Live updates Thursday: SC newspaper sues police for reports in Murdaugh killings
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Murdaugh murders in Colleton County
Two members of a powerhouse legal family were shot and killed June 7 in Colleton County, SC. Read more of our coverage.
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This story first published June 17, 2021.
A South Carolina newspaper sued the two law enforcement agencies investigating the Murdaugh killings Thursday, saying they violated the state’s Freedom of Information Act by refusing to release police reports and 911 calls in the case.
Earlier Thursday, Paul Murdaugh’s uncles appeared on a national news show, marking the first time the powerhouse legal family has spoken publicly since the double homicide. They divulged that Paul Murdaugh had received death threats from strangers before the shooting, but the family didn’t believe they were credible.
The family and law enforcement have largely been silent as investigators worked the case. The S.C. Law Enforcement Division issued a statement Tuesday confirming a few details.
Paul Murdaugh, 22, and his mother Maggie, 52, were shot to death on June 7 outside their home in Islandton in Colleton County. They died between 9 and 9:30 p.m. Alex Murdaugh, Paul’s father and Maggie’s husband, called 911 at 10:07 p.m. to report that he had discovered the bodies.
Anyone with information about the case can call SLED’s newly established tip line at 803-896-2605.
LAWSUIT FILED ASKING FOR POLICE REPORTS
Thursday, 3:30 p.m.: The Post and Courier, a newspaper based in Charleston, sued the two investigating agencies in the Murdaugh deaths.
Since the shooting, state and local police have remained mostly quiet. SLED and the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office have refused to release supplemental police reports and 911 calls related to the deaths of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.
The Post and Courier’s lawsuit, filed early Thursday afternoon in Colleton County, says the agencies violated the Freedom of Information Act by not releasing those public records.
Jay Bender, a South Carolina Press Association attorney who often deals with S.C. open records laws, said the decision by SLED and the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office to keep silent is a mistake.
“Police are handicapping themselves,” Bender said by phone Thursday. “There might be information the public has that might be helpful to law enforcement agencies.”
Tommy Crosby, a spokesperson for SLED, said Thursday afternoon that the agency could not comment on the lawsuit.
“We are aware of pending litigation,” he said, “and it would be inappropriate to comment as a lawsuit has been filed.”
- Lana Ferguson, Jake Shore
WHERE IS ISLANDTON, SC?
Thursday, 2:50 p.m.: The Murdaughs’ home, known by locals as “Moselle,” is in Islandton, a remote community in South Carolina. It doesn’t have beachfront views like the name would suggest, and fewer than 70 people live there.
The community is in Colleton County, near the border of Hampton County, where the Murdaughs’ 111-year-old law firm is located.
On Thursday, a worker was installing a metal gate at the entrance of the Murdaugh’s property on Moselle Road. He said it was for privacy because people had been trespassing.
There were also newly placed “KEEP OUT” signs in the grass.
- Lana Ferguson
PAUL RECEIVED THREATS BEFORE DEATH
Thursday, 7:35 a.m.: Paul Murdaugh received threats before he and his mother were killed, but the family didn’t think there was any validity to them, his uncles said in the family’s first interview since the double homicide.
A tearful John Marvin Murdaugh and Randolph “Randy” Murdaugh IV, who also said the public perception of their family’s power is wrong, appeared in a pre-recorded interview on Good Morning America.
John Marvin and Randy are brothers of Alex Murdaugh, Paul’s father and Maggie’s husband, who told police he found their bodies after taking his ill father to the hospital and checking on his mother.
“I really don’t know of any enemies,” Randy Murdaugh IV said in the interview. “You hear of all this talk on social media with regard to Paul, but I don’t know of anybody that would truly be an enemy or would truly want to harm them.”
The brothers pleaded with the public to provide information to help solve the case.
- Lana Ferguson
POLICE INVESTIGATE NEARBY RIVER
Wednesday afternoon: The state’s top law enforcement agency, leading the investigation of the Murdaugh double homicides, searches the Salkehatchie River where it crosses S.C. 63 at the Colleton and Hampton county border, according to multiple local news outlets.
The area of the river where people saw officers search is just a few miles from where Paul and Maggie were found shot to death on June 7.
According to the outlets, SLED declined to comment on why officers were searching the river or whether it was connected to the Murdaugh killings.
- Lana Ferguson
SC GOVERNOR COMMENTS ON MURDAUGH KILLINGS
Tuesday, 7:45 a.m.: S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster calls the Murdaugh double homicide a tragedy during a live interview on Fox and Friends.
The interview was predominantly about U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ trip to Greenville, but co-host Ainsley Earhardt shifted the conversation to the June 7 killings. She asked about any new updates in the investigation.
“To my knowledge there is no new information other than our state law enforcement division and the sheriff are working around the clock to get information, following all leads,” McMaster said. “It is a tragic, tragic situation. The Murdaugh family is well known and respected, and this is just tragic, starting with the boat accident ... . It’s just tragedy after tragedy. We hope to get to the bottom of it and find those responsible for these two slayings. There’s no information I have that I can give you.”
“I wonder if there are two suspects?” the anchor said, noting Paul was shot with a shotgun and Maggie with an assault rifle, which sources close to the investigation have told The Island Packet and The State but officials have not publicly confirmed.
“That is the correct information, and it is tragic. It is one tragedy after another,” he said before redirecting the interview back to discussing the vice president.
- Lana Ferguson
Follow our previous coverage here.
This story was originally published June 17, 2021 at 9:20 AM with the headline "Live updates Thursday: SC newspaper sues police for reports in Murdaugh killings."
