Alex Murdaugh is officially at the center of a state investigation.
The South Carolina State Police Division (SLED) announced Monday that it has opened an investigation against Murdaugh, 53, just days after the legal descendant was fired from his company on charges of theft and put on probation. drug addiction rehabilitation.
In a statement to The Daily Beast, the state’s top police agency confirmed that the criminal investigation into Murdaugh is based on allegations that the father of two misappropriated funds from his family’s law firm, Peters , Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth, and Detrick. (PMPED).
“I continue to urge the public to be patient and let this research continue its course. The investigative decisions we make throughout this case and any potentially related cases must ultimately resist scrutiny of the criminal justice process, ”SLED chief Mark Keel said in the statement. “As in all cases, SLED is committed to conducting a professional, thorough and impartial criminal investigation, regardless of where the facts lead us.”
The investigation is the latest in an impressive turn of events for Murdaugh, who is part of the legal dynasty that has dominated Dominion County for decades and who, along with his family, is at the center of a strange series of fatal incidents and strange executions. For some Hampton County residents who spoke to The Daily Beast, the probe only cemented the prospect that the Murdaughs ’takeover of the Lowcountry might be breaking.
“The Murdaughs were once seen as the law in this area,” a resident, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of professional retribution, told The Daily Beast. “Now, it looks like this whole scandal is saving them.”
The family drama erupted in the national spotlight in early June, when Murdaugh’s 52-year-old wife, Margaret, and her 22-year-old son, Paul, were found deadly near the hunting kennels on his 1,700-acre farm. . Paul, meanwhile, was facing charges for a fatal crash involving a boat he piloted and killed a teenage girl in 2019.
It was not immediately clear whether the SLED investigation into Murdaugh’s alleged theft would have any impact on the lengthy investigation into the murder of the woman and the man’s son, or any of the other investigations revolving around the family. . No suspects have been identified in the murders of Murdaugh’s wife and son.
Last week, the lawyer called authorities and said he had been shot in the head by an unknown truck driver after his late wife’s Mercedes-Benz indicated the car had a problematic tire.
A Murdaugh spokeswoman, Amanda Loveday, previously told The Daily Beast that a truck driver in a blue van approached Murdaugh and asked if he had car problems.
“After responding, he was shot,” Loveday said.
A copy of the incident report obtained by The Daily Beast, which labels the episode as an “assassination attempt,” says Hampton County sheriff’s deputies were sent to “Old Salkehatchie Highway” in reference to a shooting incident “. SLED previously told The Daily Beast that Murdaugh had called 911 about 20 minutes earlier.
While en route, according to the report, deputies learned that Murdaugh “had been shot in the head and was coming out of a landing area” on the road to the hospital. Before leaving, however, an investigator from a sheriff’s office spoke to Murdaugh at the scene and other deputies secured the location until state authorities arrived.
Although the report originally stated that Murdaugh had no “visible wounds,” the sheriff’s office later modified him to say he suffered massive injuries. Loveday told The Daily Beast that he suffered a fractured skull and a wound that had an entry and exit point.
For its part, SLED said earlier that Murdaugh only suffered a “superficial” injury and was released from the hospital shortly after arriving.
Amid swirling speculation, Loveday insisted Murdaugh’s injuries were not “self-inflicted.”
Authorities also did not provide details as to why Murdaugh was released from the hospital hours after the incident if he had serious injuries as his camp claims or provided information about a possible suspect.
Then things somehow became even stranger.
A few hours after Murdaugh called authorities about the shooting incident, the lawyer issued a surprise announcement stating that he had left PMPED, the firm his great-grandfather founded a century ago.
In addition, he added: he was entering rehab.
“The murders of my wife and son have caused an incredibly difficult time in my life. I have made many decisions that I really regret, “Murdaugh said in a statement.
Murdaugh’s lawyer, Jim Griffin, told al Island Package his client entered a drug treatment center to treat substance abuse problems and would meet with authorities investigating the shooting after finishing the first phase of his detox. He State, citing unnamed sources, reported that the substance was oxycodone.
On Monday night, however, PMPED released its own statement, indicating that Murdaugh had been forced to leave days earlier, after the firm discovered “that Alex had misappropriated funds.” While the firm declined to comment on how much Murdaugh allegedly stole, two people associated with the South Carolina legal community had previously told The Daily Beast that the amount was in excess of $ 1 million.
“I was surprised, like the rest of my PMPED family, to find out about my brother, Alex, drug addiction and money theft,” said Randolph Murdaugh IV, the older brother of the prominent family, in a statement Wednesday in The Daily Beast. “I love my law firm, family and I also love Alex as my brother. While I will support him in his recovery, I can’t stand, approve or excuse his behavior for stealing by manipulating their relationships. of trust “.
Following Murdaugh’s removal from the firm last week, the South Carolina Supreme Court suspended him from exercising the right after receiving “sufficient evidence” that “poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the public or the public. ‘administration of justice’.
Now that the state’s top police agency is involved, it may be more difficult for a long-suspected family of excessive influence in their corner of the state to avoid sustainable sunlight.
It remains to be seen what this means for a troubled man who is experiencing a titanic fall from grace.
As another resident said in an interview, “Who knows what will come of it.”