SC - Paul Murdaugh, 22 and mom Margaret, 52, found shot to death, Islandton, 7 June 2021 #5

[LaborDayRN]

(Thank you, @Tiff23fr !)

Here is an excellent article about the numerous "red flags." I can't quote them all, so I'll say I highly recommend reading the article if you can.

Murdaugh Murders: Conflicting Reports Emerge From Shooting ‘Crime Scene’

"Officials with the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) — the agency leading the investigation into the suspicious shooting — told me they stood by their report that Murdaugh suffered “a superficial gunshot wound to the head.”

"Officials with the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) — the agency leading the investigation into the suspicious shooting — told me they stood by their report that Murdaugh suffered “a superficial gunshot wound to the head.”

Sounds like SLED and AK's attorney are at odds. I'll take SLED for 1000 Alex..........

 

[worm]

Welcome @vls12345 , great points and I look forward to your input.

 

[JaimeInLA]

"Officials with the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) — the agency leading the investigation into the suspicious shooting — told me they stood by their report that Murdaugh suffered “a superficial gunshot wound to the head.”

Sounds like SLED and AK's attorney are at odds. I'll take SLED for 1000 Alex..........

Yah because AM might be able to slip the HCSO a few grand to say “Oopsie, we accidentally checked the wrong box. Silly us! Let us just change this official accident report real quick!” — but he isn’t going to be able to do that with SLED!

 

[Colorado303]

He could be for a couple reasons:

The murders occurred prior to his alibi.

It was a hired hit, with him as the mastermind.

@MassGuy are you saying perhaps the ME was wrong and TOD occurred before the 9:00-9:30 window? I hadn’t thought of that but it’s possible. I always assumed they were able to give such a tight TOD because SM or PM had talked to someone by phone at 9:00 pm. But if someone had access to the victim’s phone at 9:00 pm they could have called their own phone with it and claimed to have had a conversation.

If that’s the case unless they had an accomplice who operated one of the phones, the records would show the two phones in the same place at 9:00 p.m. Or perhaps the doer was unusually smart and left their own phone somewhere else for a while and claimed to have received a voicemail instead of an actual call.

It would be something if yet another murderer was caught because records show two phones traveling together during a critical period of time.

 

[sunshineray]

Initial reports stated that AM told authorities that he’d been out shooting when he came home and found his wife and son deceased. SLED has neither confirmed or denied this, as well as the “ironclad alibi” stated about him taking his father to the hospital that day. I smell a very large rat.
I know nothing about guns, but can someone confirm that it’s nearly impossible to commit suicide with a shotgun like the one PM was shot with? Could it have been a family argument amongst the three of them and two of them had guns? There must be a logical scenario since law enforcement quickly stated there was no threat to the public and there were no public searches for perpetrators. Could AM have possibly claimed self defense and still attended the funerals?

Son from powerful family 'was target of shooting at family's hunting lodge that also killed his mom' | Daily Mail Online

I had a friend when I was a teenager who killed himself with a shotgun, so yes it's possible. Another man we knew had his 15 year old son die when he and a friend were handling a shotgun, so death can also happen accidentally with a shotgun. Horrible, horrible tragedies </3

 

[DeDee]

Hypothetically, could it be possible the money was MM's and when she got suspicious about money missing from a joint bank account she hired a forensic auditor an argument ensued whereby someone grabbed a shotgun and PM got between them thus getting hit with the shotgun blast. MM takes off running and someone grabs a AR 15 type gun with an infrared scope (it would be VERY dark at 9:00PM on 1770 acres with a long driveway as this property was) to shoot her with. Assuming the guns were kept in the shed by the dog kennels of course. Hypothetically of course.

As a former wife to a wealthy creep, I rather doubt funds in a joint account went missing. AM was likely hiding the millions he was stealing. Something he was spending money on made her suspicious, for instance, perhaps she knew he was losing money gambling, or in numerous other ways. She wanted to know where the extra money was coming from when she ordered a forensic accounting of their finances. I believe this move infuriated him just as much as AM was furious with his son, PM.

I'd call it killing two birds with one stone. I tried to link the statement about the double homicides earlier. Chromebook doesn't like that I'm on a shared wifi, thus, is causing me grief since evacuation. Anyway, the statement was about the crime scene of their executions had been "manipulated" leading me to believe the bodies were moved in some fashion so they'd both be posed together.

Joseph Scott Morgan had some interesting things to say about the matter while on Trish's podcast last evening.

