COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) 鈥� More than six months after the wife and son of were gunned down at the family's estate, their killings remain unsolved.
But while little is said about the deaths, the legal drama around Alex Murdaugh continues, from lawsuits demanding tens of millions of dollars to over whether they are violating ethics standards in national TV and podcast interviews.
The lawyer whose father, grandfather and great-grandfather were prosecutors and whose family founded one of the more prestigious law firms in South Carolina called 911 on June 7 after finding the bodies of his wife and son.
That from a deeply upset and agitated Murdaugh and pages of heavily redacted police reports contained few new details about the crime 鈥� and marked the last release of any information by state agents in charge of the investigation.
No suspects have been named and no one ruled out 鈥� at least publicly 鈥� by The agency has repeatedly said the investigation continues and it will release information when it is prudent.
A $100,000 reward offered by Murdaugh's law firm 鈥� 鈥� expired without any apparent takers.
Through his lawyers, Murdaugh has said he regrets that the unsolved killings of his wife, Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, have been overshadowed by his own problems: three different indictments for financial crimes and an attempt to so his surviving son could get a $10 million life insurance benefit.
Murdaugh has been for more than seven weeks 鈥� a judge said it was for the defendant's own safety after his arrest on charges he stole $3.4 million in insurance money meant for the sons of his housekeeper Gloria Satterfield. She died after a fall at one of the family's homes in 2018. Murdaugh's lawyers are appealing the no bond decision to the state Supreme Court.
Murdaugh will be in court again Friday for a virtual bond hearing on the latest charges against him: for what prosecutors said were schemes to steal nearly $5 million in settlement money from a trooper injured on the job and other clients.
Even with so little said about the deaths, Murdaugh has the past six months. First, there was the September shooting in which police said Murdaugh was trying to arrange his own death. Murdaugh told investigators that a family friend agreed to kill him. The friend, who was charged with assisted suicide, insurance fraud and several other counts, said he was trying to wrestle the gun away from a suicidal Murdaugh when it fired.
Lawsuits have also kept the once-prominent attorney in the spotlight. Murdaugh had his assets turned over from his surviving son after attorneys argued he was trying to hide money from them in a wrongful death suit over a boat crash in which Paul Murdaugh was charged with boating under the influence causing death.
This week, Satterfield's sons, who already sued Murdaugh, also sued Bank of America, saying the company should have detected Murdaugh was using their bank accounts from a company called Forge Consulting, which handles legal settlements, to one he created called 鈥淎lexander Murdaugh d/b/a Forge."
Bank of America 鈥渨as at all times just one question away from finding out the truth had they simply asked, 鈥榃hat is the nature of 鈥楩orge鈥檚鈥� business'?鈥� as was their duty to do,鈥� the attorneys for the sons wrote in their lawsuit.
They are asking a jury to award more than $4 million 鈥� the amount of Murdaugh's policies were set to pay Satterfield's estate 鈥� and to levy punitive damages against Bank of America for triple that amount.
The bank will ask the court to dismiss the suit, a spokesman said.
鈥淭he wrongdoer here was Mr. Murdaugh, and the diversion of these funds occurred away from Bank of America," Bill Halldin said in a statement. 鈥淲e had no knowledge of any theft and followed standard procedures in account openings for a sole proprietor business."
Meanwhile, a war of words is also escalating. Murdaugh's attorneys have asked a judge to order one of the lawyers for Satterfield's family, Eric Bland, and requested he be disciplined for statements disparaging them and jeopardizing Murdaugh's right to a fair trial.
Bland called the request an 鈥渋llusionist鈥檚 attempt to distract attention.鈥�
Also in the past week, the boyfriend of 19-year-old Mallory Beach, a woman who was killed in the February 2019 boat crash involving Paul Murdaugh, has sued. Anthony Cook joins lawsuits by Beach's estate and his cousin Connor Cook, who was also on the boat. Connor Cook said Alex Murdaugh and other family members tried to make it look like he was driving the boat.
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Jeffrey Collins, The Associated Press
