Disbarred South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh was indicted on two counts of murder Wednesday for the deaths of his wife and son.
Murdaugh, a once-prominent legal scion who is already in jail for other alleged crimes, had called police in June of last year to report the shooting of his wife and child, but blood spatter on his clothing raised questions about whether he was responsible for the shooting, CNN reported. He had denied involvement in their deaths.
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“It was very clear from day one that law enforcement and the Attorney General prematurely concluded that Alex was responsible for the murder of his wife and son. But we know that Alex did not have any motive whatsoever to murder them,” Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, lawyers for Murdaugh, said in a statement following the indictment, per WYFF4.
His wife, Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, 52, and son Paul, 22, had been found dead near the family’s hunting estate on June 7, 2021. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel announced the indictment against Murdaugh. The indictment, which also includes a charge of possession of a weapon during a violent crime, came in the Court of General Sessions. Murdaugh’s lawyers have pledged to file for a speedy trial and demanded evidence from prosecutors.
“Over the last 13 months, SLED agents and our partners have worked day in and day out to build a case against the person responsible for the murders of Maggie and Paul and to exclude those who were not,” Keel said, per the outlet. “At no point did agents lose focus on this investigation. From the beginning I have been clear, the priority was to ensure justice was served. Today is one more step in a long process for justice for Maggie and Paul.”
In addition to the alleged blood spatter, investigators also found cellphone footage that put Murdaugh at the crime scene in an apparent contradiction of his claim that he had been visiting his mother that night, NBC reported. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years behind bars.
Murdaugh is currently in jail on a $7 million bond, charged with a bevy of alleged financial crimes, including a suicidal insurance fraud scheme. He was arrested on charges of those alleged crimes last September, with additional charges added against him in the succeeding months. He allegedly swindled over $8.5 million from various victims in the schemes, CNN reported. In one of the charges, Murdaugh allegedly asked a man to shoot him in the head so that his son could collect the insurance payout, per the outlet. He ultimately survived.
The disbarred lawyer had been a personal injury attorney but had his law license revoked last fall and was disbarred by the South Carolina Supreme Court Tuesday.
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Murdaugh hails from a legal dynasty in the state. His father, grandfather, and great grandfather held a top prosecutor post in the state’s 14th Circuit, accounting for about 80 years of family prominence in the area, per NBC.
“Alex wants his family, friends, and everyone to know that he did not have anything to do with the murders of Maggie and Paul. He loved them more than anything in the world,” his lawyers added.
