he had to pack up his ankle bracelets for his trip to prison. Second, Elic, as part of his plea deal and federal court on September 21st, confirmed that Russell was, in fact, one of his co-conspirators, say, wasn't Ellic expected to testify in Russell's trial last November to proclaim that Russell was not a co-conspirator of his? Weird that he changed his mind on that, right? Now we know why, so he could use it to fatten up his own plea deal down the line. Elllic will always be Elic-ing.

Starting point is 00:12:05 Let that be a lesson to anyone who is doing a favor for someone like Elic or keeping secrets for someone like Elic. People like Elic will always, always, always turn on you eventually. You are nothing but a means to an end for them. No matter how charming they might be to you, how kind, how much they say they love you, no matter how much they do or have done for you or your family, no matter how many tombstones they talk about sharing with you, you are not a human being to them. Which is why you should do the right thing. Cough. Like in the Steven Smith case. Cough.

Starting point is 00:12:44 Like federal prosecutors. C cough, also, where did all that money go that Alex stole? Third, depending on when you're listening to this, Russell is either well on the road to Sumterville, Florida, or attending some networking event at the prison, or pledging a prison fraternity, I don't know. I'm assuming this is what the white collar criminals do there. So, some trivial is about five hours from Russell's farm in Hampton County. It was not his first choice prison, which we applaud the bureau of prisons for that one. But, he might end up getting more visitors there.

Starting point is 00:13:19 Remember his rich banker friend who spoke up for him during his sentencing hearing? The one who said that without prompting, Russell had driven down the generator and some farm equipment to his house in Florida so that he and his rich neighbors could take showers after a hurricane. And therefore, Russell should get a light sentence for helping Alex steal from people who trusted Russell. Seems like that guy's name should be on Russell's visitor list, right? Since he's such a great friend, I guess we'll find out.

Starting point is 00:13:46 But also, Sumterville is about an hour from Disney World and Universal Parks. What a convenience spot for the LaFete family reunion every year. Now, apparently, Judge Gurgles sternly ordered order allowing Russell to delay his arrival to prison for the second and last time, inspire Russell's attorney Mark Moore. On Tuesday, the federal appeals court granted more a motion to exceed the word limit on his motion to grant a bond appeal, but it doesn't appear that he ever had the chance

Starting point is 00:14:15 to do that before the court rejected the original motion altogether. Mark Moore's previous arguments as to why Russell should not report to prison where that A, Russell is, quote, not likely to flee, quote, does not pose a danger to the community and our favorite, is, quote, not appealing for the purpose of a delay. Yeah, okay, Russell. And B, they argued that the court is likely going to reverse the verdict based on the removal

Starting point is 00:14:43 of the two jurors. By the way, what is with these guys going after the jury? Alright, juries were their thing back in the day. Russell's order to report to prison will likely complicate his state case, so get excited for that argument during the next hearing in his case. In other news this past week, we learned that, surprise, another one of Alex Cokenspirators and his BFF, Corey Fleming was not sorry as he said he was. Shocker!

Starting point is 00:15:19 Just over a week after Judge Clifton Newman sentenced Cory to 13 years and 10 months. Old Cory, who for some reason is still listed as a suspended attorney with the South Carolina and Georgia Bar Association's filed an appeal, not only of his sentence but of his conviction. He pleaded guilty to 23 charges in August. He did that. Cori did. Cori, the former criminal defense attorney, who looked at the perilous choice and still rolled the dice on it, thinking that the system would protect him like it always had,

Starting point is 00:15:58 thinking that he's still got it, and the judge would see how sorry he is. And here from his old YMCA friends and be moved to give him a short sentence that conveniently runs concurrently to his 46-month federal sentence. Boy, did his head hang? The second judge Newman said the words 10 years. Before we get into the biggest monster of all, Ellic, let's talk about Cory's appeal and the arguments that they are making. One, Cory is arguing that his sentence is cruel and unusual. Sorry, I can't say that without laughing. And therefore, a violation of the Eighth Amendment.

