Murdaugh Murders Podcast - TSP #27 - Alex Murdaugh’s Sentencing Hearing Part One: The Bright Side + Becky Hill Update

Episode Date: December 1, 2023

True Sunlight Co-hosts Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell unpack everything that went down at what has to be the most bizarre court proceeding in South Carolina’s history: the sentencing of Alex Murdaugh. We are BACK! First of all, we want to say thank you to Eric Alan for his amazing work on Mountain Mystery Part Two, which gave our entire team a much needed break over Thanksgiving. Be sure to check out his YouTube channel here for more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@Eric-Alan  This week we'll start with some good news, an update on the Becky Hill drama, plus a puzzling situation in Duffie Stone's 14th Circuit. We'll also discuss the brighter moments of Murdaugh's sentencing, such as the bravery the victims showed as they confronted a monster and the grace they showed in forgiving him. We also delve into the plea agreement itself and what it might mean for Alex achieving his No. 1 goal: to be a free man again. This week focuses on the victims' grace, forgiveness, hope and bravery. Next week, we'll pick apart Alex's nonsense.  We are back on the Blood On Their Hands Book Promo Tour and Mandy is coming to Nashville this weekend. We can’t wait to meet you at The Co-Op Hillsboro village on Belcourt Ave At 1 pm for a book signing Sunday Dec 3. We hope to see you there! Visit our new events page Lunasharkmedia.com/events where you can learn about the upcoming in-person and virtual appearances from hosts! Join Luna Shark Premium today at Lunashark.Supercast.com. Premium Members also get access to searchable case files, written articles with documents, case photos, episode videos and exclusive live experiences with our hosts on lunasharkmedia.com all in one place. CLICK HERE to learn more: https://bit.ly/3BdUtOE. And for those just wanting ad-free listening without all the other great content, we now offer ad-free listening on Apple Podcast through a subscription to Luna Shark Plus on the Apple Podcasts App. SUNscribe to our free email list to get alerts on bonus episodes, calls to action, new shows and updates. CLICK HERE to learn more: https://bit.ly/3KBMJcP And a special thank you to our sponsors: Microdose.com, PELOTON, and VUORI. Use promo code "MANDY" for a special offer! For current & accurate updates: TrueSunlight.com facebook.com/TrueSunlightPodcast/ Instagram.com/TrueSunlightPod Twitter.com/mandymatney Twitter.com/elizfarrell youtube.com/@LunaSharkMedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Where can a vehicle from Mazda's electrified line up take you? From powering up. To winding down. Electrify every moment with the 2024 Mazda CX90 plug-in hybrid. Learn more at Mazda.ca At Salesforce, we're all about asking more of AI. Questions like, where's the data going? Is it secure? Are you sure?

Are you sure you're sure? Get answers you can trust from Salesforce at AskMoreVi.com. I don't know how Elic Murdoch's victims found the strength to forgive him this week, but Tuesday's sentencing hearing reminded us that goodness and grace will ultimately prevail, no matter how twisted things will get in this never ending horror story. My name is Manny Matney. This is True Sunlight, a podcast exposing crime and corruption

previously known as the Murdoch murders podcast. True Sunlight is a Luna Shark production, written with journalist Liz Farrell. Hello, we are back. Can you hear the vocal fry? I have apparently been talking way too much since I've been spending time in my home state of Kansas this week. But to start off today, I want to say thank you to Eric Allen for his amazing work on the Mountain Mystery Part 2 episode, which gave our entire team a much needed break over

Thanksgiving. Be sure to check out his YouTube channel linked in the description for new video episodes. In Lord Knows, we needed a break because the Murdoch madness never ends, as we all saw this week. But before we get into the heavy stuff, let's talk about some good news. We are back on the blood on their hands book book promotor, with the first stop outside of Kansas and South Carolina in Tennessee. David and I are coming to Nashville this weekend, and we can't wait to meet you at the Co-op Hillsboro Village on Bell Court Avenue at 1pm for a book signing on Sunday, December 3rd. You know, I won't lie. There

have been many times when I started to regret writing my own book. The process was painful, and it brought up a lot of emotional distress I wasn't ready to deal with. David and I often wondered if it was worth it to add so many layers of pain and frustration to our lives. But I have to say, since publishing the book, I have been overwhelmed with feelings of peace and pride like I've never felt before. Y'all know I'm an introvert, but these little book signings have been life-changing for me. It is inspiring and uplifting to be able to hug the people who have supported me through one of the toughest times of my life. I have been particularly moved by the short conversations I've had with folks at the recent

book signings. People are tired of the good old boy system, and I have met so many of you who are ready to change it. Sometimes when I get down, I stop to remember tiny things some of you have said to me in the last month, and I remember how important it is to keep fighting and how many people out there are supporting us. So on Sunday, we are so excited to see all the pesky people of Nashville at the co-op

for a little Sunday, Sunday book signing and we will keep the momentum going. Hopefully my voice will be back by then. Also, check lunashirkmedia.com slash events for more dates and locations coming soon. We have some very quick updates before we get into it today, both of which are topics we'll be tackling in future episodes when we can spend more time on them and when we hope our related foils get returned.

So, I think you all get this by now, but I'm going to say it anyway. When it comes to the world of Elk Murdoch, we not only live in the land of no consequences, we live in the land of no coincidences. That means when something seems suspicious, it more often than not is suspicious. We've been right more times than we've wanted to be, when we've suspected that there's good old boy nonsense afoot. With that in mind, let's talk about the arrest of Colloting County Clerk of Court Becky Hill's son. Last week, two days before Thanksgiving, Jeffrey Colton Hill was arrested on a single charge of felony wiretapping, which is an unusual charge in South Carolina. When I say unusual, I mean this. A statewide search of our public index system, meaning of all the non-expunged charges people have faced

or are facing. We only saw this charge eight times, and in almost every case, the charge was dropped. Additionally, no other person charged was given a bond of $20,000 like Colt was. They were given bonds that were much less than that. In the 14th Circuit, Colt is the only person to have faced or who is facing this charge according to the public index. Now, we don't yet know beyond the gossip that's being spread by motivated and grossly misinformed individuals, what's what with Colt's case? And we don't know what, if anything, it has to do with the question of whether Becky's

interaction with jurors warrants a new trial for Ellic. But we can explain why we're hesitant to take the headline and just run with it. There are a few things to know about Colt and County beyond the fact that it's squarely located in Murdoch country and has a long and sorted history with the Murdoch family. The first thing to know is that one of the two people whose conversation, Colt, is alleged

to have recorded on July 20th of this year, is reportedly Megan Yutze. Megan was the public information officer for the county, but is currently the deputy county administrator. Megan's husband is 34-year-old probate judge Seth Yutze. In June 2022, Judge Yutze recused himself from handling Paul Murdoch's estate because of his connections to the 14-circuit solicitor's office, where Judge Yutze was an assistant solicitor for some time. Interestingly, Yutze's name appears in the transcript of State Vs. Emmanuel Buckner, the one case that the 14th Circuit could cite to Mandy when she originally asked them what

cases Ella had handled as a quote unquote volunteer solicitor. A role that does not seem to exist in any other circuit in the state. A role that appears to have been created for Ella so he could carry a badge and use the influence of that badge for personal and professional gain. We introduced you to this strange case of a manual buckner in episode 73 of Murdoch Murders podcast. It's not clear what Yutze's role was in prosecuting the buckner case, which Elik and Randolph took a lead in. That case, a drug trafficking case, ended with a hung jury on the main charge. Additionally, from the outside it appears that Randolph and Ellic Elbow decide the original prosecutor to Mikhail Ajat to take over, though she too is President the trial, according

to the transcript. That's a lot of prosecutors behind the desk on two charges in a rural county, by the way, especially in a circuit that has a nasty backlog. This is all just to say that the UTCs appear to be connected to the Murdox, or at the very least, are in their circles. It's not yet clear how Mrs. UTC came to suspect that her call was allegedly being recorded, but we also want to note that we've heard of instances where county administrators have had their calls recorded by IT as a matter of protocol. We don't know if that was the case here, but it's an important question to ask. The second thing to know is that when all the Randolph Murdoch's were in charge of the

