Murder Family Patriarch Asked a Former Client to Kill Him
Alex Murdaugh, who survived being shot in the head, was attempting to secure an insurance payout for his son.
The latest twist in the Alex Murdaugh murder saga is on par with what you have come to expect from the Alex Murdaugh murder saga.
In June, the South Carolina lawyer came home to find his wife and son had been murdered. Arrests have not yet been made in the case. Earlier this month, Murdaugh was hospitalized after sustaining injuries as a result of being shot in the head while fixing a flat tire. Soon after that, Murdaugh released a statement saying he would be resigning from his law firm and entering rehab after making “a lot of decisions that I truly regret.” Soon after that, the law firm released a statement that he had been misusing funds. Soon after that, it was discovered the knife used to puncture the tire belonged to Murdaugh himself.
Today it was reported that the shooting was the result of a plot put in place by Alex Murdaugh himself. The lawyer had hired a former client to kill him, so his surviving son could collect a $10 million insurance payout. The gunshot that merely wounded Murdaugh came from Curtis Edward Smith, who was arrested for assisted suicide, aggravated assault and battery, and insurance fraud in connection with that shooting.
According to South Carolina Law Enforcement, Murdaugh admitted to the plan on Monday, and Smith admitted to being on the scene and ditching the gun. Murdaugh has not yet been charged.
Dick Harpootlian, one of Murdaugh’s lawyers, said during an appearance on the Today show that Murdaugh devised the scheme while suffering from depression and oxycodone abuse, because he was under the incorrect impression that his “$10 million [life insurance] policy had a suicide exclusion.” Jim Griffin, another of Murdaugh’s lawyers, said in a written statement that Murdaugh primarily purchased oxycodone from Curtis Edward Smith.
