Medical records have confirmed Alex Murdaugh was shot in the head on September 4 in a botched suicide attempt, as he claimed.
The records were released by the troubled legal heir's attorney on Friday in an attempt to boost his credibility.
Murdaugh, 53, is in a world of legal trouble: he has been arrested for stealing money from the sons of his late housekeeper, is accused of syphoning money from his own law firm and is a person of interest in the murders of his son and wife, who were found shot dead in June at the family's South Carolina home.
He denies any involvement in the murders but admits he stole millions from the housekeeper's sons and his law firm, blaming a decades-long opioid addiction for his 'stupid, illegal' behavior.
The medical records confirm part of his version of the bizarre September 4 incident.
He said he paid Edward Smith, his cousin turned client turned would-be assassin, to shoot him on the side of the road.
He wanted it to look like a drive-by shooting so that Buster, his surviving son, would receive a payout on his life insurance policy.
Smith did shoot Murdaugh but he survived and called 911. At first he said he had been killed in a drive-by shooting.
Now, Smith - who is facing charges for the incident - is claiming he had no role in the suicide scam and was trying to stop Alex from killing himself when the gun went off.
The medical records confirm Alex was shot twice and that he had to go to the hospital.
He had a fractured skull from 'two superficial appearing bullet wounds to the posterior scalp' but the bullets did not penetrate his brain.
Alex Murdaugh, 53, was arrested on Thursday for stealing $3 million from a settlement awarded to the sons of his housekeeper who died in a mysterious fall at his home in 2018
When he arrived at the hospital, doctors confirmed he was high on barbiturates - a group of drugs in the class of drugs known as sedative-hypnotics - and opioids.
The 53-year-old arrived at the hospital with his head bleeding and wrapped in gauze.
He had to be taken to the ICU because he was in such grave condition.
The report reveals that he told medics he at first could not see, but that he regained his sight to the point that he was able to see his phone and dial 911.
He was released after two days in the hospital.
Earlier on Friday, Murdaugh's attorney Dick Harpootlan made a desperate attempt to clear his name on Friday in a bizarre interview where he said his client knows he is going to prison for financial crimes, did 'stupid, illegal things' because he is a drug addict - but insisted he is not behind his wife and son's murders.
Murdaugh was arrested in Florida on Thursday. He waived his right to an extradition hearing on Friday, returning to South Carolina voluntarily, where he will appear at a bond hearing next week.
He has been charged with stealing $3 million from the kids of his housekeeper - Gloria Satterfield, 57, who died after a mysterious fall at their home in 2018.
The kids were awarded $4 million after a wrongful death lawsuit but they say Alex stole $3 million and the remaining $1 million went to legal fees.
Harpootlan appeared on Good Morning America in an effort to dispel what he called 'hysterical theories' about his client and painted him as a desperate, drug addict - but not a murderer.
Harpootlan said Murdaugh does not deny financial crimes, would 'address them' at a bond hearing next week, and that he is 'reconciled' with the fact that he is going to prison for them.
'Obviously the financial issue is something he regrets. He is going to try to right every wrong, financial wrong... he is reconciled to the fact he is going to prison.
'He understands that. He is a lawyer - he gets it,' he said.
However, he strongly denied that his client is a murderer and said he had no 'knowledge or involvement' in the murders of his wife and son.
'He has a long-term, OxyContin addiction which put him in a position where he did these stupid illegal things.
On Friday, his attorney Dick Harpootlan appeared on Good Morning America in an effort to dispel what he called 'hysterical theories' about his client and paint him as a desperate, drug addict - but not a murderer
'They keep trying to pound that square peg in a round hole. Someone out there is responsible for the horrible, almost execution-style deaths of Maggie and Paul.
'It is not Alex.'
Harpootlan says he is being wrongly suspected because he is the one who found Maggie and Paul dead.
'When the police show up and they find a dead wife and a dead son and a husband finds them, you know, most times, it's going to turn out to be the husband is involved.
Maggie and Paul Murdaugh (left) were found shot dead at the family's home in June. No one has been arrested for their killings and Murdaugh's attorney insists he had nothing to do with them
'That [is] unfortunately the assumption SLED [South Carolina Law Enforcement Division] made that night.'
Gloria Satterfield, 57, had been the Murdaugh housekeeper for about 25 years when she died following a mystery 'trip and fall' inside the Murdaugh family home in 2018
Harpootlan added that when he represented Paul in a 2019 case where he was accused of being responsible for the death of teenager Mallory Beach, all he saw was a happy family.
'All I saw was domestic tranquility, love and affection,' he said.
The attorney said Alex wants to 'set the record straight' and clear up 'lies'
