Almost seven months after Paul Murdaugh and Maggie Murdaugh were murdered in Colleton County, South Carolina, sources have disclosed a bombshell development in the ‘Murdaugh Murders‘ true crime saga.
Multiple sources close to the ongoing investigation have told FITSNews that physical, forensic evidence directly ties Alex Murdaugh to the double homicide — one of seven active criminal investigations involving the disgraced 53-year-old attorney.
We’ve been told that this evidence is substantial and serious — directly linking Murdaugh to this gruesome crime.
Murdaugh, his family members and the powerful law firm they founded are mixed up in a maze of alleged criminal conduct, but the still-unsolved June 7, 2021 murders of Maggie and Paul are the crimes which propelled this saga onto the global stage.
And it appears as though the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) – the agency leading multiple Murdaugh-related investigations – is making significant progress and could be getting closer to making an arrest.
We hope to be able to share more about progress in the investigation soon.
In the days following the double homicide, FITSNews was first to report that Alex Murdaugh was the only person of interest identified in connection with the double homicide, according to sources close to the investigation.
Attorneys close to the powerful Murdaugh family have consistently told FITSNews that Alex was not a suspect in the case and was “cooperating fully” with SLED. These sources further claimed that Murdaugh’s initial interviews with SLED investigators in the days after the killings were all about “closing the book on him as any sort of suspect” in the case.
That apparently didn’t happen. In fact, Murdaugh attorney Jim Griffin acknowledged in October that his client was a person of interest in the double homicide investigation.
On Tuesday, FITSNews reached out to SLED officials, who declined to comment on the status of the investigation.
Double Homicide investigation
On June 7, 2021, 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh and 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh, both of Hampton, S.C., were found murdered at the family’s 1,700-acre hunting property near Islandton, S.C.
Alex Murdaugh called 911 around 10:07 p.m. to report that he had found the bodies of his wife and son.
“I been up to it now – it’s bad,” Murdaugh told Colleton county dispatcher Angel Fraser, referring to the crime scene.
Click below to listen to the full 911 call.
FITSNews exclusively obtained Paul Murdaugh’s death certificate, which confirmed Paul Murdaugh was killed by two shotgun wounds to the head and chest.
This news outlet has yet to obtain a death certificate for Maggie, who was reportedly shot and killed by a semi-automatic rifle at or around the time her son was killed.
While law enforcement has released little information about its investigation – and has actively sought to plug leaks of information – here is what we know so far about the evidence found on scene.
- At least one of the weapons used in the double homicide belonged to the Murdaugh family, a source told FITSNews.
- Law enforcement impounded a 2021 Chevy Suburban registered to the Murdaugh law firm from the scene.
- Deputies found shell casings at the scene, according to the report.
- SLED agents requested that Colleton Country Sheriff’s deputies search the area near the crime scene for video surveillance systems on the morning after the murders.
- On June 16, SLED agents were seen collecting evidence in a swampy area near the Salkehatchie River, approximately two miles south of Moselle.
- Maggie Murdaugh‘s cell phone was found along a rural South Carolina road just outside of the family’s 1,700-acre hunting lodge the day after the murder, according to sources close to the investigation.
More than two weeks after the murders, a public relations firm hired by the Murdaugh family released a statement announcing a $100,000 reward to anyone providing tips that led to arrests by law enforcement. However, tips were required to have been submitted before September 30, 2021 to qualify for the reward.
When that deadline expired, a spokesperson who represented the Murdaugh family released the following statement to multiple news stations:
“We are disappointed that no one has stepped forward with any leads to solve the murder and claim the $100,000 reward. At this time the family is evaluating what additional steps can be taken to solve the murders of Maggie and Paul,” the Murdaugh family spokesperson said.
To our knowledge, the Murdaugh family has not made any other public statements calling for justice on behalf of Maggie and Paul.
Alex Murdaugh’s unraveling
Alex Murdaugh, whose father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all served as solicitor over a five-county region for nearly 100 years, has unraveled before the public eye ever since the alleged Labor Day Weekend “shooting.”
Days after the alleged shooting, a family spokesperson released a statement that said Alex was going to rehab for his drug addiction and he resigned from the firm. That same week, his law license was suspended.
Partners at PMPED, the law firm started by his great-grandfather that has recently been renamed, have accused Murdaugh of stealing millions from the firm. PMPED recently filed a lawsuit against Murdaugh.
Murdaugh, who was arrested October 14, faces a total of 51 charges in crimes that include fraud, theft, money laundering, forgery and lying to police in a Labor Day shooting incident.
(Click to Listen)
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The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is currently investigating several cases potentially connected to Murdaugh, including:
- the double homicide
- allegations of obstructing justice in the boat crash investigation
- financial irregularities reported by his now-former law firm
- the 2018 suspicious death of the Murdaugh’s domestic employee, Gloria Satterfield
- the 2015 suspicious death of Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old Hampton man and former classmate of Murdaugh’s older son, Buster
- allegations of scheming to steal and launder settlement money from an unknown number of clients
In December, the presiding judge of the South Carolina statewide grand jury set bond for Murdaugh at $7 million on four dozen charges that he stole and laundered money from his law firm. He remains behind bars at the Richland County detention center.
-Liz Farrell and Will Folks contributed to this report.