Solicitor's Office, they chose Hampton County as their main location, meaning all the Solicitor's Office's budgeting went through Hampton County's government. This made sense only insofar as the Murdoch's lived in Hampton County. It did not make sense in terms of where the 14th Circuit saw the most action, which is Buford County. Buford County also shouldered a bigger portion of funding the Solicitor's Office. Now, of the five counties that make up the 14th Circuit, Buford remains the center of that world. It has the biggest population, the biggest economy, and it's where Gaffey Stone's 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office is located. In fact,

he has a campus, which he calls the Justice Institute. That campus is made up of two buildings which are owned by a nonprofit, more on that in a second. Even though the 14th Circuit is located in Buford County, even though Guffy Stone lives in Buford County,. The solicitor's office budget is handled by Collerton County. So, real quick, the nonprofit. It's called S-O-V-S-C. According to Guide Star, which is a service that reports on 501-C-3s, the, quote, sole purpose and business of S-O-V-S-C is to acquire, own, finance, and operate the buildings and property located at 108 and 110 traders cross Ocatice, South Carolina, unleasing the property in its entirety on a nonprofit basis for the 14th Judicial Circuit, with the exception of tenants inherited from the previous

owner. Meaning, the 14th Circuit's list of her office buildings are owned by this nonprofit, which only exists for that purpose. So the tax money that pays for that office space goes to that nonprofit. They are the landlord. So who is behind SOVSC? There are three board members according to the latest tax filings that are publicly available. They are board president, Sean Thornton. Sean is Duffy's right hand man

and deputy solicitor for the 14th Circuit. He is also the long time county attorney for Collatin County. County attorney is not only give legal advice to county governments, they have a say in what information is and isn't released in response to things like foias. They'd also likely be involved in handling

any subpoenas or request for information related to say an ethics investigation. You might be asking yourself, wait a minute, how can he serve as a deputy solicitor and a county attorney in the circuit he serves? And girl, you're not alone. The question is asked often, good luck getting that answer. Also on the board is Jeff Kitt. Jeff used to work with us at the island packet. He was hired by Duffy as his PIO, which is public information officer, some time ago, and is now his chief of staff. Last on the board, according to their 2020 tax filings, is the treasure and secretary of the board, John Carpenter. John Carpenter is the director of finance for college and county government.

No, I'm sure we'll talk about this more in the future, but there has historically been tension between Buford County Council and Duffy. At least when Buford County is demanding accountability and asking to know how the money it pays into the solicitors office budget is being spent, especially when at one point he admitted to having a six and a half year backlog.

The answer they've gotten in the past at least has been, go get that info from Collatin County. In other words, the county where Sean Thornton gives the legal advice and where John Carpenter is director of finance. As you can see, Collatin County government is one my conjecture, awfully tight with Duffy. Okay, so back to Becky Hill's son. According to Renee Wonderlick at Sled, Duffy Stone, who by the way was a proud age of

Dicart Pooleyans before going to the low country to work for Randolph Murdoch, contacted agents and asked them to take the Colton Hill case on September 8th. Just over a week after Fox Nation's surprise early release of the Docky series, they worked on with Team Murdock and just three days after Dick and Jim's highly coordinated press conference in which they alleged that Becky had tampered with the jury. So the point here is that it's obviously hard

to trust a system like this one. One in which it appears that our Murdock backed and heart-pooly-enconnected solicitor, the one who gripped tightly to the Mur murder case and who refused to refuse himself from it and who allowed a leaked tool around with not one but two Solicitor's office badges until right up to the moment that sleds seized them as evidence seems to have deep influence over Coloting County's government. Now, of course, Duffy would say he's just a Solicitor being a Solicitor, that a potential

crime was brought to his attention and that he did the right thing by forwarding it to sled. And maybe that is the case, but until we have more information about this investigation and the arrest, we're just going to say that something doesn't seem right here. Every corner we seem to look around, there's a Murdock connection. At this point, it's just really hard to take any of this at face value when we know that there's a powerful effort being made to get ELEC a new trial, and we know that taking down Becky Hill is critical to that mission. Okay. Now, let's talk about the latest with the Judicial Marit Selection Committee.

In the two judicial candidates we have talked about before, Judge Bentley Price and Assistant Solicitor David Miller. Judge Price will not be re-elected. So the judge, who was overseeing the Satterfield civil case and the Mallory Beach Civil Conspiracy case, has been forced out, which at first glance seems fishy. But we're not sure what to make of that one yet, because we know at least one part as a behind the scenes effort to remove him was led by people who are not connected to any of the Murdoch nonsense and who wanted Bentley Price removed because they were simply concerned about how he was conducting himself on the bench.

The bigger news here and the news that they probably want us to forget about is that David Miller was nominated. You know, the guy who not only cut a secret of sweetheart of a deal for Thrice accused rapist Bowen Turner's lawyer-legislator attorney, Brad Hutto, which backfired in their faces, but who, surprise, surprise, was also behind another messy and suspicious

and basically secretive deal with lawyer-legislator Todd Rutherford, he of Geraud Price fame. This commission, which swears lawyer legislatures don't get favors from judges they elect, in which swears that South Carolina's system of electing judges is peachy and not at all quid pro quo. Just nominated someone who appears to have done some really sketchy things to help a state senator and a state representative. The family of Dallas-Staller, a victim of Bowen who died as a result of the long time in ongoing pressure she was receiving from the community after she accused him of sexual assault,

they fought hard to block Miller's nomination. As did victims' advocate Sarah Ford. So this is a disappointment all around. But the fight is not over yet. I spoke to Dallas' dad Carl yesterday. He told me that he felt defeated, but he wasn't giving up. We are still working on getting the transcript from the hearing where Carl Stoller addressed the JMSC on his concerns about Solicitor Miller. I think when we get that transcript, we will be able to have a clear picture,

as to why the JMSC should be dismantled. Carl walked away from that meeting, feeling like a majority of the members agreed with him, that Miller was not fit to become a judge, and yet they turned around, stabbed him in the back, and gave Miller a stamp of approval. The JMSC should prepare itself for sunlight like it has never seen before. They had a chance to show South Carolina that they could make decisions that reflect a better system, not one where the good old boys continued to fail up and hurt the rest of us.

If Dallas' Stoller's father could not convince this committee to stop David Miller from becoming a judge, then there is so little hope for any of us to get through to them on anything. I believe the decision on David Miller was made before Dallas's father entered the room, and they were all just too cowardly to admit it. The next step for Miller is for the full house and senate to vote on him when they reconvene in 2024. So, let your elected officials know how you feel about this. We will start up another social campaign soon to get the word out, and in the meantime,

we will be doing some serious digging for a future episode. Now, we're going to get into the most bizarre sentencing hearing one could ever imagine, and we will be right back. After review, the call on the ice is a whole new season of NHL action with Skip. Every order earns you a shot at winning one of over 200,000 prizes, including NHL Shop.ca and Skip Gift Cards, Skip Game Time Tires, and the Grand Prize, a trip for two to the 2024 Rogers NHL All-Star Game in Toronto. Order, shoot, win, with Skip, no necessary. Ends November 30th for rules, visit winwithskip.com.

This episode is brought to you by RBC Student Banking. Here is an RBC student offer that turns a feel-good moment into a feel-great moment. Students, get $100 when you open a no-muffly fee, RBC Advantage Banking account, and we'll give another $100 to a charity of your choice. RBC Advantage. This great perk and more, only at RBC Advantage Banking Account, and we'll give another $100 to a charity of your choice. RBC Vantage, this great perk and more!

