True Sunlight: MMP #88: Alex Murdaugh’s Pawn: Eddie Smith Is Out of Jail But Still Caught in the Middle

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I don't know what will happen to Curtis Eddie Smith, or if we will ever figure out what

his role was in all of this mess.

But after Ellic Murdoch's murder trial, it's now more clear than ever that Eddie is yet

another victim of the two-tiered system of justice that benefited Ellic for so many years.

My name is Mandy Matney.

I have been investigating the Murdoch family for more than four years.

This is the Murdoch Murders podcast, produced by my husband David Moses and written with

journalist Liz Farrell, who is actually recording from Iceland this week.

I want to start off this episode by saying a much needed thank you to you, the fans.

We've been going at 100 miles per hour for almost two years now, and you all have been

with us for all of the crazy twists and turns.

You've been patient with us.

You have been kind to us.

You have shared with us how the podcast has changed you or helped you in different ways.

And I just want to tell you how much I appreciate you, our listeners, from those who started

in June 2021 to those who have impressively binged over 80 episodes since first hearing

about us during the trial.

You know, there was a time about a year ago where I could hardly envision a future in

this.

I could barely get through each episode each week and was really just trying to keep my

head above water with the constant flood of breaking news hitting us every day.

For several months there, I did not see this podcast going past 2022.

It was just too much.

But now, the worst is over.

Now that we've made it through the trolls and the muck and we've found a rhythm and

a routine that is healthy and doable, the future of both of our shows is looking really

bright.

I was in a meeting the other day and was told that only 1% of podcasters are able to make

a living off of their shows.

This really hit me what a unique position we are in and how lucky we are to be doing

B shows for y'all every single week.

And that's because of you, our listeners, looking past our flaws in the beginning, encouraging

us to keep going, listening to every single episode, sometimes multiple times, and signing

up for MMP premium and attending our YouTube lives.

You all have made this doable and healthy.

You have made the future bright for us.

And more importantly, we're now encouraging other young journalists to do the same thing,

to expose the truth, to give a voice to the victims, to get the story straight.

We are showing them that they don't have to sell their souls to be successful.

We are showing the younger generation that you can do work that is meaningful and powerful

and you can make a living off of it.

And that is a big deal.

And speaking of things that are a big deal, the Cheryl Crow joined us on Cup of Justice

this week.

Be sure to check that episode out and again, just a reminder, it's on its own feed wherever

you get your podcasts.

The episode came out on Monday and later this week we will be posting a full video to MMP

premium members so you can see all of our stun facial expressions.

I think I speak for the entire team when I say it was an absolutely surreal experience.

All of us are huge fans of Cheryl and we were shocked that she wasn't just an occasional

listener of MMP, she was an actual fan who knew the entire story and all of the names

involved.

Big and small.

I want to play a short clip for you now.

Anyway, I'm super big fans and I just appreciate, I mean, I just appreciate what you guys not

only have done but the fact that you are so committed to bringing justice and oh my gosh,

Stephen Smith, I've been crying all the way through that.

I mean, if that were my kid, I have kids and if that was my kid, I don't know what, I mean,

I don't know how Sandy's doing it.

So I just appreciate that you guys are advocating for her and that you are, you know, just taking

on the system.

Anyway, I love you guys.

That's all I'm saying.

And I think my favorite part of the whole interview was when she talked about Sandy Smith's fight

for justice.

I agree with that and I, you know, like with Sandy, I think what's permeating everything

right now where Sandy is concerned, where Stephen's concerned, will, you know, it's

not, it's humanizing.

You know, you see this mom who for eight years has been, you know, just grappling with the

grief of not only losing a son but not having the opportunity to even really know what happens.

And I feel like because of what you guys are doing and because of the story, because of

the opportunity that she's having to speak as a real person, as a person who's still

in mourning, who's painting a picture of a darling boy who was well loved, you know,

that somebody is going to come forward.

I just feel like it's to the weight of knowing what really happened to him, hopefully.

And with Sandy and how much people are loving her from afar, you know, all over the world,

the weight of that will compel someone to speak up.

I loved that Cheryl said that.

We all feel that and we want that for Sandy and for the Smith family, that someone comes

forward with information.

I'll say this again.

We know that there are people out there who know what happened to Stephen and we want

to keep reminding them that this story will never fade.

We will keep fighting for Stephen as long as it takes.

Keep sharing the Green Day for Justice Squares on social.

And if you have information that could help the police in information, not theories, please

send it to tips at sled.se.gov or call 803-737-9000.

