South Carolina Attorney Shot in the Head 3 Months After His Wife and Son Were Killed

CNN Newsource
By CNN Newsource
September 6, 2021US News
share
South Carolina Attorney Shot in the Head 3 Months After His Wife and Son Were Killed
Police tape in a file photo. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A prominent South Carolina attorney says he was shot Saturday, according to law enforcement, about three months after he discovered the bodies of his wife and son shot dead outside the family’s home, deepening the mystery surrounding their unsolved murders.

Alex Murdaugh, who comes from a long line of influential South Carolina lawyers and prosecutors, called 911 and reported he was shot early Saturday afternoon on a road in Hampton County, according to a statement from South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) spokesperson Tommy Crosby. Murdaugh was taken to a hospital in Savannah, Georgia, where he was treated for a “superficial gunshot wound to the head,” the statement said.

“At this time no arrests have been made,” the statement said.

CNN affiliates WCSC and WCIV reported Jim Griffin, Murdaugh’s attorney, said he was told by family members Murdaugh was changing a tire when he was shot. Griffin told WCIV a vehicle had passed Murdaugh and turned around when someone shot him. CNN has reached out to Griffin for additional details but has not heard back.

According to WCSC, a family spokesperson said in a statement the family expects Alex Murdaugh to recover and asked for privacy, saying, “The Murdaugh family has suffered through more than any one family could ever imagine,” a likely reference to the yet-unsolved killings of Murdaugh’s wife and 22-year-old son.

According to SLED, Murdaugh called 911 and said he had arrived home on June 7 to find his wife, Margaret, and son Paul shot dead outside of their home in Islandton, South Carolina, a small community about an hour north of Hilton Head Island. Colleton County Sheriff’s deputies determined both had suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

SLED took over the investigation, but the case remains unsolved. Alex Murdaugh has announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the parties responsible for their deaths.

“As Chief of SLED I urge the public to be patient and let the investigation take its course,” SLED Chief Mark Keel said in a statement in June. “This case is complex, and we will not rush this or any investigation.”

The killings brought renewed attention to Paul’s involvement in a 2019 boating accident that claimed the life of a 19-year-old woman. When he was killed, Paul was facing charges of boating under the influence causing great bodily injury and causing death in connection to the accident, court records show. Paul had pleaded not guilty and court records show the charges were dropped after his death.

The family has been prominent in the South Carolina legal community for decades: Over 87 consecutive years, three generations of Murdaughs—including Alex’s father, Randolph Murdaugh III—held the office of Solicitor of the 14th Circuit, which covers Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper counties.

According to the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, the current solicitor is the first outside the Murdaugh family to hold the elected position. Today, several Murdaughs, including Alex, work at the Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick law firm.

Alex’s brothers Randy and John Marvin addressed the perception of the family prominence in an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” in June, saying that perception was wrong.

“You see words like ‘dynasty’ used and ‘power,’ and I don’t know exactly how people use those words,” said Randy Murdaugh. “But we’re just regular people, and we’re hurting just like they would be hurting if this had happened to them.”

“I can’t imagine the horror that my brother’s experiencing,” he said.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.