Starting point is 00:16:40 Crawl and unusual. His sentence, by the way, is about 7% of what he could have gotten, but sure, 7% and I'm being generous there. There's a discrepancy in what Corey's total exposure was, depending on who you ask, the upper limit of his potential sentence was between 195 and 275 years. But one man's lucky day at his sentencing hearing is another man who thinks he's above it all's cruelty. Second, Cory is arguing that the court was biased against him. He calls it spill over bias from state versus Murdoch. He points out that Judge Newman called his crimes unimaginable and unprecedented in the greatest crime for a lawyer in the history of the state of South Carolina. Certainly, in the number of years being faced in the impact of crimes

Starting point is 00:17:39 on the citizens of South Carolina, could he have said that because it's true? Here's David, with the rest of Cory's argument on Judge Newman being, quote, biased. He then stated that although Mr. Fleming has no prior convictions, when you quote, carry on a scheme over a decade, that's a record, a record that did not result in charges or convictions, but a record of his life. Additionally, the Circuit Court made repeated extrajudicial remarks about the co-defendant Alexander Murdoch and the Cases. Not only were those statements inappropriate and evidenced bias against the defendant, but

Starting point is 00:18:24 they were not disclosed to Pley Council. Repeated extra-judicial remarks, you say, he's likely referring to Judge Newman's appearance on the Today Show that aired in June. He was interviewed by South Carolina native Craig Melvin. This is what gets me about these guys. How they take the truth and completely rely on people only having a vague motion of what they're talking about so they can inflate the truth and twist it into something that serves

Starting point is 00:18:54 their purposes. They, meaning Corey's attorneys and Alex's attorneys, want you to believe that Judge Newman was inappropriate in some way and therefore has got to go. We'll get into this more next week, but let's talk about that today's show interview. I want to give you a rundown of what was said. Melvin describes Judge Newman as a by the book jurist, and at the end of the interview, he noted that Judge Newman declined to answer some questions because Alex's case is still on appeal. In the Today Show special, first, Melvin showed a

Starting point is 00:19:30 clip of Judge Newman speaking at Cleveland State, his alma mater shortly after the trial. In that clip, Judge Newman says, I was simply a judge in a trial doing my job. Next, he asked Judge Newman if he was surprised at the attention that the case got. Judge Newman said he shouldn't have been, but then listed the elements of potential intrigue. He said that the case involved a prominent attorney, a prominent family, allegations of theft,

Starting point is 00:20:01 allegations of drug addiction, et cetera, et cetera. So naturally, it would interest people, he said. So there, he's just stating facts. In the interview, Melvin asked Judge Newman if he was surprised by the speed of the verdict. Judge Newman said no. In his experience with Wong Trials, Jury's typically don't take long to return a verdict. So there, he is speaking to his experience and nothing specific about Alex's case. Next, Judge Newman was asked if he really believes that Elik will be haunted by the death

Starting point is 00:20:35 of Magian Paul. Judge Newman responded and said, oh, I think so. It has to be. I can't imagine having a peaceful night knowing what he did. I'm sure if he had an opportunity to do it over again, he would never do it. So there, Judge Newman is basically repeating what he said during Eleg's sentencing. Later in the segment, Judge Newman says of Eleg, I felt sorry for him.

Starting point is 00:21:01 I felt if there's a hole that he could go into, he would dive into that hole and keep going to the lowest steps. I was trying to pull him out of that hole, but I wanted to give him an opportunity to say something. So there, Judge Newman was speaking about his reasoning for saying the things he did to Elyk before he sentenced him. And that's it. That is the sum total of the quote unquote, extra-judicial statements that Judge Newman made to Craig Melvin. Of course, Corey's attorneys also might be referencing that interview Judge Newman did at Cleveland State. The only public quote from that event that we could find about Alex was this quote, I don't believe that he hated his wife.

Starting point is 00:21:47 And I certainly don't believe that he did not love his son, but he committed the unforgivable, unimaginable of crimes. And there is no way he will be able to sleep peacefully. Again, he's saying what he said at Alex sentencing. He said this about the jury's visit to Mozel. It ended up, I thought, being helpful to the prosecution and not the defense, though it was requested by the defense. Again, that's a fact based on the defense losing.

