Authorities in South Carolina released a timeline of Saturday’s shooting incident in which legal scion Alex Murdaugh suffered what they described as a “superficial gunshot wound to the head” while changing a tire.
The State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said that no arrests in the shooting have been made, WIS reported.
Murdaugh, whose wife and son were shot to death in June in an as-yet unsolved killing, was traveling to Charleston Saturday afternoon when he had a flat tire, as CrimeOnline previously reported. While he was fixing the tire, a truck drove by, turned around, and someone inside shot him.
SLED said that Murdaugh himself called 911 at about 1:30 p.m. and reported that he had been shot on Old Salkehatchie Road near Varnville, according to WIS. The Hampton County Sheriff’s Office secured the scene, and emergency medical personnel arranged air transport to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia.
Murdaugh’s attorney, Jim Griffin, said Saturday that Murdaugh was taken to a hospital in Charleston, but that was apparently in error.
The sheriff’s office asked SLED, which is leading the investigation into the deaths of 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh and 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh, to take over the investigation into Murdaugh’s shooting. Regional agents arrived on the scene shortly after 3:30 and crime scene agents arrived less than an hour later.
SLED spokesman Tommy Crosby said agents worked throughout the night and into the morning processing the scene, interviewing witnesses, and checking into leads. They had Murdaugh’s black Mercedes-Benz SUV towed to an impound lot for further investigation.
Prior to his murder, Paul Murdaugh was awaiting trial for a boat accident that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach. The young Murdaugh was driving the boat and was reportedly extremely intoxicated at the time. Those charges were dropped after his death.
Last month, South Carolina 14th circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone recused himself from the murder investigation, citing a possible conflict of interest based on new information. Prior to his retirement, Alex Murdaugh’s father, Randolph Murdaugh III, ran the 14th circuit solicitor’s office — as did Randolph Murdaugh Jr and Randolph Murdaugh Sr before him — and Alex was working part time in the office at the time of the murders. Randolph Murdaugh III, who was hospitalized at the time, died a few days after the murders of natural causes.
Stone was first attorney not named Murdaugh to hold the position of 14th circuit solicitor.
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[Featured image: L-R, Richard Alexander “Buster” Murdaugh Jr., Maggie Murdaugh, Paul Murdaugh, and Richard Alexander “Alex” Murdaugh Sr./Facebook]
