John Monk
Verified
“Dying breed” reporter, SC's The State; justice, crime, legislative corruption, Murdaugh murders, Jan 6 issues. Ex Char Obs Wash Buro, Reader. Hiker. US Army.
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by John Monk
Prosecutors deny falsifying evidence in original Murdaugh murder indictments
Prosecutors in the Alex Murdaugh case are denying they used flawed evidence to convince the county grand jury that indicted him on double murder charges in 2022. kAm“%96 $E2E6 5:5 ?@E AC6D6?E 72=D6 @C 723C:42E65 6G:56?46 E@ E96 r@==6E@? r@F?EJ 8C2?5 ;FCJ[” AC@D64FE@CD 7@C E96 $]r] pEE@C?6J v6?6C2=’D @77:46 HC@E6 :? 2 4@FCE 7:=:?8 >256 =2E6 uC:52J 27E6C?@@? :? E96 r@==6E@? r@F?EJ 4=6C< @7 4@FCE’D @77:46]k^Am kAm%96 AC@D64FE:@?’D aa\A286 7:=:?8 H2D :?
Prosecutors deny falsifying evidence in original Murdaugh murder indictments
Prosecutors in the Alex Murdaugh case are denying they used flawed evidence to convince the county grand jury that indicted him on double murder charges in 2022. “The State did not present false or fabricated evidence to the Colleton County grand jury,” prosecutors for the S.C. Attorney General's office wrote in a court filing made late Friday afternoon in the Colleton County clerk of court's office. The prosecution's 22-page filing was in response to a motion made on Oct.
Prosecutors deny falsifying evidence in original Murdaugh murder indictments
Prosecutors in the Alex Murdaugh case are denying they used flawed evidence to convince the county grand jury that indicted him on double murder charges in 2022. kAm“%96 $E2E6 5:5 ?@E AC6D6?E 72=D6 @C 723C:42E65 6G:56?46 E@ E96 r@==6E@? r@F?EJ 8C2?5 ;FCJ[” AC@D64FE@CD 7@C E96 $]r] pEE@C?6J v6?6C2=’D @77:46 HC@E6 :? 2 4@FCE 7:=:?8 >256 =2E6 uC:52J 27E6C?@@? :? E96 r@==6E@? r@F?EJ 4=6C< @7 4@FCE’D @77:46]k^Am kAm%96 AC@D64FE:@?’D aa\A286 7:=:?8 H2D :?
“To eulogize Daddy is to leave something out” Alex Sanders funeral draws hundreds
Hundreds of people turned out for a funeral Thursday at Trinity Cathedral celebrating the life of the many-sided Alex Sanders, masterful storyteller and lawyer, prankster, former chief judge of the S.C. Court of Appeals and ex-president of the College of Charleston.
Stumbo plans to be 'hands-on' attorney general
Republican Eighth Judicial Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo rolled to a decisive victory for the S.C. Attorney General’s post over his Democratic opponent Richard Hricik on Tuesday. kAm$EF>3@[ d_[ 2? 6IA6C:6?465 AC@D64FE@C H9@ 925 366? 6=64E65 D@=:4:E@C 7@FC E:>6D :? 9:D &ADE2E6 ;F5:4:2= 4:C4F:E[ 72C @FEDA6?E wC:4:<[ dh[ 2 |@F?E !=62D2?E =2HJ6C[ H9@ DA6?E 23@FE Sg[___[ @?
Rep. Heather Bauer gets another win in Columbia’s SC House district race
Bauer won Tuesday by more than 2,500 votes, getting 9,189 votes, or 57 percent, to Robins 6,682, or 41 percent. It was Bauer’s third win in her largely residential district that sprawls across central Columbia since she edged out former 10-year incumbent Republican Rep. Kirkman Finlay in 2022 by just a few hundred votes. In that race, a woman’s right to abortion was the major issue, and Bauer supported that right.
Solicitor David Stumbo win in SC attorney general’s race
Republican Eighth Judicial Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo rolled to a decisive victory for the S.C. Attorney General’s post over his Democratic opponent Richard Hricik on Tuesday. Stumbo, 50, an experienced prosecutor who had been elected solicitor four times in his Upstate judicial circuit, far outspent Hricik, 59, a Mount Pleasant lawyer, who spent about $8,000, on his campaign.
