Murdaugh Murders Podcast - Who Shot Alex Murdaugh? Part One - (S01E8)

Episode Date: September 6, 2021

Nearly three months after his wife and son were murdered, Alex Murdaugh called 911 to report that he himself had been shot Saturday, September 4th, 2021. His attorney told the press that he Alex was pulled over to repair his vehicle along Salkehatchie Road in Hampton County en route to Charleston when a motorist opened fire toward Murdaugh's 2021 Mercedes SUV. However, the lead investigating agency, SLED, has not confirmed those details. This special episode explores all the available details on the incident.   Thank you to the Bannon Law Group for supporting our mission. From the sitting by the fire to setting them, the Bannon Law Group has got you covered. BannonLawGroup.com We are incredibly thankful to Caitlin Lee for our new podcast artwork and and October Genius for the enhanced theme song. Support Our Podcast at: https://murdaughmurderspodcast.com/support-the-show Please consider sharing your support by leaving a review on Apple at the following link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/murdaugh-murders-podcast/id1573560247 For current and accurate updates: Twitter.com/mandymatney This podcast is produced and developed by Luna Shark Productions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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That's M-I-R-O.com. A shooting in Hampton County this evening. Breaking now, a prominent South Carolina attorney at the center of a murder mystery found shot in the head. Alex Murdoch, whose wife and son were shot to death back in June, was shot in the head himself. This morning, a South Carolina man whose wife and son were brutally murdered in June now recovering after someone shot him this weekend.

I don't know who shot Alec Murdoch, but I will tell you everything I know in this special breaking edition of the Murdoch Murders podcast. My name is Mandy Matney. I'm the news director for fitsnews.com, and I've been investigating the Murdoch family for more than two years now. This is the Murdoch Murders podcast. So we had another episode planned about the Stephen Smith case that we were going to publish today.

But then yesterday, my news outlet, fitsnews.com, broke a huge story in this saga. Alec Murdoch was shot on a rural road in Hampton County, South Carolina on the afternoon of September 4, 2021. According to the South Carolina law enforcement division, Alec Murdoch called 911 to report that he'd been shot on Old Salcahatchee Road near Farmville, South Carolina at 1.34pm. The shooting occurred about seven miles from Moselle, which is the family hunting lodge where Alec Murdoch discovered the bodies of his 52-year-old wife, Maggie Murdoch, and their son, 22-year-old Paul Murdoch on June 7, 2021.

The Hampton County Sheriff's Office, the first police agency to arrive on scene, requested that Sled, which is also known as the South Carolina law enforcement division, lead the investigation. Sled is also the agency in charge of the double homicide investigation of Maggie and Paul Murdoch. After the shooting, Alec Murdoch was airlifted to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia for treatment of a quote-unquote, superficial gunshot wound to the head, according to Sled.

So what is a superficial gunshot wound? To answer this question, I asked Dr. Will Owens, clinical associate professor of medicine with the University of South Carolina School of Medicine and critical care director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit for Prisma Health of the Midlands. So to be clear here, Dr. Owens is talking in general and not specifically about this case. There's no textbook definition, but in general, and particularly with a head wound, the idea of a superficial wound that would be one that involves a skin and soft tissue but doesn't

involve the skull or, for example, the eyes or the oral cavity or any other series penetrating injuries. So, in example, the superficial gunshot wound might be a bullet that raises its mouth and causes bleeding, a bullet that hits the ear but doesn't penetrate into the ear canal, a bullet that strikes the face but doesn't involve the eyes or the structure around the eyes or the patient's mouth, you know, etc. Dr. Owens told me that superficial wounds are usually non-life-threatening injuries. He said that head wounds in general bleed a lot and it's hard to tell on scene how deep

a bullet went. So typically with a gunshot wound to the head, you will be airlifted to a trauma center. If you're in a rural location like Hampton County, South Carolina, sled agents process the scene for a long time and they didn't leave until early Sunday morning. As a part of their investigation, sled officials interviewed potential witnesses and took Murdoch's vehicle, which was a new Mercedes-Benz SUV, into custody. As of Sunday afternoon, sled said that they have not made any arrests in the shooting. So that's pretty much all of the official information that we know about the shooting.

Sled did not release any information about what Ellic Murdoch said he was doing at the time of the shooting or where he was going at the time of the shooting or why he was on that road. However, a powerful attorney named Jim Griffin, who works for the Murdoch family, told the Hilton Head Island packet that Ellic Murdoch stopped on the side of the road after experiencing car trouble while traveling to Charleston from his home in Eilinton, which is also known as Moselle. But here's what's weird.

The location of the shooting is out of the way from the direct route to Charleston from Eilinton. While the Murdoch's attorney made it look like this was a drive-by shooting, it's telling to me that Sled did not include that narrative in its release, nor did they include any information about the alleged suspect vehicle. Also, they never called Ellic Murdoch a victim in their news release. And that same attorney told several news outlets that Ellic was taken to a hospital in Charleston and that appears to be incorrect information.

