A lawyer from a prominent legal family in South Carolina was shot in the head Saturday, mere months after his wife and son were shot and killed at their sprawling estate in a murder mystery that has roiled the Deep South.
Alex Murdaugh’s lawyer told local outlet The State that his client had been driving on a remote road to Charleston to when his car malfunctioned. He stopped and later was shot in the head, though the circumstances of the attack and the extent of his injuries are not yet known. He was rushed to a nearby hospital. Police have not named a suspect.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) confirmed to The Daily Beast it is investigating the shooting of Murdaugh in Hampton County and was called in to assist the Hampton County Sheriff’s Office in its investigation around 1:30 p.m.
In a statement, the Murdaugh family said it “has suffered through more than any one family can ever imagine. We expect Alex to recover and ask for your privacy while he recovers.”
Son of Powerful South Carolina Prosecutor Got Death Threats Before His Murder, Family Says
Murdaugh’s 52-year-old wife Maggie and 22-year-old Paul were found with fatal gunshot wounds at the family’s 1,700-acre hunting estate in Colleton County on June 7, the mother apparently shot with a rifle and the son shot in the head with a shotgun. Alex Murdaugh told police he was not home at the time of the killings, and no suspects have been named.
At the time of his death, Paul was charged with three felonies for allegedly killing a teenager named Mallory Beach on a boat in 2019. Authorities said Paul was intoxicated when he drove the boat into a bridge piling near Parris Island after an oyster roast. Her body was not found for a week.
Dashcam video captured one of the passengers telling police that they doubted Paul Murdaugh would face justice for the death.
“That motherfucker needs to rot in fucking prison,” the person was heard saying. “He ain’t gonna get in no fucking trouble.”
Paul Murdaugh pleaded not guilty, and Beach’s mother filed a wrongful death suit against the family.
Videos Shed New Light on Wild Boat Crash Saga Roiling South Carolina
Surviving members of the family said Paul had received death threats over Beach’s death in the months leading up to his own murder.
Patriarchs of the Murdaugh family have wielded great legal power for more than a century. Multiple generations of men in the family served as solicitors for the 14th Judicial Circuit.
As one man previously told The State, “They are the law around here.”
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