Remember, there is a $35,000 reward for anyone who gives information that leads police to

an arrest in the case.

And while Eric Bland and Sandy Smith have promised as much transparency as possible

with the independent investigation, I do want to warn you that there might be a period of

time without any new information.

And that is a good thing.

We believe that sled is making progress with the case and that this is a time where it

matters most to keep information tight.

So be patient.

Keep sharing the GoFundMe page.

Keep showing your support for Stephen.

But please know, unless we tell you otherwise, that sled and a group of experts are working

diligently to get answers for Sandy and for Stephen.

And as soon as we can give an update that will not compromise the investigation, we

will do that.

As we promised last week, we're going to talk about Curtis Eddie Smith today.

But first, we wanted to update you on Russell can't seem to admit defeat Lafitte.

On Monday, Judge Richard Gurgle again denied Russell's request for a new trial.

This should be 0% surprising to anyone with eyes, ears, and common sense.

As you'll remember, this was Russell's second motion for a new trial.

The first time he was requesting a new trial based on Judge Richard Gurgle's decision

to allow two alternate jurors to sub out for two jurors, one of whom said she was being

bullied about her position and the other one who said she needed medication.

The judge issued a scathing 42-page denial of that motion in which he scolded Russell's

second defense team for chiming in and arguing ineffective counsel, likening it to a request

for a do-over simply because Russell didn't like the outcome the first time around.

In this second motion for a new trial, Russell was using Ellic Murdoch's murder trial testimony

as evidence that Russell was innocent and as an argument that he deserved a second trial.

To recap, here is what Ellic had to say about Russell.

You don't dispute that.

What I dispute is, if you're insinuating in any way, this was stuff that I did.

I did these things wrong.

Russell Lafitte didn't do anything.

I'm not here to talk about that, I'm just talking about what went on.

I know, but you keep talking about what I did with Russell Lafitte and what I want to

let you know is that I did this, and I'm the one that took people's money that I shouldn't

have taken and that Russell Lafitte was not involved in helping me do that knowingly.

If he did it, he did it without knowing it.

If he did it, he did it without knowing.

Girl, he did it.

Russell himself said he did it.

His defense was that he was sloppy.

Anyway, immediately after Ellic quote unquote exonerated Russell during his murder trial,

Russell's new attorneys jumped right on it.

They were like, see, we told you Russell didn't do this.

On March 23rd, the government filed a response to this new motion.

They were like, oh my God, you guys cannot be serious about this.

First, case law is pretty clear here.

This isn't newly discovered evidence.

You guys knew Ellic would say this.

You literally tried to get Ellic on the stand to say this during Russell's trial, but Ellic

wouldn't do it because he didn't want to admit just stealing on the stand, at least

not to help Russell.

He had no problem doing it to save his own behind.

And second, Ellic says so.

Oh, okay.

Something tells us that if the government could file a response to that motion that was just

a stream of LOLs, they totally would have done that.

Instead, they submitted a well-reasoned response that broke down each of Russell's six counts

and showed how Ellic's testimony was either incongruent, irrelevant, uncredible, or all

three.

After that, Russell's new defense team was like, excuse you, our motion was seven pages

and your response was 15 pages, so boo-yah.

You're protesting too much, which means we were right.

Russell's reply argues that the government can't say that Ellic is not a credible witness

when they sure do think he was credible when he was admitting to his financial crimes on

the stand and might even try to use that testimony against him.

Which Ellic hasn't been charged federally, so that's a bit of a stretch, but also his

testimony about the financial crimes isn't even sufficient to convict him on those crimes

at the state level.

The state has to actually try those cases on their own merits.

Russell's attorneys also argued that Russell can't have conspired with someone who hasn't

been indicted in the conspiracy.

They seemed to hint that Ellic's testimony is new and not newly discovered as the government

argued because the government didn't even name Ellic in Russell's indictment and instead

referred to him only as, quote, bank customer until the trial.

For a second, it seemed like Russell's defense team was saying, how could we have known for

sure the government was talking about Ellic if Ellic's name doesn't appear in the indictment?

And therefore, how could we have known what Ellic was going to say?

Anyway, on Monday, Judge Gurgle was like, chuckle chuckle, you again?

The judge issued a six page order and in it referenced Judge Clifton Newman's words

during Ellic's murder trial, quote, while sentencing Murdoch, the presiding judge,

South Carolina circuit judge Clifton Newman, stated that Murdoch had engaged in duplicitous

conduct here in the courtroom and that the jury concluded that he had lied throughout

his testimony.

