SC - Paul Murdaugh, 22 and mom Margaret, 52, found shot to death, Islandton, 7 June 2021 #13

[Oakie]

I found this statement odd. I have been with hubby deer hunting. After the deer has been shot depending on where the bullet enters depends on the reaction of the deer. Heart/lung shot the deer will probably run 50-75 yards then collapse, been told to just lay low till they fall out.

Jmo

Not always. I've had plenty of them fall right in their tracks...especially when shot at close range with buckshot.

 

[Oakie]

....shottgun was loaded with #8 birdshot and 00 buckshot. I told him I thought that had been mentioned on here also.

He said then he meant to kill his wife either short range or long range. I asked him to explain that statement.

He said it was a hunting lodge. They were probably hunting turkey or duck. Thus the #8 birdshot. Also probably hunting bigger animals like deer thus the 00 buckshot.

#8 is used for dove, quail, and skeet. Typically #4 or #5 for turkey, and 4,5, or 6 for duck.

But he said people do not usually mix shells like that in a shotgun. He said that was more than likely intentional.

His explanation: If the shotgun was full choke or nitro turkey choke then the #8 bird shot would have been used to kill at long range while the 00 buckshot would have been used for short range. So, if he didn't get a kill shot (his words, I'm sorry because it seems insensitive) up close he could get the shot at long range. Therefore, AM loaded the shotgun that way intentionally. Especially if it was double barreled with dual triggers which are commonly used to hunt duck.

That's backwards. #8 is lethal at very close range but will only inflict shallow wounds at long range. 00 buck is lethal out to 40 or 50 yards (or longer, if you can manage to hit something).

I've hunted ducks nearly all my life and have never personally encountered anyone hunting them with a double barrel. Folks use pumps or autos.

 

[worm]

A 410 shotgun, which is small and what most kids who get into shooting start with, is lethal at close range such as its suggested Paul was attacked at.

 

[MerryB]

A 410 shotgun, which is small and what most kids who get into shooting start with, is lethal at close range such as its suggested Paul was attacked at.

It was very close range, and the way he was shot makes me think there was a struggle for the gun. MOO

 

[Elley Mae]

If it’s true that AM said what some hear as, “For gods sake Paul, why did you have to get involved”, then I think he and maggie were arguing and it turned into her being shot first, I would imagine that Paul reacted and started out of the kennel after seeing what happened to his mother he was gunned down.

Jmo

 

[Seattle1]

If it’s true that AM said what some hear as, “For gods sake Paul, why did you have to get involved”, then I think he and maggie were arguing and it turned into her being shot first, I would imagine that Paul reacted and started out of the kennel after seeing what happened to his mother he was gunned down.

Jmo

I'm not familiar with the rumored statement attributed to AM but it follows that a perp would take out the strongest force first (i.e. Paul) before targeting MM. JMO

 

[Elley Mae]

I'm not familiar with the rumored statement attributed to AM but it follows that a perp would take out the strongest force first (i.e. Paul) before targeting MM. JMO

I’m basing that on AM not realizing PM was there. If wording is right and AM asked MM to meet at the cabin he may not have seen him.

Jmo

 

[stmarysmead]

So here’s what puzzles me. If the plan was only to kill MM and PM was collateral damage..killing MM alone wouldn’t have stopped the scrutiny of AM’s finances. Wasn’t the civil suit asking for his financials as well…or am I mistaken?

 

[CandiceC]

Legal elite, right? Can you imagine that not one person in MrMurdaugh's family nor in his circle of friends would take suitable attire for MrMurdaugh to wear as he's sitting in the courtroom with his great grandfather's portrait hanging on the wall. He has no one to call to help him and I don't care.

I'd prefer to see him handcuffed while wearing orange, the new black. I hope no one adds funds to his jailhouse accounts. imoo Murdaugh killed two humans. A son and his mother. Let it be.

Who's paying his legal fees? The Legal Elite. That's what I want to know. This is going to be about a half million dollar defense. And, Alex still loses bc he's a loser. jmho

Criminal defense lawyers usually get their fee up front. I don't believe the judge will keep gag order in place; sometimes one is in place during discovery but once case is set for trial what benefit is there to a gag order. This is a case of national interest; i don't see the usual reasons for a gag order relevant here.

