SC - Paul Murdaugh, 22 and mom Margaret, 52, found shot to death, Islandton, 7 June 2021 #4

[BeckyF]

Sometimes you're in a rural area and it may take forever for someone AAA to get there. AAA usually doesn't have their own fleet in rural areas. They contract out. This just happened to us as AAA eliminated their fleet and I'm not in a rural area. Last 2 times we've used it was a joke. One time I called someone else

I too have AAA and roadside assistance. I drive a similar vehicle as his and I'd have no problem changing my own tire. Would take 5 minutes vs. waiting potentially 1-2-3+ hours for someone to arrive regardless if I have someone who would do it for me. AAA for me is more about tows, etc...

It's simply not a big deal. It's almost sad at the amount of people that don't know how to change a tire.

I don't have a clue and wouldn't attempt it. AAA has helped me out many times.

 

[clearskies1]

A representative from Hampton County Fire-Rescue told a reporter at the scene that the agency was called there around 1:30 p.m. He declined to give his name.

https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/crime/article254007833.html

SLED said the Hampton County Sheriff’s Office secured the scene and Emergency Medical Services coordinated medical air transport of Alex Murdaugh to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia for treatment of a superficial gunshot wound to the head.

Officials with SLED responded at 2:41 p.m. with Lowcountry regional agents arriving on scene at 3:40 p.m. and SLED crime scene agents arriving on scene at 4:30 p.m., according to a release.

No arrests in Alex Murdaugh shooting, SLED investigates

Crime scene agents get there three hours after the incident was called at 1:30!? Is that normal response for this area of the state, if anyone knows? TIA

First time I've ever heard of medical air transport being used for for a superficial wound. Can someone insist on air transport -- meaning insist on/use a private medical air transport service? JMO.

 

[RAISINISBACK]

ADMIN NOTE:

Alex Murdaugh's wife and son were recently murdered, and now it appears he has been victimized once again. Whether you believe it or not, he is a considered an innocent person and a victim until such time as law enforcement announces otherwise.

It really is possible to have a thought that remains unspoken. Thousands of our members do it all the time.

If you can't remain victim friendly in accordance with Websleuths TOS, please don't post .. or post and risk losing your posting privileges.

Sorry folks but after letting the tape run that might be a police car backed up there. My apologies for any confusion I may have created. Should have watched the entire tape first.

 

[RAISINISBACK]

At the .33 second mark in video
South Carolina lawyer shot 12 weeks after wife, son gunned down

Not sure this helps answer your query but the evidence markers are mostly near the rear and behind his Mercedes seen thru the weeds in this image.
View attachment 311443

So that is his car parked there? I still see no evidence of tire tracks where he pulled off road through the grass.

JMO

 

[pizzaman12]

I live in a rural area (ranches ect) with lots of highways with no shoulders and grass waist high in the ditches so I have seen many cars pulled off road. Check mark :50 for a close up of the back of the car. If you notice the grass behind the car, it is not bowed down. If he did indeed pull off the road because of a flat tire the grass would show evidence of the tire tracks, especially if one was flat. The only spot in the grass that looks disturbed is a small spot in the middle of the markers, as if someone stood there firing a gun. Besides if you pull off road for a flat you don't leave the front end of the car on the pavement with the back in a ditch. To me it looks like he backed his car up until the back tires were off the pavement thus leaving the high grass behind it undisturbed. To me it is staged. I feel that even the wound was staged because hitting your head on an open truck lid can look a lot like a bullet graze (I know this from experience when my son hit his head on an open truck lid and came in for a band aide.)

JMO

I personally feel I would have just pulled over on the other side of the road where there is more ample space to work on my vehicle. However, everyone is different. Just as you assume everyone would not keep front wheels on the pavement with the rear downhill. Happens all the time. Ask anyone who works for a towing company.

Are you saying he was airlifted after first responders couldn't determine whether he was shot in the head (grazed or not) or hit his head on the liftgate?

 

[BeckyF]

Sometimes you're in a rural area and it may take forever for someone AAA to get there. AAA usually doesn't have their own fleet in rural areas. They contract out. This just happened to us as AAA eliminated their fleet and I'm not in a rural area. Last 2 times we've used it was a joke. One time I called someone else

I too have AAA and roadside assistance. I drive a similar vehicle as his and I'd have no problem changing my own tire. Would take 5 minutes vs. waiting potentially 1-2-3+ hours for someone to arrive regardless if I have someone who would do it for me. AAA for me is more about tows, etc...

It's simply not a big deal. It's almost sad at the amount of people that don't know how to change a tire.

I don't have a clue and wouldn't attempt it. AAA has helped me out many times.

 

[worm]

First time I've ever heard of medical air transport being used for for a superficial wound. Can someone insist on air transport -- meaning insist on/use a private medical air transport service? JMO.

About any cut to the head will bleed a lot, I figured that coupled with gunshot probably made them call for trauma treatment before they really understood. Now why they didn’t tell the air med to disregard and return is another question.
Shouldn’t he be released from the hospital if this is minor?

 

[stattlich1]

Say the truck passed him going the opposite direction, then turned around, and came up on him from the rear (which I hadn't considered), then the casings positioning in my opinion becomes even more suspect, as handguns eject, most of the time rather strongly, to the right. So in this case, he would have had to be standing close to the front of his vehicle for the casings to group together toward the rear, and the truck would have had to been traveling extremely slow for the casings to group together as indicated by the markers.

