Alex Murdaugh is in jail on a slew of charges, most of them financial counts. A major twist in the case came when Alex Murdaugh called authorities saying he was shot in the head in Hampton County on Sept. 4. He added that the feed room was still covered with brain fragments, pieces of Pauls skull, and lots of blood. He is accused of killing his wife Maggie and 22-year-old son Paul in June 2021, Slate reports. A day later, Smith admitted to being present during the Murdaugh shooting and disposing the firearm afterward. Randy and John said they don't know who could have committed the gruesome crime. "My brother loved Maggie and loved Paul like nothing else on this earth, just like he loves Buster," Randy said, naming Alex's other son. Buster, he said, told him that he and his mother shared locations with each other and he could ping it. Murdaugh, 54, is standing trial on two counts of murder. Its complicated. In 2006, he rejoined the Hampton-based law firm that his father had started more than 100 years ago. Randy and John said their father, whom they described as "a wonderful person," had been "sick" for a while and that they would have liked his death to be more a celebration of life, but their tight-knit family was reeling from the unsolved murders. He also enlisted a hit man to kill him so his surviving son, Buster, could cash in on his $10 million life insurance policy, one of his attorneys said. He faces charges in connection with a Sept. 4 suicide-for-hire plot. On Thursday, Murdaugh briefly described the roadside shooting, saying that he intended to die that day. "I can assure you that SLED agents will continue working to bring justice to anyone involved with any criminal act associated with these ongoing investigations," said SLED Chief Mark Keel. Four generations served as the local prosecutor, "On September 4, it became clear Alex believed that ending his life was his only option. John Marvin Murdaugh and Randolph "Randy" Murdaugh IV said they "knew something was wrong" when their other brother called them both late in the night on June 7. Sept. 8: Brother "shocked" by Murdaugh allegations; Alex Murdaugh's law license suspended, Alex Murdaugh's older brother Randy Murdaugh, who is also still employed by the firm, released a statement saying he was "shocked" to learn of his brother's "settling of money," as well as "drug addiction.". Among those on the list are Alex's family members including his surviving son, Buster, his brothers, Randy Murdaugh and John Marvin Murdaugh, his sister-in-law, Liz And it was the worst phone call because of his voice, the fear. After 19 months of speculation, prosecutors finally laid out their evidence Wednesday that Alex Murdaugh killed his wife and son as they opened the double murder trial for the disgraced South Carolina attorney. He told authorities he had been out at the time of the shooting and found his wife and son dead when he arrived home, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said in a later news release. Both sides of the trial asked the judge to consider delaying the case due to the virus, expressing concerns that if more jurors become ill and have to be released, the case could end in a mistrial. It was the start of what is expected to be a three-week trial at the Colleton County Courthouse. "It was very difficult.". I'm not talking about in the restroom. Both sides finished picking a 12-person jury with six alternates Wednesday. Randy Murdaugh and John Marvin Murdaugh speak out for the first time since their brother, Alex, found his 22-year-old son, Paul, and wife, Maggie, shot to death outside their home last week. Id never seen anything like it. Buster Murdaugh and John Marvin Murdaugh//Image Credit: WCBD NEWS 2 Earlier on Sept. 16, Curtis Edward Smith appeared in front of a Hampton County Judge for a bond hearing on charges where he agreed to a public defender and had his bond set at $55,000 for the attempted assisted suicide of Alex Murdaugh. The South Carolina legal scion, 53, who has been in jail since October, has been charged with a slew of counts, most of them financial crimes. Two alternates, 441 and 326, took their places. It made me want to do it longer. Alex tried to to call his other son, Buster, who lives a couple hours away in the city of Rock Hill, to tell him the news but "broke down and couldn't," according to Randy. And I think when you do those things, people respect you. Tanner told FITSnews earlier this month, then he should be prepared to debate this time, where he can explain to people why he was caught hanging out at the Murdaugh murder scene.. "My brother loved Maggie and loved Paul like nothing else on this earth, just like he loves Buster," Randy said. Prosecutors said over the weekend they received new evidence from General Motors about data from Alex Murdaughs Chevy Suburban. Its the hardest thing Ive ever been through in my life., Prosecutors say that Paul Murdaugh was fatally shot outside the feed room near the dog kennels of the