Here is David with the best part of Judge Gurgle's denial.

The court finds that Murdoch is manifestly not a credible witness.

Evidence offered during the defendants' trial established without question that Murdoch

is a serial liar and fraudster who stole from his clients and law partners.

He now stands convicted of the double homicide of his wife and son.

It is difficult to imagine a less credible witness under these circumstances.

As to Russell's argument that his team didn't know what Ellic would testify to in Russell's

trial, Judge Gurgle was like, ya knew.

Russell's team needed to show that Ellic's testimony, this quote, new evidence would

have most likely resulted in Russell's acquittal and Judge Gurgle was like, in what world?

Anyway, here is a quick summary of how Russell has found himself here at this very scary

doorstep of his sentencing, which should be coming soon.

He requested a speedy trial in the hopes that he'd be forcing the government's hand and

that the government would be like, you got us, we were bluffing.

Spoiler alert, they were not bluffing.

Then he tried to get Ellic to testify on his behalf.

Ellic, of all people.

When Ellic wouldn't, Russell got John Marvin Murdoch to get up on the stand and be like,

Russell is amazing because I say so.

Then Russell got on the stand and was like, yeah, I did all that, but I'm just a really

nice country boy who wasn't really friends with Ellic, even though I trusted him enough

to break the law for him apparently, but I didn't know I was doing anything criminal.

In the meantime, Russell published two bootleg episodes of Russell TV on YouTube in which

he was interviewed by his cousin so he could proclaim his innocence and give a lumpy explanation

for how he has had such bad luck by being a simple trusting farmer this whole time.

One of the episodes was released right before jury selection.

The other was released during the trial.

Then when he was found guilty, he hired a second team of attorneys to handle his appeal,

but that second team of attorneys decided to attend the motion for a new trial party

and dump on the first team of attorneys by preemptively arguing ineffective counsel

which irritated the judge further.

All the while, Russell has repeatedly maintained that he has cooperated with investigators

and every time they've been like really when.

He has had his wife give a speech to the judge through his own family members under the bus

and snapped at the female prosecutor from the stand.

Then he decided that a man who would murder his wife and son would be just the ticket

to get him a new trial.

That is why we're calling him Russell can't admit defeat love feet.

It is a reminder of how hard it is to hold men like these accountable.

They never accept consequences ever.

They will push women and children out of the way to get to the lifeboat first.

They will deny, deny, deny until the very end.

They do not care who they hurt.

Which brings us to one of the many people that Elick has used to escape his consequences.

Curtis Eddie Smith.

We'll be right back.

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Last week, we told you about Eddie's bond reconsideration hearing in front of Judge

Clifton Newman.

The hearing was held in the Richland County Courthouse and, as you might remember, the

acoustics in that courtroom are pretty bad, so we will just summarize what happened quickly.

One of Eddie's attorneys, Amy Zimmercheck, told Judge Newman two things.

One is that Eddie has gained a significant amount of weight since being jailed in August

2022, and that is because of a medical issue.

The second is that Eddie has been fully cooperative with law enforcement.

We're going to talk about that, but let's start at the beginning.

Because the beginning is the most important part of all of this.

We first learned of Eddie Smith in the aftermath of Elix Labor Day Weekend incident in 2021,

and from the start, we knew that something was very wrong here.

Like we said, we are still trying to figure out Eddie's role in all of this, but there

are big pieces that we think have become pretty clear.

So Eddie, or cousin Eddie, as some people call him because of his distant relation to

the Murdoch family, is in his 60s.

And it's somewhat fitting, because like Randy Quaid's character in the movies, Eddie

Smith is not at all on the same socioeconomic level as Elix Murdoch.

He is rougher, less educated, not at all wealthy, and has very little power in all of this.

Eddie, who lives in Colleton County, the county that convicted Elix of murdering his wife

and son, does not have a violent criminal record to speak of.

At least, he doesn't have one that appears in the public index.

In the 14th Circuit, when discussing the Murdochs and anyone in their realm, we just want to

remind people that Elix and his family were the law here for decades.

They decided whose crimes got prosecuted and whose didn't.

To this day, people are reluctant to speak out against the family because of the help

that they received or family members received when it came to charges.

So like we said, according to the public index, Eddie Smith has no violent criminal record

to speak of, but he was represented by Elix Murdoch in at least two civil cases, one of

which was related to an injury Eddie received while working in the timber industry.

In that case, the defendant's insurance company's attorney filed a notice with the

court in 2015 to report that they had paid out the settlement but that Elix had not disbursed

it.

