Scamster to murderer: South Carolina legal heir charged with wife and son's murder

The newest episode in the sad disintegration of what was once a proud and outwardly content dynastic family is Alex Murdaugh, a legal heir to the state of South Carolina, who has been charged with killing his wife and son at their house last year. Murdaugh, 53, continues to face more charges in county jail. When he will be charged with killing his wife Maggie and son Paul is still unknown.

The gunshot murders of South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh's wife and son set off a series of inquiries, peculiar events, and legal manoeuvres that have lasted the past 13 months. But even before that, Murdaugh's life was silently disintegrating in the background. He was allegedly lying to almost everyone in his life while also stealing money, abusing medications, and urgently attempting to dodge a detailed audit of his finances connected to a case regarding the death of his kid.

Also Read:New Zealand ranked second-worst place in world to move by immigrants: Survey

Add WION as a Preferred Source

In the recording of the 911 call he made that evening at 10:07 PM, he can be heard screaming to the dispatcher, "I need the police and an ambulance immediately. My wife and child were recently severely shot."

It is still unknown why Murdaugh would have killed his wife and kid, but at the time of their murders, the lawyer was drowning in debt as a result of severe opiate addiction. As a result of this,his wife'sgift checks bounced at charity luncheons, so shehad started speaking with divorce attorneys.

Alex was fired from his law practice in the months following the killings of Maggie and Paul over allegations that he had stolen millions of dollars over several years. Then, in an apparent attempt to pull off a life insurance scam for the benefit of Murdaugh's surviving son, Buster, he hired a distant cousin to pretend to shoot him. Since then, authorities have restarted inquiries into two further unsolved killings that involve the family.

(with inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.