Embattled South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh waived his right to handle his murdered son’s estate just days before he called 911 to report he’d been shot in what now appears to be a botched suicide and insurance fraud scheme.

Murdaugh — who has now been charged with insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, and filing a false police report — asked on August 27 that his brother, Randolph Murdaugh IV, handle Paul Murdaugh’s estate when it went to probate, The State newspaper reported.

Paul Murdaugh, 22, and his mother, 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh, were found shot to death on the family estate in Colleton County on June 7. Paul had been awaiting trial on charges that he drunk drove a boat into a bridge piling, tossing passenger Mallory Beach, 19, into the water. Her body was found a week later.

Alex Murdaugh reported he’d been shot in the head on September 4 and was flown to a Savannah, Georgia, hospital for treatment. But he was released two days later, announcing he was resigning from the law firm his great grandfather founded and going into treatment for a drug problem. The law firm, PMPED, said that they had in fact forced Murdaugh out on September 3 for financial improprieties.

Last week, the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division arrested Curtis Smith, a former client of Murdaugh, saying Murdaugh had hired him to kill him so that his older son, Buster, could claim a $10 million life insurance payout. SLED announced a day later it was also charging Murdaugh, and both men appeared separately in a Hampton County court on Thursday.

Smith has said that Murdaugh “set me up to be the fall guy” and denies the charges, as CrimeOnline previously reported.

See all CrimeOnline’s coverage of the Murdaugh family.

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[Featured image: The Murdaughs: L-R, Buster, Maggie, Paul, Alex/Facebook