Eddie is not one of the clients that Elix had been charged with stealing from, but at

the time of his bond revocation hearing last August, it was brought up that Eddie had more

money than he had reported to the court.

That money, he said, was from another settlement in a case that Elix represented him in.

So that is Eddie and his relationship with Elix.

Also, there's the check cashing to the tune of more than $2 million over more than a decade,

but especially in the last few years since the boat crash.

And then there's the alleged roadside shooting, which brings us to now.

A lot of new information has come out about Eddie's case since we last spoke about it

in early January.

During Elix Murdoch's trial, Eddie Smith was on the witness list for the prosecution,

and lots of talking heads were anticipating his testimony to be explosive.

Eddie apparently was going to testify about what Elix said to him on the side of Salcahati

Road on September 4th, 2021.

According to sources, before Elix asked Eddie to shoot him or whatever happened that day,

Eddie asked Elix what happened at Moselle on June 7th, 2021.

And Elix's response was, quote, it all got effed up.

During jury selection, Dick Harpoolian was in the courtroom talking to reporters during

one of the breaks, and he wanted everyone around him to know that he was hoping that

he would get the chance to cross-examine Eddie on the stand.

At the time, this seemed to be because the defense had done their absolute best in pre-trial

filings and hearings to try to pin the murders on Eddie Smith.

But now that we've learned more about what actually went down on old Salcahati Road in

the days and weeks after, we have to wonder if that was all for show.

Which Dick was actually worried because of what Eddie might say.

Ultimately, the prosecution never called Eddie to the stand, likely because his testimony

was too risky and wasn't enough to make or break the prosecution's case.

Eddie is Eddie, someone who is purely himself and just trying to get by.

And even though that might have resonated with some of the jury members, it's still

not clear if Eddie would have been seen as credible.

But during the trial, Judge Newman did allow Ryan Kelly, the sled agent who led the investigation

into the alleged roadside shooting, to testify about the incident.

Kelly, by the way, is also working on Steven Smith's case now.

He was present at the exhumation and seemed intent on solving Steven's case.

During Kelly's testimony, we learned a lot more about what went on in the investigation

between September 4th, 2021 and the day Ellick was finally arrested, September 16th, 2021.

I re-listened to Kelly's testimony this week and I learned a lot listening to it for a

second time.

It's honestly unbelievable to see how much grace they gave Ellick Murdock, especially

now knowing that he's a murderer.

During the trial, the prosecution played a body cam video that we hadn't seen before

from September 4th.

It shows Ellick speaking to police in an ambulance after he called 911 and reported that he had

been shot.

I'm going to play this clip.

This is what Ellick told police happened that day.

I don't know what kind of gun it was, but it sounded like a shotgun even though it was

so loud.

It didn't sound like a.22, but I know that's what they think it is, but it didn't sound

like a.22.

Now, this was taken soon after the incident and just like the 911 call, Ellick does not

sound like he had been shot at all.

Kelly testified that he first met Ellick at Savannah Memorial Hospital where Ellick was

airlifted to after the shooting.

Yes, when we arrived in the hospital, Mr. Murdock was receiving treatment.

He was awake and willing to talk to us at that point.

He was the only witness to this incident.

We asked him what happened and he told us a story that was consistent with the 911 call

and with what was told to the deputy.

Did he state that a driver had stopped, passed by, turned around and came back to the location?

Yes.

It was a similar story that he was driving along Old Sakaihachi, that he hit something

significant with his tire causing it to go flat.

So when he pulled over to the side of the road to inspect the tire, it was flat.

As he was doing that, he said a dark and color Chevy pickup truck drove by, passed him, turned

around and came back to his location.

He said he made contact with the driver and as Mr. Murdock turned around to walk back

to his vehicle, he said the driver then shot him.

So that was September 4th and September 5th, the very next day.

Probably much to Elix's surprise, Sled followed up and checked the scene to see if there was

any significant debris in the area, like Elix said there was.

And while looking for this mysterious object that managed to deflate Elix's run flat tires,

surprise, they found something else.

On September 5th, we, agents returned to the scene, we were looking for any evidence of

involved in the accident.

We were looking for the significant piece of debris and as we were searching the roadway

around where the Mercedes had pulled off, we searched across the street in the grass

area and we recovered a gray and color utility knife.

Did law enforcement, did you notice any sort of debris or anything like had been described

by the defendant as supposedly causing the damage to the tire?

No, we were, we searched the area extensively and we never were able to locate this significant

piece of debris that Mr. Murdock described as causing his tire to go flat.

