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Murdaugh Murders, Part 7
58 Plays1 month ago
Happy New Year! We took last week off for Christmas, but we are back with one more episode in 2025!
We continue talking through the events after the night of the murders of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh up to the trial of Alex Murdaugh.
Check out our YouTube Channel! Fixate Today: Grey Matters
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Transcript
Introduction and Context
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to Fixate Today, Gone Tomorrow. I'm Nikki and I'm here with my Aunt Joy. We are two neurodivergent ladies who obsess about various topics. Joy is autistic and I have ADHD and we are letting our hyperfixations fly.
00:00:14
Speaker
Today we are fixating on the Murdaugh murders.
00:00:30
Speaker
Welcome back. We are continuing walking through timelines of the Murdoch murders. And today we're going to talk about the big things that happened kind of between the murders and the arrest. And a lot happened.
00:00:46
Speaker
A lot happened. Yeah. A lot happened quickly, too.
Timeline and Sources
00:00:50
Speaker
right. Before we before we go too far, let's do sources. The Murda Murders, a Southern Scandal on Netflix. The Murda Murders podcast. WJCL News, ABC News, People Magazine, Inside Edition, AP News, Wikipedia and the books Swamp Kings and The Devil at His Elbow. Side note, both really good books. Yeah. And I think we have a, for those of you who do not know, we have another little YouTube channel where we do a lot of, we have book club. And I think next one's going to be Devil Out His Elbow. Yeah.
00:01:24
Speaker
Yeah, it's very interesting. Can't wait.
Crime Scene Concerns
00:01:27
Speaker
So we are going to talk about, like I said, the things that happened in between the time of the murders and the arrest. And we're just saying like a lot of things happened quickly. So where we left off, right, was about midnight on the night of the murders. Right.
00:01:46
Speaker
I believe it was 1147 and SLED was beginning to process the scene. um I do remember it started raining. I forgot that it started raining. Oh, I didn't realize. Yeah. And so, um yeah, I think that's one of the reasons. So they interviewed Alex and in the car and it was because of that. Okay. That makes sense. We also didn't really talk about last time that like all kinds of people started arriving, like tons of people. Yeah.
00:02:11
Speaker
And there was a lot of question about, you know, the crime scene and not being um secure, secure. That's a word. And, and the house, like, I think Blanca, like they kind of had her clean up the house a little bit, you know, as people were arriving. So the house looked clean. And then that again, contaminating crime scene. Yeah. Yeah.
00:02:34
Speaker
You know what? Like, I clean when I'm anxious. And I would totally do that. I'd be like, oh, I'm contaminating a crime scene. I have to stop cleaning. no I mean, yeah I'm going to say, yeah, again, like some of the things that everyone's like, this is really weird. I'm like, no, I think if ah people started arriving to my house, especially if I had somebody on that I could say like, could you go I mean, it's one of those weird things that for some reason I could see. No, I clean know i actually like when family started arriving after my dad died, I was like, our house is disgusting. I'm so embarrassed. Yeah.
00:03:07
Speaker
It's weird. Like I wasn't expecting guests. and so um
Police Interviews and Suspicions
00:03:15
Speaker
Okay. So I, I don't think this was on our timeline or whatever, but one thing, and I might be getting ahead of myself here, but one thing that the investigators did show, it came up a lot was that Maggie's pajamas were laid out on the ground. Do you ever hear this? I heard something, but, but tell me more. The movie kind of, the Netflix movie really showed it, but and okay. So on the floor, i I believe it's on the floor in the laundry room, her, so like her pajamas, like top and bottom are like laid on the floor, like almost like in the shape of her body kind of thing with her like underwear on top of them.
00:03:57
Speaker
would put there i mean i don't know i mean don't think i just can't i don't know if it was somebody trying to like make some kind of cover and make it look like but who in the world it's just the most like okay i could even That's what I was just going to say. Like, will lay, like, if I'm going to take a shower, I'll, like, lay out my clothing that I'm going to put on after my shower. But, like, on the floor. The floor of the living With the weird, like, at least, again, the way it was explained in the way that the Netflix, think it was a Netflix or maybe the Hulu.
00:04:30
Speaker
showed it and must have been the hulu um docuseries um like they had like the underwear like laying out on top it was just really weird i'm like there's no way anyone actually does that that is just a weird thing i no and by lay out my clothes i mean i will like pull them out the drawer and toss them on the bed it was a strange minor point but that's so that is very strange It just seemed like somebody was trying to make it look like something, but it was like, yeah, but there's no, like okay. They were the way off. Like who would do that? yeah
00:05:01
Speaker
I mean, it could be a, someone withdrawing who just killed his family. Could be. And thought they like, this seems like a great idea. Don't know why.