Only at RBC. Visit rbc.com-100-100-100. Conditions apply. In January 31, 2024, complete offer eligibility criteria by March 29, 2024. Choose one of eight eligible charities, up to $500,000 in total contributions. So let's start with what this was. The Attorney General's Office was, according to numerous sources, pressured into reaching a deal with Alec on his financial charges.

With all the chaos going on with the murder case and Judge Newman, unlegislators reportedly putting pressure on the Supreme Court about the expense of Alec's future trials, this was the pragmatic solution. Dick and Jim reportedly won in 15 years for Alec, but the AG's office wouldn't budge on their offer of 27 years. That's the one bright spot, and the one thing that those in support of the deal point to as a resounding victory. Obviously, the two of us feel differently only insofar as we don't believe for one second that Alex plan isn't to get a new trial, get a jury to declare him innocent, and then whittle his sentence in the financial case down to an early release.

Despite what it looks like, his plea deals offer no actual assurances to the public that he will spend the rest of his life in prison, which is where he belongs. Sure, the math looks good. The chances of him scoring a new trial seem low. He's not allowed to appeal this sentence, but this is Elyk Murdoch. People want to apply logic and rational thought in their assessment of this deal, but it's Elyk Murdoch. We're not trying to be cocky here,

but it's been nearly five years of people telling us we're wrong about our takes on him, only to find out that to their surprise and honestly to our constant surprise because of how crazy this case is, we weren't wrong. The biggest concern here obviously is that this deal does not prevent Alex's potential early release in the future. All of Tuesday and Wednesday's sources and friends who don't want me to worry tried to convince me that this is the final word on Alex Murdoch.

I want to believe them. But I don't, because I've been here before. In the late 1990s, a disgusting serial rapist on Hilton Head Island was sentenced to 50 years in prison, not for the rapes, but for a series of burglaries he also committed. Randolph Murdoch assured the lead investigator at the time a man who had put his blood, sweat, and tears into that case that they didn't need to prosecute the guy on the rapes because this sentence for all practical purposes put the guy away for life. But just a few years later, a secret hearing was held. I say a secret.

It was one that the lead investigator was not made aware of anyway. And the guy's sentence was reduced to 20 years. That's 30 years shaved off his sentence in an instance. He was released in 2014 after serving 85% of that new sentence. And oh, look at that, the guy pretty much immediately went and committed another brutal rape in Georgia. Less than a year after his quiet release, he was back in jail, and another person's life was gravely affected by South Carolina's reckless

and no-account justice system. I was there when a fellow reporter called this lead investigator to tell him that the monster he thought was in prison for another three decades had actually been out for a year and had hurt another person. I spoke with that investigator afterward and I will never forget how dejected he was about the situation and how powerless he felt about the system which he sacrificed his life for daily. So tell me one more time with a straight phase that this sentence will keep Ellic Murdoch behind bars for the rest of his life. Tell me that knowing what you know about how our system works. Tell me that knowing what you know about how our system works. Tell me that knowing what you know about Todd Rutherford and his creepy little deals that

put violent offenders back out on the street because they provided so-called substantial assistance to prison leadership. Tell me that after seeing all the villages Dick and Jim have burned down or tried to burn down in pursuit of getting Ellik a new trial. To paraphrase Crane Waters, everything with this case is unique and unprecedented. So pardon me for saying, I'll believe it when I see it. And pardon me for getting a little nervous when I watch people just off their hands and victory as if that'll show Elik.

Jim Griffin basically told reporters after the hearing this week that Elik is committed to getting out of prison. And he noted that the lawyers in the room that day didn't seem to confident that Elyk's two life sentences for the murders would stick. The one thing Mandini agree with the state on is that this plea deal is good for the victims, and it's good for the court, and it's good for the AG's office and sled and judge Newman,

and frankly it's good for us. It allows us to focus on Alex' unnamed co-conspirators and on other cases. But still, it's so frustrating to see Alex and his sentence celebrating smirks. Okay, so this was a negotiated plea deal. There are three types of plea agreements. There's the one that was like Cory Fleming's, that's called Straight Ple. The state didn't offer a sentence recommendation and left it up to the judge. The second is a plea deal where the state recommends a sentence but the judge ultimately decides. And the third one is this one, in which the only say a judge gets is to accept the deal

or not accept the deal. The sentence was previously determined by the state and Dick and Jim. Sertuzia's hearing was for a judge named to hear the facts of the cases, here from the prosecution and the defense, here from the victims, and, as luck would have it, here from Elyk Murdoch, in what turned out to be a 50 minute acceptance speech for his crimey award. The only question there was was whether Judge Newman would end up accepting the deal, even though he reportedly was one of the ones pushing for a meaningful attempt at a deal. Now it seems like a foregone conclusion

that Judge Newman would, of course, accept that deal, but after Alex Crimes' speech, people started to wonder whether Judge Newman would spend his lunch break thinking about Alex's narcissistic soliloquy and come back with a surprise, because you know what? No other defendant would ever feel comfortable enough to do what Alex did Tuesday.

No other defendant in this world would ever feel comfortable enough to do what ELEC did Tuesday. No other defendant in this world would ever take the floor that way without any fear of angering the judge and negatively affecting their own case. But ELEC feared nothing. Why? Because the only people who had anything to lose in that room were the good guys.

Dick and Jim not only wanted Judge Newman to be disqualified from hearing their motion for a new trial, they wanted him removed from the Satterfield case. Even filing an emergency motion right after the Supreme Court was like, sorry, Dickie do it all, but Judge Newman is still assigned to that case. According to Dick and Jim, Judge Newman was too biased to consider anything Murdoch related, and yet they didn't seem to have a problem with Judge Newman ruling on the plea deal. Why is that?

Because either Judge Newman ok'd the deal that they wanted, or he didn't, and if he didn't, the case would go to trial, and if the case won to trial, well, look at that would you. It wouldn't be heard until next year, and maybe not even then, because this plea deal meant that the state had lost its trial date which was supposed to be November 27th. So in the worst case scenario, Dick and Jim would have gotten their way anyway, and the financial cases would have been delayed, which is what they wanted in the first place. It's gross all the way around. Now at the hearing, there were no discernible mordox. Alex sisters and brothers were not there.

Nor was Buster. Judge Carmen Molen, however, was in attendance. Well, sort of. Her shiny, happy portrait was, anyway. There she was, hanging from the wall of her courtroom, watching her boy, Elik, accept his award for being an exhausting Class A narcissist. Interesting side note about this portrait. We were told that it was commissioned during Ellic's stint as president of the South Carolina Association of Justice,

aka the Trial Lawyers Association. We were told that Ellic advocated for her portrait to be hung there. Mullens' portrait in the National Television Frame was a stark reminder of just how far we have to go to fix our justice system in South Carolina. I mean, think about it. Mullins signed off on the Saturn Field settlement. She missed a number of glaring red flags in the Shoddy Paperwork provided for the settlement. She missed a number of glaring red flags in the Shoddy paperwork provided for the settlement. Like starting with the fact that Ellic Murdoch's name, who was the defendant, was removed from the top of it. More concerning, Corey Fleming, the plaintiff,

apparently asked Molen to sign off on the settlement while keeping Ellix's name, the defendant, off the books entirely. This was in 2019. If Molen was doing her job then, Molen could have not only said no to signing these documents, but she would have reported Corey and Elix for inappropriate and seemingly unethical behavior. Molen could have stopped this mass theory four years ago. And yet, here in the low country, the courts still idolize her as a symbol for justice and truth. Those in charge simply want us to forget

those silly things we found out about Molen because this is the land of no consequences for people like Carmen Molen. And apparently, what they're telling us is that more lives have to be destroyed before anything will be done. The courtroom was packed with the victims, their families, their attorneys, and members of sled as well as a few people from the public who were there for fun. As for our least favorite so-called victims,

PMPED and Paul Meadows' state bank, they were there too. Well, sort of. Bankboard President Jan Malinowski and his attorney were tucked in the corner of the courtroom. Not sure what they were doing there because the bank was not a victim in any of the cases that Alec was pleading guilty to.