How could he get that wrong? That's very basic information about his client that shouldn't have been released to reporters if he wasn't positive about it. And if he was wrong about that, what else was he wrong about? A spokesperson for the family issued a statement Saturday night and said that Ellic Murdoch was expected to recover from his gunshot wound. Quote, we expect Ellic to recover and ask for your privacy while he recovers. End quote.

So while we don't know much about the shooting, the timing is noteworthy, as recent headlines have not favored Ellic Murdoch at all. Two weeks ago, news broke that solicitor Duffy Stone, who has a long list of conflicts of interest in connection to the Murdoch family, quietly recused himself in the double homicide. Stone's recusal made a lot of people believe that the investigation was pointing toward Ellic. Before Stone recused himself, he basically said it was because there were no suspects named in the case.

And then when he suddenly recused himself and didn't tell any media about it for weeks, Stone cited developments and sleds investigation that made him step away. He did not say what those developments were, but many people speculated that the developments pointed toward Ellic. Now I will be clear here, Duffy Stone should have recused himself at the beginning. Recusing yourself three months after a crime means that you should have recused yourself earlier. And Duffy Stone's involvement in this investigation was troubling.

I live in his district and I have talked to dozens of sources who all lost respect for Duffy due to his decision and not recusing himself for months in this investigation. He compromised his own integrity and the integrity of the investigation by staying in so long. After the summer, my boss Will Folkes at Fitznews published a shocking report where sources alleged that Stone had consistently attempted to steer investigators away from any theories that might implicate members of the Murdoch family. Just a few days after the double homicide, Stone's investigators were even caught on camera chatting with a Murdoch family member at the crime scene, which appears to be a

hugely controversial breach of prosecutorial ethics and etiquette. There were also reports that Stone and his investigators were running a quote unquote shadow investigation in an effort to hold sled quote unquote accountable for the results of its investigation. This is not normal. Stone's office also has a six year backlog for cases. He had no business being anywhere near this investigation, yet he held on for months. Which makes one wonder, why?

So the day after news broke on Stone's recusal, a source closely investigation told Fitznews that Alec Murdoch was still considered a person of interest in the investigation. Another source specifically said that Alec Murdoch had not been excluded from the investigation into the double homicide of Maggie and Paul Murdoch. It's safe to say that none of this looks good for Alec Murdoch. Fitznews recently obtained Paul Murdoch's death certificate, which confirmed that he was killed by two shotgun wounds to the head and chest. We have not yet obtained a death certificate from Maggie Murdoch, but she was reportedly

shot and killed by a semi automatic rifle. That means two different weapons for use in this double homicide. So while law enforcement has released little information about its investigation and has sought actively to plug leaks, here is what we know about evidence found on the scene. At least one of the weapons used in the double homicide belong to the Murdoch family. A source recently told Fitznews, law enforcement impounded a 2021 Chevy suburban that was registered to the Murdoch family law firm. Deputies found shell casings at the scene.

Sled agents requested that deputies search the area for surveillance footage on the morning after the murders. On June 16th, Sled agents were collecting evidence in a swampy area near Moselle. We still don't know what evidence they were collecting there. And Maggie Murdoch's cell phone was found along a rural road just outside of the Moselle property on the day after the murder. So about two weeks after the double homicide, a public relations firm hired by the Murdoch family released a statement announcing a $100,000 reward to anyone providing tips that lead

to arrest by law enforcement. But the weird thing about this reward is that tips must be submitted before September 30th, 2021 to qualify for the reward. In between June 25th, when they announced the reward and yesterday when Alec Murdoch was shot, the family has not made any public statements. They haven't made any pleas with the public seeking justice in the murders of Maggie and Paul. They've said nothing until Alec was shot.

And I'll be clear here again, no arrests have been made in the double homicide. Stay tuned to fitsnews.com, that's F-I-T-S, news.com for the latest updates in this unbelievable saga. And please subscribe. Your subscriptions support our investigative reporting in this case. Thank you to everyone who has supported us and a special thanks to Caitlyn Lee of CaitlynDoesLocal.com, a Hilton Head Islander who designed our beautiful cover art. Thank you to James, Diane, Linda, Elizabeth, Margaret, Sean, Tyler, and Ralph for your

support. Thank you to the group of South Carolina women who gave us a lucky rooster gift card. We loved that. Thank you to every person who's left a five star review. Every tiny piece of support helps us and we can't thank you enough. You all keep us going. To support this podcast, visit MurdochMurdersPodcast.com. Thank you all and we will be back soon with another episode.

Stay tuned. And don't forget to leave a five star review, unless you're going to be nasty. The MurdochMurder's podcast is created by me, Mandy Matney, and my fiance, David Moses. Our executive editor is Liz Farrell, produced by Luna Shark Productions.