We'll show you Westman Mark, the state's 546 and do you recognize that image?

Yes, I do.

And tell them the jury what that is, please.

That is the, that is the folding knife that was recovered across the road from where Mr.

Murdock's vehicle was parked.

I just want to say this part again because it is crazy, they found the knife directly

across the road in the grass from where Elix Mercedes was parked.

Remember when Maggie's cell phone was tossed in the grass outside of Moselle?

We've said this before but it seems like it's a trend for someone who isn't used

to being questioned.

Anyway, they found the knife on September 5th.

The knife eventually was shown to have both Elix and Eddie's DNA on it, according to

Kelly.

We're not really sure how Eddie's DNA ended up on the knife and it could have been Eddie's

knife that Elix used.

Investigators believe that the knife was used to deflate Elix's tire.

We aren't exactly sure how Eddie's DNA got on the knife but it is possible that

Elix borrowed Eddie's knife previously when he was doing handiwork for him and he used

it in this as a part of the setup.

So while the investigation was definitely pointed in the Elix did this direction, the Murdock

PR team appeared to be on a mission to evoke sympathy for Elix in the public.

They released a statement where he admitted for the first time to his drug addiction and

he claimed that he was resigning from the law firm.

When in reality, he was allowed to resign days before that because he was caught stealing.

I'll have David read that statement from Elix PR team.

The murders of my wife and son have caused an incredibly difficult time in my life.

I have made a lot of decisions that I truly regret.

Murdock said in a statement through his lawyer, Dick Harputlian, to Live 5 News.

I'm resigning from my law firm and entering rehab after a long battle that has been exacerbated

by these murders.

I am immensely sorry to everyone I've hurt, including my family, friends, and colleagues.

I ask for prayers as I rehabilitate myself and my relationships.

It is really crazy to hear that now that Elix has been convicted of murdering his family

all too distract from his financial crimes.

So at this point, September 6, Sled knew that Elix was the number one suspect for the murders

of his wife and son.

Sled knew that he had been caught stealing millions of dollars from his law firm.

They knew that the story Elix was telling them about the shooting was not adding up.

But yet, on that very same day, September 6, after they found the knife that blew Elix

story apart, Sled sent agents and a sketch artist to Savannah Memorial Hospital.

And what did Elix do?

Continue to point the finger at a fictional character.

Elix provided the details of his alleged shooter to a sketch artist.

This would mean that Sled, on some level, was humoring Elix and his description of the

quote, very nice looking man who shot him.

You know, the sketch that looked suspiciously like Anthony Cook, whose girlfriend died because

of Paul Murdoch, who is literally on camera that night yelling at Paul in 2019 that he

hoped Paul would rot in hell.

It seems like Elix was using that to perhaps set up Anthony Cook, knowing that nothing

would come of it.

But September 6 was also when Eddie's name was first brought up to investigators.

We learned in trial that Elix brother Randy Murdoch called special agent Ryan Kelly.

It was strange then and it's strange now.

Randy told Sled about the phone calls that Elix was trying to make from the hospital

and the defense presented this as though Randy was simply a man concerned about his druggie

brother and was trying to help Sled figure out what the heck was going on here.

Remember Randy was Elix's law partner at that time, well sort of, Elix had resigned.

And Elix not only was stealing from the firm and the firm's clients, but he had also stolen

about $125,000 from Randy years earlier according to testimony from PMPED's CFO, Jeannie

Zaman.

not quite saying he was innocent.

The piece read like an attempt at self-preservation, honestly.

So this phone call from Randy to sled

about Elex' mysterious behavior

and phone calls from the hospital.

Was this truly because Randy,

who allegedly had no idea at that time

that Elex had a drug problem,

thought that his brother was calling a dealer

and seeking drugs?

Or was it something else?

Was it the beginning of Eddie getting thrown under the bus?

Was Elex calling Eddie because he needed a fix?

As the defense seemed to suggest in court,

or was Elex calling Eddie because he sensed that sled,

who had already told Elex

that they didn't believe his story about the murders,

also wasn't buying this random shooter story either.

Was Elex trying to warn Eddie

so that they could coordinate stories

about what had happened?

Because Elex really wanted to get in touch with Eddie.

And was information related that he was actually offering

the staff money to try to use their phone?

Yes, one of the nurses in their notes

made note of Mr. Murdoch trying to offer money

to use their phone.

Did the family of Mr. Murdoch relate a specific name

and a number to law enforcement

as they discovered that Elex was attempting

to contact this person?

A specific name and number were provided to us.

