From the moment disgraced lawyer Richard “Alex” Murdaugh was convicted of gunning down his wife and youngest son in June 2021, the Murdaugh true crime saga has earned state, national, and global headlines.
Murdaugh’s story unraveled a decade-deep web of drug abuse, fraud, and theft that netted a handful of accomplices and sparked more than a dozen civil suits.
Almost weekly, the South Carolina and federal criminal and civil justice systems advance deeper and deeper into the legal labyrinth that the Murdaugh cases ignited or uncovered, and the headlines continue.
This week is no exception: A once-convicted Hampton banker and alleged Murdaugh fraud accomplice will get another day in state and federal court; a disgruntled Murdaugh murder trial juror will petition the South Carolina Supreme Court for access to her own records, and two new Murdaugh-related true crime authors begin their book tours.
Here’s the latest in the Murdaugh true crime universe.
Former Hampton banker Russell Laffitte, at right foreground, walks into the Hampton County Courthouse for a preliminary hearing in 2022. (File photo)
Accused Murdaugh accomplice, former Hampton banker Russell Laffitte to return to state court
Newly released from federal prison, his conviction and sentence vacated, the case of former Hampton banker Russell Laffitte is now set to return to state court before he gets another federal trial.
A status conference for Laffitte’s state criminal case has been scheduled for 2 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 9, before S.C. Circuit Judge Heath Taylor at the Orangeburg County Courthouse, said Robert Kittle, spokesperson for the S.C. Attorney General’s Office on Thursday.
S.C. Circuit Court Judge Heath Taylor.
The status conference will discuss bond issues and possible state trial dates or set a date, Kittle said. He added that Laffitte is not required to be there and that the A.G.’s Office did not know if he would be present.
Another issue that may be discussed during the state’s status conference is that, with the state freezing Laffitte’s assets as conditions of his bond, he is unable to pay his attorneys or hire additional legal counsel, which, according to federal court documents, he contends violates his Sixth Amendment rights to a fair trial.
Lafitte’s court history
In 2022, Laffitte, the former CEO of Palmetto State Bank in Hampton and a member of a successful Lowcountry banking dynasty was indicted by the S.C. State Grand Jury on 21 criminal charges, including criminal conspiracy and bank fraud, over allegations that Laffitte aided and abetted the now infamous former attorney Murdaugh in plots to steal millions from legal clients and other attorneys.
Palmetto State Bank’s Hampton branch.
Laffitte has yet to stand trial for any state charges, and no trial date has been set. His attorneys have previously successfully obtained trial scheduling delays, which may change on Monday in light of recent federal court-level events.
Laffitte was also indicted on similar federal charges in 2022 and was convicted on Nov. 22, 2022, of bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and three counts of misapplication of bank funds in connection with the internationally publicized Murdaugh financial fraud cases. He was sentenced to seven years in federal prison.
Lafitte’s conviction vacated
However, last month a Fourth Circuit federal appellate court rendered a Nov. 14 order that vacated the conviction from the U.S. District Court of South Carolina, and the sentence imposed by federal Judge Richard Gergel.
The appellate panel ruled that Judge Gergel violated Laffitte’s Fifth Amendment right to be present when he questioned a juror, identified only as Juror 88, without Laffitte or his counsel present; and violated Laffitte’s Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury when he later dismissed that juror during deliberations, adding that the juror’s dismissal was linked to her pending view of the verdict.
Convicted and disgraced Hampton banker Russell Laffitte stands in the Hampton County Courthouse as, in the background, hangs a portrait of Alex Murdaugh’s grandfather, Randolph “Buster” Murdaugh Jr.
According to federal court documents, a Nov. 21 order was issued for Laffitte to be released immediately from the Federal Correctional Institution Coleman in Florida, returned to his residence, and be subjected to his previous federal bond restrictions.
The order also stated that Laffitte must “promptly deposit with the Court $25,000 to secure the $500,000 appearance bond that is now reinstated.” It added that he must report to his probation officer within 24 hours to comply with the bond conditions.
Laffitte’s case will now be remanded back to the U.S. District Court in South Carolina’s Beaufort district for a new trial, most likely before a new federal judge, but that trial date has yet to be set.
During a Nov. 21 federal status conference, federal prosecutors stated they would be ready to retry Laffitte’s case the week of March 24. However, Laffitte’s attorneys requested that the case be retried in May 2025 to give Laffitte’s new counsel more time to familiarize themselves with it and for other scheduling conflicts.
While the federal government will likely proceed with the March 2025 date, Laffitte’s counsel is expected to file for a continuance until May of that year.
From left (background) attorney Joe McCulloch, and former Murdaugh jurors Myra Crosby and Mandy Pearce speak out during a Fox Nation interview.
Disgruntled, dismissed Murdaugh murder trial juror appeals again to S.C. Supreme Court
Before pleading guilty to multiple financial crimes in state and federal courts, Murdaugh was convicted of the 2021 murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, in March of 2023 after a six-week trial in Colleton County and given two life sentences. He has since appealed that conviction based on alleged jury tampering, and the S.C. Supreme Court is expected to hear that case sometime in 2025.