The alternative direction, the truck passing him in the same direction of his travel, and then turning around and coming back (which is what I had assumed) would for the most part necessitate firing during the approach to his vehicle, with the spent casings ejecting and rolling across the road toward his car.

Or, he could have been standing behind his car for cover, suspecting trouble from the truck that just turned around and was heading back toward him.

To my knowledge, the casings, and who they belong to, have not been identified.

 

[pizzaman12]

I don't have a clue and wouldn't attempt it. AAA has helped me out many times.

I understand changing tires is not everyone's area of expertise which is fine. They've helped me out plenty as well which is why I'm still a AAA member. However, changing ones own tire is hardly some crazy occurrence

 

[pizzaman12]

About any cut to the head will bleed a lot, I figured that coupled with gunshot probably made them call for trauma treatment before they really understood. Now why they didn’t tell the air med to disregard and return is another question.
Shouldn’t he be released from the hospital if this is minor?

This is something that has puzzled me. Are we to say that the medical team on site couldn't determine the severity? He could have also said, I was shot and I want to go. Air Evac programs are usually separate insurances and there are some areas I deal with that are rural and included in the company's benefits package which is great because a single use is CRAZY expensive

 

[clearskies1]

This is something that has puzzled me. Are we to say that the medical team on site couldn't determine the severity? He could have also said, I was shot and I want to go. Air Evac programs are usually separate insurances and there are some areas I deal with that are rural and included in the company's benefits package which is great because a single use is CRAZY expensive

So a patient can insist on using air transport? Can they insist on the hospital they want to go to? Seems unusual to take someone with this type of injury to an out-of-state hospital. Tx. JMO.

 

[tara83]

I understand changing tires is not everyone's area of expertise which is fine. They've helped me out plenty as well which is why I'm still a AAA member. However, changing ones own tire is hardly some crazy occurrence

Changing one's tire isn't crazy but when someone has just brutally murdered your wife and son and is on the loose and you don't know if they are also after you it's strange to put yourself in a vulnerable position instead of staying in the car and calling for help.

 

[zencompass]

First time I've ever heard of medical air transport being used for for a superficial wound. Can someone insist on air transport -- meaning insist on/use a private medical air transport service? JMO.

That's a great point - I didn't consider that a "private medical air service" could be requested. It's a possibility, when someone has the financial ability to do so.

Otherwise, perhaps when EMS assessed A.M., they believed it was necessary (or prudent) for him to be airlifted - signs of distress aside from the superficial wound?

Just a thought.

JMO

 

[zencompass]

This is something that has puzzled me. Are we to say that the medical team on site couldn't determine the severity? He could have also said, I was shot and I want to go. Air Evac programs are usually separate insurances and there are some areas I deal with that are rural and included in the company's benefits package which is great because a single use is CRAZY expensive

@pizzaman12, thank you for this information!

 

[pizzaman12]

So a patient can insist on using air transport? Tx.

My apologies if it came across that way but that I'm unsure of. It was kind of what I was curious about. I would think if I'm sitting there screaming because I was shot in the head and I didn't know, I'm demanding it. Did that happen? I don't know. Could the medical team not determine the severity? Did the medical team think it was life threatening?

I'm curious about all the above but I do know that while people are air lifted all the time due to serious injuries that there is a private evac policies and I know numerous people with it.

 

[branmuffin]

Yikes! I've missed a lot! AM is incredibly lucky to survive a targeted hit being shot in the head while changing a tire on a rural road in front of a church. What are the odds! Though, I'm surprised that his injuries were so superficial he was able to call his brother just to let him know what was going on after calling 911. Or did he call RM first? AM is just so lucky it was a flesh wound. You'd think that the almost assassin would have waited around maybe just a sec to ensure the deed was done, being on a rural road and all. Why would the assassin hightail it outta there so the victim could identify the vehicle as a truck. <modsnip>

 

[clearskies1]

My apologies if it came across that way but that I'm unsure of. It was kind of what I was curious about. I would think if I'm sitting there screaming because I was shot in the head and I didn't know, I'm demanding it. Did that happen? I don't know. Could the medical team not determine the severity? Did the medical team think it was life threatening?

I'm curious about all the above but I do know that while people are air lifted all the time due to serious injuries that there is a private evac policies and I know numerous people with it.

Thank you!

 

[worm]

This is something that has puzzled me. Are we to say that the medical team on site couldn't determine the severity? He could have also said, I was shot and I want to go. Air Evac programs are usually separate insurances and there are some areas I deal with that are rural and included in the company's benefits package which is great because a single use is CRAZY expensive

The air med teams here are based in the big hospitals, I’d imagine Charleston or Savannah in that area, and they cover a lot of rural places/smaller towns.

 

[pizzaman12]

That's a great point - I didn't consider that a "private medical air service" could be requested. It's a possibility, when someone has the financial ability to do so.

Otherwise, perhaps when EMS assessed A.M., they believed it was necessary (or prudent) for him to be airlifted - signs of distress aside from the superficial wound?

Just a thought.

JMO

I just replied to one above that I'm unsure of the details in how they work so I apologize for any miscommunication. Obviously, people will be airlifted if it's deemed necessary. However, these private plans are pretty common, especially in rural areas and it's not just for the wealthy. I know numerous people with it and while most live in rural areas, a couple of them are not but they and their kids travel a lot and it's more of a safety net for them. The cost is not crazy at all and only one of the people I know that has this plan would I consider really well off.

 

[worm]

It’s probably a waste to look for any updates by 11 tonight but it’s a habit.