Starting point is 00:22:19 And finally, Judge Newman said this about Alex's decision to testify on his own behalf. Once a defendant takes the stand and testifies, then almost everything is fair game at that point. That seems like something any law professor would say about any case ever. Notice how nothing there seems inappropriate or prejudicial to either Ellic or Cory. And yet, that is the vibe Cory is trying to manufacture. Unsurprisingly, his appeal contains no quotes from those alleged extra-ditual statements of Cory's. Because the only goal of that section of Cory's appeal seemed to be to boost the Remove Judge Newman

Starting point is 00:23:05 campaign being spearheaded by Team Murdoch. Third, Cory argued that Judge Newman failed to read the federal sentencing proceeding. That is our favorite argument of all of them because how dumb is that? Can you imagine? At the hearing where Mark Moore was like, hmm, sorry, can't schedule the trial because I haven't read the federal transcripts that I'm literally paid to read, Judge Newman is now getting called out because he was like, I didn't read Judge Kirkkel's advice about letting his 46-month sentence stand. On the one hand, you have the most principled man and all of this.

Starting point is 00:23:42 I mean, Judge Newman, not Markmore. And on the other hand, you have a former lawyer who thought it was a good idea to name Elik Murdoch the Godfather of both of his children. We have known about Elik Murdoch for less than six years. In even before the murders and the roadside shooting and the revelation of his financial crimes, I wouldn't have trusted him to be the Godfather

Starting point is 00:24:06 of a cabbage patch kid. And Cory has known this guy since college. Anyway, Judge Newman's declaration that he didn't read Judge Gurgle's statement about Cory's sentencing, which, by the way, has zero relevance to what Judge Newman's job is, was the part of the hearing that we liked the most.

Starting point is 00:24:28 I don't defer to the federal court system for in making my decisions. It was the strongest moment yet from South Carolina's justice system. Judge Newman does not defer to the federal government, and none of us should be deferring to trickery. Lastly, Corey argued that his due process rights were violated by, quote, a gross sentencing disparity. Specifically, he did not like that Judge Newman brought up a 37-year-old sentence for a woman who killed her child.

Starting point is 00:25:05 Judge Newman's point was simply that the woman was also deemed a good person, according to her friends and family. But his job is to sentence for the crime, not the person. Cory also didn't like that Judge Newman brought up other defendants who had stood before him on Grand Larceny charges, who had been sentenced to 10 years. Overall, we thought Corey's appeal was weak. It is scraps.

Starting point is 00:25:32 It is literally the most that they could do with a very least. We'll be right back. This episode is brought to you by Canada Post. Canada Post is redefining delivery with their new state-of-the-art Albert Jackson processing center, the largest zero-carbon building of its kind in Canada, with the ability to process up to 1 million packages a day. It's the heartbeat of their network, and its pulse will be felt by every business they proudly serve. They're building a stronger, faster, greener candidate post, designed to fuel the growth

Starting point is 00:26:10 of e-commerce and to deliver more for Canadian businesses. As a big-time CEO, I demand to be the smartest person in the room, which is why I never let Wittenden-Luglin employment lawyers in my office. Because they make employees smarter by putting them in control of their options for workplace harassment, discrimination, and wrongful dismissal. And as someone who condones all those things, being constantly outsmarted would leave no rooms for me to be in. Witton and Lublin employment lawyers, bad bosses hate us, employees love us.

Starting point is 00:26:43 that lawyers, bad bosses hate us, employees love us. Okay, so speaking of Cory and his plea deal, let's talk about ELEC. When ELEC's plea deal with the federal government was filed September 18th, we were criticized for calling out the suspicious aspects of it. The criticism was that we were too inexperienced to notice that Alex Plideil was boilerplate. Boilerplate would mean that it is standard, and if it's standard, then it should basically be the same as Cory's plea agreement, right? Save for the finer details. Well, that isn't the case. Aside from the comparison of the two shows these differences. First, Cory's plea agreement is 8 pages pages and Alex is 10, which is interesting because Cory only faced one charge and

Starting point is 00:27:30 Alex faced 22 charges. In that two-page discrepancy we have the following. Cory has a section called Cooperation, but Alex's corresponding section is called Cooperation and Forfeiture. Now mind you, Corey was ordered to pay more than $100,000 in restitution, and Alex Burton is way more than that. Alex plea agreement is very focused on forfeiture, something we notice right away as suspect. This is important. The federal government ordered Russell Lafitte to pay restitution, not to the victims of his crimes, but to PMPED and Palmao State Bank who obviously think