00:05:14
Speaker
and Okay. So yeah, a lot of people are over at the house. Yeah. I don't think that they, there's no warrant on the house. They don't, I don't know. Police really, they may, i think they casually go through it, but nothing. Yeah. But they didn't lock it down or anything. It wasn't considered a crime scene.
00:05:30
Speaker
Like the kennel area was. June 8th, 2021, at 7 a.m., m the coroner confirms that Maggie and Paul were both killed by a gunshot wound.
00:05:42
Speaker
11.30 a.m., Alex's family law firm released a statement confirming the victims. Sometime in the early afternoon, the prosecutor dismissed the charges against Paul regarding the boat crash that killed Mallory Beach.
00:05:57
Speaker
So is this normal, you think? and Yeah, this is actually normal. i I think it's silly to have to do the formality, but I also understand having to do the formality of it. it's it's Yeah, I do think that is normal. um I think it probably has to do somehow with this the sample side of it as well.
00:06:18
Speaker
Because yes if we remember there was the the civil lawsuits were going on at this time. I think there's something like that enables the family to refile to an estate instead of a person. I think that's all connected somehow. I'm sorry if I'm completely wrong, but I do know it's, it's normal if the the person being charged dies somehow, that's not related to the case.
00:06:45
Speaker
at least they they thought at the time for those charges to be dismissed. And I think it's something to do with opening the door for the family to, to change the civil end of it. And I do think that I do think that the civil cases were somehow like dropped for a little bit, but maybe it was just that whole thing of refiling. I don't, I think that's what it is that they had to then go after Murdaugh estate instead of Paul.
00:07:13
Speaker
And then there would, of course, be no criminal trial. right I think it also has to do something with the, you know, the person has to be able to face their accuser in court, like those types of things. Like if there's not a defendant, we got to withdraw the charges. wellll We'll say that um we didn't really talk about this, but when Alec was doing his – actually, can we backtrack a little bit? Can we talk about the interview? Yeah, please do because I completely didn't talk too much about it, so I would love to hear.
00:07:41
Speaker
okay So there's pretty – there's a lot of – because they did the police with the sled agents, and did the interview in the police car – Because of the rain.
00:07:55
Speaker
There's some pretty good footage of the interview with, I think, the head agent sitting in the driver's seat. Alec was in the passenger seat. And then there was two other agents, officers, i don't know, in the backseat. And this was just like in that immediate aftermath. as So, you know, presumably sometime after midnight probably did now did you see do you did you did you see that any of that yeah i did see it i don't remember much of it and i should have probably watched it again but i have i remember it
00:08:26
Speaker
I mean, I just kind of jotted down a couple things that I specifically remember that kind of stood out. One of it was that during this interview, Alec refers to Paul as being the little detective. And also says like something about why did you get involved. okay And that, to me, I mean, if you've listened to the last episode, I mean, i I have a theory that part of what happened was that Paul had found...
00:08:53
Speaker
or had been actively looking for Alec's medications, drugs, and that that had played a ah major role. And so, and both of those things would, would play, would make sense if you know that those comments.
00:09:06
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Now, Alec was very quick to immediately point fingers at saying that this had something to do with the boat wreck. That it was... Someone was retaliating.
00:09:18
Speaker
Right. I mean, he quickly said that. Real quick. And repeatedly. Over and over. And that tells me, I think somebody in those bajillion calls he was making, that was someone's suggestion.
00:09:31
Speaker
good point. There was also a lot of question about a comment he made where Alex said, at some point, either they did him so bad, in reference to Paul,
00:09:43
Speaker
or I did him so bad. Yes, I remember this. um And yeah, during the trial, that came up. I actually recently rewatched that part of and they're like, slow down the recording, listening to it over and over again speed Whether he said they or and all I got out of it was you couldn't tell. I've done the same. Like, I've listened to it, but like... I have. Yeah, I know. No. I don't even know which one I lean toward. I change what I think every time I hear it. Is that whole, is it the dress blue or is the dress gold? Yes. Yes.
