FBI: Murdaugh lied about where stolen money went
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh didn’t tell the truth when FBI agents repeatedly asked him where more than $6 million he stole ended up and whether another attorney not yet identified helped him steal from clients and his law firm, federal prosecutors said in court documents Tuesday.
The prosecutors want a judge to revoke their end of a plea deal with Murdaugh on theft and other charges and order him to the maximum of well over 100 years in prison when he is sentenced in Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday.
Murdaugh, 55, is already serving life without parole in state prison after a jury found him guilty of murder in the shootings of his wife and younger son. He pleaded guilty to stealing money from clients and his law firm in state court and was sentenced to 27 years, which South Carolina prosecutors said is an insurance policy to keep him behind bars in case his murder conviction was ever overturned.
The federal case was supposed to be even more insurance, with whatever sentence Murdaugh received running at the same time as his state sentences. But that deal is in doubt after the FBI said the disbarred attorney failed a polygraph.
The test came in October, after three previous FBI interviews of Murdaugh led investigators to think he wasn’t telling the full truth about where at least $6 million he stole ended up and the role of an attorney who has not been publicly identified in his crimes, federal prosecutors said.
In court papers, prosecutors asked to keep the report on the polygraph test and summaries of Murdaugh’s four FBI interviews from the public, saying a grand jury is continuing to investigate and the information could be used to tamper with evidence or influence witnesses.
Murdaugh’s attorneys didn’t respond to messages Tuesday. They have not filed a response in court, although a footnote in the prosecution’s filing said they were against keeping the polygraph report secret.
Federal prosecutors said Murdaugh did appear to tell the truth about the roles banker Russell Laffitte and attorney and old college friend Cory Fleming played in helping him steal.