Alex Murdaugh stole from former SC law firm and his brother, new indictments charge

Disbarred South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh has been indicted on charges that he stole money from his former Hampton law firm and one of his brothers, according to new state grand jury indictments.

The indictments were handed down earlier this week but have not yet been made public.

Murdaugh was forced to resign last fall from his former family law firm, Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth and Detrick, after the firm discovered he had “misappropriated funds.” He entered drug treatment shortly after to care for a substance abuse problem, his lawyers said at the time.

“This is disappointing news for all of us,” the firm said at the time. “Rest assured that our firm will deal with this in a straightforward manner. There’s no place in our firm for such behavior.”

Separately, Murdaugh was indicted five weeks ago on July 14 for the June 2021 murders of his wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, at their Colleton County hunting lodge estate of Moselle.

Indictments in the case accuse Murdaugh of killing Maggie with a rifle and Paul with a shotgun. The indictments gave no motive. The lack of detailed information underscores the puzzling unknowns that have been part of the case since the killings.

Murdaugh’s trial on murder charges is expected to be one of the most widely-watched trials in the state and nation in recent years.

Murdaugh also is charged in more than a dozen indictments with an array of financial theft crimes that allege he stole some $8.4 million from friends, associates, fellow lawyers and clients and laundered the stolen money through various bank accounts. He also is alleged to have used his stolen cash to set up a drug pipeline to buy drugs through intermediaries.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.