Prominent lawyer speaks out following shooting incident 3 months after wife and son killed
A lawyer from a prominent South Carolina legal family who found his wife and son shot to death at their home three months ago was shot in the head and wounded Saturday after he had car trouble on a lonely rural road, a family attorney said. Alex Murdaugh, in his first public statement since the shooting, said the murders of his family members "have caused an incredibly difficult time in my life," and said that he planned to resign from his law firm and enter rehab, according to CBS affiliate WCSC-TV.
"The murders of my wife and son have caused an incredibly difficult time in my life. I have made a lot of decisions that I truly regret," he said in a statement to WCSC. "I'm resigning from my law firm and entering rehab after a long battle that has been exacerbated these murders. I am immensely sorry to everyone I've hurt including my family, friends and colleagues. I ask for prayers as I rehabilitate myself and my relationships."
Over the weekend, Murdaugh's lawyer Jim Griffin told The State newspaper that his client was heading to Charleston when his car had stopped on Salkehatchie Road in Hampton County. A truck passed Murdaugh on the road before turning around and then someone in the vehicle shot him, Griffin added. The lawyer said he received that information from Murdaugh's brother, Randy.
Murdaugh was airlifted to the Medical University of South Carolina hospital in Charleston, said Griffin.
The State Law Enforcement Division, South Carolina's top law enforcement agency, confirmed the shooting Saturday, said the Hampton County Sheriff's Office secured the scene while EMS coordinated medical air transport of Murdaugh to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia for treatment of a superficial gunshot wound to the head, CBS affiliate WCSC-TV reported.
Authorities say a black Mercedes-Benz SUV driven by Murdaugh was processed and towed from the scene to a police impound lot for further evaluation, WCSC reported.
Local deputies referred questions to the state police.
"The Murdaugh family has suffered through more than any one family can ever imagine," said a statement released by Murdaugh relatives Saturday evening. "We expect Alex to recover and ask for your privacy while he recovers."
Murdaugh, 53, found his wife and son shot to death at their Colleton County home on June 7. No arrests have been made, and state police have released little information, even going to court to fight public records requests.
Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and her 22-year-old son Paul were both shot several times and found outside the house near dog kennels, authorities said.
Alex Murdaugh said on a 911 call he had just returned home and in a later TV interview said he was out checking on his terminally ill father when his wife and son were killed.
The Murdaughs are one of South Carolina's most prominent legal families. Alex Murdaugh was a volunteer prosecutor in the same office where his father, grandfather and great-grandfather spent more than 80 years combined as the area's top prosecutors. Other members of the family are prominent civil attorneys.
The family announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for the deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, WCSC reported.
When Paul Murdaugh was killed, he was awaiting trial for boating under the influence causing death in a February 2019 crash that killed a 19-year-old woman. State police have since started looking into the investigation into that crash to see if anyone tried to keep police from charging Paul Murdaugh.
After the Murdaughs deaths, state police also reopened an investigation into a 2015 hit-and-run death of a 19-year-old man in Hampton County. The victim's mother said she thought Paul Murdaugh could have been involved.
Authorities haven't released any information about why those cases we reopened.