00:10:18
Speaker
Oh, yeah. The other, I mean, thing that stood out was that, to me, that Alec went out of as, like, was, like, over-the-top cooperative. Yeah. For anyone who listened to the, like, Ruby, Frankie, Jodie Hildebrandt, if you remember when Jodie Hildebrandt was being interviewed, it was almost like she was, like, over-the-top, like, yeah.
00:10:42
Speaker
Oh, yeah. She's like, I'm here to help you. Like, whatever you need from me, I'm i'm on your side. so Yeah, ah definitely a lot of that going on. i mean, as you can imagine, that's such Alex's personality. Well, and the other thing, like, with Mallory's family was very frustrated with authorities. So if he's also blaming something related to the boat crash and is being, like, super helpful, friendly guy, and Mallory's family was very openly frustrated publicly...
Public Reactions and Statements
00:11:11
Speaker
Right. The investigation that sets him up. i'm I'm here to help you solve this. Yeah. Yeah. So I, interestingly, I think the lead the lead sled agent, his name was David Owen.
00:11:25
Speaker
And like in dealing with Alex in the aftermath, immediate aftermath and during the interviews was very much like kind of put on a front of being like there for Alex, like his friend, his buddy. And I do know that that was something that,
00:11:40
Speaker
Later when the trial was happening that um it was apparent by even Alex's facial expressions and stuff that he was angry, that he that that really bothered him, that that he put on that front, I thought you were my friend. He was faking it. Yeah. Yeah.
00:11:58
Speaker
you You turned on me when you found out I murdered my... Yeah. I think those were the things that really stood out to me during that. ah It was very chaotic, of course. yes And he was very agitated. yes and weird. And he said, but a lot. Yes. Yes.
00:12:16
Speaker
But so like he's blaming the Beach family. But by 4 p.m. the following day, Mallory's family released a statement offering sympathy, peace and justice. Which I mean, just classy for them.
00:12:27
Speaker
I mean, which obviously I mean, um as much frustration and grief as they had They certainly... They certainly didn't want this. No, no. That same day, some point during the day, I've never seen anything that says definitively when, but Maggie's cell phone was found on the side of a nearby road at some point that day. and And it was strange that...
00:12:50
Speaker
Because they hadn't found it. It was John Marvin, Alex's brother, who suggested they use the Find My Friend app. And that's how they found it. I don't know. I don't like it. I don't know. if People thought that was questionable.
00:13:06
Speaker
I mean, I thought it was logical. I don't know. I don't know if a police officer would have Yeah, I would have suggested the same thing. thanks That's how they found i think it would yeah and it was in a field. I mean, I think it was like exactly like you could totally see where it could have been chucked. choed out but yeah Yeah. June 9th, 2021, a one sentence report is released from the sheriff's office and the 911 call release is denied. People are asking for the 911 calls already. And then people are very suspicious of the sheriff's office only releasing this one sentence of, I think it was something like the investigation's ongoing or something like that.
00:13:45
Speaker
But it was such a big case already at the time that people were like, well, you're already starting to hide things. Which... In cases like this they are. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, no doubt. Exactly. Right? But I know the public always wants more. I don't, the releasing of the 911 calls, I'm not sure how long it generally takes it for that, the 911 calls to release.
00:14:05
Speaker
Once an investigation is done, i would guess, but I don't know. I don't know. I mean, that was really early, too. Because you don't. i don't I don't know. I'm thinking of because the J.P. Miller case, like a lot of 911 calls were released and there are still things happening investigation wise. And I feel like that also tampers a jury pool.
00:14:24
Speaker
True. But. I have no idea. Especially in this small town. Right. There was also, and I don't know if this is the point where they made this statement, but but the police saying that there was no immediate danger to, and that again, a lot of controversy about that.
00:14:41
Speaker
It seems like there always is. Like, how do you? It's a tough thing to navigate. i think the authorities are eager to put people at ease. um But yeah, after the fact you like how can you i mean we live in an age, we live in an age that gun violence, a lot of times means bigger things are happening like, I'm just thinking about there's there's a shooting at Brown University. And they were in lockdown. They were in a shelter in place for about 12 hours. So I'm just kind of thinking of it like that. Like we live in a time where there's a lot of mass shootings and that authorities have to say if it's it safe or not, right I guess.
00:15:23
Speaker
But so much could be read into either way. Yeah. Yeah. By how much like if it was a targeted or domestic violence or. Yeah. Or if they have a suspect already that isn't on the loose or, you know, so it's that is something I don't envy anybody have to to navigate like what to say in terms of that.
