Unsolved Murdaugh Murders Expose Years of South Carolina Mysteries

HAMPTON, S.C. — Curtis Edward Smith, a handyman and erstwhile logger, had done his stock of unusual jobs implicit the years for Alex Murdaugh, a lawyer and scion of 1 of the astir almighty ineligible families successful the South Carolina Lowcountry.

But Mr. Smith said helium was reluctant to bash the past occupation Mr. Murdaugh asked for erstwhile the 2 men met astatine the broadside of a agrarian roadworthy 1 Saturday successful September.

“I privation you to sprout maine successful the backmost of the head,” Mr. Smith recalled Mr. Murdaugh telling him. He said Mr. Murdaugh had a loaded weapon successful his hand.

That unraveling is present astatine the halfway of a sprawling saga of mysterious deaths — including the unsolved sidesplitting of Mr. Murdaugh’s woman and younger lad — and allegations of multimillion-dollar swindles and abuses of spot and power. The play has sent a daze done South Carolina, wherever Alex Murdaugh and his household person dominated the ineligible profession successful a agrarian swath of the authorities for much than a century.

It is uncommon for the idiosyncratic travails of 1 small-town lawyer to resonate truthful broadly. But Mr. Murdaugh, 53, was for years a well-connected subordinate successful the clubby South Carolina ineligible world; the household instrumentality firm, based successful the tiny metropolis of Hampton, has agelong been considered a powerhouse connected the authorities plaintiff’s bar.

In caller weeks, a dizzying bid of transgression investigations and civilian lawsuits has emerged, accusing Mr. Murdaugh of betraying friends, colleagues and clients. The constabulary person opened antecedently closed cases, including 1 involving the decease of a erstwhile classmate of Mr. Murdaugh’s lad and different involving a housekeeper who had agelong been thought to person fatally tripped and fallen connected the beforehand steps of the Murdaugh family’s home.

They are besides looking astatine allegations that Mr. Murdaugh stole millions of dollars from his instrumentality steadfast and millions much from a colony intended for the housekeeper’s children.

“Where does it stop?” said John P. Freeman, an emeritus prof of instrumentality and morals astatine the University of South Carolina. “You can’t speech to anybody successful South Carolina who isn’t talking astir this lawsuit and is not conscionable astonished by what’s going on.”

Mr. Murdaugh, done his lawyers, has insisted that helium had thing to bash with the fatal shootings successful June of his wife, Margaret, 52, and their younger son, Paul, 22, whose bodies helium discovered connected the family’s 1,700-acre hunting estate. Last month, however, helium was arrested connected charges related to the faked termination attempt. Before admitting to the scheme, Mr. Murdaugh had claimed that a alien changeable him arsenic helium stopped to alteration a tire, with the slug skidding done the apical of his head.

On Sept. 16, helium appeared successful tribunal earlier being released to await trial. His assemblage was stooped, his trademark daze of reddish hairsbreadth streaked with white. His lawyer, Richard A. Harpootlian, a Democratic authorities senator, said Mr. Murdaugh was checking into rehab for an oxycodone addiction.

Mr. Smith was besides released. He continues to importune helium was not a collaborator, but a convenient scapegoat — collateral harm from a almighty man’s midlife skid retired of control.

“I don’t cognize if betrayed is adjacent the connection for it,” Mr. Smith said recently, sitting connected a emotion spot successful his humble location extracurricular of Walterboro, S.C. “I thought of him arsenic a brother, you know, and loved him similar a brother. And I would’ve done astir thing for him. Almost.”

A sanction synonymous with power

Despite a caller influx of newcomers, South Carolina retains immoderate of its aged Southern insularity and traditions. It is simply a authorities wherever old household names tin inactive transportation important weight.

To some, the Murdaugh sanction has represented some powerfulness and nationalist service. For astir 90 years and crossed 3 generations, the station of main authoritative for 5 counties astir Hampton was held by a Murdaugh. And for adjacent longer, the instrumentality steadfast associated with the Murdaugh household has been 1 of the state’s starring tort litigation firms. Its Hampton headquarters, housed successful a red-brick Colonial Revival building, is 2nd successful grandeur lone to the adjacent region courthouse.

To immoderate here, the Murdaugh sanction has travel to basal for a domination of the ineligible strategy truthful pervasive that people, with oregon without justification, asked whether it had the powerfulness to skew the trajectory of justness successful the family’s favor.

That is 1 of the questions investigators are asking present arsenic they analyse not lone the sidesplitting of Mr. Murdaugh’s woman and son, but astatine slightest 3 different deaths that preceded that tragedy.

How much, investigators person been trying to learn, did Alex Murdaugh wield his almighty connections to support his household and amass his ain fortune?

One of the cases present being re-examined is the decease of Stephen Smith, 19, whose assemblage was recovered connected a agrarian roadworthy successful 2015. He died of blunt unit trauma to the head, but determination were nary signs to suggest that helium had been deed by a car.

Mr. Smith had been a classmate of Alex Murdaugh’s older son, Richard Alexander Murdaugh Jr., who goes by Buster. The Smith household told the constabulary that Alex Murdaugh’s brother, a spouse successful the Murdaugh instrumentality firm, had reached retired and offered to correspond the household for free, but it did not instrumentality him up connected the offer. No transportation to the Murdaugh household was ever identified, though investigators accidental they are present taking a caller look.

