According to news outlets, an employee at Murdaugh’s law firm testified about the firm’s links with Laffitte’s bank and said she confronted Murdaugh about missing fees from one of his cases on June 7, 2021.
Murdaugh’s wife and son were shot to death that night. Neither prosecutors in Laffitte’s, nor the investigators in the killings have mentioned whether they see a link between the events.
Meanwhile, Murdaugh is playing a key role in Laffitte’s defense. So far, cross-examination by his attorneys has focused on how Murdaugh manipulated people and lied. The defense said Laffitte was only following Murdaugh’s instructions and didn’t willfully participate in the fraud, which prosecutors need to prove to get a conviction.
Defense lawyers wanted to call Murdaugh as a witness, but Murdaugh’s attorneys said he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination since he could face charges. The judge has said he would only allow Murdaugh to take the stand if he had something substantial to say.
Prosecutors said Laffitte knew what he was doing when he effectively worked as Murdaugh’s personal banker and eventually became the court-appointed custodian for the settlement money for several of his underage clients.
Laffitte loaned Murdaugh and himself money from those settlements, diverting that money from personal injury or death cases.