Where’s Buster? How do you pronounce Murdaugh? Your questions on the Murdaugh saga answered
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Murdaugh murders in Colleton County
Two members of a powerhouse legal family were shot and killed June 7 in Colleton County, SC. Read more of our coverage.
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The investigation into the killings of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh on June 7 has resulted in at least a half-dozen different law enforcement inquiries and cast a national spotlight on the Lowcountry and the storied Murdaugh family.
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette have been writing about the family, its power and controversies for years. Last week, the newspapers encouraged readers who had questions about the various cases to submit them.
The newspapers received more than 100 questions through Facebook and an online form.
Here’s what people want to know:
How do you pronounce Murdaugh?
“Not a soft A-U-G-H,” said Sen. Dick Harpootlian, D-Richland, a lawyer representing Alex Murdaugh.
The family pronounces the Southern last name MUR-dock, according to Harpootlian, though he said they won’t correct others who pronounce it differently.
What do we know about Alex Murdaugh’s son, Buster, and is he linked to the investigations?
More than a dozen readers sent questions about Murdaugh’s son, Buster.
Buster Murdaugh, 25, is the surviving son of Alex Murdaugh. Buster was cited as the intended recipient of a $10 million life insurance policy that his father is accused of trying to cash in on by arranging his own murder on Sept. 4, according to S.C. Law Enforcement Division affidavits.
Murdaugh was listed as a graduating senior from Wofford College’s Government and International Affairs programs, according to a spring 2018 newsletter. He intended to work for his father’s former law firm, Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth and Detrick, in the summer before going to law school, the newsletter stated.
“A student by the name of Richard Alexander Murdaugh Jr. attended the University of South Carolina School of Law from Fall 2018 to Spring 2019,” Jeffrey Stensland, a university spokesperson, confirmed by email.
Asked if Murdaugh left the school because of disciplinary action, Stensland said he could not say due to student privacy laws. A typical law school program is six semesters, or three years.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Buster was kicked out of the University of South Carolina School of Law for plagiarism, citing court records. The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette newspapers have not independently verified that.
As to his whereabouts, a British tabloid recently posted pictures of Buster Murdaugh outside his family’s home in Edisto Beach in Colleton County.
Rumors tied him to a 19-year-old Hampton man, Stephen Smith, who was found dead in 2015, but they were never substantiated by police, according to investigative files.
Is Alex a person of interest in the murder of his son?
In a murder investigation, police routinely scrutinize the spouse of a person who was killed. In addition, they look at the person who found the body/bodies.
That does not necessarily mean Alex Murdaugh is a suspect or person of interest; it’s just standard procedure for murder investigations.
The S.C. Law Enforcement Division, which is investigating the June 7 double homicide, has released no information on suspects or motives and held no press conferences.
No one has been arrested in the case.
What is the Murdaugh family’s impact in the Lowcountry over the last hundred years?
An April 2019 article from the State newspaper details the legacy of the Murdaugh family. It was published after the fatal boat crash in which Paul Murdaugh was indicted.
Here is a recap of the family’s influence in the Lowcountry:
- In 1910, Alex Murdaugh’s great-grandfather, Randolph Murdaugh, started a law firm that would later become Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick.
- Randolph Murdaugh was elected solicitor — chief prosecutor of five counties — 10 years later and became the first of three generations of Murdaughs to hold the post.
- Randolph Murdaugh Jr. was elected solicitor after his father, from 1940 to 1986. His son, Randolph Murdaugh III, ran the agency from 1986 to 2005.
- Over the course of nearly a century, Murdaughs in the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office sent thousands of people to prison and more than a dozen to death row.
- At the same time, PMPED became wildly successful by taking on personal injury lawsuits and bringing them before Hampton County juries. Before judicial reform, railroad workers injured on the job all over the state could bring their case to Hampton to be handled by PMPED lawyers. The firm won millions for their clients and became a powerhouse in personal injury cases. Now, the firm has lawyers practicing law in all 46 counties, according to a PMPED spokesperson cited in the 2019 article.
- Randolph Murdaugh III was awarded the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor in the state, by Gov. Henry McMaster in 2018.
- In the Solicitor’s Office under Duffie Stone, the Murdaugh influence continued until the events of June 7. Former Solicitor Murdaugh served as a prosecutor under contract, and his son, Alex, was a volunteer prosecutor for the agency.
