The South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said Monday it has opened an investigation into Alex Murdaugh’s alleged misappropriation of funds at his now former law firm.
Murdaugh resigned from PMPED, the firm found by his great-grandfather, on September 3 after other members confronted him with allegations that he had misused the firm’s money — reportedly in excess of $1 million, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
The next day, Murdaugh called 911 to report that he had been shot on a remote, rural road in Hampton County and was flown to a hospital in Savannah for treatment of a “superficial gunshot wound to the head,” SLED said at the time. Two days later, Murdaugh was out of the hospital, announcing his resignation from the law firm and checking into rehab for an undisclosed substance abuse problem.
SLED is investigating Murdaugh’s alleged shooting as well as the June 7 murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul, who were found shot to death on the Murdaughs’ sprawling hunting property, Moselle. The agency has been tightlipped about both investigations. Investigators have not released descriptions of a suspect in the shooting of Alex Murdaugh or the truck the alleged shooter was driving, although Murdaugh reportedly saw the gunman and spoke with him, .
“As chief of SLED, I continue to urge the public to be patient and let this investigation take its course” Mark Keel, who heads the agency, said in a statement, WCSC reported. “Investigative decisions we make throughout this case and any potentially related case must ultimately withstand the scrutiny of the criminal justice process. As with all cases, SLED is committed to conducting a professional, thorough, and impartial criminal investigation, no matter where the facts lead us.”
In the wake of the shooting and the misuse of funds allegations, the South Carolina Supreme Court suspended Murdaugh’s law license, and the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, where Murdaugh had been a volunteer prosecutor, announced that it was barring him from further prosecutions.
Murdaugh and his other son, Buster, are also facing a wrongful death suit filed by the mother of Mallory Beach, a 19-year-old who was killed when a highly intoxicated Paul Murdaugh allegedly drove a boat into a bridge piling in 2019. Beach was thrown from the boat in the crash; her body was found a week later.
The wrongful death suit claims that Murdaugh and his son both knew about and condoned Paul Murdaugh’s underage drinking and that Buster Murdaugh allowed his younger brother to use his identification to buy alcohol.
Paul Murdaugh was awaiting trial on charges related to the accident at the time of his death; those charges were dropped after the murders.
Read CrimeOnline’s past reporting on Murdaugh family and the Murdaugh Murders.
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[Featured image: L-R: Buster, Maggie, Paul, and Alex Murdaugh/Facebook]