South Carolina property on June 7, 2021and that his mother, Maggie, was killed nearby. John Monk/The State/TNS via Newscom, FILE. The court papers said that Murdaugh personally introduced them to fellow attorney Corey Fleming with the recommendation that Fleming should represent them "in filing legal claims against Murdaugh for the wrongful death of their mother.". The Murdaughs are a prominent legal family in the Palmetto State, with three generations serving as the elected solicitor in the 14th Judicial Circuit for 87 ", "I can tell you he was willing and still is willing to do anything that's asked of him," John added. She testified that she did not find any defensive wounds on Maggie either. Paul and Maggie have been hurt,'" John told ABC News in an exclusive interview airing Thursday on "Good Morning America. The newspaper was the first to report the document, which was later obtained by NBC News. John Marvin Murdaugh, the alleged killer's younger brother, said he returned to the hunting estate the day after arriving the killings to clean up the horrific scene John Hematrace will only test positive for blood from humans, higher primates and ferrets. "I don't know of anybody that would truly be an enemy or truly want to hurt them," Randy noted. Buster, he said, told She did not see any evidence of defensive wounds. The family's spokesperson later offered a clarification regarding the shooting, saying, "Alex had an entry and exit wound, his skull was fractured and it was not a self-inflicted bullet wound. "I love my law firm family and also love Alex as my brother. "He wants this solved.". In June 2021, The Island Packet reported that although Paul Murdaughs cell phone was found near his body on the night of the killings, investigators found Maggies phone the next day on a road outside of the familys Colleton County property. His mother Maggie, they said, was a "classy person" with a "very dynamic personality" and was the "rock of their family." Alex Murdaughthe attorney from a prominent South Carolina family who is suspected of committing a staggering number of crimes that were revealed after of a fatal 2019 boat crashwas indicted Thursday for murder. Evidence was laid out Wednesday against the disgraced South Carolina attorney, accused of shooting his wife and son at the familys hunting property in 2021. The deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh remain unsolved. Part of HuffPost Crime. He married his wife, Elizabeth Arnett in 2008 and they have three children. John and his family reside in Okatie, South Carolina. John Marvin is the brother-in-law and uncle of 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh, and 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh who were murdered on June 7, 2021 near the dog kennels on the familys hunting property, known locally as Moselle. This trial is the bottom of a stunningly far and fast downfall for the man whose family dominated the legal system in tiny neighboring Hampton County for generations, both as prosecutors and private attorneys known for getting life-changing settlements for accidents and negligence cases. Maggie Murdaugh signed the will in August 2005, according to a report Sunday in The Island Packet newspaper of Hilton Head. At the center of it is Alex Murdaugh, a 53-year-old South Carolina lawyer who comes from a legacy of prominent attorneys in the state where three generations of the family had been state prosecutors in the Hampton County area for more than a century. Since then, there have been curveballs in the investigation including Alex Murdaugh's alleged money misuse that led to the suspension of his law license, and other allegations of an opioid addiction, an assisted-suicide attempt and a $10 million insurance fraud scheme. Two days after a judge first denied Alex Murdaugh bond last fall, the disgraced Hampton County attorney called his younger brother and son from Richland County Detention Center and warned them to move quickly. Hey, John, Murdaugh said to John Marvin Murdaugh on Oct. 21, 2021. ", "I missed some phone calls from him. via Associated Press. The defense in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial rested their case Monday. Just days later, the family patriarch, Randolph Murdaugh III, died in a hospital at the age of 81. Alex was the loving father of Paul and the loving husband of Maggie, Harpootlian said. She took the stand to explain graphic photographs from her investigation to the jury and said the gunman was likely within three feet of Paul Murdaugh. "He said, 'Come as fast as you can. A former federal prosecutor, he now works as a state and federal criminal defense attorney based in Columbia, South Carolina. Alex Murdaugh started crying when his lawyer discussed the detail. The Murdaughs, a prominent Democratic family, had wielded enormous judicial and political power for over a century. He said that he was told by some of Maggie Murdaugh's immediate family members that the writing is hers and that he