00:15:46
Speaker
The line of like you have to keep things close to the chest when you're investigating, but you also have to like tell everybody if they're safe. Which I don't think they made the wrong call in this. um i I do know that. the no police took a lot of pushback or they took a lot on making and the decision. i But I think that could have gone either way. I mean, I don't. Yeah, I don't know if there's a right or wrong.
00:16:06
Speaker
On June 10th in the morning, autopsies were performed on Paul and Maggie and the hearing on the boat crash was postponed.
Murder Theories and Investigations
00:16:15
Speaker
I think this was a civil hearing. A lot of theories around that too, that yeah once Alec was implicated, the motive that was cited was that he did it in order to get out of these hearings or to get sympathy.
00:16:33
Speaker
um i don't think that's it. I do think he was panicked about them, the everything happening and contributed, but I don't think the motivation was to get sympathy right right i think the the how close the hearing one was just like another like domino that fell in i agree world but at 3 p.m that day the attorney general office confirmed that the boat crash was still being investigated so it wasn't they weren't dismissing the investigation they weren't ending that just simply because they had withdrawn the charges or dropped the charges it was still going forward with an investigation
00:17:10
Speaker
At 5 p.m., investigators announced that it's that they were looking at the possibility that Paul was targeted and Maggie was killed by circumstance. So what this tells me is that they were still they were looking at the at the angle of it being related to the boat crash.
00:17:26
Speaker
But based on your theory, that's actually what happened. Just i yeah I mean, that's what I was just going to say. I'm like, well, yeah I mean, I know that on the surface would look like that's what, you know, what they meant with Paul being targeted. But i mean, personally, I think I'm right.
00:17:44
Speaker
Yeah, I actually think you are 100%
00:17:47
Speaker
At 6 p.m., Alex's father, Randolph Murdoch III, died. And this is just. It's like crazy. Like, I even put in the notes, parentheses, unrelated to murders because it's so wild, the timing. The family. I mean, just even the siblings. Like, what? They must have been it going through. Just his mother.
00:18:09
Speaker
Alex's mother. in her yeah I don't know. there It was some crazy timing. Yeah. Yeah. June 11th, the funeral for Maggie and Paul is held. And June 13th, the funeral for Randolph is held.
00:18:23
Speaker
June 14th, autopsy results are released. And I don't think they surprised anybody. i think they confirmed the coroner and it was just just pretty straightforward. Yeah.
00:18:34
Speaker
June 15th, Mark Tinsley, the Beach family attorney, released a statement that they supported the attorney general's decision to continue investigating the boat crash.
00:18:45
Speaker
June 18th, SLED confirmed that they carried out a search warrant at Paul's apartment but wouldn't say what was discovered. I don't think I ever really heard much more about that. I think that they were looking at the angle of it being related to the boat crash. Boat crash. That's where they were. Yeah. I really think at this time, that's the focus.
00:19:07
Speaker
June 23rd, SLED officially opened a hit and run investigation related to the death of Stephen Smith based on findings while investigating Paul and Maggie's murders.
00:19:20
Speaker
I've never understood that. No, I want to know what they have found. But I know that they're still investigating. It's still open. Sure. We won't know for until, you know, there's some sort of resolution. But I'm so curious about that. Because that was quickly after.
00:19:37
Speaker
Yeah. So it must have i mean, there must have been a a clear piece of evidence or of some sort. Yeah. And my kind of immediate thought was the optics of it for the police is like, oh, there's this other thing related to this family. it's going to be in our best interest to open the investigation publicly.
00:19:56
Speaker
i hope it wasn't just that. I hope like there was something that they found. I agree with you. I think that's what I kind of thought at first. But but in retrospect, as quickly as they reopened it, that does make me think there was something more specific. Yeah, me too.
Financial Misconduct and Resignation
00:20:10
Speaker
September 2021, Alex gave powers of attorney to Buster so he could sell and dispose of Alex's assets. Maybe there's a little assumption there on my part in the notes. Yeah.
00:20:24
Speaker
Yeah, well, um but I mean, we know. We later know from the um the phone recordings from while he was in jail that he was talking about that. Yeah, like, did did did you sell the tractor? Yeah. Buster attempted to sell the Moselle property under a new name, Cross Swamp Farm. I think he could have picked a better name. Yeah. He's like, this seems to be a cross from a swamp.
