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

[MoeInVA]

If you search PM's name at the link below, there are two interesting cases listed, one is in March this year.
Public Index Error

Looks like a local reporter saw your post @Knox!
https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/crime/article252124633.html
Eta:
Paul Murdaugh, the Hampton man charged in a 2019 boat crash that killed a young woman, had two other previously unreported brushes with law enforcement while out on bond, according to records obtained by The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.

Murdaugh received a traffic ticket in May 2020 for driving more than 15 mph over the speed limit, and was fined for a minor boating violation earlier this year. Both incidents happened in Charleston County.


Read more here: https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/crime/article252124633.html#storylink=cpy

 

[clearskies1]

I’m really conflicted about the secrecy around this case. On one hand, I understand the reasoning, but on the other hand, I question whether the 911 call would be released by now…if the case did not involve such powerful people. I’m thinking of the funeral procession for the senior Murdaugh…with cars from every type of LE in the procession.

From the Myrtle Beach article above…

3. DOES THE FAMILY’S LINK WITH THE 14TH CIRCUIT SOLICITOR’S OFFICE — ALEX MURDAUGH WORKS THERE PART TIME — INFLUENCE THE MURDER INVESTIGATION?
There is no evidence of that currently.

However, the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office has not answered calls, texts or an email asking for clarification on the role of Alex Murdaugh — Paul Murdaugh’s father — at the agency.

Neither Solicitor Duffie Stone nor the agency’s spokesperson responded to questions.

The bio on the website of Alex Murdaugh’s law firm says he “serves as a part-time Prosecutor for the 14th Judicial Circuit.”

A photo taken by the Post and Courier newspaper shows investigators with the Solicitor’s Office speaking with a member of the Murdaugh family last week, but it is not unusual for Solicitor’s Office investigators to be involved early on in a law enforcement investigation.

They help police in obtaining evidence necessary for future prosecution.

But there is precedent for Solicitor Stone possibly stepping away from the current murder case.

A day after the February 2019 boat crash involving Paul Murdaugh, Solicitor Stone recused himself from that case, citing employees’ ties to the Murdaugh family.

At this time, there is no public information of a suspect in the 2021 murder investigation — no one that the Solicitor’s Office would have to prosecute.

4. WERE DOGS ON THE MURDAUGHS’ PROPERTY KILLED THE NIGHT PAUL AND MAGGIE MURDAUGH WERE SLAIN?

Read more here: https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/state/south-carolina/article252124318.html#storylink=cpy

I'm pretty sure that 911 calls are normally not released during a pending criminal investigation. First time you hear them is in court. JMO.

 

[Razz]

See the article above by "The Daily Mail Online".

It states that "Paul and mom, Margaret had been shot multiple times with their time of death placed between 9p.m. and 9:30p.m.

"Richard Alex, Paul's dad and Margaret's husband found them at 10:00p.m."

Later in the article it says, "Sources said he told cops he had been out shooting and returned to the grim scene."

Sounds like the dad literally just dodged the bullets.

 

[MimosaMornings]

See the article above by "The Daily Mail Online".

It states that "Paul and mom, Margaret had been shot multiple times with their time of death placed between 9p.m. and 9:30p.m.

"Richard Alex, Paul's dad and Margaret's husband found them at 10:00p.m."

Later in the article it says, "Sources said he told cops he had been out shooting and returned to the grim scene."

Sounds like the dad literally just dodged the bullets.

Wonder what he was shooting alone in the dark and if the shots are what prompted his return home? Was he on foot, atv, etc?

 

[Spartygirl]

A few Q&A’s in this article:

1. IS THE MURDER INVESTIGATION DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE 2019 FATAL BOAT CRASH INVESTIGATION THAT LED TO CHARGES AGAINST PAUL MURDAUGH?
Investigators with SLED have not said anything to this effect. They have released no information on any suspects or motives in the killings.

2. WAS THE DEATH OF RANDOLPH MURDAUGH III TIED TO THE MURDERS OF HIS GRANDSON AND DAUGHTER-IN-LAW?
Randolph Murdaugh, 81, the family patriarch and longtime former state solicitor, was seriously ill for some time before the murders, according to sources close to the family. He had not been expected to live long.

