Alex Murdaugh Shooting: Former Client Charged With 'Assisted Suicide'

U.S.|Former Client Charged With Shooting Alex Murdaugh successful ‘Assisted Suicide’ Attempt

A erstwhile lawsuit of Alex Murdaugh’s was arrested connected Tuesday and charged with “assisted suicide” and battle successful the shooting and wounding of the salient South Carolina lawyer this month, the latest twist successful a mysterious bid of crimes that person drawn aggravated scrutiny since June, erstwhile Mr. Murdaugh came location to find his woman and lad changeable to death.

The erstwhile client, Curtis Edward Smith, 61, was besides charged with battery, pointing a gun, security fraud and selling methamphetamine, a authorities constabulary bureau said successful a statement. Mr. Murdaugh’s lawyer did not respond to inquiries astir the arrest.

Mr. Murdaugh, 53, represented Mr. Smith arsenic precocious arsenic 2015 successful a suit that Mr. Smith had filed against a wood absorption institution based successful Charlotte, N.C. He had besides represented Mr. Smith successful respective different cases, including insignificant postulation violations.

Mr. Murdaugh called 911 from a agrarian roadworthy successful Hampton County, S.C., connected Sept. 4 to accidental helium had been changeable successful the head, an wounded the constabulary person described arsenic a “superficial” gunshot wound. Mr. Murdaugh told the constabulary that helium had stopped connected the broadside of the roadworthy to inspect a level tyre erstwhile idiosyncratic pulled up successful a pickup truck, asked whether helium was having car occupation and changeable him successful the head, Mr. Murdaugh’s lawyer has said.

A time earlier, Mr. Murdaugh had been pushed retired of his household instrumentality firm, which said it discovered that helium had misused millions of dollars. Mr. Murdaugh issued a connection apologizing to his household and his colleagues and said helium was entering rehab. It was a stunning autumn for Mr. Murdaugh, who is portion of a ineligible dynasty that has amassed almighty ties successful the South Carolina Lowcountry implicit the past century. His father, gramps and great-grandfather each served arsenic the apical authoritative crossed a five-county portion for much than 8 decades, until 2006.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Murdaugh had vehemently denied that the shooting connected the broadside of the roadworthy was self-inflicted, saying helium had sustained an introduction and exit coiled and a skull fracture.

The shooting came astir 3 months aft Mr. Murdaugh returned to his family’s large, agrarian spot successful Islandton, S.C., and discovered his wife, Maggie, and lad Paul, a 22-year-old assemblage student, changeable to death.

The killings, which stay unsolved, person drawn attraction to the Murdaugh family’s checkered past successful the region. At the clip of his death, Paul Murdaugh was facing charges that helium had drunkenly crashed a vessel successful 2019, sidesplitting Mallory Beach, a passenger, and wounding others.