By HEATHER RUPPE
The once-prominent lawyer Alex Murdaugh’s fall from grace hit a crescendo last week, when he was arrested for trying to plan on his own suicide as a part of an insurance fraud scheme. His arrest came barely two weeks after he first claimed to have been shot by an unknown person while changing a flat tire on a rural road on Sept. 4th.
That story later fell apart, when confessed shooter, Curtis E. Smith, 61, of Walterboro, told authorities that he was a longtime acquaintance of Murdaugh, and that Murdaugh had hired him to assist in his own suicide. The entire scheme was part of Murdaugh’s plan to get $10 million in life insurance money, which Murdaugh claimed he was going to give to his son.
The bullet grazed Murdaugh’s head, according to statements made by Murdaugh to the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and he then called 911, reporting the lie that he had been shot in the head. Smith fled the scene. Murdaugh was taken to a Savannah hospital.
SLED later arrested Richard Alexander “Alex” Murdaugh, 53, on Sept. 16th for the alleged shooting incident. He is charged with insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and filing a false police report.
“I can assure you that SLED agents will continue working to bring justice to anyone involved with any criminal act associated with these ongoing investigations,” said SLED Chief Mark Keel. “The arrests in this case are only the first step in that process.”
Murdaugh was booked at the Hampton County Detention Center. He was then given a $20,000 personal recognizance bond on Thursday, Sept. 16th. As part of his bond, Murdaugh also surrendered his passport to SLED and was set to return to an out-of-state rehab facility for drug treatment.
His case is being prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office. Officials with that office originally requested that Murdaugh be given a $100,000 surety bond and be required to wear a GPS monitor.
On the flip side, Murdaugh’s alleged hired hitman, Curtis E. Smith, has been given a $55,000 bond on the charges of assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
However, in later interviews with other national news outlets, Smith denied Murdaugh’s claims and says he has been set up to be the “fall guy,” he told Fox News. Smith admits to being Murdaugh’s longtime drug supplier, but says he was unaware of Murdaugh’s “suicide plan.” Smith claims that Murdaugh called him to the rural road on Sept. 4th to help him “fix something,” he told Fox News. It was then that Smith says Murdaugh began waving a gun.
While the saga of a suicide-for-hire plot continues to be investigated by state officials, that same agency has yet to identify a suspect in the June murders of Murdaugh’s wife and son, Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, who were found shot to death on the family’s Islandton property.
Their murders were the catalyst for the subsequent series of criminal events, including Murdaugh’s arrest and his now separate and ongoing embezzlement investigation, where he is accused of stealing an unknown amount of money from his law firm and former employer.