Starting point is 00:28:05 of themselves as victims. His restitution even covers a large bill for PMPED's investigation into Alex Crimes, which PMPED was obligated to do, regardless of who pays for it. And Corey was not ordered to pay restitution in the Satterfield case, but rather in the Pinkney case, a case he was not charged with federally. Of that restitution, $13,000 will go to Pamela Pankney, and nearly $90,000 will go to PMPED. Now, here we are with Ellic, who has not only tried to withdraw his confession of judgment

Starting point is 00:28:40 in the Saterfield case, he's appealing the judge's denial of said motion. And remember, that confession of judgment was a trick from the beginning. Ellikin is a lawyer's dick-arputian and Jim Griffin, used the confession as a tactic to try and get Ellik out on bond in January 2022. They used it as a way to show that Ellik was taking responsibility for his actions. They used it as a de facto apology to Tony and Brian Satterfield, and after it didn't work in their favor, they withdrew it. In addition to that, Ellic and his attorneys are hard at work trying to get the insurance company that paid out the bulk of the Satterfield's amendment off of Ellic's back.

Starting point is 00:29:21 One of the tactics they used there was to tell the insurance company to go after the satir fields for the money, because, oh hey, Alex lied about the dogs, tripping Gloria, and therefore the money they were supposed to have gotten that he stole was fraudulently obtained. He doesn't mention that the satir fields never received that money, but instead were compensated by PMPEDs and MOSTow-Nin Fleming's malpractice insurance companies for the crimes these lawyers had committed against them. And also, I want to note something here. One of the major discussions happening right now is how Dick and Jim are getting paid. This is a question because Ellic continues to claim to be broke. But also because Dick and Jim

Starting point is 00:30:02 have said they believe in Alex Innocence in the murder case so much that they'd represent him pro bono. So their continued representation of him is in part attributed to their alleged belief that the government got the wrong guy, which is fine, but that only explains their role in the murder case. It does not explain why they're involved in Alex financial cases or is not all his case or why they're orchestrating this forfeiture plan. It does not explain how extra they are being about all of this. It does not explain all the filings and the strategies and the press conferences and the crime-conning and the absolute self-destructive devotion they have to

Starting point is 00:30:42 this case. So back to the plea agreements. Alex starts to diverge quite a bit from quarries. In paragraph seven of Corey's agreement, he agrees to cooperate with the government, and that substantial assistance is being provided in exchange for the government moving for there to be a downward departure or a reduction of sentence, which Cory did get. Alex Paragraph 7 is different.

Starting point is 00:31:09 Now, Alex Agreement was filed four days after Judge Newman gave Cory a sentence that was to be served consecutively to his federal sentence, meaning when Cory is done with his 46 months in federal prison, he will be transferred to a state prison to serve another 10 years. That is not what Cory wanted. So, Alex Paragraph 7, in his federal plea agreement, seems to account for that. In exchange for Alex alleged cooperation with federal investigators, and I think you know why we're saying alleged there. The government agreed to recommend to the court that the sentence imposed on these charges be served concurrent to any state sentence imposed for the same conduct, meaning of course at the same time.

Starting point is 00:31:52 This is why Elic is likely hoping that Judge Gurgle loads him up. It basically protects him. If Elic is able to get out of this murder conviction before his financial crimes trial at the state level, then he will become a ward of the federal government. And like we said, once they have you, they are not letting you go. So essentially, if things played out in this court, it would cancel out his state sentence. Now, Corey's paragraph seven ends by basically saying, look, we can recommend this, but it's not up to us, and if the court decides differently, you're agreeing right here that you cannot withdraw your plea. Alex does not end that way.

Starting point is 00:32:29 Instead, his has no such provision that says that if the court doesn't agree to the government's recommendation about his concurrent sentence, he cannot withdraw his plea. Now, on to paragraph 8. Corrie's essentially says, you are to pay back the fee you took from the centerfields. It's one sentence. Alex is two pages long. He says that he agrees to surrender and not contest. The forfeiture of all assets and property in his possession or in possession of his nominees.

