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South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh arranged for another man to kill him earlier this month so his son could get a $ 10 million life insurance policy, announced Tuesday authorities.
Murdaugh, 53, survived the September 4 shooting, which happened months after the unsolved murders of his wife and adult son. Police said Murdaugh told 911 he was shot in the head while changing a flat tire and the bullet caused only a “superficial” injury.
His lawyer, Richard Harpootlian, told NBC’s “TODAY” Wednesday that his client was trying to quit the opioids he was taking to overcome the death of his son and wife when he became terribly depressed. Believing his insurance policy contained a suicide clause, Murdaugh enlisted a man to kill him, according to the lawyer.
The ploy was an “attempt on his part to do something to protect his child,” Harpootlian said.
In a written statement, Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, another lawyer for Murdaugh, said it had become “clear that Alex believed that ending his life was his only option. Today, he knows that it is not. is not true “.
“Over the past 20 years, many people have fueled her addiction to opioids. During this time, these people have benefited from her addiction and her ability to pay substantial funds for illegal drugs,” the statement said. “One of those people took advantage of his mental illness and agreed to kill Alex by shooting him in the head.”
Curtis Edward Smith, 61, was arrested on Tuesday on counts of assisted suicide and fraud in connection with the roadside incident, according to the state’s Law Enforcement Division of South Carolina (SLED).
Documents released by the agency indicate that Murdaugh admitted to asking Smith to kill him so that a beneficiary could collect his life insurance policy.
Murdaugh, who is part of a prominent South Carolina legal family, has not been charged with any crime. Harpootlian said on Wednesday he expected him to be arrested soon.
The roadside shooting occurred nearly three months after Murdaugh’s wife and adult son were found shot dead on the family’s hunting property in rural Islandton on June 7.
Days after the September 4 shooting, Murdaugh said in a statement that he quit his job at a law firm to enter rehab. He said he “made a lot of decisions that I really regret” and that the murders of his wife and son caused an incredibly difficult time.
The law firm said Murdaugh only resigned after the partners discovered he had allegedly embezzled funds. South Carolina law enforcement officials announced on Monday that they are studying accusations that Murdaugh “embezzled” money of the firm.
Murdaugh’s law license was suspended indefinitely.
Smith was charged with Assisted Suicide, Highly Aggravated Assault and Assault, Robbery and Display of a Firearm, Insurance Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Bankruptcy Fraud. insurance, SLED said.
He said Smith, of Walterboro, was also arrested for distributing methamphetamine and possessing marijuana.
Smith was being held in jail Tuesday night, officials said. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer.
The agency said additional charges were expected in the matter.
Murdaugh allegedly gave Smith a gun and ordered Smith to kill him, according to documents released by investigators Tuesday.
Murdaugh reportedly admitted to law enforcement that the plan was for Smith to kill him, so Murdaugh’s surviving son could purchase a life insurance policy worth around $ 10 million, the documents show.
Earlier this summer, Murdaugh’s wife Margaret and adult son Paul were found dead near kennels on the family’s hunting property in Colleton County, west of Charleston. Their deaths were classified by state investigators as a double homicide.
Alex Murdaugh, a personal injury lawyer, called 911 at 10:07 p.m. on June 7 and told a dispatcher his wife and son were on the ground and not breathing, according to records released by authorities.
He said he had just come back and asked the dispatcher to “hurry up please”.
Murdaugh’s father, grandfather and great-grandfather all served as chief prosecutor for the 14th South Carolina Circuit, which covers a coastal region of the state known as the Lowcountry, totaling over 80 years old.
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