The tangled web of lies and deception surrounding Alex Murdaugh only continues to grow.
The former South Carolina attorney, who belongs to a family that has produced three generations of prosecutors in the area, appears to have been awarded all of wife Maggie Murdaugh's property, according to the final copy of Maggie's will.
Alex Murdaugh reported discovering Maggie and the couple's younger son, Paul, dead with multiple gunshot wounds at the family's home in June, per Today. The murders remain unsolved, though there's public speculation that Alex Murdaugh may have been involved as other legal blunders and criminal activity have come to light in the months since.
Currently, Alex Murdaugh is the subject of six ongoing investigations by South Carolina Law Enforcement. He faces insurance fraud charges, for which he is currently in jail, after hiring a man named Curtis Smith to shoot him in a failed paid assisted suicide plot. Murdaugh is also being investigated for embezzling funds from his former law firm, which he resigned from in September.
Murdaugh's association in the deaths of three others is also under investigation. There's the 2015 death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith, which Buster Murdaugh, Alex and Maggie's older son, was believed to be associated with. Then there's the death of family housekeeper Gloria Satterfield, who fell down the stairs and died in the family home. Lastly, there's the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach, who fell from a boat being driven by Paul in February 2019.
Alex Murdaugh is also suspected of being involved in the deaths of Maggie and Paul. He maintains his innocence. Jim Griffin, an attorney for Murdaugh, believes the details of the will further prove that his client did not have a motive to kill his wife or child.
The last update to Maggie's will was made in 2005, when children Buster and Paul were still minors. Though it's unclear what other property Maggie may have acquired since, Maggie leaves all her property to her husband in the document.
We do know that this includes the family's 1,770-acre property known as "Moselle," which was purchased in Alex Murdaugh's name in 2013 and transferred to Maggie's name in 2016.
"I think her untimely death actually works harm to his financial planning by having the (Moselle) property conveyed back to him through probate," Murdaugh's attorney told The Island Packet.
"It opens it up to creditors' claims and, before, it was protected."
There is an oddity in the will that no one has been able to explain to date. The will lists Maggie's sister, Marian Proctor, as the executor of her estate. However, her name was crossed out and replaced with Randolph Murdaugh III, Maggie's father-in-law. He died after a long illness three days after Maggie and Paul were killed.
"My understanding is that the will that is probated is the original will, so that would have been something [Maggie] did during her lifetime," Jim Griffin said of the change.
"It was not done after her death, I can tell you that … No one did that after her death, so that would have been done during her lifetime by her."
Earlier this month, Marion Proctor filed an affidavit explaining that she was unaware she was listed as the executor. Proctor refused her right to act as executor, which has since been appointed to John Marvin Murdaugh, Alex Murdaugh's brother. This illustrates, according to the attorney, that there's no ill will or suspicion among the two families.
Murdaugh is currently being held on $7 million bail. He cannot post it himself because of the massive amounts he's believe to have stolen from his prior employer, which resulted in the freezing of his assets. He currently faces 48 criminal charges alleging financial crimes against former clients dating back to 2015, but only time will tell if he faces charges for other possible crimes.
