By HEATHER RUPPE
The state’s top prosecutorial agency is now saying that the latest rumors circulating around the ongoing Murdaugh murder investigation are unfounded.
On Thursday, August 12th, the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) released a statement to media outlets saying a rumor circulating on social media sites about vehicles being buried on the Murdaugh property is unfounded. “SLED has inquired with local Lowcountry law enforcement and has found no credibility to the rumors currently circulating online,” said Tommy Crosby, spokesman for SLED.
SLED’s statement is in response to a rapidly-circulating social media rumor that began on August 12th on the Carolina Crimes Podcast, where a person running the podcast claimed that three vehicles were found buried on the Murdaugh’s property.
The podcast specifically stated that, “three vehicles have been found buried and were unearthed on the Murdaugh Property. One is related to Stephen Smith, one is related to a cold case from the 1970’s, the third is unknown.”
However, SLED confirmed these rumors are unfounded.
The rumors surrounding the ongoing Murdaugh double murder case have been amped since the case began on June 7th, when longtime Hampton County attorney Alec Murdaugh found the bodies of his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, dead on his rural Colleton County property. Their 1,700-acre property is located in a community called Moselle, near Islandton. Both Maggie Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh were shot to death.
SLED is still investigating the case and no arrests have yet been made. However, the case continues to draw international attention, as the Murdaugh family has a longstanding name with ties to the legal and prosecutorial community in South Carolina.
At the time of his death, Paul Murdaugh was also still facing pending charges for a 2019 boat crash that killed a Beaufort County woman. Paul Murdaugh had pleaded not guilty to the charges against him relating to this incident. Those charges were dropped after his death.
