Alex Murdaugh will likely be charged in suicide attempt, attorney says. But with what?
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Alex Murdaugh Coverage
The Murdaugh family saga has dominated the news after another shooting, a resignation and criminal accusations — with Alex Murdaugh at the center of it all. Here are the latest updates on Alex Murdaugh.
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Alex Murdaugh’s attorney told the Today Show Wednesday that Murdaugh is likely to be charged with a crime after state investigators arrested a man they say helped Murdaugh plan an assisted suicide for a $10 million life insurance payout for his sole surviving son.
Attorney and state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, D-Richland, did not specify what crime Murdaugh might face for helping arrange his own suicide. But Harpootlian told Today Show host Craig Melvin he’s not guilty of the murders of his wife and son.
The attempted suicide, which took place Sept. 4 on a rural Hampton County road, failed, but attracted widespread attention because statements released by the family through their attorneys made it appear as a failed assassination attempt. Instead, investigators say Murdaugh arranged for a hit man to shoot him so his son, Buster, could collect on a life insurance policy.
In the shooting, Murdaugh suffered a head wound and — purportedly suffering from heavy use of oxycodone, which can become addictive — entered an out-of-state drug treatment facility Sept. 6.
Harpootlian told Melvin that he and partner attorney Jim Griffin visited Murdaugh at his out-of-state detox facility Monday. There, Murdaugh told them everything about the botched suicide attempt.
The goal of the suicide attempt was to allow Murdaugh’s sole surviving son to collect an approximately $10 million life insurance policy on the older Murdaugh’s life, the attorneys were told.
“It was an attempt on his part to protect his child,” Harpootlian said. “He didn’t want law enforcement spending more time on this fake crime.”
Both attorneys later told the S.C. Law Enforcement Division from the undisclosed rehabilitation center.
“We called SLED — they didn’t call us,” Harpootlian said.
Murdaugh’s shooting scheme
In an overnight twist in the case, SLED Tuesday announced an accomplice to Murdaugh’s suicide attempt was in custody.
Murdaugh’s statements to SLED led directly to the arrest of Curtis Edward Smith, 61, of Walterboro.
Smith, who was arrested in Colleton County, has been charged with multiple crimes.
He faces one count each of assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. He also is charged with distribution of methamphedamine.
On Wednesday, a judge granted Smith a $5,000 bond.
“Dick, you have prosecuted serial killers, university presidents over the years — you have to admit this is a pretty unbelievable story,” Melvin told Harpootlian. “Your client claiming he paid someone to shoot to collect $10 million and the guy missed. Is that the story?”
Harpootlian told Melvin that Murdaugh was in a “massive depression.”
“And he realized things were going to get very, very bad, and he decided to end his life. He believed that $10 million policy had a suicide exclusion. Suicide exclusions are only good for two years and he didn’t realize that. So he arranged to have this guy shoot him,” Harpootlian said.
He explained that Murdaugh called Smith, who “met him on the side of the road, agreed to shoot him in the head” while Murdaugh was staging a fake car breakdown.
“Thirty minutes later, this guy is shooting him in the head. Didn’t try to persuade him not to do it, didn’t hesitate at all. There was an entrance and exit wound,” Harpootlian said. “And Alex indicated he collapsed, he was blind for a while before he was taken to the hospital.”
SLED investigating money, murders
Only months ago, Murdaugh was one of South Carolina’s leading lawyers from a well-known legal family.
He was part of a longtime law firm with a statewide reputation, and was the former president of the S.C. Association for Justice, the leader of the state’s leading trial lawyers’ organization.
Harpootlian said his client remains “very distraught” over the gruesome deaths last June 7 of his wife, Maggie, 52, and son, Paul, 22, whose bodies were found on the grounds of the Murdaughs’ family estate in Colleton County.
They had been shot repeatedly. No arrests have been made.
“He clearly knew what he had done (in the suicide attempt) was wrong and he explained a couple of things. One, the murder of his son and wife, 90 days ago, took a tremendous toll on him,” Harpootlian said. “His father died of cancer that same week. Most people couldn’t have gotten through it. He got through it with the use of opioids.”
Then, last week, Harpootlian continued, “it was uncovered that he had ... converted some client and law firm money to his own use and spent most of that on opioids.”
Harpootlian’s statement about Murdaugh taking client and law firm money were the first public statements on the matter.
Among the handful of now open investigations, SLED is looking into the millions of dollars that Murdaugh allegedly misappropriated from his former law firm, where he was a partner.
Murdaugh’s former firm, Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick, or PMPED, is based in Hampton County.
So far, the Murdaugh’s former law firm has not specified where the money it claims Murdaugh “misappropriated” came from. The firm also has declined to say how much was taken but it could be around $5 million, one source with knowledge disclosed to The State.
Harpootlian said “the vast majority was used to buy drugs.”
“That’s a lot of oxy,” Melvin responded.
Harpootlian said Murdaugh wrote checks to buy many of the drugs but didn’t say whose names were on the checks.
In his Monday interview, Murdaugh told SLED exactly how to find out how much he spent, what bank accounts he drew money from, where the bank accounts are and what came out.
“Do you fully expect your client is going to be arrested in the near future?” Melvin asked.
“Yes,” Harpootlian said, “I think he will be charged.”
No one has so far been charged in the deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.
Asked by Melvin whether he knew who did it, Harpootlian said he and Griffin are “working on individuals” they believe “have some culpability or know who did it.”
“We are not law enforcement,” Harpootlian said. “We don’t have their tools. But we think we will know this week whether the one suspect we are looking at bears further scrutiny. We will make that information available to law enforcement.”
The motive, he said, “would be personal.”
This story was originally published September 15, 2021 at 8:52 AM with the headline "Alex Murdaugh will likely be charged in suicide attempt, attorney says. But with what?."
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