 

[pizzaman12]

There is no legal or technical definition of the term "assault rifle" beyond the literal meaning, a rifle used for an assault. The legal definition in the United States for any fully automatic weapon is "machine gun", a term old enough that its common meaning is primarily ironic.

I was surprised to read that in November, the Associated Press updated their Stylebook to discourage newsrooms from using terms like “assault rifle,” “assault weapon,” “military-style rifle” and “modern sporting rifle” as gun activists have become reactionary to these "triggering" terms but they are far from having any concrete meaning.

We here on websleuths are amateur forum writers, not members of the associated press and for our purposes I do not believe it is incorrect to describe a rifle used to assault and kill two people as an "assault style rifle"

There is a very clear technical definition of an assault rifle in the US and it's been clear and a standard for as long as I can remember. If unsure, ask the ATF and they'll be more than happy to tell you if you need a stamp and how much.

"Machine gun" "Legal definition" What are you talking about?

There are great people here with great minds but not sure what AP has to do with it. If AP misstates something and someone just regurgitates it, it doesn't make it fact.

 

[BeckyF]

He could be for a couple reasons:

The murders occurred prior to his alibi.

It was a hired hit, with him as the mastermind.

Yeah, so many twists and turns here. I’m trying to focus more on the investigation into the murders of MM and PM even though lots of other things have been revealed in the last several days.

 

[sunshineray]

As a former wife to a wealthy creep, I rather doubt funds in a joint account went missing. AM was likely hiding the millions he was stealing. Something he was spending money on made her suspicious, for instance, perhaps she knew he was losing money gambling, or in numerous other ways. She wanted to know where the extra money was coming from when she ordered a forensic accounting of their finances. I believe this move infuriated him just as much as AM was furious with his son, PM.

I'd call it killing two birds with one stone. I tried to link the statement about the double homicides earlier. Chromebook doesn't like that I'm on a shared wifi, thus, is causing me grief since evacuation. Anyway, the statement was about the crime scene of their executions had been "manipulated" leading me to believe the bodies were moved in some fashion so they'd both be posed together.

Joseph Scott Morgan had some interesting things to say about the matter while on Trish's podcast last evening.

I believe IIRC that SLED did say early on the bodies were a distance away from each other...but no specific measurement was mentioned.

 

[Colorado303]

BBM. At 0:15 the reporter says that the day of the murders AM took his dying father to the hospital, then checked on his mother and according to his family he then returned home and found the bodies. Anyway, nothing has been publicly confirmed by LE so we don't know what LE believes or what the actual evidence is re anyone's alibi.

One thing largely overlooked is RM’s autopsy says he “died peacefully at home”. So if AM did take him to the hospital the day of the murders someone brought him back home before Thursday. Could it have been AM himself, that same day. It’s possible the hospital gave him some palliative treatment, said there was nothing more that could be done and he was released so he could die at home.

It has been suggested perhaps the Patriarch had a hand in directing the murders. @MassGuy’s recent post suggesting TOD may be wrong led me to examine my assumption TOD was determined because one of the victims appeared to make a phone call at 9:00 pm. That, combined w/the possibility AM transported RM back and forth to the hospital that same day makes me think of a new possible scenario for the deaths and alibi. I don’t want to say more than that for fear of violating TOS.


Obituary for Randolph Murdaugh III at Parker-Rhoden Funeral Home

 

[vls12345]

Has there been any official statement as to how time of death for MM & PM was determined?

I was assuming it was based on a coroner's or medical examiner's report/findings about the state of the bodies.

 

[Colorado303]

Golly, what will happen next? (This is an amazing story!)

I suspect we’re near the end of new shocking occurrances. But there will be plenty of surprises as we finally learn more about the whats whys, hows (and possibly whos ) involved in what’s already happened .

JMO

 

[distracted]

One thing largely overlooked is RM’s autopsy says he “died peacefully at home”. So if AM did take him to the hospital the day of the murders someone brought him back home before Thursday. Could it have been AM himself, that same day. It’s possible the hospital gave him some palliative treatment, said there was nothing more that could be done and he was released so he could die at home.

It has been suggested perhaps the Patriarch had a hand in directing the murders. @MassGuy’s recent post suggesting TOD may be wrong led me to examine my assumption TOD was determined because one of the victims appeared to make a phone call at 9:00 pm. That, combined w/the possibility AM transported RM back and forth to the hospital that same day makes me think of a new possible scenario for the deaths and alibi. I don’t want to say more than that for fear of violating TOS.


