Alex Murdaugh Denies Having "Anything to Do" With Murders of Wife and Son
Alex Murdaugh is maintaining his innocence.
The South Carolina lawyer—whose wife Margaret "Maggie" Murdaugh, 52, and son Paul Murdaugh, 22, were found shot to death at the family's hunting lodge last summer—has denied any involvement in their killings in a statement issued by his legal team.
He was indicted on July 14 on two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a violent crime. But his attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin told E! News, "Alex wants his family, friends and everyone to know that he did not have anything to do with the murders of Maggie and Paul. He loved them more than anything in the world."
"It was very clear from day one that law enforcement and the Attorney General prematurely concluded that Alex was responsible for the murder of his wife and son," the statement continued. "But we know that Alex did not have any motive whatsoever to murder them."
The attorneys added that they're "immediately filing a motion for a speedy trial," requesting the prosecution turn over evidence within 30 days and a trial against Murdaugh to begin within 60 days of its receipt.
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In indictment papers obtained by E! News, Murdaugh, 54, is accused of possessing a rifle he allegedly used to fatally shoot Maggie, as well as shotgun that the prosecutors believe he used to kill Paul. A bond hearing has yet to be scheduled.
"All the efforts of our office and the law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation have been focused on seeking justice for the victims' families," South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said following Alex's indictment. "We want to thank the State Law Enforcement Division, the attorneys and staff in our office, and everyone who worked on this case for their tireless efforts to gather evidence and follow where it led. We also want to thank the Colleton County Grand Jury for listening to that evidence and for their service to the people of the state."
In a separate statement, S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) Chief Mark Keel called the indictment against Alex "one more step in a long process of justice for Maggie and Paul."
Maggie and Paul's bodies were first discovered on June 7, 2021, at the Murdaugh family's hunting residence in Islandton, S.C. A SLED press release stated at the time that the mother-and-son duo died of multiple gunshot wounds.
That September, Murdaugh was shot in the head—though suffering a superficial wound—while changing a flat tire, his legal team initially told NBC News. However, Murdaugh later penned a written statement to the police admitting to orchestrating his own assassination attempt, with a family attorney telling Today that the patriarch was struggling with an opioid addiction and had set up the hit so his surviving son Richard "Buster" Murdaugh Jr. would receive $10 million from his life insurance policy.
Shortly after checking into a rehab facility in Florida, Murdaugh was arrested in October 2021 and charged with two felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses in connection to a wrongful death lawsuit involving his late housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.
Murdaugh has since been extradited back to South Carolina, where he remains in jail.
For a deep dive into the mystery surrounding the Murdaugh family, click here.
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