00:20:49
Speaker
Let's drop the A. It's Cross Swamp. Yeah. ah There was a $3.9 million dollars asking price, and the Beach House was also listed as for sale for almost a million. We know, though, the property Moselle did not sell at that time. No, it did not.
00:21:06
Speaker
Because who would want it? Yeah. September 3rd, Alex Law Firm accuses him of misappropriating millions in company funds. And he officially resigns from his family's law firm. So if we remember back, they had um approached him with evidence of this right, that I mean, the day of the murders. But then they kind of, I guess, put it aside for a while. that And that, again, was yeah spoken of as a motive for why he would have died.
00:21:38
Speaker
committed these murders to get sympathy again that that seems very drastic
Shooting Incident and Insurance
00:21:44
Speaker
to me but right so the following day september 4th 2021 around 1 30 p.m alex called 9-1-1 saying that he was shot in the head while on the side of the road where he had pulled over to change a tire this is where things this is the point that went off the rails yeah Well, and I was going to say, this is the point that I would i got deeply invested. yeah When it was like, what?
00:22:11
Speaker
This is one too mad. Because I do think there was somewhat of sympathy up until this point. Yeah. it And it was when the tides started, I think everyone was like not willing to go out on the limb and be like, I think he was involved.
00:22:25
Speaker
Like he's a grieving husband and father. Then the law firm thing happened. The accusation of the the company funds. and then it was like, okay, a picture starting to come in. And then this happened the next day. And I think the entire world collectively was like, come on This is ridiculous.
00:22:43
Speaker
He claimed that someone driving a truck drove by him, turned around and shot him. The wound is superficial. And my favorite detail is that I forgot to put it in the notes, I think, unless it's later, but my favorite detail is that his car was so fancy, the tire couldn't go flat.
00:23:03
Speaker
i Like something like that. It was like, it was such an expensive, fancy car. Like there's no way to get a flat tire or it would like, something would happen. There was like an emergency fix until you could get to the mechanic. Like there was something. And again, like, it cause ah they found the, like a knife, it like it off in the woods. Like Alex really into this, like just tossing it off into the woods. Like.
00:23:27
Speaker
Yeah. Great with the. And it's like, it looks like he's an idiot, hu but it's he's entitled. yes He thinks this is going to work. yeah No, agree. So there were so many things about this that are weird.
00:23:39
Speaker
So number one, it's a superficial wound, but I think he was like airlifted to the hospital. I mean, at what like, I don't know. i don't, I mean, shot in the head's bad, but also, like, how did this happen?
00:23:54
Speaker
Like, did, how did he get, how, I don't even know, like, did he do it? How, I, I don't even know what to say. Like, how do you do this where you get it superficial wound? Do you do that intentionally? does that Do you screw up?
00:24:11
Speaker
Yeah. I've never i understood this. Like, he wasn't trying to end his life. Like, I think, oh like, that's certainly off the table. Like, I think maybe he's back on, he's found some of his opioids and was like, I can do this. Like, well, no, I have a different, ah! Ooh! Yay!
00:24:29
Speaker
I've never told you this. No, I'm excited. i think he ran out of drugs at this time. i think he was severely withdrawing. Okay. And like at this point now, there was so much scrutiny on him. There was no way for him to go about getting any.
00:24:45
Speaker
And again, this is where I believe i ah he made the comment. that when you're withdrawing, you'll do just about anything. And this will probably sound way over the top, but I think he could have done it just to get drugs. I was just going to say that. And could he be withdrawing so much that he looked way worse than he was? So they airlifted
Drug Addiction and Legal Maneuvers
00:25:05
Speaker
him. Right. Like he managed to convince them to airlift him that he needed to get their, murder like something like that. Yeah. That's, i've I mean, that's been my theory. Like that had, because also they do talk about,
00:25:17
Speaker
cousin eddie who was his drug dealer like coming over and he asked eddie to shoot him so that buster could get the life insurance could it be that cousin eddie was coming over because he needed some drugs and cousin eddie said not not happening i don't know i just think i think this is right about the time if he had a bag full you know ah this is about the time he would have been running out yeah his staff And nobody's going to work with him because the law firm just came out.
00:25:49
Speaker
Yeah, nothing's happening. He's trapped, stuck. And I think when he gets in this position, then he gets completely out of his mind. But I don't know. yeah I mean, that that one's a little far-fetched that he would do it just for drugs. But to I mean, I'm... I mean, it could be... Could have been another motivator to do it. Yeah. Maybe not necessarily the sole reason, but like, hey, if this works, I'll get a little morphine drip.