Myra Crosby, once identified only as Juror No. 785 and often derogatorily referred to as “The Egg Lady” or “The Egg Juror,” was dismissed from the jury before its final deliberations for allegedly violating the judge’s instructions involving discussing the case outside the courtroom.
The court has sealed court records pertaining to Crosby’s in-chambers conversations with presiding Judge Clifton Newman in chambers and her subsequent dismissal.
On Sept. 4, Joseph M. McCulloch, an attorney representing Crosby, filed a motion with the S.C. Supreme Court asking that those records be unsealed to the public to clear her name and public reputation and possibly shed some more light on the alleged backroom jury tampering that could have influenced Murdaugh’s conviction.
On Sept. 16, the S.C. Attorney General’s Office filed a motion opposing this request, asking the court to hold this petition in abeyance until Murdaugh’s appeal brief is filed before the Supreme Court.
On Oct. 31, the S.C. Supreme Court issued a one-paragraph order with little legal explanation denying Crosby’s motion.
On Nov. 15, Crosby’s counsel filed a “Petition for a Rehearing” of the matter with the state Supreme Court, requesting “the Court vacate its Order in favor of a reasoned order, or, in the alternative, issue a memorandum opinion providing the reasoning for the Order.”
Crosby’s latest petition also states, “Because the Order denies Ms. Crosby’s assertion of rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, she intends to seek review of the Order by a petition for a writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court.”
In August, Crosby and a co-author released “Because Enough is Enough,” a book about her experiences on the Murdaugh jury.
Latest Murdaugh-related true crime authors begin book tours
The Murdaugh cases have launched waves of podcasts, news specials, documentaries, movies and books, and true crime consumers can’t seem to get enough. This month, two new authors announced the opening of their book signing tours, including a civil attorney who took on Murdaugh and won and another Murdaugh murder trial juror.
One of the latest literary contributions comes from Eric Bland of Bland Richter LLP, who helped uncover the depths of Murdaugh’s more than 100 fraud charges and represented several of his financial victims.
True crime fans can learn more about Bland’s work and 30-year personal journey from law school to South Carolina’s trial of the century in Bland’s new memoir, “Anything But Bland: Moxie, Murdaugh, and Making Life Happen On Your Own Terms,” which is now available in several formats.
Anything But Bland is set to release the first week of November and will be available in paperback, hardback, eBook and Audiobook, with further details to be released soon.
Here’s a preview of this self-described “part memoir, part manifesto:””Follow the remarkable journey of award-winning trial lawyer Eric “EB” Bland, a man who turned childhood adversity into his secret weapon. Overcoming intense bullying, reckless behavior, and family tragedies, Bland channeled his indomitable spirit and efforts to ‘make things right’ into academic success and a law degree. Ultimately, he founded the renowned Bland Richter law firm and gained international recognition as one of the financial prosecutors in the legal battle of the century, the Alex Murdaugh trial.
“In this riveting personal and professional reflection, Bland takes readers on a journey through his remarkable life and career as well as behind the scenes in some of the high-profile cases that have shaped America’s modern legal landscape. Guided by five transformative life principles, Bland offers his unique roadmap for success. His journey and unfiltered wisdom demonstrate the power of resilience, the pursuit of excellence, and an unwavering belief that achievement isn’t about luck, but rather discipline and hard work.”
Bland held his first book signing on Dec. 7 at Sassafras on Carteret in Beaufort and is expected to announce more event dates soon.
Murdaugh murder trial juror Amie Williams, Juror 864, has teamed up with South Carolina writer and true crime aficionado Shana Hirsch to write her memoir, “The Long Road to Justice: Unraveling Alex Murdaugh’s Tangled Web,” which also was released in November (Palmetto Publishing).
Williams was the 12th juror selected for the Murdaugh murder trial and was one of the few jurors to appear on The Today Show to discuss the case.
Murdaugh murder trial juror Amie Williams has teamed up with writer and true crime pundit Shana Hirsch to publish The Long Road to Justice: Unraveling Alex Murdaugh’s Tangled Web.
In this memoir, Williams shares the “winding road of juror emotions” before, during, and after the trial and discusses “the one attorney who made a difference on the case” as well as her intense memories of the jury visit to Moselle during the final week of the trial.
Williams and Hirsch began their book tour on Dec. 5 at the Colleton Coffee Shop in Walterboro, near where the murder trial was held, and on Dec. 6 at McIntosh Book Shoppe on Bay Street in Beaufort.
Upcoming book talks and signings will be from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 12 at Beaufort Books and 11 a.m. on Dec. 13 at the Pooler Library in Savannah, Ga.
Murdaugh murder trial juror Amie Williams has teamed up with writer and true crime pundit Shana Hirsch to publish The Long Road to Justice: Unraveling Alex Murdaugh’s Tangled Web.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Disgruntled Alex Murdaugh juror to petition U.S. Supreme Court