The former lawyer, now disqualified, was charged Thursday morning with two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon while committing a violent crime, according to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson , and the head of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Mark Keel. .
Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, 52, and her young son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, were found shot at the family property in Islandton, an hour north of Hilton Head Island, on the night of March 7. June 2021. Alex Murdaugh placed the 911 call reporting the shooting, saying he had just returned home and had discovered his bodies.
Murdaugh, a pillar of South Carolina’s legal community, has denied involvement in the deaths, saying he had been visiting his mother at the time.
“Alex wants his family, friends and everyone to know that he had nothing to do with the murders of Maggie and Paul. He loved them more than anything in the world,” said Murdaugh’s lawyers Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, in a statement Thursday.
Lawyers criticized the latest development of the case.
“From day one it became very clear that law enforcement and the attorney general concluded prematurely that Alex was responsible for the murder of his wife and son,” the statement says.
Murdaugh faces charges related to financial crimes
Harpootlian and Griffin said they will file a motion for a speedy trial “asking the attorney general to deliver all the evidence within 30 days as required by law and (demanding) … a trial within 60 days following receipt of such evidence “.
Keel described the indictment as “one more step in a lengthy trial for Maggie and Paul.”
“For the past 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 in a statement. . “At no point did the agents lose focus on this investigation. From the beginning I was clear, the priority was to ensure that justice was done.”
Murdaugh is being held behind bars in Columbia, South Carolina, on $ 7 million bail, facing a series of charges for alleged financial crimes.
A bail hearing will be held Wednesday morning on the most recent charges in the Colleton County Courthouse before Judge Clifton Newman, according to the office of South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson.
The alleged financial crimes are linked, in part, to allegations that Murdaugh stole millions in death settlement funds from the family of his late mistress Gloria Satterfield.
South Carolina authorities opened an investigation into Satterfield’s death last year. He died at the Murdaughs ’home in 2018, after what Murdaugh described as a“ trip and fall ”accident. Last year questions arose about his death and how it was handled.
“Expected but still surprised,” Eric Bland and Ronnie Richt, Satterfield’s family attorneys, said in a statement, referring to the new indictment. “Just one more embarrassing chapter in the downfall of an immoral man without morals. What’s sad is the number of victims in his path. Clients, family, legal partners, colleagues and friends. Alex was a victim of equal opportunities “.
According to SLED, Murdaugh coordinated with his family to sue himself and reach an insurance agreement, saying he would give the family income. However, he secretly deposited about $ 3 million of that money in an account he had, according to affidavits released by SLED.
The source cites splashes of blood as potential evidence
A source familiar with the investigation into the deaths of his wife and son told CNN that splashes of blood found on Murdaugh’s clothing could place him at the scene of the murders of his wife and son. son.
Blood splatters could put Murdaugh in close contact with at least one of the victims when they were killed, the source said. High-speed splashes are associated with the use of a particular weapon, such as a rifle, and create a specific blood pattern, especially when used at close range.
In addition, a phone belonging to Paul Murdaugh belonging to his body containing a video and audio of Alex Murdaugh talking to his wife near the time she and Paul were killed was recovered, the source said.
Alex Murdaugh is not seen in the video, but is heard talking to her, and this recording has a time stamp, the source said, which may be key to the investigation.
The details were first reported by FITSNews.
Murdaugh, a descendant of a powerful political family in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, last June called 911 to report that his wife and son had been shot dead outside his home, according to SLED.
The investigation into these deaths has led to unexpected twists: the reopening of an investigation into the unresolved death of a 19-year-old in 2015; Murdaugh’s resignation as a lawyer for a prominent legal group; an admission that he struggled with opioid abuse; and dozens of charges accusing him of stealing money from customers.
In a strange incident, Murdaugh in September called police to report that he had been wounded by a gunshot wound to the head. He soon admitted that he had conspired with another man to shoot him dead so that his surviving son would receive $ 10 million in life insurance, according to authorities.
The South Carolina Supreme Court issued an order Tuesday that disqualified Murdaugh, after he suspended his license to practice law in the state in 2021.
Eric Levenson and CNN’s Travis Caldwell contributed to this report.