What about Cory Fleming?
Cory Fleming, a Beaufort defense attorney and former college roommate of Alex Murdaugh’s, represented the sons of the Murdaugh family’s housekeeper in a wrongful death claim after she died in a trip-and-fall accident at the family’s home in 2018.
The claim became controversial when the sons of Gloria Satterfield learned from the media that the case was settled, and they said they hadn’t received a dime. They sued, accusing Fleming of helping Alex Murdaugh in an alleged scheme to divert money away from the Satterfield sons.
However, Fleming and his law firm this month reached a settlement with the estate for Gloria Satterfield to pay back “all legal fees and expenses Mr. Fleming and his law firm received from the $4,300,000 they recovered for the Estate in connection with the claims asserted against Alex Murdaugh for the death of Gloria Satterfied[sic],”according to a statement on Sunday.
“Mr. Fleming and his law firm maintain, they—like others—were victims of Alex Murdaugh’s fraudulent scheme,” the statement said.
The fees settled by Fleming and his firm, Moss, Kuhn, and Fleming, could amount to nearly $1.5 million, which was the amount set aside for attorneys in a settlement that was never filed in court and never distributed to Gloria Satterfield’s two sons.
The lawsuit, filed on Sept. 15, said that after Satterfield died, Murdaugh encouraged her sons to use the services of Fleming and a banker to file a wrongful death claim against him. Fleming was Murdaugh’s college roommate and godfather to his son Paul, a connection not disclosed to the sons, the lawsuit stated.
A settlement was reached, but the sons never received any of it, according to the lawsuit. They sued Murdaugh, Fleming, Fleming’s firm, and banker Chad Westendorf.
Eric Bland, the sons’ new attorney, previously told NewsNation that he expected an investigation into Fleming’s law license.
“He could have his license impacted either through suspension or, ultimately, he could lose his license,” he said. “Two things we learned in law school: Never lie to your client, never steal from your client. If you do, you’re going to lose your ticket.”
Any investigation of Fleming would be handled by the S.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel. The office handles screening and investigating all complaints made against judges and lawyers and is responsible for prosecuting those who have committed ethical misconduct.
As of Monday afternoon, the S.C. Supreme Court has not suspended Fleming’s law license, and he is still listed as an attorney on Moss, Kuhn & Fleming’s website.
Fleming is currently listed as a regular member of the S.C. Bar in good standing, according to the bar’s website.
Additionally, Fleming was named in an August lawsuit against Alex Murdaugh. It was brought by a passenger in the boat that crashed in 2019 and led to an indictment of Paul Murdaugh on charges of boating under the influence resulting in death. Passenger Connor Cook said in sworn testimony that he was scared to tell police Paul was driving the boat due to the Murdaugh family’s influence.
Alex Murdaugh told Cook, he said, to “Keep my mouth shut and tell them I didn’t know who was driving and that he’s got me.”
Murdaugh also suggested to Cook in the hospital that he hire Fleming to represent him. The lawsuit accuses Murdaugh of not disclosing his relationship with Fleming. When Cook hired Fleming, the Beaufort lawyer told him not to speak with law enforcement about the crash.
“Such advice was to the advantage of Paul and (Alex) Murdaugh and against the interests of Fleming’s new client, (Connor) Cook, increasing the potential that Plaintiff Cook would continue to be a suspect and potentially face criminal charges as operator of the boat,” the lawsuit said.
Where would a trial take place for these cases?
A trial will occur in the county where the alleged crime took place. In the case of Alex Murdaugh’s shooting and accused insurance fraud scheme, that trial would occur in Hampton County.
There would be two trials in the case of the Sept. 4 shooting, one for Alex Murdaugh and one for Curtis Smith. Smith is accused of assisting Murdaugh in staging his own murder
Lawyers for either side, the prosecution or defense, can request a change of venue.
Defense lawyers are usually the ones to seek a change of venue if they feel they cannot find an impartial jury due to pretrial publicity and people making their minds up about the guilt or innocence of the accused.
An attorney representing Smith told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette newspapers that he has no plans to request to move Smith’s trial.
“At this point so much is known. ... Mr. Murdaugh’s situation is so well-known within the county,” Jarrett Bouchette said last week.