Also, there is PMPD partner Danny Henderson with PMPD's attorney Jim May. You know, the former US attorney who left his federal job shortly after the murders and went on to score PMPD as one of his first private sector clients. Danny was the only member of PMPED there, which is something Elik sure did notice and point out during his little crimey speech that we will get into on part 2 of this episode next week. It looked as if Elik thought Danny was there to support him,

and not there to potentially give a victim's impact statement on behalf of the firm, which thank God he ended up not doing. For those of you who don't know who Danny is, he is the guy Elyk would have feared if he had to comply with Mark Tinsley's subpoena in 2021. Remember Mark's testimony? Danny was Elyk's point person in the boat crash case. He was also the guy in the back of a sled vehicle the night of the murders serving as Alex attorney while he was being questioned. Lastly, Joe McCullough was in the courtroom too. Joe, the man who represented Connor Cook in the

civil case against Eric Murdoch, the man who was close friends with Dick Arpullian, the man who sat in the courtroom for six weeks taking notes during the murder trial, the man who paid for Becky Hill's birthday party in the media center, and who ultimately came to represent the jilted egg lady jur in her tenant. Hmm. Okay, before we get into the hearing itself, let's do a little more math. The plea deal was for 101 charges.

I like to plead guilty to 22 representative charges. Basically, it works out to about one charge per victim. We ask the A.G.'s office about the narcotics charge and the answer we got was that the representative charge that I like pleated guilty to and that indictment for conspiracy is also considered a drug charge because the conspiracy included trafficking. There are only three charges left and those are from the roadside shooting. This means that this deal has also taken away the possibility of securing a three strikes life without parole sentence for ELEC. This is significant only because we don't

yet know the ultimate fate of his murder conviction. Speaking of the roadside shooting charges, well those even stick. We've seen no evidence that Oleg had a life insurance policy. If anyone would know about Alex assets, it would be marked tinsley and the receivership, and they've apparently found nothing. Dick and Jim have in pretty proof of the policy. So will Oleg simply be charged with lying to police? I mean, what a mess, right?

Okay, so going into Tuesday's hearing, we were fully expecting Dick to object to Eric Blant talking. We just didn't think it would be before Eric had even spoken. Guess what, guys? Dick is a listener. Hi, Dick. Here is asking Judge Newman to protect him from Eric's cup of honesty.

You're on our all need to know that it, it, it, it, it, a juncture after um, Mr. Waters finishes. We're going to hear from the victims. And I'm told this morning some of it lawyers. My concern is that the victims bill writes guarantees the victims the ability to make a presentation. I have no problem with that whatsoever. I'm sure extensive comments by them. But I'm concerned from what I read and social media

about some of the lawyers making comments today. Some of them are expressed, they're going to express anger against me and Mr. Griffin and Mr. Murdoch. Some of them are nakedly using this as an infomercial to sell coffee cups or t-shirts or bottle heads in an effort to maximize their economic return on this process. I would ask CORE, either to have the victim speak

or the attorneys, but not both. And if the attorneys do speak they address their comments to you and not to us and the comments should exhibit the demeanor. All right, thank you, Mr. Arpreum. And certainly we will maintain the civility and proper decorum of the court. The parties are entitled, victims are entitled to representation and the lawyers can speak on the victims' behalf, addressing the court and not addressing the council. You may proceed. Don't worry, Dick's whining would come back to haunt him. When it was Eric's partner

Ronnie Richter's turn to address the court, he took the opportunity to correct the record. Yonor, in the opening, I heard Mr. Araputlians say something about T-shirts and bobbleheads, and that is unquestionably a shot at my partner Eric Blaine, and I do want to address that to the court. I want you to know, Your Honor, that my partner has gained some very well-deserved notoriety for his courageous representation of our clients. And that yes, he has soul t-shirts and other merchandise, and that all of those proceeds have gone to charities,

including the Moondood Warrior Project and others. No one came here to date a cello t-shirt. We came here today to finish a job. We came here today for justice. Shortly after that, Eric and Ronnie's client Jordan Janks, who is Alex Childhood friend from whom he stole, also weighed in on Dick's whining. I don't know, Mr. Hype Hoonion, nothing to do with you, but you made a comment earlier about that Tony's trying to sell Bobo Heath and Cups. I made a comment earlier about attorneys trying to sell bobble heads and cups. Can you represent this man?

To sell those bobble heads and cups to repeat the victims that he stole from? Thank you. Now that is how you do a bobble head burn. We talked to Eric after the hearing. Here's what he had to say about Dick. He looked like an asshole when he came out and he started belittling the fact that I'm selling t shirts and mugs and bobble heads. hearing. Here's what he had to say about Dick. So before the victim spoke, Crane carefully went through the facts of each case that Ella was bleeding guilty to. It's always amazing to witness the amount of information this

man stores in his head. One of the cases he talked about isn't one that has come up much, but the details are pretty bad. Crane shared it with the court because of how disturbed he was by this case. This case showed where Ellic was headed after the satir field heist. Between November 2020 and December 2020, Ellic stole every last dime from a woman whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver. Ellic assured the woman that she had a high valued case, but then started to temper her expectations, eventually telling her that he'd only

be able to get about $35,000. Ellic got nearly $200,000 for her case, and he stole it all. The Sattoffield case had taught Ellic that he not only could take advantage of the people who trusted him by skimming money off their cases and charging them with fraudulent expenses, he could use their personal trust in him to take it all.

That woman he stole from is now raising her grandchildren, children who lost their mother. In late 2020, Ellic was emboldened not only by the success of his thefts, but by the fact that no one out there was even trying to stop him. Not his family, not PMPED, not Palmetto State Bank, he seemed to have carte blanche from everyone, except Mark Tinsley, who obviously didn't believe his lies for one hot second. That brings us to the last thing to note about Crane's recitation of the facts. It became even more crystal clear how desperate Elik was on the night of June 7th, 2021.

One false move in his entire scheme would have been discovered. Mark wasn't the only one who was a threat to Ellic. Ellic was constantly under the threat of default with a bank. And that raises even more questions about their complicity in this. They seem to have been so focused on getting their loan money back that they appear to have allowed Ellic to do whatever he wanted so long as they eventually got paid. Had they done their job just one time? They would have seen what was going on. We'll be right back. We didn't realize you were supposed to get a gift for our dog, walker guy. We almost forgot about it that just got to occur.

We didn't expect to get a gift from her. Or our cousin like to get in his name. He got us something nice, better as it percates. Last minute deals on gifts for people you forgot. Get past the free shipping at Amazon. In the points, we didn't realize you were supposed to get a gift for our dog, walker guy. We almost forgot about it that just got to occur. We didn't expect to get a gift from her. Or our cousin like to get in his name. His name, he got us something nice, better as it per game. Flasmin' it deals on gifts for people you forgot,

Get fast and free shipping at Amazon. Earn the points, share the journey. With the TD, AeroPlan visa infinite card, earn up to 50,000 bonus AeroPlan points. Conditions apply, offer in January 3, 2024. Visit TDAeroPlan.com for details. Okay, let's talk about the most powerful part of the hearing. One reason why we are splitting this episode into two parts is because there is so much to talk about. And also, we want to highlight what the victim said and not co-mingle their words with Alex's strange 50 minute acceptance speech

for his worst criminal narcissist of 2023 award. For several hours, this hearing was an emotional roller coaster. Before Hurricane Alec rolled in, it managed to out monster himself again. The thing is, Alex's speech was intentionally confusing and cryptic. This man never stops scheming. He wanted to drown out the victim's voices with his chaos and leave the media wondering about what he said, instead about what he actually did. There is a lot to dissect in Alex speech.