Obituary for Randolph Murdaugh III at Parker-Rhoden Funeral Home

After protecting the family's reputation for the better part of a century? That would be hard to believe.

 

[Colorado303]

He may have skin in the game or promised a big pay day.

I’m starting to feel almost sorry for him. He’s saying what his clients are telling him to say. At first he probably believed them. Can an attorney just say “no” if their clients tell them to communicate something sketchy but insist it’s the truth? I bet he’s wishing he took a summer-long cruise.

 

[Colorado303]

After protecting the family's reputation for the better part of a century? That would be hard to believe.

“Protecting the family’s reputation for the better part of a century” is exactly the reason I think it might be possible. It’s not impossible a protector who knows their life is ending might be inclined to do whatever they still could to prevent future problems.

 

[Elley Mae]

Authorities investigating after Alex Murdaugh was found shot in the head

Authorities investigating after Alex Murdaugh was found shot in the head | WCBD News 2

This is just the latest incident involving the prominent legal family that held the position as 14th Circuit Solicitor for nearly a hundred years in the Lowcountry. Stephen Smith is the earliest death linked to the family; he was found dead on July 8, 2015 in the middle of a road near the family’s Colleton County property.

Snipped

Smith was found with a large hole in his right forehead, and was known to be friends with the Murdaugh’s oldest son, Buster.

 

[MassGuy]

Initial reports stated that AM told authorities that he’d been out shooting when he came home and found his wife and son deceased. SLED has neither confirmed or denied this, as well as the “ironclad alibi” stated about him taking his father to the hospital that day. I smell a very large rat.
I know nothing about guns, but can someone confirm that it’s nearly impossible to commit suicide with a shotgun like the one PM was shot with? Could it have been a family argument amongst the three of them and two of them had guns? There must be a logical scenario since law enforcement quickly stated there was no threat to the public and there were no public searches for perpetrators. Could AM have possibly claimed self defense and still attended the funerals?

Son from powerful family 'was target of shooting at family's hunting lodge that also killed his mom' | Daily Mail Online

The Daily Mail did not do their own reporting there; they cited the reporting of others, and erred in saying Alex was out shooting. No outlet has claimed that.

It is entirely possible to commit suicide with a shotgun, but one of many issues is that he had two separate wounds.

If this was some sort of self defense thing, then normal behavior is not to turn it into a double murder by not telling law enforcement’s that.

 

[LotusPawprint]

Mr. Griffin, the attorney, is basically doing PR (even though AM has a separate actual PR firm/person too). It is apparently very important to AM/members of M family to control the narrative and make sure the public knows what happened (according to AM).

So why is it that someone so willing to put a steady stream of updated, ever-evolving information out there is not bombarding us with pleading requests to help solve the unsolved double homicide , and why nothing urging people to help find the would've been assassin? The clock is ticking on that 9/30 reward deadline. If one was just shot (grazed) in the head, would they not be petrified and want the shooters ID'ed and found? It doesn't seem like LE has cautioned Mr Griffin to stay quiet for risk of compromising the investigation. AM via atty Griffin are very aware of the rumors and chatter, and yet it appears they are more concerned with protecting AM's image than trying to get the shooter /killer found.

All MOO

 

[MassGuy]

Mr. Griffin, the attorney, is basically doing PR (even though AM has a separate actual PR firm/person too). It is apparently very important to AM/members of M family to control the narrative and make sure the public knows what happened (according to AM).

So why is it that someone so willing to put a steady stream of updated, ever-evolving information out there is not bombarding us with pleading requests to help solve the unsolved double homicide , and why nothing urging people to help find the would've been assassin? The clock is ticking on that 9/30 reward deadline. If one was just shot (grazed) in the head, would they not be petrified and want the shooters ID'ed and found? It doesn't seem like LE has cautioned Mr Griffin to stay quiet for risk of compromising the investigation. AM via atty Griffin are very aware of the rumors and chatter, and yet it appears they are more concerned with protecting AM's image than trying to get the shooter /killer found.

All MOO

Exactly. He knows which way the wind is blowing, and it’s about controlling the narrative until the big shoe drops.

I think something is coming, and soon.

 

[LaborDayRN]

Exactly. He knows which way the wind is blowing, and it’s about controlling the narrative until the big shoe drops.

I think something is coming, and soon.

I sure hope your right. Too many people have died. I hope they can make some arrests before there are any more.