Why do Alex Murdaugh's lawyers want his South Carolina murder indictments thrown out?
Attorneys for Alex Murdaugh are seeking dismissal of the 2022 murder indictments on which prosecutors are basing their case for Murdaugh's retrial in South Carolina, according to a defense filing in the case. “The indictments were procured by fabricated evidence and should be dismissed,” the defense filing said.
SC attorney general candidates Stumbo and Hricik differ on Alex Murdaugh retrial
By John Monk, The State COLUMBIA, S.C. - David Stumbo, the 8th Judicial Circuit solicitor and Republican candidate for South Carolina attorney general, says he will be seriously engaged in the upcoming double murder retrial of Alex Murdaugh. "I plan to actively be on the team trying that case," says Stumbo, 50, a veteran elected prosecutor whose largely Upstate circuit covers Abbeville, Greenwood, Laurens and Newberry counties.
SC attorney general candidates Stumbo and Hricik differ on Alex Murdaugh retrial Original
David Stumbo, the 8th Judicial Circuit solicitor and Republican candidate for S.C. attorney general, says he will be seriously engaged in the upcoming double murder retrial of Alex Murdaugh. “I plan to actively be on the team trying that case,” says Stumbo, 50, a veteran elected prosecutor whose largely Upstate circuit covers Abbeville, Greenwood, Laurens and Newberry counties.
Family of man killed by car going 88 mph in a South Carolina 35-mph zone backs no prison for driver
; ; ; ; Continue reading More for You Continue reading More for You
Family of man killed by car going 88 mph in a South Carolina 35-mph zone backs no prison for driver
Madeline Kuester (left) pleads guilty to vehicular homicide before SC Judge Michael Nettles. A weeping Clemson student who pleaded guilty Wednesday to vehicular reckless homicide in a 2024 speeding incident that killed a pedestrian was given a suspended 10-year prison sentence and two years probation.
Trump to nominate Gov. McMaster lawyer Grayson Lambert to federal judge post
Grayson Lambert, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster's top attorney, is going to be nominated by President Donald Trump to a prestigious lifetime federal judge's post, various news organizations are reporting. Lambert, 39, was born in Columbia, graduated from the University of Virginia in 2009, and then graduated magna cum laude from Duke University School of Law in 2012. After law school, he clerked for Judge Dennis Shedd on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Why did the Cowboys drug gang come up at Murdaugh hearing?
Fifty-two minutes into a recent pretrial hearing for Alex Murdaugh, his defense lawyer Dick Harpootlian brought up a report that described drug transactions between the Cowboys drug gang and the man who allegedly supplied Murdaugh with drugs for years. Harpootlian told Judge Debra McCaslin that the report was an example of how thousands of pages of evidence were turned over to the defense at the last minute at Murdaugh’s 2023 double murder trial.
Why did the Cowboys drug gang come up at Murdaugh hearing?
Fifty-two minutes into a recent pretrial hearing for Alex Murdaugh, his defense lawyer Dick Harpootlian brought up a report that described drug transactions between the Cowboys drug gang and the man who allegedly supplied Murdaugh with drugs for years. kAmw2CA@@E=:2? E@=5 k2 9C67lQ9EEADi^^HHH]E96DE2E6]4@>^?6HD^=@42=^4C:>6^2CE:4=6b`e_e_cah]9E>=Q C6=lQu@==@HQ E2C86ElQ03=2?<QmyF586 s63C2 |4r2D=:?k^2m E92E E96 C6A@CE H2D 2?
Trump to nominate Gov. McMaster lawyer Grayson Lambert to federal judge post
Grayson Lambert, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s top attorney, is going to be nominated by President Donald Trump to a prestigious lifetime federal judge’s post, various news organizations are reporting. Lambert, 39, was born in Columbia, graduated from the University of Virginia in 2009, and then graduated magna cum laude from Duke University School of Law in 2012. After law school, he clerked for Judge Dennis Shedd on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Alex Sanders, ex-judge and SC’s ‘Mark Twain in robes,’ dies at 88
Alex Sanders, a former chief judge of the SC Court of Appeals and ex-president of the College of Charleston nationally known for his wit, wisdom and story-telling ability, has died in Columbia. He was 88. Sanders passed away peacefully in his sleep Tuesday at the Still Hopes Retirement Community in West Columbia where he lived, said his daughter, Zoe Caroline Sanders, a Columbia attorney. Funeral services will be announced at a later date.