Starting point is 00:32:59 Then it outlines the specifics. He's agreed to give up around $9 million in cash, and in light of other investigations, he's agreeing not to contest any element of the federal government's seizure of his assets, including making any double jeopardy claims. The agreement reads, the United States may use the value of forfeited property for restitution, but is not required to do so. In what world do we believe that the government isn't going to allow ELEC to apply this money to restitution? Specifically, restitution to PMPD, who in turn can share it with whoever they want, right?

Starting point is 00:33:38 Now, paragraph 9 of Cory's agreement has the government agreeing to recommend that he not serve any term of incarceration within the South Carolina Department of Corrections. Nice try, right? From this point forward, the agreements are a paragraph off, so let's talk about Cory's paragraph 11 and LX, paragraph 10, shall we? They're both the same, but Cory's contains a provision that Alex does not. Cory has agreed that if he falls in motion in the future, seeking a reduction in sentence, he will limit any assertion of quote, extraordinary and compelling reasons of allegedly warranting a reduced term of imprisonment. Cory has also agreed that he may only assert those reasons set forth in the relevant

Starting point is 00:34:22 Euro of prison's program statement in effect at the time of the motion. Meaning, if Cory wants to get out early, he would have been restricted in that effort. Alec has none of that. He has not signed away his right to seek reduction in sentence for quote, extraordinary and compelling reasons. He has not limited himself one bit on that front. And there it is. That should give us all some insight into the larger plan to get ELEC moved to federal prison, get at the money the state won't let them touch, and later make a plea for a reduced

Starting point is 00:34:57 sentence. Now, let's talk about that plea hearing last Thursday. So last Thursday, which was September 21st, 2023, David and I made the very familiar two-hour drive to Charleston to watch Elik plead guilty to his federal charges. Since federal court does not allow live streaming, a gripe that I will continue complaining about, we figured

Starting point is 00:35:25 we needed to be there to see what they were up to with this federal plea and if they were trying to pull Annie's shenanigans. While the hearing was short, we were glad we went. Elik and his team didn't say much during the short hearing, but what they chose to say was helpful to us, as we are trying to figure out the big plan here. In case anyone was wondering, Ellic Murdock was very on-brand in federal court last week. It did not take long to catch him in a lie. He told the court he was pleading guilty because he, quote, wants to take responsibility. He said he wants his son Buster to see him take responsibility.

Starting point is 00:36:07 He said it is my hope that by taking responsibility that the people I hurt can begin to heal. While I don't know what is going on in Alex's head, nor do I want to go there ever, I know that Elik has had years to take responsibility. I know that like his friend Corey, it is not ironic that he has only chosen to quote take responsibility in the courtroom that carries the best case scenario for him. I know, if Ellic truly wanted Buster to see him quote taking responsibility, and if he truly wanted to see his victim's heel, he would have admitted fault in the numerous financial lawsuits against him

Starting point is 00:36:51 a long time ago. And he would have pleaded guilty and stay court to the financial crimes at the very least. But last Thursday, Ellie did plead guilty to all 22 of the financial charges against him and federal court. But then, par for the courts, Team Murdock had some exceptions to make. I want to have David read this portion of the transcript because it gives a feel of what it was like in federal court.

Starting point is 00:37:21 Notice how polite and nice Judge Gurgle is with the defense. The court. Okay, Mr. Murdock, you've heard the summary provided by the Assistant United States Attorney. Do you dispute any of those facts? Mr. Griffin. Your Honor, there were a few points of clarification. The court. Well, he needs to speak, Mr. Griffin, rather than you.

Starting point is 00:37:46 Mr. Murdock? The defendant. Yes, sir. Like Mr. Griffin said, there are just a couple of points. Not that I think Ms. Lime House is necessarily wrong, but there's just some issues my attorney is prepared to clarify. The Court. Well, here is the concern.