4. WERE DOGS ON THE MURDAUGHS’ PROPERTY KILLED THE NIGHT PAUL AND MAGGIE MURDAUGH WERE SLAIN?
Although people were asking about the dogs just after the killings, there do not appear to have been any dogs killed on the Murdaughs’ property the night Paul and Maggie Murdaugh died, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

6. HOW MANY WEAPONS WERE USED IN THE CRIME?
SLED has made no public statement on weapons. However, multiple sources familiar with the investigation have said that Paul Murdaugh was shot several times with a shotgun, and Maggie Murdaugh was shot several times with an AR-15 assault rifle.


Read more here: https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/state/south-carolina/article252124318.html#storylink=cpy

So basically, questions 1 and 2-- they did NOT directly answer and only skated around answering directly with a bunch of word salad.
Questions 4 and 6 were answered with DIRECT, Specific answers.
Hmmmm
JMO

 

[Tbone144]

Wonder what he was shooting alone in the dark and if the shots are what prompted his return home? Was he on foot, atv, etc?

I don’t see anything on the property to indicate a shooting range, some of the super nice central tx ranches I’ve looked at online have ranges with lights so you can shoot when it’s cooler. I don’t know what kind of natural predators they have around that would be a problem on a game ranch. Coyotes I imagine, wild hogs can tear up fences. He did say shooting though, not hunting which for me is different. Maybe shooting at the local shooting range or a friends shooting range?

IMOO

 

[evilwise]

Amatur speculation only:
Reading that Paul was shot at least twice with shotgun, makes me wonder if he was the intended target and mom just is collateral damage.
Possible scenario:2 people hiding near kennel, one armed with shotgun and other with rifle. Paul comes out to dog kennel to take care of dogs, confronted by person with shotgun and shot once. Mom is in house, comes running out to see what the noise was, Paul shot again or maybe it took the second shot to have mom come out. First one could be a “what was that?”. Secondary gunman shoots mom so there are no witnesses. I find it hard to believe this would be a single individual walking through a wooded area with two long guns of differing ammunition. Extra rounds are easier to carry than an extra gun unless it’s a pistol which these don’t seem to be.
All IMOO

ETA: the dogs barking could have been what brought Paul out in the first place.

I don't think we should underestimate the catastrophic damage a shotgun could do at close range. Granted, a high powered rifle can cause catastrophic damage even from a distance of half a kilometre but a shotgun can decimate a person's head and tear out huge portions of the upper body at close range. It ain't pretty.

Any class of firearm in a tactical configuration can do terrible things to people's bodies. The key difference between a shotgun and an assault rifle is effective range and perhaps to a lesser extent, penetration.

If the presumed perpetrators approached on foot as assuming they exist, I would assume they did then an assault rifle would be the obvious choice. It is effective at long range, through light cover, it has a higher capacity magazine etc etc. Tactically, an automatic rifle outclasses a shotgun in nearly every respect except possibly indoors on account of its shorter overall length and spread (assuming it held shot rather than slugs)

Just the fact that a shotgun was used at all would suggest a few possibilities.

• The killers may have expected to assault the house instead of engaging in the field
• The killers may have been hoping to make the killing torturous
• The killers may have been somewhat unprofessional
• The weapons may have come from the hunting lodge

For the bodies to have been found close together keeps popping into my mind. Probably on account of continued lack of additional details. It is not what one would expect and, assuming this was in fact an attack by outside actors, I have to agree that it suggests Maggie was shot first and probably on her way to check why the hounds were barking. She may have then been used to lure Paul out.

As I said from the start, the details we have suggest quite horrible circumstances.

 

[MoeInVA]

I love this editorial!
Editorial: Release Murdaugh homicide report to quell rumors, comply with SC law

 

[stmarysmead]

Questions…

Did they have a caretaker? If so, does he live on the property? Who took care of the hunting dogs when they were at their beach house?

How long had they been staying at the hunting lodge? Days, weeks, just hours? Might intruders have expected to find the place empty?

Was the Murdaugh grandfather/father bedridden? He died at home. Where was ‘home?’

 

[girlhasnoname]

Interesting:

"Splitting her time between the family's rustic, 1,770-acre property in Islandton, in the Lowcountry, and their airy beach house in Edisto, on the coast, Maggie enjoyed attending events with her husband and sons at their local yacht club, swimming in the family's pool and spending time out on the water on their boat."