Bouchette said his client is being made out as the “fall guy” in Murdaugh’s shooting. He said it seems SLED based its charges against Smith mainly off Murdaugh’s testimony. As a result, Bouchette said the case has enough problems that there’s no need to move the trial out of Hampton County.
Murdaugh’s attorney Harpootlian declined to comment on whether they would try to move Murdaugh’s trial to a different county.
A reporter asked the Attorney General’s office, who is prosecuting the cases, where it plans to hold the trials.
“We can’t comment about any details of the case,” spokesperson Robert Kittle said by email.
Why was the family allowed to cremate Paul and Maggie amid an investigation?
If an autopsy is done prior to cremation, that will suffice in gathering evidence from a person’s body in a death investigation, according to Beaufort County Coroner David Ott.
Ott spoke broadly about death investigations and was not commenting specifically on the Murdaugh case.
“It’s common when an autopsy is completed that the pathologist obtains samples of different areas of the body to include blood, urine and other tissues for additional testing if needed,” Ott said.
After the autopsy is completed, cremation can be done. A family member requests the procedure, and the coroner’s office authorizes the request.
Why did Alex appear to have no head injuries in court?
Although Alex Murdaugh was airlifted after being shot in the head, and his lawyers said he “had an entry and exit wound,” “his skull was fractured,” and he “may have had ... some minor bleeding of the brain,” there were no immediate signs of a wound or bandage on Murdaugh’s head when he appeared for his bond hearing.
The reports of how badly he was hurt have varied. SLED called the wound “superficial,” and the Hampton County Sheriff’s Office’s initial report checked “no” by the question asking whether the victim, Alex, had any visible injury.
Medical records on the injury, which would detail the extent of the wound, have not been released, and Murdaugh’s lawyers are attempting to block another attorney’s subpoena for them.
Has Judge Mullen ever acknowledged her signature in the Satterfield settlement?
No. Circuit Judge Carmen Mullen did not respond to two calls and two emails to her law clerks last month.
An attorney representing the two sons of Gloria Satterfield said he found a missing order from the judge approving a $4.3 million settlement, with $2.76 million slated to go to the family.
A signature on the order appears to belong to Mullen.
Recent filings from the Satterfield sons’ lawsuit confirm that Mullen received the order. However, the filings say she “was not told material facts about the proposed settlement and/or the Estate and was misled to believe that the beneficiaries of the Estate were fully informed.”
To protect their impartiality, judges typically do not speak publicly about cases before them.
Where is Alex’s rehabilitation facility?
Attorneys for Alex Murdaugh have repeatedly refused to disclose where Murdaugh is being treated for his opioid addiction, saying only that the rehabilitation facility is “out of state.”
“None of your business. Remember that state?” Harpootlian told an Island Packet reporter when asked.
However, last week, John Tiller, an attorney representing Murdaugh in a civil case, told a judge that Murdaugh was undergoing treatment in a Georgia facility.
Was the door to Paul’s apartment open on the day of the murder?
Around 2 p.m. on June 8, the day after Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were found shot to death in Colleton County, the door to Paul’s apartment in Columbia on Whaley street was found ajar, according to a Columbia Police Department report.
“The property manager stated due to the circumstances of the tenant (Paul Murdaugh’s) death, she was worried and wanted Law Enforcement to check the apartment out,” the report said.
Paul Murdaugh was in his spring semester at the University of South Carolina and living in an apartment complex on Whaley Street.
A Columbia officer did not observe any signs of forced entry, the report said.
Two officers went in and did not notice “anything out of place nor did they find anyone inside the apartment.” They shut the door on their way out.
The report said an officer obtained Murdaugh’s lease to confirm he was the sole tenant of the apartment. The officers were unable to establish the last time Murdaugh was seen at his apartment. A neighbor said she “always saw Murdaugh with another unknown male,” the report said.
In the week after the double homicide, the S.C. Law Enforcement Division searched the Columbia apartment.
The agency took at least one computer and likely took fingerprints and DNA samples as evidence, according to one person familiar with the search.
This story was originally published October 5, 2021 at 10:24 AM with the headline "Where’s Buster? How do you pronounce Murdaugh? Your questions on the Murdaugh saga answered."