believes she made the change during her lifetime. John Marvin Murdaugh said he was sitting inside the house on the Moselle property and asked Alex Murdaugh if he could ping Maggies phone. One possibility is that Paul and Maggie Murdaughs killings were in some way an effort on Alex Murdaughs part to prevent authorities who were looking into the boat crash from discovering his elaborate web of other alleged criminal behavior. Last week, Alex Murdaughs surviving son Buster, 26, testified in the double murder trial of his father. Marlene Lenthang is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital. "It's just hard to imagine somebody can be so sick as to do this, intentionally kill people like that," Randy tearfully told ABC News. Maggie Murdaughs cellphone, for which her husband provided the code investigators used to find it the next day, showed it was being dumped on the side of the road off the property at the same time Alex Murdaughs phone showed he started his truck just outside his home, the defense attorney said. Two members of the jury for the Murdaugh murder trial have been released after they tested positive for COVID-19. "But we're just regular people that are working hard and trying to do right. ", Sept. 3 : Alex Murdaugh resigns from law firm. He messed himself. SLED then said they were opening the investigation into Satterfield's death at the request of the Hampton County Coroner's Office and due to information gathered during the course of other ongoing investigations involving AlexMurdaugh. Marian was like, No, John, I want you to handle it. So Im going to do whatever the court asked me to do, and Im also going to do what I think is best for Maggie," John Marvin Murdaugh said. Mr. Murdaugh, who has since been disbarred, has been held in jail since October 2021, when he was charged with stealing money from the family of his former Both had full stomachs of food that looked identical to each other, which likely showed they recently shared a meal together. IE 11 is not supported. DNA profiles were found on Alex Murdaughs shirt that likely came from Maggie, Pauls friend Nolan Tuten and an unidentified, unrelated person. He is accused of killing his wife Maggie and 22-year-old son Paul in June 2021, Slate reports. "Now is the time to bring justice for Maggie and Paul. Randolph "Randy" Murdaugh IV and John Marvin Murdaugh speak with ABC News for an interview that aired on "Good Morning America" on June 17, 2021. The defense, however, has argued that Murdaugh had no motivation to murder his wife and son that several witnesses have described as his top priority. John, who lives further away in the community of Okatie, west of Hilton Head Island, said he got there about 30 minutes later. South Carolina attorney Harpootlian added even more gruesome details how the shotgun blast that killed Paul Murdaugh was so close to his head that his brain exploded from his skull and was found at his feet. Murdaugh officially resigned from the law firm Peters,Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth, & Detrick based in Hampton, South Carolina, on Sept. 3 but publicly announced his resignation days later. We see it on the news. Fingernail clippings from Maggie Murdaughs left hand contained DNA from an unidentified, unrelated male. All rights reserved. Their brother, Richard Alexander "Alex" Murdaugh, had called 911 just after 10 p.m. I mean, in his pants.. If convicted, he faces 30 years to life in prison. Powder and residue left behind from a gun was found in several places Alex Murdaugh was also at, the prosecutor said. I felt like it was the right thing to do. I ask for prayers as I rehabilitate myself and my relationships," he said. Riemer said yes, because some shots would have been fired from behind her and the shot to the back of her head, when she was on the ground, would have come from toward the top of her body. Published: Feb. 13, 2023 at 2:47 PM PST WALTERBORO, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The fourth week of the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh began on Monday. Alex is not without fault but he is just one of many whose life has been devastated by opioid addiction," the lawyers' statement continued. John Marvin Murdaugh said he was sitting inside the house on the Moselle property and asked Alex Murdaugh if he could ping Maggies phone. He has maintained his innocence, and his lawyers said he has an alibi, as he was caring for his mother, who has dementia, the night of the killings. Harpootlian said all this was grasping at whatever evidence might make Murdaugh look guilty and ignoring what didnt fit the theory that he did it. Murdaugh said he called either Alex or Buster (he said he thinks it was Alex) and asked them for the password to Maggies phone so investigators could unlock it. "I could see the white sheets across the way," he said. From October: What really happened the night Alex Murdaugh was allegedly shot? 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