Alex Murdaugh testified on Friday that he took 2,000 mg of oxycontin in the months leading up to Paul and Maggie’s 2021 murders.
Alex also stated that there were instances in which he took more than 60 pills a day, though it depended on the strength of the pill. He explained that the oxycodone pills were 30mg and instant release, and that they were “probably mixed in with some OxyContin.”
Alex also said that Buster, Maggie, and Paul witnessed him go through withdrawals.
Previously, Alex testified that his financial issues stemmed from an opioid addiction he developed from taking hydrocodone, which he took a couple of years before undergoing knee surgery in 2004. He reportedly went on to use oxycodone due to how much hydrocodone he was taking.
“In the beginning, it made everything better,” Alex said on Friday. “I took so much, it got to the point where I was taking so much just to not backslide or go into withdrawals or have all those symptoms … It evolved over time.”
Alex said he underwent detox three times, the first time being in 2017.
Yesterday, Alex admitted that he lied to SLED special agent David Owen and Colleton County police detective Laura Rutland about being at the dog kennels on the night Paul and Maggie were murdered. He blamed the lie on a 20-year opioid addiction which fueled an alleged distrust of law enforcement.
A month before the slayings, Paul reportedly texted Alex about Maggie finding “several bags” of pills in his computer bag. Maggie reportedly did a Google search to identify the pills. Cellphone data indicated she searched “Green gel pill p30” and “White pill 30 on one side rp,” according to BuzzFeed.
Paul reportedly wrote to Alex, “I am still in EB [Edisto Beach] because when you get here we have to talk. Mom found several bags of pills in your computer bag.”
Prosecutors said cell phone data and forensic evidence tie Alex to Paul and Maggie’s slayings. Meanwhile, Alex’s attorney, Dick Harpootlian, said the cell phone records were incomplete and asserted that Alex would be covered in blood if he killed his wife and son at close range. Harpootlian said no blood was found on Alex’s clothing.
In September 2021, months after Paul and Maggie’s slayings, Alex suffered superficial head wounds when he had former client Curtis Smith, 61, shoot him in the head so his surviving son, Buster, would receive a $10 million insurance payout.
A day before the shooting, Alex was forced out of his family law firm amid allegations he misappropriated funds.
Two days after the apparent botched suicide, Alex announced he was entering rehabilitation for drugs. Shortly after that, he was charged with insurance fraud in connection with the September 2021 suicide-for-hire plot and released on bail.
However, in October 2021, Alex was rearrested upon leaving a rehabilitation center in Florida for allegedly stealing $4.3 million from Satterfield’s estate. In that case, he was accused of stealing insurance payouts that were intended for Satterfield’s family. Authorities plan to exhume her body amid an ongoing investigation regarding her death.
In addition to the murder charges, Alex faces more than 100 criminal counts related to fraud.
In June 2022, Alex and Smith were indicted for allegedly purchasing and distributing oxycodone in multiple counties. In December 2022, Alex was indicted for tax evasion for allegedly failing to claim the $6 million he allegedly earned through illegal acts between 2011 and 2019.
Alex was charged with Maggie and Paul’s murders days after he was formally disbarred by the South Carolina Supreme Court.
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