Starting point is 00:38:07 As much as I admire your attorneys, you're the one pleading guilty, not the attorneys. And I need to make sure that we are not modifying factual statements that then eliminate one of the elements of any of these crimes. If you're telling me you're not able to articulate these, I would be glad to hear from Mr. Griffin. But I'm going to need to come back to you and confirm what he says. The defendant. You're on our not to be difficult, but in what if you are willing I'd like for you to let Mr. Griffin address those, and then I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Starting point is 00:38:47 That's me sighing in Murdoch exhaustion. First of all, notice how Judge Gurkel, who was the court in this reading, by the way, had to mention his admiration for Alex Attorneys. Reminder, Dick Harpothian pointed a gun in a courtroom just a few months ago, and he joked about shooting the prosecution. What world are we in exactly that a federal court ever wants to admit out loud that he admires that man? Oh, that's right. The world with a US federal system where Dick and Jim have strings to pull. That is the sad reality of it. Second, I could not I roll hard enough in that courtroom when Elik Murdoch said he wasn't trying to be difficult. Elik Murdoch has been difficult since the day I started

Starting point is 00:39:41 investigating him in 2019. Imagine how different the last four years would have gone if Ellic Murdoch wasn't so difficult. I think about this a lot. Like would Paul have been able to admit fault for the boat crash and give Mallory's family some closure. Had Ellic not been so difficult. I believe that Maggie and Paul would be alive if Ellic wasn't so difficult. We know a number of families would have been spared

Starting point is 00:40:15 a lot of pain and heartache if Ellic was not so difficult. Oh, and South Carolina taxpayers could have spent their hard earned dollars on literally a million better things than fighting Eric Murdoch in his difficult attorneys and court all of this time. Also, Alex saying he's not trying to be difficult is a classic manipulation tactic. He knows he is trying to be difficult, but he wants to create this alternate reality where he is a nice guy,

Starting point is 00:40:46 and people feel like they should listen to him. Anyway, while not trying to be difficult, Griffin on behalf of Ellic raised two issues with the court about Ellic's guilty plea. One, Griffin said that Ellic did not believe that he was actually stealing from Donna Badger's estate. Instead, Griffin wanted to make sure that the court knew that Ellic thought that he was stealing from Arthur Badger. Mark the Tiger Tensley, who is also Badger's attorney, brilliantly broke this down for us

Starting point is 00:41:20 on Twitter. Mark said, oh, that means he didn't need to steal from the estate. He just meant to steal from the father of the six children left after a mother's tragic death. Not sure how that makes it any better, but anyways. Number two, Griffin said that in the satir field case, Ellic is pleading to conspiracy. He is not admitting that he ever believed the insurance claim, blaming the dogs for her death with legitimate. And this is where I really get mad.

Starting point is 00:41:52 Because it seems like the purpose of this is that so Elic can continue to torment the Saturnfield family and the court, and so Elic's petty attorneys can continue a war they will never win with Eric Blant. Here, Alec Murdoch is making it clear he always thought the claim was fraudulent. Again, he is not taking responsibility. Remember when he tried to get a redo on his confession of judgment with the Satterfield lawsuit? Alec does not want to give the Satterfields a dime ever,

Starting point is 00:42:26 and he wants to continue to torture them in court. Alec doesn't want his victims to heal, and these two statements alone show that. The thing that bugs me is that Judge Gurgle didn't question this, and he didn't get the truth about what Elik was really doing on the record. Judge Gurkel just carried on and accepted the guilty plea. But of course, Team Murdoch was not done being difficult. Actually, at the end of court, Phil Barber said one more thing, your honor.

Starting point is 00:43:00 And even Judge Gurkel joked back, why am I not surprised? The one more thing was a big thing. It was about the assets. I'll have David read what Phil Barber said in court. Your honor, as the court is aware, there are forfeiture provisions with thin the indictments in this plea agreement. And rule 32.2 anticipates that a preliminary order of forfeiture would issue promptly, and the defendant simply would ask that the order issue as soon as possible. Today would be excellent, but there is, we believe, a risk of anticipation which would be voided by the government immediately taking possession of the assets that are subject to forfeiture. be voided by the government immediately taking possession of the assets that are subject

Starting point is 00:43:45 to forfeiture. As soon as he said the word assets, my head started spinning. I texted Liz immediately. I think this is all about the assets. Oh my God. Suddenly, it all made sense. Not only did they want this guilty plea on the books because it is one of many steps in a very complex plan to try to get Ellic into Club Fed, but they also

