Chris Wilson
Chris Wilson was born and raised in Bamberg, South Carolina. Chris is the oldest of three sons of Bamberg residents Jimmy and Garnett Wilson. His father Jimmy worked in quality control for over 30 years, and his mother Garnett taught school for over 40 years.
Chris attended Bamberg public schools and graduated valedictorian from Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School in 1987. He graduated from Wofford College in 1991 and as a Phi Beta Kappa inductee.
Chris was admitted to the South Carolina Bar after receiving his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1994. He was one of Alex Murdaugh’s closest friend during law school.
On the afternoon of the murders, the state claimed Murdaugh was in his office working on the financial disclosures for the boat crash hearing. That same day, Jeanne Seckinger – the chief financial officer of the law firm where Murdaugh worked – confronted him regarding $792,000 in missing fees from a case he worked on with another attorney. In testimony provided in November at the federal trial of convicted fraudster Russell Laffitte, Seckinger said Murdaugh claimed the fee was in the trust account of the other attorney – Chris Wilson. However, evidence showed it had actually been paid to Murdaugh directly.
During the confrontation, Murdaugh claimed to have received a call informing him that his dad was being put in hospice care – at which point he terminated the conversation. The exact time of this confrontation is unknown, but the prosecution stated in their response motion that Murdaugh’s father, former S.C. fourteenth circuit solicitor Randolph Murdaugh III, had previously loaned him money or co-signed loans for him.
If Murdaugh’s alleged financial crimes were about to be revealed and his father was on his deathbed, is that enough motive for him to murder his wife and son? And more importantly, why?
“This was a white collar case which culminated in two murders,” Waters said. “A slow burn, which was heating up and heating up until June 7, 2021.”
On the night of the murders, Murdaugh called Wilson on the way to and from his parent’s home in Almeda.
Quick Facts
- Born and raised in Bamberg, South Carolina
- Oldest of three brothers
- Attended law school at the University of South Carolina with Alex Murdaugh and graduated in 1994