00:26:15
Speaker
So I wonder... Never never ah heard a follow up on whether he would when he was discharged. Yeah. Right. Discharged with some opioids. Yeah. I wouldn't doubt it. I'm sure he will. I'm sure he found a way to be. Yeah. um But yeah, that's when I think the world really like this is crazy. Yeah.
00:26:34
Speaker
And this is when everything started falling apart. And I believe even there was even like bystanders who drove by that were like, This looked totally set up. yeah They didn't even pull over, which yeah I'm kind of interested. i wish I kind of could visualize the scene and how ridiculous this looked or how something could look so so staged, so fake. that Yeah, when it's so staged and it had to do with being shot at it. Right? Oh, my goodness. Well, a few days later, September 15th, Alex claimed that he staged his own shooting so Buster would get the $10 million dollar life insurance policy. the policy he He said that the policy wouldn't pay out if the death was by suicide. Which is not true. It is not true.
00:27:20
Speaker
I do want to make a point about the insurance money if it's suicide. First of all, I mean, everyone has that. it it That is not true as long as the ah insurance policy was drawn up more than two years prior. So I think that's a misconception a lot of people had. And also, out of any person who would have known that, it would have been Oh, yeah. Yeah.
00:27:47
Speaker
Yeah, 100%. He would have done that. but Alex's attorney also claimed that Alex had developed an opioid addiction following following the murders. And the misappropriated funds went to his drug habit. So they're trying to spin it that all of the issues, the financial accusations, all happened after the murders where he started. He's so bereaved and grieved. He started using opioids. Yeah.
00:28:13
Speaker
That's how I read that. Well, I mean, I know that at the time i I know. And again, this is where I thought the same thing. Like, oh, my God. Like, seriously, now this is his excuse to get out of all this.
00:28:25
Speaker
But again, in retrospect, I think this is when he was at his wits end. Like he needed now he's really not getting drugs. He needed those drugs. And at this point, he finally had to admit it. i mean, because quite honestly, it's fairly soon ah after that that he gets brought to. rehab and at least at rehab they're working through so you're not going through this what the withdrawals i think he i think he had no choice uh right for multiple reasons but i think a lot had to do with his physical need for them and not being able to yeah
00:29:00
Speaker
yeah but i think i just it's it's like how people can spin things like it it oh sure he very it was like after the murk so in the three months yeah since the murders he's got this debilitating drug addiction and he's stolen millions from his law firm yeah i mean i do think that that also with dreams that drugs i think there's like at both of these things right really there was a deep deep sense of shame but you're right I mean he's surrounded by tons of attorneys who know exactly how to spin things yeah now I don't doubt that an opioid addiction would start that quickly for sure like I actually think it's you know you've heard people I've heard people say like they've done an opioid one time and are addicted however you can't steal that much money in three months no and I mean obviously the law firm knew that wasn't the case yeah yeah The same day, SLED announced that they had reopened an investigation into the death of Gloria Satterfield. Now, this can make more sense because once they really had – because there was also financial ties with the insurance money and the fraud with Gloria Satterfield.
00:30:10
Speaker
And so when all the financial fraud was brought forth, I could see how that would – That opens the door for that. Right. Right. September 16th, Alex turned himself in on the insurance fraud charge of faking his own death.
Lawsuits and Financial Fraud
00:30:26
Speaker
September 20th, Connor Cook, who was one of the young men in the involved in the boat crash, filed a lawsuit against Alec, alleging that the family was trying to place the blame for the boat crash on him.
00:30:40
Speaker
Which they were. now Again, like, intri yeah, they were. Definitely. Yeah. but interesting Interesting timing So is this i mean is this a Even them realizing Okay this dude's This is getting crazy Because you you think in some ways that At this point Okay this is You know Do we hit him while i hit him with one more thing while he's down But I think this is again Just kind of like you and i talked about Like this is where they realized Whoa there's definitely something else going on So there was no sympathy for him at this point Yeah well I also think The, you know, it's the small town thing. They were afraid of him, too. Right, right. That's good point. And finally, he it's like, we don't have to be afraid of him anymore because look at him.
00:31:27
Speaker
Good point. And also that his, um I think everyone knows that his assets would all be Yes, that too. We got to do this now because yeah yes we're about to not get anything. yeah October 6th, Gloria Satterfield's sons, Tony and Brian filed a lawsuit against Alex, alleging that he diverted $3.5 million dollars to a fraudulent account. Which we later found out is true.
