Alex Murdaugh's Friend, Cory Fleming, Plays a Confusing Role in the Trial
Published March 1 2023, 4:01 p.m. ET
As disgraced South Carolina legal scion Alex Murdaugh's double homicide case continues, you may have heard the name Cory Fleming mentioned. The friend and Beaufort County lawyer has been raising questions among folks as he was allegedly involved in one of Murdaugh's financial crimes.
It turns out that investigators allowed him to be present during interviews with Murdaugh about the murders, which has some people wondering what's going on. Keep reading for everything we know about Fleming.
Who is Cory Fleming in relation to the Murdaugh murders?
Fleming is an attorney and longtime friend of Murdaugh's. In fact, he was believed to have been a groomsman at Murdaugh's wedding.
Allegedly, he previously played a role in helping Murdaugh pocket settlement money that was intended for the family of Gloria Satterfield, the Murdaugh family's housekeeper who died in 2018.
As told in Netflix's Murdaugh Murders, Gloria allegedly tripped over the Murdaughs' dogs while working and took a terrible fall down the stairs, resulting in her death.
Afterward, Murdaugh reportedly claimed he would sue himself for her wrongful death on account of the family's dogs being the supposed cause of the accident on his property. That way, Gloria's two sons would receive financial compensation for their loss.
However, as Gloria's sons said in the documentary, they never received a settlement and they only found about it after reading it in the news.
Fleming, having been an alleged co-conspirator in this case, was charged with 18 criminal counts tied to the theft of proceeds from the two sons' settlements totaling $4.3 million, per ABC 13. As a result, Fleming's law license was suspended by the state on Oct. 8, 2021.
Cory Fleming was in the room while Alex Murdaugh was interviewed about double homicide.
During the ongoing double homicide trial, the jury was shown a video in February that was filmed on Aug. 11, 2021. It showed Murdaugh being interviewed by investigators about the deaths of his wife Maggie and youngest son Paul.
The clip later made its way to social media where users were taken aback when they saw Fleming present during the interview. Questions arose over whether Fleming was Murdaugh's attorney or if he was working with investigators.
Fleming is heard saying, 'Maybe I am mistaken, I thought we were here to get an update on the case." One of the investigators, David Owen, responds, "I am not comfortable with you asking [Alex] questions as a suspect."
In another part of the interview, Murdaugh is not seen in the room and Fleming can be heard asking Owen: "Why are you going to tell a bad guy what you got?"
Owen replies that no one wants to know more about the incident that resulted in the murders than Murdaugh and himself.