Curtis Edward Smith, we were able to take the telephone number

and trace that back to Mr. Smith.

The very next day on September 7th, 2021,

Judge Carmen Mullins signed the search warrant

that ultimately resulted in Eddie Smith's arrest.

Eddie's attorneys filed a motion recently

for a copy of this warrant

because they wanna see how it came to be

that the state felt like it had enough evidence

to search Eddie's home at that point.

And oh yeah, that Judge Carmen Mullins,

the one who had recused herself

from the boat crash case in 2019,

and then behind the scenes just a few weeks

after publicly declaring that she had a longstanding

relationship with the Murdoch family

and therefore it would be improper for her to reside

over the boat crash case,

seemed to have no problem signing off

on a highly suspicious and secret settlement

overlooking red flag after red flag

that gave Elex easy access to stealing millions

from this Satterfield family.

Now, this is interesting

because one of the biggest criticisms against Sled

during the murder trial was that law enforcement

hadn't searched Almeida,

Elex' parents' home that was a major part of his alibi

until several months after the double homicide.

We immediately knew why that was.

Like we said before,

they would have needed a search warrant to search that home

and what judge in the 14th Circuit was going to sign

that warrant which allowed investigators to go into the home

of Randolph Murdoch,

the longtime solicitor of the 14th Circuit.

No one.

But searching the house of Eddie Smith,

it's sure, where do I sign?

Sled allegedly found drugs at Eddie's house

as well as a pharmacological book

identifying various pills along with some sort of ledger.

To be clear, Eddie denies being a drug dealer.

So Randy told Sled to look into this Eddie Smith guy,

then Sled got a warrant for Eddie Smith's home

the very next day.

And then law enforcement searched Eddie's home

and found drugs, according to the police reports.

Behind the scenes at that very same time,

team Murdoch was trying to convince the media

to write that Sled had identified a suspect.

They were also telling us that the discovery

of Elex' knife at the scene was not true.

It was just a rumor.

And at the time, they still wanted us to believe

that whoever had shot Elex on the side of the road

was the real killer.

Then, a few days passed with no arrests in the case.

Suddenly, on September 13th,

Elex' attorney, Dick Harputtley,

and called Sled and said his client wanted to talk.

Here is Dick telling Sled how this was gonna go down.

Hey, so this is the way to take the record.

This is attorney Jim Griffin and Dick Harputtley,

and here we spent the last hour talking to him.

We believe that he has found my mind and body,

and that he has no way to manage that thing.

Okay.

He is very confident to answer these questions now.

We're willing to, and we've advised him,

we're gonna talk about the shooting incident

a week ago Saturday, where he was shot in the head

and how that happened, and why it was done.

Okay.

We don't wanna talk about what happened in Moselle,

and we don't wanna talk about

anything involving finances at the law firm.

Is that okay?

Yes.

Okay.

So,

Alan, let's talk about last Saturday morning,

and let me go through this briefly.

Who did you meet with and talk to last Saturday morning?

I met with Jim Griffin, and she, Chessie.

And then what?

I both danced and then I met with

Chris Wilkinson at my mom's house.

Okay.

And you and Chris were talking about what?

About everything I had done.

Okay, everything you had done concerning finances.

Finances, bills, lives.

Okay.

Now, were you taking, well, first of all,

let me back up what you said.

You had a long-standing OxyContin

for opioid addiction issue.

Yes, sir.

For 20 years.

The best I can remember around 20 years, 18 to 20 years.

Okay.

Now,

on this particular day, on this Saturday,

were you taking the OxyContin or taking any opioids?

I had taken some, but, you know,

I was taking, I'd given it all that I had someone else,

and I was, I'd taken some at like 4 a.m.,

so I was having some withdrawals.

Okay.

And the previous day, the news had come out

about your embezzling or taking client money

or offering money, is that correct?

That's correct.

And how would you describe your state of mind at that time?

I was in a very bad place.

Where does that make?

I thought it would be better for me not to be here anymore.

What do you mean by not be here anymore?

I thought that it would make it easier

on my family for me to be dead.

And easier with some financial gain here,

by the way, if you were dead?

I hope so.

A fair amount of life insurance is dead.

You remember how much?

Now, I was talking my head to like $10 million, $12 million.

Okay.

And so you decided to end your life?

That's correct.

And tell these sweat agents how you went about arranging that.

I called Curtis Eddie Smith on the telephone.

Okay, now let's stop for a second.

Who was Curtis Eddie Smith?

Curtis Eddie Smith is the primary person

who I purchased bills from for years.