We still feel the whiplash from it, but we owe it to the victims to keep that separate. Not only did the victim show tremendous grace in addressing Alex about how his crimes affected them, they all made it clear that the crime against them wasn't just about the money stolen. It was about the fact that they trusted him. There was so much hurt in that room. Think about those moments when you have felt betrayed by a friend. It is not just the act that they committed against you. It's that they thought so little of you to commit that act at all. The person you thought cared about you, a person you cared for, actually thinks that you

are nothing. It is a kick to the gut after a hard fall. That was heartbreaking to watch and brought so many people to tears. The victim statements started with our own cup of jess's co-host, Eric Blan, who talked about this betrayal. Eric's statement was a thing of beauty, and he spared no punches. After telling the court that Alex faced belonged on a Mount Rushmore for criminals, he educated

the court about other victims' people might not have even heard about before. We represent Sandra Manning. Nobody ever heard of Sandra Manning. She was the sister of Gloria Saddefield. $28,000 was missing. She was also a victim of Alex Murdo. We've represented Blake Hodg. Now we've heard a lot of cases that talk about money theft, but there's a whole slew of

other cases out there that deal with Mr. Murrell taking their cases. Blake Hodge was a paraplegic and guess what he didn't do? He didn't file their cases on time and case was lost on the statute of limitations. Those are victims too. We've represented Melverg Edwards who is the father of Hakeem Pickney. We've talked a lot about Mrs. Pickney and Hakeem, but Hakeem had a father, Melver Gettwerds, who's the father of Hakeem Pickney. We've talked a lot about Mrs. Pickney and Hakeem, but Hakeem had a father, Melver Gettwerds.

And there are some issues to concern that. Elyk took cases and then sat on them without filing claims. Was he hoarding them in hopes that if one didn't produce immediate money for him, another would? And you know, I heard when he pled guilty, I wasn't in the courtroom a couple weeks ago. He used the words, I wrongfully obtained.

That's not wrongfully obtained. He stole, used the right word. He was a thief. He used the word and said, I misrepresented. No, you didn't misrepresent. You lied. That's what we't misrepresent. You lied. That's what we have to talk about in this courtroom. He was a thief and he stole any lie to these clients.

Those that are closest to him, he lied to his law partners. He lied to his own brother. Eric told the court not to believe Eric when he says he is happy to finally be able to plead guilty to these crimes, as if he is unburdening himself of some tremendous guilt. Eric outlined for the court just how many times Ellic has tried to get out of the Satterfield case, right down to trying to rescind his confession of judgment and telling the insurance company to recoup the money he stole in the satire field case

from the satire fields. The murder trial, Mr. Harpouli, who's a wonderful lawyer, best probably one of the best our state has ever produced, then agrade this guy on cross-examination Tony Satire. Disrespecting, that's not a man that's accepting responsibility. That's not Alex Murdoch accepting responsibility. Yeah, Eric called Dick a wonderful lawyer. We will get to that in a second.

But first, let's talk about the most fiery part of Eric's statement. We were supposed to have a trial, but for his plea two weeks ago, what happened next? They attacked the jury pool in Buford County, incapable, incapable of being objective and fair because of all the publicity, the pre-traub publicity. They didn't end it there. They attacked you. They filed a motion to recuse you from hearing the Saddufio case saying that you who was giving your time, you're sweating, you're blood, that you were conflicted, that you made any appropriate statement Saddufio court. So the answer is, no, he didn't want to do that in September of 2021 like he said two weeks ago

or was said in the courtroom. They did everything they could not to do it but the calendar forced the plea the 102 charges forced the plea and there was all this about pretrial publicity that somehow I caused pretrial publicity and others and people who wrote about any podcasters or whatever. Boy is that rich? The defense attorney and self-sufferant podcaster, he started a podcast after the murder trial. They went to crime con and they talked for two days about the case. They've done press conferences, they've done documentaries,

they've gone on TV. If there's any pre-trial publicity, it's caused in part by them. And they still came before you to say that Mr. Murdoch couldn't get a fair trial. Eric went on to say that the focus should be on the victims. Then, Dick objected using Eric's compliment in the smarmiest of ways. He's going on, I hate to interrupt this, that's bad, he's one of the best warriors in the state to ever produce. But he's talking about other people's clients. I asked the court to restrict him to his clients. Thank you.

Uh-huh. Mr. Blair? Judge Newman was like, keep talking, Eric. We asked Eric after the hearing whether he regretted complimenting Dick during that statement. Here is what he had to say. Yeah, it didn't come out the way I wanted to say it. I wanted to say at one time, you were one of the best attorneys, the most recognized attorneys in the state, but I just used the wrong word choice.

I'm just going to be honest with you and I regretted saying it. Now, he was. In his day, he was an excellent trial attorney. I mean, multi-million dollar verdicts. A lot of, when he was. In his day, he was an excellent trial attorney. I mean, multi-million dollar verdicts. A lot of when he was a prosecutor, a lot of death penalty verdicts. When he was a defense attorney, he got a lot of not guilty verdicts, believe it or not. So he was a good attorney. He's not a good attorney anymore. He has expired his expiration date on a yogurt can. He's long gone. He's a shadow of his former self, but he's stuffed at down my throat and good for him. After Eric spoke, Ronnie Richter spoke, telling the court that the victims weren't victims,

but instead they were prey, and then Ellic had hunted them as prey. The people we represent are not victims, they are prey, and that man across the courtroom by any measure is a predator. And when I say to you that these folks represent the best of us, and I look across the aisle and I see Alec there, who is once a contemporary of ours. All I can think to myself is for all the power, the privilege, the entitlement that he was born into,

that I mean, for God's sake, all that was ever asked of the man is that you wake up and be Alec Murdoch every day. To have taken it so afoul is hard to reconcile. He's made his behavior complicated, but we figured out what he's done. He's tried to hide his true nature from us, but we figured out who he is. So the only question we're left with is why,

and I'll suggest to the court this answer. It doesn't matter, because the only person who can answer that question is Alec Murdoch, and he's demonstrated himself to be quite the cunning liar. All that was ever asked of the man, that he wake up and be Alec Murdoch every day. It was a beautiful line that underscored the heart of the issue, the power and privilege that was bestowed upon him at birth. Two things he could have used for good and instead he used for evil. In a monumental moment, Tony Satterfield set the stage for the victims to finally speak their truth.

Tony stood with confidence on Tuesday. He was a different Tony Satterfield from the one we saw a trial earlier this year. His voice was clear. He held his head high as he asked Judge Newman a very brave question. Sir, I'm a small dinner on it. I do have one request. You might have a face that way. No, be fine.

Because when I talk to people, I like facing them talking to. Thank you. I swear, the world shook when Tony said that. Think about the bravery that took for Tony Satterfield, who was so terrified to confront Ellic for all of those years. Tony didn't say a whole lot, but every word cut deep. I really don't have words. You lied, you cheated, you stole, you betrayed me and my family and everybody else. And you did it at a customer mom's death first of all.

You just come out to everybody ago, you wrote half-hearted. I'm sorry, letter, which was half-hearted because you're actually just not bothered through that you're really sorry. So I'm gonna read you, I have an apartment, I'm sorry that you feel like you had to betray us, still from us, she and I am out of us. I'm sorry that your family has to now

go through what they're gonna have to go through the rest of their life because of your actions of what you did. But I want you to know that I'll forgive you. I will pray for you every day. Next up was Ginger Harriet, Gloria's sister, like Tony. Ginger didn't speak for long, but every word she said mattered. Ellen, Gloria worked very hard for you for 20 years, you and your family.