Starting point is 00:44:11 want their friends in the federal government in charge of the money. The federal government, you know, the people who work for us, the United States taxpayers, they seemed cool with this plan. Emily Limehouse told the court that while Ellic has admitted to stealing $9 million, they believe it's at least $10.5 million, which is another thing that we will talk about on a future episode. So at the end of court, they settled on entering the preliminary order of four-fitcher of at least $9 million. Just like that. So we knew

Starting point is 00:44:46 something was up before this hearing and during this hearing. It seemed so clear Elik was going to make a run for those assets that are in possession of the receivership. We'll be right back. This episode is brought to you by Landcomb. We'll be right back. Nine out of ten women would consider switching or alternating with Renogie Triple Serum. Try it at a Lambcomb counter today. there because filtered water will never go out of style. So this semester, get your hands on a timeless collab. Britta, it's taste over everything. So a quick refresher because it's confusing.

Starting point is 00:45:53 From 2019 through the murders, Ellic claimed to have been broke. Martinsley knew this was a lie because, well because Martinsley has two eyes. There was no way Ella could be broke when Mark could see the cases he was handling and see that those cases were settling. So Mark pulled at that threat of a lie and was basically like, if you're broke, then show me you're broke.

Starting point is 00:46:17 Here's a big fat subpoena for you. Ella pushed off that subpoena as much as he could. In December 2020, Mark offered Ella a way out of the boat crash case. He could settle for $10 million with a payment plan, and in exchange, Mark wouldn't sue Maggie or Paul in the future, which was always his ace in the hole. Alec did not want Maggie and Paul being sued,

Starting point is 00:46:38 and therefore open to discovery. So this was a good point of leverage from Mark. Again, Alec said no to that and kept pushing off the subpoena. Ultimately, a hearing was set for June 10th, 2021, which was just three days after the murders. An elic, being a lawyer, would have known that the judge was expecting him to come to court with the information that Mark was seeking in that subpoena, or else the judge would have ordered elic to comply. After the murders, Mark suspected for good reason that Elyk, his family, and friends were liquidating Elyk's assets and potentially hiding the money.

Starting point is 00:47:12 According to one of Elyk's early calls from jail, this certainly seemed to be the case. In response to this wasting of assets, Mark moved the court to appoint a receivership, lawyers who would be put in charge of managing Alex finances and account for every penny. Ultimately, that receivership found around $1.8 million. This is where it gets a little complicated. Let's start by talking about Buster's settlement. As part of his settlement with the beach family, Buster was allowed to keep $500,000.

Starting point is 00:47:41 That came from Maggie's estate, which Buster would have inherited. Maggie's estate included the full proceeds from the sale of Mozel because Ella had put it in her name, which is something I'm sure he regrets now. And from the sale of the family's Edicto Beach House, which Ella owned half of, half of the beach house is part of Alex. Let's call it his estate. Also, in that pot, is the remnants of Alex's $2 million 401k. The plaintiffs in the Beach case had no right to Alex 401k, but if he cashed it out, then it became fair game.

Starting point is 00:48:14 Incidentally, that 401k did not include money that Alex had stolen, but rather money from PMPD that was deposited as part of the firm's profit-sharing plan. In a deal to get at that money, Ellic agreed to give the receivership the balance of his account if they allowed him to cash out his 401k to pay for $600,000 in legal expenses, i.e. to pay Dick and Jim so they could hire experts for his murder trial, which you remember those experts, right? At least one of them was recycled from when Dick and Jim were representing Paul. Now, the rest of the 401k money, which was

Starting point is 00:48:49 about $444,000 after penalties, furly withdrawal, and taxes, went into Alex's state. And then, surprise surprise, Alex changed his mind on that deal. Just after the murder trial, Dick and Jim went back to court with their tin cans and their three-blind mice glasses on and asked Judge Daniel Hall to give them $160,000 more from that 401k money because they had overspent their retainer in wrapping L.A.K. The judge was like, no girl, mm-hmm. Then, three months later, after Dick and Jim appealed that decision, the judge was like, again, I say, no girl, mm-mm. So that's where that was left. Dick and Jim can't touch the receivership money. I know. What's this? Ellicca agreed to wave his right to appeal the receivership as part of

Starting point is 00:49:36 Buster's settlement deal, so that left those geniuses with what would seem like no options. Until now, the federal government has given them an option. And on Monday evening, just days after Alex plea hearing in federal court, Dick and Jim filed a motion asking for an emergency hearing in federal court, calling for US marshals to immediately seize Alex assets that the receivership is holding for the victims. Ah, the victims, remember them?