00:31:51
Speaker
He did. So now the floodgates are opening. And like you said, now people aren't scared. Well, yeah information's coming forward. Combination, right? They're learning things and people are no longer scared it. And as they learn things, they're seeing the domino effect of how this one thing affected this thing and this thing and this thing. And let's go after him now.
00:32:09
Speaker
October 9th, Alex is charged with two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses. I also think that authorities know...
Building a Murder Case and Asset Freezing
00:32:18
Speaker
that he is going to be arrested eventually for the murders, but are keeping, are, are they're going to charge him with anything they can to keep him from fleeing? Cause I think that he, you know, the more that he starts, it's going to be more and more difficult yeah for him to be able to flee without anyone knowing, but we're just going to throw everything we can at him and keep him in place until, and that gives them time to investigate. i agree. Yeah.
00:32:43
Speaker
And there's plenty, he's done plenty. so There's plenty of options to throw at him. Yeah. October 13th, Alex's attorney confirms that he is a person of interest in the murders of Paul and Maggie.
00:32:56
Speaker
October 14th, a man named Curtis Smith was arrested for multiple charges, including assisted suicide and attempted insurance fraud. So this is the guy that they refer to as Cousin Eddie, I believe. Yes. Who is...
00:33:12
Speaker
i don't I think he was distantly related. think so too. It's so hard to tell. Was basically Alex's drug dealer.
00:33:23
Speaker
And over time in the trial, we saw he had been like writing checks to this Curtis Smith, like over years and years and years.
00:33:34
Speaker
And they were always like around $10,000, always odd amounts. Wasn't it under the threshold of like needing to be taxed as a gift or something? It's under the threshold of, yeah, like being flagged to be invested looked into.
00:33:51
Speaker
ah So, I mean, it might be taxed too, but... I mean, i think that obviously either had to do with what he was paying for his drugs, which, I mean, everyone seemed like that was crazy and a lot, but I don't know. Maybe. i don't I'm not sure the street value. And i don't know I don't think Alec had a whole lot of options of like where he yeah who he would turn to. I don't think he had the social network probably to have another option. So shoot, pleasant ed. You could charge him whatever you want. Yeah. Or i do – or – there was some money laundering going on through, yep which I think is also very feasible. And then the question becomes, if that happening, is that money still? Yeah.
00:34:30
Speaker
um Well, Curtis denied involvement from day one. i don't know And I do think there was a he had a statement who said, and he said, if I wanted to shoot him in the head, i wouldn't have missed. Yeah, he said something like that.
00:34:44
Speaker
Which I believe. November 1st, a judge orders that Alex's assets be frozen. And Alex and Buster immediately tried to overturn this, saying that they didn't even have funds for food.
00:34:59
Speaker
So the assets would end up being placed in a receivership. I'd never heard that word. Because evidence that funds were being moved and hidden from creditors and potential plaintiffs were starting to be noticed. I believe receivership is maybe like a conservatorship, but think for assets. yeah that make Yeah. Instead of people. Yeah. Yeah, so that it can't it can't be... It kind of puts it puts everything... It freezes everything. Yeah, yeah. And then maybe Buster was being given like an allowance from the court to ah eat. He's hungry. I shouldn't feel so sorry for Buster, but I really do.
00:35:38
Speaker
I know, he was a like the kid had a privileged life and but um yeah so yeah sounds like he wasn't the very nice person but the fun no funds for even food i'm not quite feeling sorry for this family i i'm thinking i think he's okay december 9th alex's brother john is appointed personal representative of maggie's estate after her sister stepped down This seems very strange to me. Yeah. But at this point, Meg's family was still very supportive of Alex. I mean, they they did not believe he did it for a long time. They could have pretty easily been manipulated by yeah the family to to step down, to have them step down. if If they're still very supportive and having sympathy and things like that, I can see how easy it would be for them to convince the sister to step down and let them handle it. I agree. i agree.
00:36:37
Speaker
John Marvin definitely gets a... pulled into this more seems like because you you know ah alex had got the two brothers um randy's the one who was the attorney at the same law firm he does not seem to have the sympathy for alex that john marvin seems to to cover for him or a little bit more yeah now and maggie's a estate um part of their they had been planning ahead right knowing that this civil suit so Assets had been moved around and put in Maggie's name, I think specifically yeah at a Stowe Beach house. Now, I don't know that that would have protected it from – mean, I would think it's still part of their like marital estate, but –
00:37:21
Speaker
who knows yeah i don't know either but let's talk about a couple things happened december 31st but since we're talking about this let's talk about maggie's will and then we'll go back to the other thing on december 31st nbc news released maggie's will in it she leaves her land to alex the will had her sister mary enlisted as executor but it is crossed out And Randolph, the father-in-law who just passed away, is handwritten above it.