Okay, so a lot of insanity went on during the trial

that we didn't have time to unpack.

And this is a perfect example.

Can you guys believe that?

The audacity of Dick to call sled and tell them

how his very desperate client, who for all practical purposes

at that time was also a double murder suspect,

was going to run the interview and seemingly fake confess

to another crime altogether.

A banana's murder for hire plot.

Oh, and something else.

Mark Tinsley, whose case initiated the Murdoch receivership,

testified that he has found no proof that Alec even

had an insurance policy.

And from what our sources have told us, no one has.

We have yet to see this alleged $8 million or $10 million

or $12 million policy, depending on what day Team Murdoch

talks about it, even though we have called for proof of it

several times.

We have to ask again, did law enforcement just

take Alec's word for it?

If so, that is insane.

Actually, all of this is insane, especially this fact.

Eddie Smith was arrested before Alec Murdoch,

who had just confessed to sled about committing a crime.

And unlike his buddy Alec, he didn't get the opportunity

to turn himself in.

Sorry, I meant unlike Alec, he didn't get an opportunity

to turn himself in and then, in defiance of his agreement

with sled, drive to his mother's house instead

of his lawyer's office, as Alec did.

The day after that interview, after Alec seemingly

fake confessed to a second seemingly fake crime,

Eddie was arrested and charged with assisted suicide,

assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature,

pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud,

and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.

Eddie faces more charges in this incident

than Alec Murdoch does.

And again, we still haven't seen any proof

of that life insurance existing.

There still isn't any solid evidence

of Alec actually having a gunshot wound.

We'll be right back.

Now Eddie claims that Alec fell during the debacle.

Could Alec possibly cut himself in the fall

and that's where the wound was from?

Or could he have cut himself with a knife that was found?

Or maybe the bullet could have ricocheted and grazed him

and he was extremely lucky

and literally dodged a bullet to the head.

All of this sounds crazy,

but we have to ask these questions

when talking about a murderer who killed his family

to avoid his own ruin.

Oh, and I recently noticed this.

Eddie Smith was also charged with pointing

and presenting a firearm,

which is funny when you think about it.

Remember in court, Dick Harputlian pretty much pointed

and presented a firearm at the prosecution table

in front of millions of viewers

while he joked saying tempting

and he wasn't charged with anything.

Yet the only proof of Eddie pointing

and presenting a firearm was Alec's word, Alec the liar.

Alec the quote, serial liar and fraudster

in the words of Judge Gurgle,

who said that Alec was manifestly not a credible witness.

I know, I know that South Carolina laws

said that theatrics does not apply.

And I'm not saying that Dick Harputlian should be charged.

I'm saying that the law shouldn't work this way,

bending in the favor of those who are like Dick Harputlian

and against the powerless like Eddie Smith.

And again, Eddie is not perfect,

but I think it's very fair to say

that a lot of the charges against him

should be questioned and possibly dropped,

considering that they rely heavily

on the word of a now convicted killer

and proven habitual liar.

And looking at Eddie's charges,

it appears like the AG's office

was applying pressure on Eddie to talk.

They indicted him on four counts of money laundering,

three counts of forgery, trafficking meth,

one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance

and possession of marijuana.

These charges were filed just weeks

before Alec was charged with murder, by the way.

Smith is accused of cashing at least $2.4 million in checks,

$437 in checks over the course of eight years,

all for Alec Murdoch.

But it appears like he didn't get that money.

He just acted like a middleman of sorts,

passing the cash onto Alec

so he could do God knows what with it.

Perhaps Eddie was a fall guy from the very beginning.

And remember, last fall, Dick and Jim tried really hard

to get on the record that Eddie was possibly

the real killer of Maggie and Paul.

Remember all of those headlines?

Remember the whole thing about Eddie feeling a polygraph

and Dick and Jim trying to convince the court

that a polygraph is a lie detector test,

rather than a measure of whether someone

is showing signs of deception.

And while Eddie's defense attorneys are working pro bono,

Russell, Corey, and Alec all managed to hire three

of the most prestigious defense attorneys in South Carolina.

I point this out because it is important

as we talk about the two systems of justice here.

Remember, last summer, Eddie's bond was revoked partially

because he had violated the terms

of his ankle monitor dozens of times.

I just hope that the state is watching

Russell Lafitte's ankle monitors

as closely as they were watching Eddie's.

Oh, and let's not forget,

Corey Fleming doesn't even have an ankle monitor.