 

[worm]

Criminal defense lawyers usually get their fee up front. I don't believe the judge will keep gag order in place; sometimes one is in place during discovery but once case is set for trial what benefit is there to a gag order. This is a case of national interest; i don't see the usual reasons for a gag order relevant here.

I hope he doesn’t gag it because “protecting the investigation” in this state can often mean “protecting somebody”.

 

[Elley Mae]

So here’s what puzzles me. If the plan was only to kill MM and PM was collateral damage..killing MM alone wouldn’t have stopped the scrutiny of AM’s finances. Wasn’t the civil suit asking for his financials as well…or am I mistaken?

Afaik yes, was thinking that if they were living apart MM may not have known what was going on with the Beach lawsuit, iirc she was not named. Posible she didn’t know AM was in talks 3 days? Before the murders and was suppose to have that info on the 10th. the day AM’s father died.

Jmo

 

[RAISINISBACK]

I can't even imagine what he's going through!

I can't either. The grief must be enormous, combined with the fact his dad has been charged with killing his mom and brother and all the financial crimes coming out that were committed by AM. He has to be numb right now with everything coming out and waiting for the other shoe to drop every day.

For some reason I almost think BM suspected his dad did it. He was very noncommittal on some of the jail house conversations. I went back and listened to them and it seemed at times that BM could barely bring himself to talk to AM. In fact he mostly had one word answers to AM's questions. Remember this is a kid that lived in the house with AM and knew what AM was capable of. It has been said by OP he was complaisant in trying to get back into law school but I do not think money or law school could even begin to make up for what he has lost.

Then there is the fact that he knows all of AM's assets are attached by lawsuits. He has to be worried about how he is going to make a living. There is the fact he also is being sued in that boating accident. But we have yet to go through that trial and I would need solid evidence that BM willingly provided PM with his drivers license. PM could have stolen them from BM. After all they lived in the same house with assumedly PM having access to BM's possessions. At this point I have seen no evidence BM even knew PM had them.

I think from what we have heard, that AM was very abusive toward his wife and kids. That is what it is reading like to me anyway. We know through the texts that MM didn't trust him not to hurt her, I wonder if the boys trusted him not to hurt them? I can't get that picture of PM standing between his parents at his graduation and his slumped shoulders pulled slightly away from AM toward MM.

Then there is the SS case being reopened. The kids disposed on the boating accident said that it was rumored at school by many of their school mates that BM and SS were romantically involved. If so, LE finding evidence to reopen the case during the investigation of MM and PM's murders must be a nightmare for him if he thinks his dad or brother had anything to do with SS's death.

I think right now he sounds like he is in a deep depression and a lot of his fair weather friends are dropping him like a hot rock.

Also with the press hounding him at every turn since the murders, even following him and his uncle to a casino. BTW I see no reason to condemn him for going out with his uncle to a casino. Maybe his uncle was trying to get him out to take his mind off his loss of his family. The fact he appears to be drinking, in my view, does not condemn him either. After learning my dad pulled a side of the road stunt like AM did I might need a stiff drink or two myself. BM may have had to listen to many people laughing at his dad over that CS+AM suicide stunt, especially since AM used his son, BM, as an excuse for pulling it. That must have made BM feel terrible that his dad tried to use him in that fashion.

In that picture of AM posted upthread AM looks all relaxed and frankly very drunk or high, but BM is standing well away from him and does not look happy at all. That wide space between BM and his dad is very telling IMO and also the look on BM's face.

BM's world has completely fell apart in the last 13 months. I think we need to walk a mile in his shoes and cut him a break. I think he was one of AM's biggest victims in all this and lost more than anyone else.

My opinion only. JMO

 

[GoBuckeyes]

From Maggie’s obit.
“Maggie is survived by her loving husband Richard Alexander Murdaugh (Alex),
her oldest son Richard Alexander Murdaugh Jr. (Buster),
her dear sister, Marian Branstetter Proctor (Bart),
her parents Kennedy Hubbard Branstetter and Terry Lee Branstetter,
her brothers-in-law, Randolph Murdaugh IV (Christy),
John Marvin Murdaugh (Liz),
her sister-in-law, Lynn Murdaugh Goette (Allen),
and her many nieces and nephews (Libby, Hannah, Kennedy, Mills, Trey, Reeves, Mary Elizabeth, Caroline, Mary Marvin, Liza Grace and Randolph).”