Estate and Family Manipulations
00:37:50
Speaker
So Marion's name is crossed out. Alex's father is handwritten in above as listed as a executor of the will. Executor.
00:38:01
Speaker
I knew I was going to say it wrong. That's why I was stumbling over it, over my words there, because I was like, how do I say it? How do I say it?
00:38:10
Speaker
Executioner of the will. Executor. Don't think it's, i mean, leaving the land to Alex. And as her, I think her, again, I think a lot of it was signed over. So that might even been the Moselle land. I don't know. But I mean, that's not that. I mean, yeah, that's pretty normal standard. Yeah, that's pretty standard.
00:38:27
Speaker
Yeah. So as we said before, Alex's brother had stepped in and taken over with Marion writing in an affidavit that she did not receive any money to step down. I think that is important that they took that preemptive step.
00:38:41
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. And John says that the handwriting on the will is, in fact, Maggie's. Which, I mean, I i believe all that. I mean. i do believe all that. They had a lot at the time they were doing all this. I mean, there was no reason to distrust family. I can also see if the will had Marian crossed out and handwritten that somebody else was taking over. yeah I can also see how that's something that can be used to manipulate also Marion to, to, to stay stepped down and to let them handle it. It's like, well, she she had already crossed it out and it could get sticky legally if you do anything, you know? Yeah. I mean, I, see yeah. And they obviously, yeah especially with the legal things, they can, they can pull the, uh,
00:39:28
Speaker
The card that oh yeah we understand. this but But I also see how, I mean, prior to any of this happening and all these questions, I mean, Marianne, it's a big thing to be an executive to a will. And I mean, I can know i can see how she would have been, you know, I don't want the responsibility, you know, so. Yeah.
00:39:45
Speaker
And it's so there's so many assets and moving yeah parts to that estate. My goodness. I can absolutely agree. And I think a lot of the questionable financial activities had been going. they They didn't start with Alec. I think, you know, and Randolph, right I mean, I think would have been not everything, not not to the extent that that was going on. But I do think that there would have been motivation for him to kind of have that authority so that could kind of keep some things under wraps. Yes, absolutely.
00:40:21
Speaker
Well, the other thing that happened on December 30th was Judge Allison Renee Lee said that Alex must pay the full $7 million dollars bond to be released on house arrest. If he did pay that, he would be required to enter counseling, have electronic monitoring, and random drug tests.
00:40:41
Speaker
But he didn't have that money, right? He wasn't able to come up with it. Yeah, he didn't have that money. Although somewhere in here, he don did go to, you know, we missed it on the timeline, but he did go to rehab. Yes. For like a while.
00:40:54
Speaker
He did, yeah. And I do believe as his brothers were driving there and he was withdrawing. They did say it was a pretty – like it was hard to watch him going through that. Yeah. Because the other thing like to keep in mind also is he's not a young guy.
00:41:11
Speaker
So just the normal normal aging is happening also and right i just the effect on your body. I don't think he's exactly like a healthy lifestyle either. Yeah. I mean they talked about him I think even like losing – bowel control and wow yeah too all right well so we're pretty quiet now until 2022 um there's a pretty big leap from december 2021 to may 2022 um where sled announced that they were continuing the satterfield investigation and that seemed like a pretty big focus at this point june 4th 2022 sled announced that gloria satterfield's body would be exhumed yeah so this is yeah that's
00:41:54
Speaker
it was a big jump yeah and i do i do remember being like we haven't heard anything about this in a little while all right so i think we should stop um we're gonna get into 2022 so it feels like a good stopping point the next episode we'll keep going through the the events up to the trial yeah i mean things died down like just as far as the news and speculation and There was like a kind of a quiet period during this time.
00:42:22
Speaker
Yeah. There's a couple of quiet months that, you know, when the investigation is happening, there's not much being released. So let's stop there. And next week we will start talking about 2022. Sounds good. All right. Well, thank you so much for joining us and we'll see you guys next week.
00:42:37
Speaker
Bye. Bye.