Alex Sanders, ex-judge and SC’s ‘Mark Twain in robes,’ dies at 88
Alex Sanders in a photo taken during his 2002 race for the U.S. Senate. Alex Sanders, a former chief judge of the SC Court of Appeals and ex-president of the College of Charleston nationally known for his wit, wisdom and story-telling ability, has died in Columbia. He was 88. Sanders passed away peacefully in his sleep Tuesday at the Still Hopes Retirement Community in West Columbia where he lived, said his daughter, Zoe Caroline Sanders, a Columbia attorney.
Alex Sanders, ex-judge and SC’s ‘Mark Twain in robes,’ dies at 88
Alex Sanders, a former chief judge of the SC Court of Appeals and ex-president of the College of Charleston nationally known for his wit, wisdom and story-telling ability, has died in Columbia. He was 88. Sanders passed away peacefully in his sleep Tuesday at the Still Hopes Retirement Community in West Columbia where he lived, said his daughter, Zoe Caroline Sanders. Funeral services will be announced at a later date.
Alex Sanders, ex-judge and SC’s ‘Mark Twain in robes,’ dies at 88
Alex Sanders, a former chief judge of the SC Court of Appeals and ex-president of the College of Charleston nationally known for his wit, wisdom and story-telling ability, has died in Columbia. He was 88. kAm$2?56CD A2DD65 2H2J A62467F==J :? 9:D D=66A %F6D52J 2E E96 $E:== w@A6D #6E:C6>6?E r@>>F?:EJ :? (6DE r@=F>3:2 H96C6 96 =:G65[ D2:5 9:D 52F89E6C[ +@6 r2C@=:?6 $2?56CD] uF?6C2= D6CG:46D H:== 36 2??@F?465 2E 2 =2E6C 52E6]k^Am kAmsF3365 @?46 3J %96 r92C=@EE6 ~3D6CG6C 2D $@FE9 r2C@=:?2’D “|2C< %H2:? :?
Judge McCaslin at Murdaugh hearing: ‘I’ll not allow proceedings to become a circus’
State Judge Debra McCaslin left no doubt Friday about who was the boss of the courtroom in the latest pretrial hearing for Alex Murdaugh, accused of killing his wife Maggie and son Paul. kAm“x H:== ?@E 2==@H E96D6 AC@4665:?8D E@ 364@>6 2 4:C4FD[ 2?5 x H:== ?@E A6C>:E 2?J@?6 :?G@=G65 :? E9:D 42D6 E@ FD6 E9:D 4@FCEC@@> 2D 2 A=2E7@C> 7@C AF3=:4:EJ @C E962EC:4D[” |4r2D=:? E@=5 AC@D64FE:@? 2?5 5676?D6 =2HJ6CD 2E E96 6?5 @7 E96 962C:?8]k^Am kAmsFC:?8 E96 ?62C=J EH@\9@FC 962C:?8 2E E96 {6I:?8E@?
Judge says she won’t allow ‘circus’ in Alex Murdaugh’s retrial over killings of wife and son
Alex Murdaugh thanks his attorney, Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian after a judicial hearing on Friday, Oct 16, 2026, at a status hearing at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington, South Carolina. Alex Murdaugh will be retried in the June 7, 2021, shooting deaths of his wife and son, after his original conviction was overturned due to jury tampering.
Judge says she won’t allow ‘circus’ in Alex Murdaugh’s retrial over killings of wife and son
Alex Murdaugh thanks his attorney, Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian after a judicial hearing on Friday, Oct 16, 2026, at a status hearing at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington, South Carolina. Alex Murdaugh will be retried in the June 7, 2021, shooting deaths of his wife and son, after his original conviction was overturned due to jury tampering.
Judge says she won’t allow ‘circus’ in Alex Murdaugh’s retrial over killings of wife and son
State Judge Debra McCaslin left no doubt Friday about who was the boss of the courtroom in the latest pretrial hearing for Alex Murdaugh, accused of killing his wife Maggie and son Paul. “I will not allow these proceedings to become a circus, and I will not permit anyone involved in this case to use this courtroom as a platform for publicity or theatrics,” McCaslin told prosecution and defense lawyers at the end of the hearing in South Carolina.
Show More
loading
Actions
Get in touch with John
Contact John, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack