The Murdaughs, prominent in the region through their law practice and decades-long control of the local prosecutor’s office, have attracted national attention following the unsolved shooting deaths of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh, 22 and 52, on June 7. They were gunned down on a family property and discovered by Alex Murdaugh, who said he stumbled upon the crime scene on his way home from visiting his terminally ill father – who died days later.
At the time of their slayings, Paul was awaiting trial in connection with a drunken boat crash that killed a 19-year-old passenger named Mallory Beach in February 2019.
Investigators looking into the double murder said they have also uncovered information that led them to reopen the probe into the 2015 hit-and-run death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith.
That case has raised questions about the family’s ties to local law enforcement and it launched both a state investigation and civil litigation regarding whether there had been undue influence.