Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘All his victims deserve justice’: Prosecutors vow to pursue fraud charges against lawyer convicted of family murders

© Andrew J Whitaker/AP/ShutterstockAlex Murdaugh is led from court in South Carolina after being sentenced on Friday
Alex Murdaugh is led from court in South Carolina after being sentenced on Friday

It was the case that transfixed America for the past six weeks, a sordid tale of scandal, murder and endless lies.

But the trials of Alex Murdaugh are far from over as the disgraced US lawyer is set to be tried over a staggering 99 additional crimes.

Prosecutors from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office said they intended to move forward with the separate charges even after Murdaugh was jailed for life for a double murder without a chance of parole on Friday.

Robert Kittle, the communications director for the attorney general, said: “Those crimes have victims as well, and those victims deserve justice.”

If convicted on all counts, Murdaugh faces an additional 731 years in jail.

Alex Murdaugh breaking down while giving evidence © Grace Beahm Alford/AP/Shutterstock
Alex Murdaugh breaking down while giving evidence

On Thursday a jury took less than three hours to convict the 52-year-old of shooting dead his late wife Maggie, 52, and his son Paul, 22, at the hunting lodge of their £3.2 million country estate.

The multi-millionaire scion of a legal dynasty that has been among the most powerful in the region for 110 years is now disbarred and in disgrace.

During sentencing, Judge Clifton Newman called Murdaugh’s conduct “heinous” and one of the “most troubling” cases he had seen in 22 years on the bench. The judge accused Murdaugh of “duplicitous conduct” and said that he continued to lie in court, asking him: “When will it end?”

In an unfortunate twist for Murdaugh – whose name is pronounced “Murdock” rather than “Murder” – Newman will be presiding over the next stage of his case: the alleged financial misdealing.

Prosecutors in the murder case said this was the motive for Murdaugh executing his own family: to distract from the imminent threat of being exposed for looting £7m from his law firm. Murdaugh’s testimony in the trial will prove crucial for his other alleged crimes as he admitted to many of them, telling the jury he did so under the influence of a 60-a-day OxyContin habit which he claimed cost him £8.3m.

He faces 18 counts of computer crimes for which he faces up to 90 years and 32 breach of trust claims which could add on another 320 years.

Then there are forgery matters, and 11 counts of money-laundering which could add on a combined 240 years, and that’s not including the seven counts of false pretences which carry up to 70 years in jail. Murdaugh’s victims were at the lowest point in their lives and he allegedly stole money from the family of a man killed in a car crash and a father of six who lost his wife in an accident.

Another victim is said to have been a highway patrolman injured in the line of duty. Murdaugh allegedly stole a £83,000 payout given to Lieutenant Thomas Moore to pay for spinal surgery following a car crash. Moore had been helping troopers on a snowy day when they were short on manpower and has only got a third of his money back.

There are also charges of conspiracy, false claim for payment and filing a false police report over the bizarre incident three months after he shot his family dead where he allegedly tried to have himself assassinated.

Prosecutors claim Murdaugh’s cousin Curtis Smith bungled the killing which was meant to get Murdaugh’s surviving son Buster, 26, a £8.3m life insurance payout.

Murdaugh is also facing a slew of civil matters including the £3.5m insurance payout he allegedly stole from the family of his housekeeper of 20 years after she slipped and fell to her death in his home. Instead of giving relatives of Gloria Satterfield the payout, Murdaugh is accused of pocketing it and only promising to hand it over after they sued, a case which has not yet been finalised.

Alex Murdaugh with his wife Maggie © Shutterstock
Alex Murdaugh with his wife Maggie

Murdaugh is also facing three personal injury cases from the passengers on the Murdaugh family boat which Paul crashed in 2019, killing 19-year-old Mallory Beach, who had been on board. It was this case which supposedly led to Murdaugh’s downfall as three days after he killed his wife and son, a trial was due to start which due to the dogged work of a lawyer for Ms Beach’s family was set to expose his finances.

In a stinging rebuke to Murdaugh, Newman said: “I know you have to see Paul and Maggie during the night times when you’re attempting to go to sleep. I’m sure they come and visit you, I’m sure.”

Murdaugh replied: “All day and every night.”

The judge responded: “They will continue to do so and reflect on the last time they looked you in the eyes.”

Murdaugh will soon be transported to Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia, a maximum security prison, where he will have a two-month evaluation to see what prison would best suit him given the gravity of his crimes.

Meantime, he is expected to appeal and will have to continue fighting the dozens of charges against him. Only then will the public learn the full extent of what Murdaugh himself called the “tangled web” he weaved.