The 2nd lawsuit nether scrutiny happened successful 2019, when, witnesses said, Alex Murdaugh’s lad Paul drunkenly crashed the household vessel into a bridge, throwing respective of his friends into the water. The assemblage of 1 of them, Mallory Beach, 19, was recovered a week later.

A expansive assemblage indicted Paul Murdaugh connected a complaint of boating nether the power causing death, but helium was killed earlier helium had an accidental to basal trial.

Ms. Beach’s household is suing Mr. Murdaugh and the convenience store that sold an underage Paul the alcohol. Connor Cook, a lifelong person of Paul’s who had besides been connected the boat, filed different suit past month, accusing Mr. Murdaugh and others of trying to framework him for the vessel crash. Mr. Cook said Mr. Murdaugh had told him to “keep his rima shut” and to archer investigators that helium did not cognize who was driving.

That suit said Mr. Murdaugh had convinced Mr. Cook’s household to prosecute a lawyer named Cory Fleming, a person and erstwhile assemblage roommate of Alex Murdaugh’s, and Paul Murdaugh’s godfather.

After the sidesplitting of Alex Murdaugh’s woman and son, investigators began re-examining yet different mysterious decease associated with the family: that of Gloria Satterfield, the housekeeper and nanny who had worked for a quarter-century for the Murdaugh family.

Early 1 greeting successful February 2018, Ms. Satterfield fell connected the beforehand stairs of the Murdaughs’ isolated house. Maggie Murdaugh recovered her bleeding and called 911, according to Eric Bland, a lawyer for Ms. Satterfield’s 2 big sons. He said the Murdaughs told the household that she had tripped implicit their dogs.

Ms. Satterfield had mislaid astir of her quality to speak, and died respective weeks later.

Despite the Murdaugh family’s account, her decease was ruled “natural” connected her decease certificate, the effect of a encephalon bleed. No autopsy was done and the coroner was not contacted.

Hours aft Ms. Satterfield’s funeral, her sons say, Mr. Murdaugh told them helium would instrumentality work and referred them to a lawyer who would assistance them record a suit to unit Mr. Murdaugh’s insurers to wage compensation.

The lawyer was again Mr. Murdaugh’s longtime friend, Mr. Fleming — who they aboriginal came to judge was not looking retired for their interests, but Alex Murdaugh’s.

Mr. Fleming, the sons said successful a consequent lawsuit, advised them to motion implicit the absorption of their mother’s property to an enforcement astatine a section slope wherever Mr. Murdaugh had done business.

Five months later, tribunal records show, a justice approved a colony statement to wage the sons $2.8 cardinal from Mr. Murdaugh’s insurers and grant much than $1 cardinal successful lawyers’ fees. But the sons accidental they ne'er heard astir the deal.

The sons person yet to spot immoderate of it, Mr. Bland said.

Mr. Fleming said successful a connection that Mr. Murdaugh had deceived him, too, and that helium thought the sons would get the money. Last week, Mr. Fleming’s steadfast agreed to wage backmost each of the lawyers’ fees received from the colony and its malpractice insurers agreed to wage the afloat argumentation limits to the sons.

But that was not the lone wealth that seemed to beryllium missing. Last month, Mr. Murdaugh’s colleagues astatine the instrumentality steadfast said they had discovered that helium had siphoned millions of dollars retired of the firm, and they asked him to resign. Mr. Murdaugh’s lawyers said helium had spent immense sums of wealth connected his addiction to oxycodone pills, but they person offered nary mentation astir wherever the remainder of the wealth went.

“He has fallen from grace,” Mr. Harpootlian said astatine the enslaved proceeding past month. “If anyone wants to spot the look of what opioid addiction does, you’re looking astatine it.”

A gathering connected a lonely road

A time aft the steadfast announced it was severing its narration with Mr. Murdaugh, helium and Mr. Smith ended up connected the roadworthy extracurricular of town, haggling, Mr. Smith says, implicit Mr. Murdaugh’s program to exit from the messiness his beingness had become.

Mr. Smith, who is present facing charges including assisted suicide, assault, security fraud and merchantability of methamphetamine, said helium had nary plans to enactment successful a strategy implicit security money. He said Mr. Murdaugh, who is simply a distant cousin, had called that greeting and asked him to thrust his enactment motortruck toward Hampton, ne'er discussing why.

Soon, helium said, Mr. Murdaugh drove by and honked his horn for Mr. Smith to travel him.

Outside of town, Mr. Murdaugh parked connected the broadside of the roadworthy and Mr. Smith stopped nearby. When helium got retired of his truck, Mr. Murdaugh produced a weapon and asked Mr. Smith to sprout him with it.

“It ain’t going to happen,” Mr. Smith said helium told him. When Mr. Murdaugh moved arsenic if helium was going to sprout himself successful the head, helium said, Mr. Smith grabbed his limb and twisted it down his back. The weapon went off.

Mr. Murdaugh sank to the ground, Mr. Smith said, his manus implicit his head, his legs splayed.

Mr. Smith, near holding the gun, asked if Mr. Murdaugh was OK. Mr. Murdaugh indicated that helium was.

The handyman swore astatine the lawyer, jumped backmost successful his motortruck and drove away.

Sheelagh McNeill and Kitty Bennett contributed research.