By HEATHER WALTERS
Members of a well-known and longtime politically-active family in the Lowcountry were found shot to death on Monday, June 7th at their rural Colleton County property.
Paul Murdaugh, 22, and Margaret Murdaugh, 52, of Islandton, died of gunshot wounds, according to Colleton County Coroner Richard Harvey.
A forensic autopsy of both victims is scheduled for later this week.
Paul Murdaugh and Margaret Murdaugh were son and mother.
These two victims in this double homicide are members of the Murdaugh family, which has been a powerful legal family in the Hampton and Colleton counties for decades.
The double homicide is being investigated by the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), however the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office is assisting SLED with the investigation.
According to Colleton County Sheriff’s Office Spokeswoman Shalane Lowes, the double homicide occurred at about 10 p.m. on June 7th at a residence located at 4147 Moselle Road.
This property is located in the Moselle community near Islandton in Colleton County.
“At this time, there is no danger to the public,” she said, in a written statement released on Tuesday morning. “Arriving deputies observed two people each sustaining at least one gunshot wound.”
The Murdaugh family has been involved in practicing law out of their Hampton firm for nearly 100 years. Members of the Murdaugh family also work as state prosecuting attorneys (solicitors) with the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office, which includes prosecuting crimes in Colleton County, as well as Beaufort, Allendale, Hampton, and Jasper counties.
The family also became public figures in 2019, when the deceased – Paul Murdaugh - allegedly crashed his boat near Parris Island, S.C. and killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach.
Murdaugh had felony charges pending against him for this incident at the time of his death.