She loved Bustram Paul as her own. She loved Maggie, and she trusted and loved you wholeheartedly. She considered you and your family as her own family. Do you have her loyalty and love and trust the trade value is very hard for our family to understand. We'll never understand. for our family to understand. We just will never understand.

And how you are able to profit from hard death is especially hard for us to understand and cause unimaginable hurt to our family. The fact that you, if only you had given Tony and Brian just a very small portion of the money you stole from them, they would have appreciated it and then very happy while thinking that you had kept your word, done your legal duty, and looked out for them and their best interest. Instead, you chose to break the law, that you had sworn to uphold. Be greedy and look out for your own best interest.

Notice how she started off by reminding Ellic how hard Gloria worked for them and how much she loved Ellic's family. Ginger kept the light shining on her sister, ensuring that the world will never forget what a great human being she was. Elic, in time, the wrong you did to so many people may be forgotten, but in hopes that Gloria, in her career heart, full of kindness and love, will not be forgotten. We started the Gloria's gift foundation in honor of Gloria and her memory

by providing gifts to some needy children during Christmas so that Gloria will be, Gloria will be remembered forever. And my heart goes out not only to my family, but the day, to hear all these families that you did wrong by. Those children that you stole from everything, they lost a mother and you stole every dime from them. I just don't understand. Did you not have a soul? I don't get it, Ellen.

I can't understand it. And I think God, maybe that I don't understand it. Because then I might be in the same situation as you. I just don't get it. I guess I never will get it. So hopefully God will forgive you because you're going to need forgiveness. I just don't know.

I'm lost for words. I like, you are not the person that I thought I knew. And you come from a good family, but you wasted your life. And I hate you did to family the way you did. Because you do come from a good family. And I'm sorry you threw your life away. Thank you, Judge, for allowing me to address. That's right. Thank you.

And thank you for the state for everything I did for us. And justice. I thank God I don't understand it. Huh. The pain in Ginger's voice was heartbreaking. But wow, it was such a genuine and honest thought. She said, I'm so thankful. I'm not like you.

She said, essentially, I am so thankful. I am not like you. She said essentially, I am so thankful I am not like you, a man who had everything, who didn't think twice about taking from people who had nothing. Thank God I don't understand that kind of thinking. After Ginger, Justin Bamberg spoke, putting his classic Justin Bamberg twist on things. the first time that the first time that the first time that the

first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the

first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the

first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the

first time that the first time that the first time that the the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the the first time that the the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the first time that the The state grand jury process, as Attorney Waters said earlier, a lot of people were afraid to participate.

And it took courage that grand jury process, this entire criminal justice process, not even thinking about the civil stuff, the criminal justice process, this has been the fair retail. The children are the victims. It's the victims family members. It's their closest friends. It's the people in our communities, whether you're talking about Colisean County, where some of the charges are pending or bufirt or hampton or Allendale or Bamberg or Orange Bird, those communities, the children. Today is such an important day

because these victims, they're loved ones, the community members, everyone knew that dragons existed. They've seen it. They watched TV, they read the newspaper. Everybody knew that dragons existed. Today, this sentence, your honor, will show all of them that dragons can be slayed.

And that is important in our society, with regards to the sins. And it's tough to reach a decision and talking with the clients and explaining them what the options are. We do support, we support the sins. It is a lot of time in the quote unquote legal white color arena.

But there's another aspect to this. And I understand I get it. I think the my clients, the victims understand that this entire lower deal for a lot of people, not just in our communities in South Carolina across the planet. This entire ordeal has been very entertaining to them. And I don't say that in a negative light. They're not involved. It wasn't their mother who died. They didn't have to bear their son. Right. Those are recent law and order is not one of the number one most watch shows that's ever been on television. It is entertaining

to them. Before a lot of people this has been one of the worst nightmares. The worst fairy tale that anybody could ever actually have to live. And it needs to come to an end. Again, one of the most amazing things that I've seen from my clients is the degree of grace. We want to say in aggustly love mercy and walk humbly with your God and a lot of them live by that. There are people who would have every reason and right to hate this man, for betraying them, for what he did to their families. It's not just about money. These are not just names on a piece of paper or commas and decimal points. This was money that they needed for their lives.

I believe there are victims who ended up getting put out on the street when their money got taken If they had a reason to hate him or hate anybody they would be justified But the degree of grace and mercy that they have displayed by forgiving him Because that is their religious belief and they stand on that. They don't just say that. They don't just do what Alec did and say I have your bag or say this and do something else, they stand on that. And although they have every reason to be selfish as it pertains to the pursuit of accountability, the pursuit of justice against an individual who truly does not deserve grace from the criminal justice system, does not deserve any benefits from the criminal justice system.

They're still willing to think about other people. In your honor, you know I come from Bamberg County. We want the smallest poorest counties in this state filled with good, hard work in people, much like all of the people that Alec victimized. Folks in Hantley County, folks in Alendell County where literally you try to wake up, do the best you can do, keep a roof over your head, food in your fridge, and a couple of presents under the Tri-At Christmas time.

These victims are also thinking about those communities, their neighbors. The reality is is that if Alec were to have individual trials on all of these charges, these victims' neighbors and friends and community members would also begin to suffer. Because those local governments, Polo Bamber County, Alendell County, Hampton County, they're the ones who have to pay for it. Victims recognize that. I, as an attorney, recognize that. And based on the plea in the time that Alec is going to be sentenced, we understand. And there is a degree of value in the finality. There is a degree of value for not just these

victims, but these communities in the criminal justice system to be able to actually see the dragon be slayed in this courtroom and sentenced to prison for what will effectively be the rest of his natural life. It's no secret how tough SCDC is. People generally age a lot faster in there and that's not something I celebrate. I don't say this, excited and happy to be here. As a lawyer, I hate looking at Alec and seeing another scene of former attorney sit there. I hate it.

I hate to see somebody from our neck of the woods sit there. I don't celebrate that. This process is sucked. If it wasn't for the commitment to shining light on things and standing up for folks like Miss Pinking You and others who needed it, I personally don't know how I would have made it through the process because it's not enjoyable. And I don't think any decent person celebrates the downfall of another living, breathing, human being, particularly somebody that they knew. But it's necessary.

This has been a horrible, tragic, sorrow-filled fairy tale. And I think everybody is ready for it to come to an ender honor to the... We'd like to thank Prick and Waters and the AG's office. They've done a wonderful job in your honor. If it wasn't for the encouragement that Pratin and his team poured into people to let them know that the state had a true interest in accountability, I think that there would be

far less charges because people wouldn't have wanted to testify at the Grand Jury or have their name public or their face public. And there's a lot to be said for that. Today, we'll make our system better. It will bring closure. And ideally, it will deter others. It is important to note that Justin, a lawyer legislator, mentioned the need to make the system better. Justin always has infinite hope, even in the darkest of situations. For people like Justin who grew up seeing how powerful the Murdoch's were and how untouchable Elic was,

Tuesday was monumental. To so many of us who see Elic as someone who deserves a 200-year sentence, it is important to remember that him being sentenced at all is a sign of progress. Dragons can be slayed. After Justin, we heard from Pamela Pinkney, who quickly rose to hero status in this story soon after her family found out how Elik used her family's tragedy for her horrific profit. It has been a while since we have talked about Hakim and what Elik did to his family. Hakim Pinkney was paralyzed in a catastrophic car wreck before his mysterious death in 2011. Hakim's mother Pamela and cousin Natasha were severely injured in that 2009 crash.

