South Carolina legal dynasty heir Alex Murdaugh and his alleged hitman Curtis Smith have been indicted by a grand jury today for a failed suicide-for-hire scheme in September.
Murdaugh, 53, allegedly provided Smith with a gun to shoot him in the head over Labor Day weekend so that Murdaugh's son, Buster, could inherit a $10million life insurance policy.
Both men were charged with presenting a false claim for payment, while Murdaugh faced further indictments for conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, along with filing a false police report.
Smith, 61, was additionally charged with assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
An indictment shared and signed off by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson indicates prosecutors have strong evidence against the defendants.
In September, Smith and Murdaugh were released on bond for charges related to the September 4 incident.
The lawyer is also a person of interest in the murders of his wife, Maggie, 52; and son, Paul, 22, who were both fatally at the family’s hunting lodge in Islandton, about 67 miles west of Charleston, on June 7. Murdaugh found their bodies upon his return home just after 10 p.m. and called 911 to report the killings.
Murdaugh, 53, allegedly hired Smith and provided him with a gun to shoot him in the head so that Murdaugh's son, Buster, could inherit a $10million life insurance policy. The incident took place on September 4th
It remains unknown as to whether Buster Murdaugh, 25 (pictured), knew about his father's death plan
Meanwhile, circuit judge Daniel Hall sided with an attorney suing Murdaugh on behalf of the family of Mallory Beach, a 19-year-old woman killed in a crash on Murdaugh's boat which prosecutors said his late son, Paul, was driving.
'They have refused from day one to give me any information,' the attorney for Beach's family, Mark Tinsley, said.
The family's lawsuit says Murdaugh is trying to hide millions of dollars they could possibly collect in their lawsuit and that he could shift money between unknown accounts and potentially sell off property and a boat after he turned all his affairs over to his surviving son, Buster.
Paul was charged after the boat incident in 2019 because he'd been drinking and was behaving 'belligerently' that night. He was released on bond.
Beach died after Murdaugh's boat hit a Beaufort County bridge and her body was found seven days later.
Witnesses who were in the boat the night that Beach died have said they were scared to speak about the Murdaugh family because they knew how to 'cover things up'.
A lawyer for Murdaugh argued at a hearing before the judge Friday that he has not been found responsible in any civil suits since his wife and son were killed and has insurance to cover if he is required to pay damages.
Circuit Judge Daniel Hall hears arguments from attorney Mark Tinsley during a hearing over prominent South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh's assets on Friday
Tinsley is suing Murdaugh on behalf of the family of Mallory Beach, a 19-year-old woman killed in a crash on Murdaugh's boat which prosecutors said his late son, Paul, was driving
Buster, Maggie, Paul and Alex Murdaugh. Murdaugh's wife Maggie and son Paul were found shot dead at the family's hunting lodge in a horrific double murder in June
Alex Murdaugh awaits the beginning of his bond hearing in the Richland Judicial Center in Columbia, S.C., Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021
Attorney John Tiller also argued if Murdaugh loses control of his assets, that would open the door for similar things to happen in countless other cases if the person who sues thinks the defendant does not have enough insurance.
Three years after Beach's fatal boat accident, which was driven from one of the family's private islands before crashing into a Beaufort County Bridge at more than 30 miles per hour, her family has yet to receive a payout.
The family of Beach is suing the Murdaugh estate, as is the family of Gloria Satterfield, the maid of 22 years who 'tripped over the family dogs,' sustaining a head injury that killed her 21 days later, in the same home where Paul and Margaret would be found dead three years later.
Mallory's mother, surviving boat passenger Connor Cook and Satterfield's family fear that money and justice may continue to evade them, even with Alex Murdaugh behind bars.
'If the lawsuit would be settled... we can get on with our lives,' Beach's mother, Lynn Reavis, told 48 Hours. 'Because Mallory died almost three years ago. And every time these stories come out, it's like it happens all over again.'
Pictured is the boat that crashed into a Beaumont County bridge, leading to the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach. 'If the lawsuit would be settled... we can get on with our lives,' Beach's mother, Lynn Reavis, told 48 Hours. 'Because Mallory died almost three years ago. And every time these stories come out, it's like it happens all over again'
There have also been reports that Murdaugh is being investigated by the FBI for alleged financial crimes.
Murdaugh, who resigned from the firm of Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth and Detrick (PMPED) about two months ago after allegedly stealing from them, is said to have used the firm's stationary in a plan to steal $4.3 million that was owed to the family of Satterfield, who died in his home in 2018.
The suggestion of a possible FBI investigation was made by Eric Bland, one of the attorneys representing the sons of the housekeeper.
The FBI's Columbia Field Office and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina have not confirmed or denied the existence of an investigation.
Griffin, also told The Post & Courier how he took part in a conference call involving federal prosecutors who were looking to see if he would cooperate with any investigation.
Murdaugh remains in the Richland County jail without bond after being charged with stealing nearly $3 million in insurance payments meant for the sons of his housekeeper, who died in a 2018 fall in his home.
His legal team did not immediately respond to a request to comment on today's ruling.
A judge handling the Murdaugh criminal cases last month asked for a report on his mental state before considering whether to set bond. A date for a hearing has not been set.
Murdaugh inherited part of a legal empire in tiny Hampton County, South Carolina. Murdaugh´s father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all elected prosecutors.
The family´s law firm, located in the most impressive building in town after the courthouse, has spent a century winning multimillion-dollar verdicts.
In October, a judge in South Carolina denied bond for attorney Alex Murdaugh on the second set of charges he has faced since finding his wife and son dead last June
Murdaugh remains in the Richland County jail without bond after being charged with stealing nearly $3 million in insurance payments meant for the sons of his housekeeper, who died in a 2018 fall in his home
Remaining unsolved now for nearly five months are the deaths of Murdaugh's wife, Maggie and their son Paul.
Tight-lipped state police have neither named any suspects nor ruled anyone out. Murdaugh has adamantly denied having anything to do with their killings.
The deaths lead to five more criminal investigations into Murdaugh, from whether he stole money from the family's century-old PMPED Law Firm to the events around his housekeeper's death and insurance payout to whether he or his family tried to obstruct the investigation into