Even though he's been indicted on more than 20 charges,

has been accused of abusing his position of power,

has the means and motive of escaping the country,

and been accused by the AG's office

of not cooperating with law enforcement.

In fact, out of Alec's alleged co-conspirators

who have been charged,

Eddie appears to be the only one

who is actually cooperating with the AG's office.

During Eddie's bond reconsideration hearing,

prosecutor John Meadows was sure to point this out.

And I'm gonna have David read this clip

that John Meadows said

because the audio from the courtroom was very hard to hear.

Before the trial, during the trial,

I met with him in anticipation

of his potential testimony.

In the case against Richard Alexander Murdock,

judge he cooperated with both Mr. Zelanka and myself

in numerous interviews for numerous hours.

No deal has been reached with Mr. Smith.

I asked him for his cooperation through his attorneys.

Mr. Smith agreed to do that.

He was prepared to do that.

I believe, and if he was called upon,

the decision was made not to,

but he fully cooperated with us throughout this process

and was willing to testify if called upon.

Based upon my years of experience,

I think he will testify truthfully.

I did tell them, again, I didn't promise anything,

except that we would take his cooperation into consideration

and bring that forward to the court.

So this is interesting that Eddie Smith

is now cooperating.

This should be said

because there appears to be a big misunderstanding here.

According to a source close to the investigation,

Eddie told law enforcement

where the gun from the roadside incident was located

and Sled recovered that gun,

which was Ellick Murdoch's gun

and apparently only had one discharged bullet.

And that matches Eddie's story,

that he wrestled Ellick for the gun,

Ellick fell and the gun went off.

Considering Eddie's alleged role

and cashing checks for Ellick,

Eddie could possibly be a huge asset

for the attorney general's office

if they actually want to get to the bottom of this.

Remember, we still don't know where the millions went.

We still don't know the extent

of whatever scheme Ellick was involved in

and how many people helped him.

If Eddie cooperates in the AG's office

asked the right questions,

it's possible that they could get a lot of answers.

Eddie has no reason to protect Ellick at this point.

Every pound that he put on in jail

should be a reminder to him

that Ellick is not worth lying for.

He's not worth keeping secrets for.

And yet, again, it seems like we're seeing

the two systems of justice at play.

Cory Fleming, who had the luxury

of paying for a high-powered attorney,

is out on bond and free as a bird.

Russell Lafitte, who authorities noted

on several occasions that he didn't cooperate,

is currently on house arrest,

waiting for his federal sentence.

And we are waiting for that federal sentence too.

The question is, will we see authorities

apply pressure on Ellick's privileged buddies

like they did on Eddie?

And if not, where is the justice in that?

Judge Newman ultimately reinstated Eddie's bond

and he was released last week.

Eddie is scheduled to appear again in court

for a hearing on April 21st.

We're gonna keep a close eye on Eddie Smith

because he presents such a fascinating conundrum

for the attorney general's office.

Eddie's original charges stem from a time

when, let's face it, law enforcement

was treating Ellick Murdock

and his defense team differently.

When Ellick was viewed by many as an addict

falling from grace, his family was just murdered.

When Ellick's word actually meant something,

at least to those who were still unwilling to cross him,

the attorney general's office cannot say, in one case,

that Ellick is a liar and a murderer

and then say that his testimony, in another case,

should be considered as evidence.

As we saw, that argument did not fly for Russell Feet

in his second attempt at getting a new trial.

Everyone makes mistakes,

but if we want the justice system to be fixed,

we need mistakes like Eddie's insurance fraud charge

when there is seemingly no proof of insurance fraud

whatsoever to be corrected.

We will keep screaming this from the rooftops.

We need one justice system to be applied equally.

That means for innocent victims like Stephen

and for defendants like Eddie,

who could not afford to pay the right people

to stay out of trouble,

who meant so little to Ellick Murdock

that he was expendable.

The Ellick Murdock verdict was a step in the right direction,

but the system is far from fixed

and we will keep fighting and exposing the truth.

Little by little, case by case,

we hope to see big changes in South Carolina

and even beyond that, wherever crime meets corruption.

Stay tuned, stay pesky and stay in the sunlight.

More sustainability through digitalization.

This way, Stephanie and Stefan from the Bäckerei Gaisenhofer

together with their tax advice

and the digital solutions from Dathef.

Since we have been dealing with the topic of digitalization

we can simply save resources.

We used to book our boxes every day by hand.

Nowadays, we upload them digitally

and they come directly at the tax advice.

Learn more about the topic.

Now go to www.gemeinsombessermachen.de

Machine-generated transcript that may contain inaccuracies.