Ella Khmurdoch and his co-conspirators apparently worked together in a fashion similar to the Glorious Saterfields game to defraud the Pinkie family of about $1 million from a lawsuit that they filed on Hakeem's behalf in 2010. The case apparently gave Corey and Ellic the blueprint work for the Satterfield Heist. After the accident in 2009, Hakeem was left paralyzed, fighting for his life on a ventilator. He was conscious and could communicate,

but he was reliant on machines to keep him alive. Pamela was desperate to get her son in a better care facility, which she could have done if Elik wasn't a blood-sucking monster who was stealing from them as they struggled to get Hakim a better quality of life. Unfortunately, just four days after Elik Murdoch settled Hakim's lawsuit in 2011, Hakim's ventilator was apparently left unplugged for 30 minutes before Pruitt Health North Augusta employees noticed.

He died on October 11, 2011. He was 21 years old. I wish there were more answers on Hakeem's death, but most of it still remains a mystery. We still don't know how a tragedy like that could happen, but what is clear is how Ellic continued to steal from the family after Hakeem died. Justin Bamberg found a paper trail of evidence showing the pillaging of Hakeem's estate with Ellic's friends and family reaping the rewards. Just days before enduring their first Christmas without Hakeem, Ellic wrote the following checks to the following people

from Hakeem, Pinkney's money, $100,000 to Russell's father, Charlie, a $10,000 check to Maggie, and more than a $300,000 check to Ellic's father, Randolph, our former solicitor. Which reminds me, how far back did this game go? How much did Alex family members know? If we know that there was stolen money in Randolph's trust, why weren't they forced to pay that back? And what about Charlie LaFitte? Like Mark said, there are a lot of people who enabled Alex. We hope that they will be held to account in the next frontier of this saga, and we are glad that Mark is on the case.

Oh, and then, not long after that round of fevery, as the pink knees were freshly grieving Hakeem, Ellic used Pamela's money to take his besties, Chris Wilson, and Corey Fleming on a private plane to the college world series. Elyk Murdoch told Pamela he would fight for her. Instead, he lied to her, stole from her, and continued to twist the knife, even after her son died under mysterious circumstances. Now, after all of that pain and suffering, Pamela Pinkney still managed to say this to Ellic. and I have Christ in my life. The 23rd Psalm says,

the out-cappere at the table before me, no. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes it me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me besides the still waters. Ye though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thy art is with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the

days of my life. And because of what you did to me, I thank God for giving me strength to get through what I went through. Because without God, I wouldn't be here. And to you, Alex Murdo, I never thought that you would betray me and did me and my family the way we did, the way we was done at a vulnerable time in our life at our lowest estate. We was in a terrible mode of vehicle accident and you just took us for granted. But all I want to say to you is I forgive you from my heart. On this day and forevermore, my prayers and endeavours should be with you and God bless you.

She forgave him and she prays for him. After everything Elic did to her family, I want to pause and just come in, Mrs. Pinkney, and all of the victims who spoke this week, for reminding the world that goodness and grace can overcome evil. It is so hard to remember that in a story like this one, full of so much darkness. We'll be right back. When you work out with Peloton, you're gonna keep coming back for more. And with up to $950 off Peloton purchases, now's the time to bring home a Peloton bike, bike plus or tread, and work out your way.

Unleash yourself. Ride, run, box, or freak the hit out. It's your workout, your rules! For Peloton's best offers of the season, head to 1peloton.ca slash offers. I'll access membership's separate, Terms Apply. This episode is brought to you by Lego Duplo. Take your toddler and their most exciting learning adventure yet, with Lego Duplo sets of everyday life. From the excitement of the dream playground

to the fun filled three-in-one treehouse, little ones can dive into a world of imagination and explore, learn, learning grow along the way. Make playtime a memorable journey filled with wonder and discovery. Lego Duplo sets! Every day life is their big adventure to learning grow. Lego is a trademark of the Lego group. Mark Tensei spoke next.

Not only did he say the things we were thinking at home, he reminded the court of the evil committed against his clients, the Badger family. It's a story we're committed to telling in a future episode not only because of how depraved Alec was and what he did, but because of the utter assist he seemed to have gotten from the bank in doing it. Mark, zero dark Tensei himself, to the surprise of no one did not hold back. The longer I do this, the more I realize I don't know. I don't practice in this courtroom in terms of criminal defense cases.

I don't understand why the label of a white collar crime is given to these crimes, to the predatory acts that the fell all of these people. The money that they were owed was owed because the blood, sweat, and tears, Hockingpink me needed his money. The badgers who I represent, six children, two, three, five, eight, nine, and 11 are left with a single father and he stalled everything.

And so I stand up here to say that I believe in accountability. I don't know that justice is served here and I don't know that the punishment in this case is justified and I don't want to be the odd man out. So I'll just keep it to myself and thank it. Elic, you're a broken person. I don't think you're going to lie in bed at night and have people come to you. I don't think that those people matter and I don't know when that happened, but clearly it happened where you matter more. And I feel bad for you as a result of that. I knew Paul and Maggie. I knew you. A lot of people thought

they knew you. Clearly we didn't. I don't think you've always been this way, but somewhere along the way, became broken and you've justified it and he's justified it every step of the way. Then Mark finally went where we have been wanting this to go for a long time to the money. And I stand up here your honor to simply correct the record. They didn't steal 1.3 to 5 million dollars from my clients. The bank didn't help. The bank was complicit in every step of the way

in enabling it, like Murdock, to steal and pull this off. You asked about Eddie Smith. Eddie Smith was a check cashing scheme. Eddie Smith was being paid to cash checks, but that money is still out there. And he knows where it is. He didn't spend all that money on drugs. If he wants to be accountable, he wants to be contrite. He ought to tell these people where their money is.

That's not going to happen. The same as he's not going to lay in bed at night and think about the wrongs and feel sorry for what he did. I don't envy you in having your job and the decisions you make. I recognize that there's value in finality. And maybe this is the right decision. I respect your honor, I respect this system.

I stand up here merely to correct the record that my people have not been made whole. We are going to continue to seek accountability from the people that enabled him, that helped him, that were complicit in the thefts of their money. And so that's the reason I'm here today. Thank you, Anna. Thank you. Where is the money?

One thing to note here is what Mark said about continuing to seek accountability from the people who enabled ELEC. This is not over. Maybe it's over for now for ELEC, but there weren't others, and now that law enforcement is freed up from having to testify in these many trials, it's time to pull out the big guns and get Steven's mis-case solved, and do something about the obstruction of justice that's alleged to have occurred in the boat crash investigation, and charge everyone and anyone who has helped Ellic commit these crimes, or who was criminally negligent and not stopping them. The biggest

bombshell of the day came from Ellic's childhood friend, Jordan Janks, who is now a Hampton County Council member. Mr. Janks's statement was emotional and so powerful. The betrayal he felt by Elyk was palpable, but there was something else going on there too. First, he started with a sweet compliment for Judge Newman. Evening, Your Honor, hello. First of all, I want to say I do respect your job in this entire case. I admire what she did. Yes sir. Mr. Alex. I've been waiting on this day. I've been waiting on this day to look at your eyes. I wanted to sit down with you one on one when I found out what you did.

Just wonder why. I can say, oh, excuse me. Unlike a lot of these people here, these victims. I got a lot of intimate stuff that I could see. You remember all those wildlife hunts? I had for life, wasn't it? All those wildlife hunts I had for life was your entire family was the guest of honor. Mr. Buster, Judge Eldrow insisted on me taking care of them for the day. You don't know how many brownie points you've got in my life. I'm just that I trusted you with everything. You heard that right.