Obituary for Maggie Murdaugh at Peeples-Rhoden Funeral Home, Hampton Chapel

Margaret Maggie Kennedy Branstetter Murdaugh, 52, entered into eternal rest with her son Paul Terry Murdaugh the evening of Monday, June 7, 2021. She graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1991, where she met her husband, Alex. She was a member of Kappa Delta Sorority, and has kept

www.peeplesrhodenfuneralhome.com

The loving husband part is hard to read.
I find th first sentence deeply upsetting- “Margaret “Maggie” Kennedy Branstetter Murdaugh, 52, entered into eternal rest with her son Paul Terry Murdaugh the evening of Monday, June 7, 2021.”

Thank you so much for the obit.

 

[RAISINISBACK]

#8 is used for dove, quail, and skeet. Typically #4 or #5 for turkey, and 4,5, or 6 for duck.


That's backwards. #8 is lethal at very close range but will only inflict shallow wounds at long range. 00 buck is lethal out to 40 or 50 yards (or longer, if you can manage to hit something).

I've hunted ducks nearly all my life and have never personally encountered anyone hunting them with a double barrel. Folks use pumps or autos.

BBM

That's backwards.

I may have gotten what he said backwards. My GS does flying visits (I call them drive by visits) and is in and out in a hurry just basically checking on me and hubby to see if we need anything. He talks as he is coming in, stands a few minutes then is talking as he walks out. He is a busy man who works in LE and doesn't have a lot of time for us between his work and his wife and kids. Completely understandable and I am just grateful he checks on us every day.

I've hunted ducks nearly all my life and have never personally encountered anyone hunting them with a double barrel. Folks use pumps or autos.

I am going by what he said and that would be based off his experience in hunting. Different areas may have different hunting practices.

But I will certainly bow to your greater knowledge of hunting since neither hubby or I hunt although it seems as if hubby has some kind of obsession with buying guns. But then hubby is retired LE and maybe that's just par for the course in his former occupation.

JMO

 

[rescuemom]

If it’s true that AM said what some hear as, “For gods sake Paul, why did you have to get involved”, then I think he and maggie were arguing and it turned into her being shot first, I would imagine that Paul reacted and started out of the kennel after seeing what happened to his mother he was gunned down.

Jmo

I heard that statement from AM very early on in the 911 call right after the murders but in the 911 call that is being played lately in various places, it is not there. I wonder if when AM became a real suspect that LE removed that portion so as not to influence jurors one way or the other. I remember thinking when I heard it that AM had murdered them both

 

[RAISINISBACK]

It was probably one of the first things that raised my suspicions about him being a grieving son/husband/father.


Jmo

https://www.fitsnews.com/2021/07/29/murdaugh-murders-what-about-pauls-brother-buster-investigation-update/

BBM

https://www.fitsnews.com/2021/07/29/murdaugh-murders-what-about-pauls-brother-buster-investigation-update/

Speculation about Buster Murdaugh originated with the 2015 Stephen Smith death investigation — with his name being brought up numerous times as investigators with the S.C. Highway Patrol (SCHP) sought to make sense of this tragedy.

In the kids boating depositions it was stated that there were rumors among their school mates that BM and SS were romantically involved. His name coming up so many times in the SS investigation may have been in reference to those school house rumors. He may have been looked at as a current or ex BF.

The speculation swirling around Buster Murdaugh escalated last week when SLED – the lead agency in the ‘Murdaugh Murders’ case – released a 911 call from Buster and Paul’s father, R. Alexander “Alex” Murdaugh, along with a dispatch report which seemed to suggest that another person (besides Alex Murdaugh) was present at the hunting lodge on the night of the murders.

This has since been proved to be untrue. BM was somewhere else completely and had to be called to trace his mom's phone and also give LE the code to unlock it after it was found.

According to @MerryB People is getting ready to drop some bombshells indicating that AM lured MM to Moselle and laid in wait for her with the AR style rifle at the ready.

I do not think BM was a part of his mom and brothers murders and was proven not to be at Moselle when they were killed, indeed it was stated he was miles away in a different town.

I think we all need to walk a mile in this kid's shoes and realize that his whole world has fell apart. This is a victim friendly forum and I think BM was the biggest victim of all of AM's many victims.

He lost his mom, his brother, basically his dad also, his home, his way of life he has known all his life and many of his friends.

