Alex Murdaugh Hired His Alleged Drug Dealer To Kill Him In Conspiracy To Collect $10 Million Life Insurance
Months after his son and wife were murdered.
More details are emerging in the shooting of South Carolina lawyer, Alex Murdaugh, who was shot in what looked like a murder-for-hire scheme on September 4.
In June, Alex Murdaugh’s wife and son were killed on the family’s property in Islandton, South Carolina in a double homicide that remains unsolved.
A month later, Murdaugh was shot in what many believed, and can now confirm, was likely a scheme orchestrated by the lawyer himself.
Police believe Alex Murdaugh plotted to have himself killed.
According to authorities, Murdaugh asked a former client to shoot him to death so his son could collect a $10 million insurance payment, police claim.
He survived being shot in the head, and authorities say he has now confessed that the killing was a attempt at assisted suicide.
When he called the police, Murdaugh told the police that he was changing a tired on the side of the road, when someone in a truck pulled up and shot him in the head.
Curtis Edward Smith was charged with assisted suicide.
Murdaugh’s former client, Curtis Edward Smith was arrested and charged with assisted suicide. In addition, he was charged with aggravated assault and battery and pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
Curtis Edward Smith is 61 years old and from Walterboro, South Carolina.
The police reported that Murdaugh confessed to the scheme. Smith also admitted to being at the scene of the crime and disposing of the gun.
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In 2013, Murdaugh represented Smith when he was giving a speeding ticket for driving 10 m.p.h. over the speed limit. In 2015, Smith filed against a Charlotte, North Carolina-based forest management company.
But their relationship goes beyond your average professional lawyer-client relationship.
Murdaugh purchased oxycodone from Chris Edward Smith, a drug that Murdaugh was addicted to, according to a colleague of the lawyer.
Murdaugh was also abusing oxycodone and suffering from depression.
Dick Harpootlian, one of Murdaugh’s lawyers, claimed that Murdaugh attempted to get Smith to shoot him after he tried to stop abusing oxycodone.
Murdaugh was under the impression that his oldest son, Buster, would not be able to receive the insurance payment if he committed suicide.
Murdaugh survived the shooting but fractured his skull.
After the shooting, Murdaugh released a statement, apologizing to his family and colleagues. In addition, he was checked into a drug rehabilitation program in a different state.
South Carolina’s Supreme Court chief justice issued an order that suspended Murdaugh’s law license.
When a lawyer “poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the public or to the administration of justice,” the court allows interim suspensions.
Izzy Casey is a writer that covers pop culture, news, and entertainment.