Intimate stuff. Intimate stuff with Alex grandfather. Intimate stuff with Judge Clyde Elts Roth, who was one of the named partners of PMPED. Intimate stuff that Jordan Jink says Elix should remember. Now, I have to know when Jordan Jink said intimate Elix face changed entirely. He blinks and his brow furrowed and he looked at Jordan in a way I have never seen Elix look at anyone. With fear. When Mr. Jink's first started talking it was really the first time that Ellic looked close to genuinely bothered by what he was hearing. Briefly, he nodded along with Mr. Janks until that moment. When Mr. Janks said intimate stuff, I knew what was gonna break.

But I got some notes here, I don't even know right in Guitua. Our family got deep relationship, huh? You remember making a comment to me after I found out after we discussed the possible amount this lawsuit was worth and you made a comment to me and you said don't spend all this money foolishly. Tell me what you did with $20 million that you stole. Part of being mine. And you know I'm sitting there crying and I want everybody to be judged.

I need you to know. I'm not crying because of what he stole from me. I'm crying for what he did to F party in the soup. These kids, these people dying. These kids, these people dying. I didn't want to come appear in Bathroom, but I got to ask you, what kind of animal are you? I can't even go over my notes.

I'm not here to be your judge, ultimately, that belongs to the Good Lord and Savior. But maybe you have mercy on your soul. I didn't want to see you. When I saw you on TV and orange jumpsuit hurt me. Still, what mad at you? Orange jumpsuit hurt me. Still what mad at you. Was this judicial system put together

a system to deal with people that make bad choices? And my friend, you chose to make the choice you made. So I need the judge to know that I am full favor, I am in full favor of the court's recommendation for the 27 years. I can go back to us going to mediation that that you affected my wife. You chose to have Maggie deal with us. Those two days we were in Charleston in mediation. She catered to us hand in foot. You told me where to go and check into my room. We did. From that point, we never drove another foot. Neither did you. Maggie drove us everywhere we went. When all this came about Paul Paul and Maggie, I couldn't believe it. I didn't believe it. But after sitting here today and hearing some of the devious things that you've did to people,

these victims here, changed my mind, bro. Once again, I asked you, you know, I'm gonna allow you, but I gave you my all. I would do it. The money you stole from me, you could've asked me for it, and I would've gave it to you.

That's how I felt about you and your family. You didn't have to steal it from me, man. And I still, if there's anywhere possible, you set it up. For me, the feeling of limitation lists. I want to sit down with you. I want to look in your eyes and talk to you, and I can really talk to you.

We got some things that we can talk about. I would like that. Why, bro? Why? Such a talent. Do you know what you just threw away? Not a talent, did you want? When Mr. Jink said talent, Eleg knotted in recognition of this alleged talent. It's not clear obviously of Eleg thought Mr. Jank was talking about his talent with the law,

or his talent at using the law to steal because we all know that was his skill set. So that was a moment. Someone with generations worth of direct knowledge of the Murdoch family skeletons was either reminding Elik of that deep personal history to say, me? You did this to me? Or he was reminding Elik that he had messed with the wrong person. Maybe he meant both. We'll talk next week about Elik's speech, but we want to point out a few things. One is that Elik was very receptive to Jordan Jinks' invitation to sit down eye to eye. Two is that Eleg seemed to realize that all this forgiveness could maybe work in his favor in the future.

And the last is that he went on for so long talking about himself and his family, and seemed only to show what I would call vaguely true emotion during that time that we started to get really angry. After all those moving moments in the bravery it took for the victims to speak, and this is what the court was going to be left with, with the echo of Alex Narcissism bouncing off the walls. That's when the universe intervened. There was another victim. Elyk would not have the last word. The daughter of Blondelle Gary came to the microphone. Elyk had stolen $112,500 from her in April 2019, which is the same month that Paul Murdoch was charged in Mallory Beach's death, and around the same time that E hired to, fury, expensive defense attorneys to represent a son,

I think you know their names. Also, around the same time, Judge Carmen Mullins signed off on Ella's multi-million dollar theft in the Sadderfield settlement. You know, the one she could have stopped had she done her job. We haven't heard from Angel,

Blondell's daughter before. She was visibly upset when she got up to address Alec Mardock, whom she had retained as her lawyer after her mother's death at the recommendation of Miss Pamela Pinkney. Talk about betrayal. Alex stole over a million dollars from Miss Pinkney and made her believe he was good enough to recommend for her friend, who he stole from. The layers of damage destruction and betrayal in this case are unreal.

Good afternoon. I just wanna thank everybody for giving me a chance. You judge, judge, you win. I want to address Mr. Murock. Mr. Murock, it's been years since my mother Blondelle Gary had passed in a ambulance accident on old shelter in charge road. When he took the case, I just trusted you.

I really trusted you. I really trusted you like a lot. Like I had a lot of faith in you because my friend Ms. P, she had, she had told me about you. And so I entrusted you. But you know what? Today, I thank God. You know, God gave me this time just to tell you that I forgive you. I forgive you. And I hope and pray that you would look to him and ask him truly in your heart to forgive

you of everything that you have done all of your sins because what you did to all of the families is just so wrong. It's wrong. It's wrong. So just ask him. Just just ask him to forgive you. I forgive you. Okay? Just know that I do. Thank you.

Thank you everybody. Like I said, I don't know how they have the grace and their hearts to forgive him, but they all did. After the hearing, I noticed two headlines, one from the island packet newspaper and one from the Associated Press, that specifically mentioned the victim's anger during the hearing. I pointed this out on Twitter because in today's media world, where so few people actually click on stories and even fewer people actually read the articles, headlines matter. Word choice really matters.

It was unjust to use the word anger about the victims in the headlines. Not that anger is a bad word, the victims had every right to be angry, but anger did not dominate the conversation. The victims showed grace for forgiveness and ultimately hope despite all of their pain. And they showed bravery in facing the man who did so much to their families. This matters because Ellic Murdoch is still chipping away at the public for any chance he can to get a break. Headlines that make it look like he got a bitter tongue lashing from his victims are a win

in his publicity campaign. The press has got to be more careful. On another note, Ian Emerson of ABC News 4 did really great journalism following this plea deal. She noticed that Thomas Moore, the state treacher who Alex stole from, wasn't in the courtroom and she asked him why. He told her that the plea deal did not feel like justice to him, and he was angry that the state made a deal at all with Alex Murdoch. This is important because there are so many victims in this plea deal didn't do it all for all of them.

Justice is never perfect, but the system will never improve if we blindly praise the state for accepting any deal other than life in prison for Elik Murdoch. Now, after Angel spoke, Khraten Waters brought the court back to Earth by telling the world again who Ella Camardock actually is. I think that he talked about these special recollections. It's good to know he has recollections about some things. But he's good. You can look people in the eye, but we've seen it all before. We saw it for two days at the murder trial. We saw it in Dave Owens' car. And all of these victims have seen it over and over again in their interactions with him and in his office.

But even as we heard that in Tarris and Lilliqui, even now, his only concern, the main thing he was concerned about was how he felt others perceived him, his perception in the mind of others. And I'm just close with saying what I said to you right before, so that's the name of the problem, that when he sat there and looked at all these victims in the eye, it was the same thing that he had done when he stole from them, it's the same thing that he's done in his interactions with the police. And the reality is, is that not one single person who thought they knew this man. And there are so many who thought they did, if not one single person knew who he really was. And your honor is time for at least in these proceedings, respectfully, for the system to be done with him. and we would ask you to accept the 27 years.

Thank you. Not a single person knew this man. So what is with Dick and Jim? Why do they keep fighting for this man who has lied, cheated, stolen, and murdered. With that, we will see you next week for part two of Elic Murdoch's sentencing. Stay tuned, stay pesky, co-hosted by journalist Liz Farrell and produced by my husband, David Moses. True Sunlight is a Luna Shark production. Sunlight is a Luna Shark production.

Buh! Buh! Buh! Buh!