The man who allegedly helped Alex Murdaugh stage his botched 2021 suicide said Murdaugh wanted to kill himself because he knew he was a suspect in his wife and son’s murders.
Curtis Smith made the revelation during “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal,” which was released on Netflix on Wednesday. Smith denied shooting Murdaugh — and alleged that Murdaugh planned to kill himself and pin it on him if he didn’t help him do it, according to the Daily Beast.
The shooting in rural Hampton County occurred three months after Murdaugh fatally shot his wife and son on their family’s property. According to Smith, Murdaugh said he wanted to die “because they’re going to be able to prove that I’m responsible for Maggie and Paul.”
Smith claimed he pulled up to the road and was met by Murdaugh who was holding a gun. Smith still denies shooting Murdaugh — and said he fired his own weapon in the air in hopes of “scare some sense into him,” the New York Post reported.
Murdaugh subsequently called 911 claiming he was wounded in a drive-by shooting, but Smith maintained he was never shot.
“That’s where that spot on the back of his head [comes] from, from the rocks sticking up on the side of the road, not from a bullet bounced off his head from less than six [feet] behind him,” Smith explained.
The Daily Beast reported that Smith was also accused of providing drugs to Murdaugh and laundering $2.4 million by depositing checks for the now-disbarred attorney.
In March, Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering his wife and son and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Murdaugh has appealed his murder convictions and is seeking a new trial. Earlier this month, his attorneys filed motions accusing a court clerk of jury tampering.
Before his murder convictions, Alex Murdaugh was disbarred for allegedly embezzling more than $8.7 million from his former law firm to fuel a drug addiction. During the trial, Alex Murdaugh admitted to some of the financial crimes covered in the federal and state cases against him.
Earlier this week, Murdaugh pleaded guilty to 22 federal counts related to defrauding his former clients and law firm. He is scheduled to stand trial in state court on November 27.
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[Featured image: Curtis Smith, left, and Alex Murdaugh/Hampton County Sheriff’s Office]