Starting point is 00:50:05 In August, Judge Hall agreed to appoint a special referee, which is a lawyer, to decide how to split up Alex remaining assets among the long list of victims. Victims have until mid-October to come forward and be considered. Earlier, we've seen plays for that money being made by Alex former partner and lone buddy, Johnny Parker,

Starting point is 00:50:25 Alex brother Randy and PMPD who we've already seen recognize as a victim by the federal court. If this latest motion from Dick and Jim is granted, it would mean that the entirety of that money would go to the federal government. It would be snatched out of the hands of victims and given to an entity that has shown that it already believes PMPED to be a priority for restitution. Now would this mean that dick and gym would be able to touch that money? It's not clear. Even though the money wouldn't go directly to them, it would be a fair question to ask if that money would come back to them in another

Starting point is 00:51:05 way. For instance, who is paying for them now? Suddenly, they have a lot to say about where that money has been coming from. According to Anjaneh Levy, with long crime, the reporter who we talked about earlier in this episode, Dick and Jim told attendees at their crime-con presentation that they were paid a, quote, handsome fee in Paul's case, which they then used in Alex's case. Along with the money from the multi-million dollar, irrevocable trust that Alex inherited from his father, that trust cannot be touched by the plaintiffs in a lawsuit unless it is cashed out, kind of like how it went with the 401k.

Starting point is 00:51:49 So they were paid by money that possibly came from the money stolen from the Satterfields or if Dick and Jim don't like it put that way. The money stolen from Nautilus Insurance? And where did Randolph get millions of dollars to pass on to his four children? He was a state employee for the bulk of his life, and from what it seems like, PNPD had distance itself from Randolph, in the sense they say he wasn't a partner. He just basically hung out at the firm for funsies. On Tuesday, the receivership and others fired back by subpoenaing Dick and Jim and Buster to find out how much money

Starting point is 00:52:33 they've made in entertainment deals related to the Murdock case. Why? Because it appears that Dick and Jim circumvented Judge Hall's receivership order. One, Dick and Jim are creditors of Alex, meaning, Alex owes them money. For them to be paid by Alex, they need to, according to the judges order, ask for that money from the receivership. The receivership is, for all intents and purposes, ELEC. His assets belong to the receivership, and they have a duty to distribute the money

Starting point is 00:53:11 to satisfy ELEC's debts. 2. Dick and Jim did not do that, which could be a violation of the judge's order. 3. Knowing whether Dick and Jim did in fact receive money from Alex liquidated trust or from any entertainment deal related to the case, that would appear to be them being paid by Alex, right? So four, that money might be up for grabs by the receivership. In other words, dick and gym might have played themselves again.

Starting point is 00:53:47 And that's a pena? Means that things are really heating up. Make no mistake, it looks like war is coming, and the Murdoch money is in the middle of it. As we have been taking a closer look and a teen Murdoch recently, we have noticed what appears to be a very strategic PR campaign as a part of this plan to get Judge Newman removed from the case and to get Ellic a new trial. We have noticed a very interesting timeline with this apparent PR campaign and Dick and Jim's little anti-becky crusade. We hope to have more details about what is going on with Becky Hill and the jury tampering accusations within the next week.

Starting point is 00:54:34 Finally, I will be on court TV tonight, Thursday September 28th at 8 p.m. with Sandy Smith and Eric Blan to make a special announcement. And don't forget to pre-order my book Blood on their Hands. Stay tuned, stay pesky, and stay in the sunlight. True sunlight is created by me, Mandy Madney, co-hosted by journalist Liz Farrell and produced by my husband, David Moses. True Sunlight is a Luna Shark production. Right Luna?

Murdaugh Murders Podcast - TSP #18 - Actually, Alex Murdaugh WANTS to Be Difficult + Cory Fleming Isn’t Really Sorry At All

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