Alex Murdaugh charged with stealing more than $8.5M as new indictments filed

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Alex Murdaugh's attorney admits disgraced lawyer knows he's going to jail

Criminal defense attorney Brian Claypool reacts to the latest development in the Murdaugh family murder mystery saga

Alex Murdaugh, a once-prominent attorney from South Carolina, is now facing a total of 71 charges and is accused of stealing more than $8.5 million from clients after a new round of indictments.

On Friday, 27 additional charges were issued by the state grand jury against 53-year-old Murdaugh, who has been in custody since October and is accused of stealing millions of dollars from people, including a highway patrolman, a quadriplegic man, and the sons of his late housekeeper.

SOUTH CAROLINA JUDGE DENIES ALEX MURDAUGH'S REQUEST TO LOWER $7 MILLION BAIL

Alex Murdaugh walks into his bond hearing, Sept. 16, 2021, in Varnville, S.C.

The new indictments charge Murdaugh with 21 counts of Breach of Trust with Fraudulent Intent and six counts of Computer Crimes, extending his crime history back to 2011.

"Altogether, Murdaugh is charged in the new January State Grand Jury Indictments with respect to alleged schemes to defraud victims of $2,657,016.12," the South Carolina Attorney General's office noted. "When combined with the State Grand Jury Indictments from November and December 2021, the alleged total is $8,875,944.45."

Earlier this week, a South Carolina judge denied a request to lower the $7 million bail for Murdaugh. His lawyers argued that the bail amount was akin to no bail at all, saying that he was so broke, he is unable to pay his phone bill.

Murdaugh was initially ordered to be held without bail following accusations that he stole from his clients and attempted to arrange his own death, so his son Buster could collect a $10 million insurance policy.

Alex Murdaugh, right, is shown here with his family. (Fox News)

In June, his wife, 52, and other son, Paul, 22, were found shot to death at their home in Colleton County. The killings remain unsolved and Murdaugh has denied any involvement. An investigation into the slayings began to reveal other parts of his life, which are now the subject of several lawsuits.

He faces lawsuits from multiple people, including the family of his deceased housekeeper, a state trooper, an immigrant living in the country illegally, and a person injured in a car crash, prosecutors have said.

After the botched suicide attempt, Murdaugh spent weeks at rehab centers in Georgia and Florida for an opioid addiction, then was arrested in October on charges that he stole $3.4 million from the sons of his late housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, who died after tripping and falling in the Murdaugh home in 2018.

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Alex Murdaugh arrives at his bond hearing on Oct. 19, 2021 in Richland County, South Carolina. (Joshua Boucher/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

A different judge froze his accounts in an effort to make sure that the victims suing Murdaugh would not lose their chance to collect. That has resulted in him facing dire financial straits and leaving him with so little money, he can't even purchase underwear or pay his phone bill, his lawyers said.

Murdaugh faces multiple felonies that could send him to prison for more than 500 years if he is convicted.

Attorneys for Murdaugh could not be immediately reached for comment.

Fox News' Louis Casiano contributed to this article.