By HEATHER RUPPE
In recent weeks, rumors and headlines have again been circulated about the ongoing legal battle involving disgraced Hampton County attorney Alex Murdaugh and the still unsolved-deaths of his wife and son, Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, who were found shot to death on their rural Islandton property in Colleton County.
In the ongoing media cyclone surrounding Alex Murdaugh and his own legal charges and in the wake of the Murdaugh murders, Alex Murdaugh went on a downward spiral, resulting in his own failed suicide attempt and his now facing dozens of legal charges, including embezzlement from his former law firm. Some of the state’s key prosecutors have released a joint statement, discrediting headlines that shed negative light on them and their prosecutorial efforts.
Last week, the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office and the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) released a joint statement, saying some media outlets are publishing “unfounded and ill-informed speculation” about the solicitor’s office and its role in the ongoing murder investigations of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh. SLED is the top-tiered criminal investigation agency for South Carolina. The Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office is the agency that prosecutes all crimes in Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties. Alex Murdaugh’s family has long histories working as solicitors in this circuit; at the time of Murdaugh’s arrest and at the time of the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, there were no members of the Murdaugh family employed as solicitors within the 14th circuit. Duffie Stone is the longtime elected solicitor of this circuit.
“Per long-standing policies, SLED and the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office will not comment on specifics of any case while it is under investigation,” according to a statement released by Jeff Kidd, a spokesman for the solicitors’ office. “However, given the persistence of unsubstantiated asserts, both fairness and public confidence in the integrity of the process requires a limited response.”
According to information released by both SLED and the solicitors’ office, the agencies state that, in the hours following the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh on June 7th, SLED notified the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office of what had happened in Colleton County.
During the hours of SLED’s investigation, SLED Chief Mark Keel was “in direct and regular contact with both the 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone and S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson,” the statement reads. “All agreed that should evidence emerge establishing a potential conflict, Chief Keel would contact Solicitor Stone and Attorney General Wilson immediately. Chief Keel did so, and Stone immediately recused himself from the case on August 11, 2021.”
The joint statement continues to state that the solicitor’s office has never conducted its own investigation or acted in any manner “to undermine SELD’s role as the lead investigative agency.”
The statement also condemns some media outlets for publishing photographs showing Solicitor Stone speaking to a member of the Murdaugh family: according to SLED, these photographs were taken “after the crime scene” had been cleared and the Murdaugh family was allowed to return to the Islandton property. “Other law enforcement agencies were present at the time. Any speculation to the contrary is false,” the statement reads.
Chief Keel said he is committed to the ongoing pursuit of justice for Maggie and Paul Murdaugh. As of press deadline on Tuesday, their deaths remain unsolved and under investigation.