Plus he is being sued for PM having his DL of which I have yet to see evidence that he had any knowledge of the fact that his brother had his DL, let alone giving it to him. That trial has yet to be held.

I think we need to give this kid a break for just a minute until we know all the facts.

My opinion only. JMO

 

[MerryB]

BBM

https://www.fitsnews.com/2021/07/29/murdaugh-murders-what-about-pauls-brother-buster-investigation-update/

Speculation about Buster Murdaugh originated with the 2015 Stephen Smith death investigation — with his name being brought up numerous times as investigators with the S.C. Highway Patrol (SCHP) sought to make sense of this tragedy.

In the kids boating depositions it was stated that there were rumors among their school mates that BM and SS were romantically involved. His name coming up so many times in the SS investigation may have been in reference to those school house rumors. He may have been looked at as a current or ex BF.

The speculation swirling around Buster Murdaugh escalated last week when SLED – the lead agency in the ‘Murdaugh Murders’ case – released a 911 call from Buster and Paul’s father, R. Alexander “Alex” Murdaugh, along with a dispatch report which seemed to suggest that another person (besides Alex Murdaugh) was present at the hunting lodge on the night of the murders.

This has since been proved to be untrue. BM was somewhere else completely and had to be called to trace his mom's phone and also give LE the code to unlock it after it was found.

According to @MerryB People is getting ready to drop some bombshells indicating that AM lured MM to Moselle and laid in wait for her with the AR style rifle at the ready.

I do not think BM was a part of his mom and brothers murders and was proven not to be at Moselle when they were killed, indeed it was stated he was miles away in a different town.

I think we all need to walk a mile in this kid's shoes and realize that his whole world has fell apart. This is a victim friendly forum and I think BM was the biggest victim of all of AM's many victims.

He lost his mom, his brother, basically his dad also, his home, his way of life he has known all his life and many of his friends.

Plus he is being sued for PM having his DL of which I have yet to see evidence that he had any knowledge of the fact that his brother had his DL, let alone giving it to him. That trial has yet to be held.

I think we need to give this kid a break for just a minute until we know all the facts.

My opinion only. JMO

Agree 100%. Buster is a victim. MOO

 

[Eagle2123]

I can agree from both points. BM is 26. He’s an adult. Adults need to make adult decisions. I got my home/mortgage at 26, and been here ever since.

At the same time. He’s lost EVERYTHING. Mom, Dad, and his brother. His childhood home, his friends, and most likely his small/hometown to go with it. I’ll cut him some slack. Not to mention. I’m sure he’s confused. His father has most likely brainwashed him these last 13 months. Unless he‘s cut him off. Which I give him praise if he has.

Also, I feel like Alex’s brothers and families are victims to this. I believe they’re innocent. The inlaws and their families. Yikes. So Sorry for them. It’s a pretty horrible situation.

I still feel like the prosecutors will have a tough time with the two gun deal. Something is missing to solve this. One man. Two guns. How did he pull this off? And how did he do it so quickly? That will be a BIG question, and BIG for the defense.

AM had to have had a arsenal ready. But how do you plan the unknown? The unknown your son will be there or not? MM would meet you at the kennels and not the house? MM would even show up? You don’t leave expensive firearms (loaded) just sitting around? Lots of questions. And Poot and staff will pounce on this.

PM is apparently on video/audio showing a dog in a kennel. Seems to me he’s not walking around the kennels with a double barreled shotgun while video taping. Could be. But I doubt it. I find it hard to believe he runs at his father who is armed and tries to wrestle a gun away. If AM shoots MM with AR. While on the ground and to the back of the head? “ Lots of time folks” Why not shoot PM with the same gun? Does he really have time to go to a shed or vehicle to load another gun to shoot his son? If his son is witnessing this? Highly unlikely. There’s something missing here?

 

[sunshineray]

The quote references the entire family. How much family is left besides AM's surviving son and his brother, JM? Parents or additional siblings? TIA

Two brothers and their wives and children. Probably a ton of cousins. Maybe JM was speaking of/includingMaggie's family also?

 

[CocoChanel]

ADMIN NOTE:

Unless/until a family member other than AM is stated by LE to be a POI or suspect in THIS crime, they are protected by Websleuths‘ family-friendly policy. That means NO bashing/denigrating/implying/insinuating they had any part in this crime. Posts that do so will be removed.