Judge Daniel Hall has denied Alex Murdaugh’s latest attempt to use his remaining 401(k) money to fund the appeal for his double homicide conviction because that money is expected to go to the alleged victims in a civil case against him.
Murdaugh — who is a defendant in the civil wrongful death lawsuit filed in the aftermath of the 2019 boat crash that killed Mallory Beach — was convicted in March 2023 of killing his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, in June 2021.
The mingling of the civil boat crash case and the criminal case comes from a fight over Murdaugh’s retirement fund. Mark Tinsley, the attorney for the Beach family — the civil plaintiffs — asked that Murdaugh’s assets, including the 401(k), be held by a receivership following Murdaugh’s alleged roadside shooting in Sept. 2021. When Murdaugh was charged in the murder of Paul and Maggie, he was allowed to cash out a portion of the 401(k) to fund his legal defense.
After Murdaugh was convicted, his defense attorneys — Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian — asked for more money from the 401(k) for his appeal, and that request was denied. They tried again in a motion to reconsider that was filed in Hampton County on June 1.
Hall again declined Murdaugh’s attempt to get more money from his 401(k) in a June 8 ruling.
The trial in the wrongful death suit is expected to begin on Aug. 14 in Hampton County.
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Beth Braden
Beth Braden is an award-winning journalist with experience covering government, education and crime and courts for more than 10 years. In addition to following breaking news and writing feature stories about life in her home state of Tennessee, her by-line appears on several internationally known websites.
Beth is passionate about communicating complex information in an easy-to-understand manner and she loves to pore over public records and court documents as she seeks out patterns and context to share with her audience. In her spare time, she enjoys quilting, strange museums, and good cups of coffee.
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