https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/crime/article254597917.html
Man charged in Alex Murdaugh shooting is ‘fall guy’ in failed murder scheme, SC lawyer says
A lawyer for the Colleton County man accused of shooting Alex Murdaugh in the head as part of a staged murder attempt said Murdaugh is making his client out to be “the fall guy.”
Curtis Edward Smith, 61, plans to plead not guilty to charges brought by S.C. Law Enforcement Division in a Sept. 4 shooting, Smith’s lawyer, Jarrett Bouchette, said in an interview.
SLED accused Smith of conspiring with Murdaugh, a suspended Hampton lawyer,
to shoot the lawyer in the head so Murdaugh’s son could receive a $10 million life insurance payout. Murdaugh lived, and both men were charged.
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‘THE GUN DID GO OFF’
On Sept. 4, Bouchette said, Murdaugh called Smith and told him to bring his truck, which he “presumed to mean he was going to do some kind of work helping fix something.”
Smith did odd jobs for Murdaugh, and they maintained a friendship over the years, he said. After Smith received the call, he met Murdaugh on Old Salkehatchie Road, a rural road in Hampton County.
According to SLED’s affidavits, the two men met “for the purpose of Mr. Smith assisting Mr. Murdaugh to commit suicide.”
“Mr. Murdaugh provided Mr. Smith with a firearm and directed Mr. Smith to shoot him in the head for the purpose of causing Mr. Murdaugh’s death,” according to SLED’s affidavit. “And allowing for the payment of a stated death benefit to a beneficiary of the insured, Mr. Murdaugh.”
But Bouchette said Smith was not aware of any insurance fraud scheme or plan to shoot when he went to meet Murdaugh.
He said when Smith arrived that Murdaugh was “suicidal.”
“I don’t think there’s any dispute from the co-defendant (Murdaugh) or his attorneys that during this time period (Murdaugh) was going through either withdrawals or was in a serious opioid episode,” he said.
Bouchette confirmed what Smith had said to the New York Post in an
interview earlier this month.
“The gun did go off at some point while (Smith) was trying to wrestle the gun away from (Murdaugh). That would seem to make sense given the scene he arrived upon,” according to Bouchette.
Smith left “scared” and “in a temporary state of shock,” according to his lawyer.
He said Smith disposed of the gun, “which, given the emotional reaction that he had, I think that’s certainly understandable,” Bouchette said.
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Regarding Murdaugh’s injuries, Bouchette said Smith “didn’t say one way or another, but as far as I’m aware he did not see any injury.”
At a bond hearing for Alex Murdaugh’s charges on Sept. 16, viewers noted that Murdaugh’s head
appeared unscathed from the shooting. His lawyers maintained he sustained head injuries.
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A former client of Murdaugh’s, Smith used to play softball with Murdaugh, Bouchette said. They stayed in touched and had a close friendship, he said.
As to whether Smith had any involvement in the murders of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh on June 7, Bouchette said no.
“There’s no evidence of that at all,” he said.