So she wasn't there consistently it sounds like.

Why Were a 'Loving' Mother and Son from a S.C. Family Dynasty Murdered on Their 1,770-Acre Property?

 

[MoeInVA]

Questions…

Did they have a caretaker? If so, does he live on the property? Who took care of the hunting dogs when they were at their beach house?

How long had they been staying at the hunting lodge? Days, weeks, just hours? Might intruders have expected to find the place empty?

Was the Murdaugh grandfather/father bedridden? He died at home. Where was ‘home?’

On grandfather here is what has been in MSM:
On Tuesday a state politician asked for prayers on the state Senate floor and said he was in ICU at that point.
Former solicitor dies days after homicide of daughter-in-law, grandson
On Thursday he died at his residence in Varnville.
Varneville: Another member of prominent Murdaugh family has died, coroner says

 

[Spartygirl]

I don’t see anything on the property to indicate a shooting range, some of the super nice central tx ranches I’ve looked at online have ranges with lights so you can shoot when it’s cooler. I don’t know what kind of natural predators they have around that would be a problem on a game ranch. Coyotes I imagine, wild hogs can tear up fences. He did say shooting though, not hunting which for me is different. Maybe shooting at the local shooting range or a friends shooting range?

IMOO

BBM
Great point.... Shooting vs Hunting
He was out "SHOOTING" NOT HUNTING.
Which would/could explain any gun residue on his hands, clothes, etc if needed.

Clever play on words there as most people's minds went to "hunting" hence the hunting licenses, valid hunting season for which animal, etc. discussions.

But basic word... shooting. not hunting.

 

[lstiff]

I love this editorial!
Editorial: Release Murdaugh homicide report to quell rumors, comply with SC law

Great article!

 

[evilwise]

Oh, additionally it occurs to me that the formal autopsy may find that Paul was dropped by rifle fire but the shotgun injuries kept that from being obvious to the first responders or whoever leaked that initial detail.

 

[bestill]

I love this editorial!
Editorial: Release Murdaugh homicide report to quell rumors, comply with SC law

Imagine if every citizen ignored the laws that they didn't agree with like is being done in SC right now? I don't think SLED would agree with that. Great editorial, thanks for sharing it!

 

[MoeInVA]

Oh, additionally it occurs to me that the formal autopsy may find that Paul was dropped by rifle fire but the shotgun injuries kept that from being obvious to the first responders or whoever leaked that initial detail.

I agree that seems possible. Just theorizing… Why would a perpetrator do that? To try to complicate what was actually a murder -suicide or a single shooter crime?

 

[evilwise]

I agree that seems possible. Just theorizing… Why would a perpetrator do that? To try to complicate what was actually a murder -suicide or a single shooter crime?

Lots of reasons, maybe to make Paul suffer. I could come up with endless hypothetical scenarios to match endless hypothetical evidence but there's simply too much information clearly being withheld to make decently accurate specific assumptions.

Edited to add: Here's a wild one since we're blowing smoke. In the days before DNA, or if someone had a good friend in the medical examiner's office, a shotgun might have been used to obscure the identity of a body.

 

[katydid23]

Murdaughs laid to rest in Hampton, quiet town shocked by recent deaths\

Murdaugh served as Solicitor of the 14th Judicial Circuit for 18 years, and together with his father and grandfather served in that office for 86 years. As solicitor, he tried more than 200 murder cases, once convicting two murderers in the same week.

snip

The funeral procession for Randolph III was lengthy and included at least one vehicle from almost every law enforcement and government agency in the 14th Judicial Circuit, said officials who coordinated the procession through the streets of Varnville and Hampton to the Murdaughs' final resting place.

When I read about the 3 generations of the family as solicitors. and the procession of law enforcement and government vehicles, this is my gut reaction:

I think the other officials and 1st responders have very intense reactions to the situation with the troubled son/grandson, Paul. I know many officers that feel some guilt about spending so much time away from their families, missing so many holidays and school events and sports events.

When a child/teen/young adult of a fellow LE goes off the rails, or does hard drugs or gets arrested for a crime, they all feel compassion for their co-worker AND they feel ' there but for other grace of god go I. '

So although it seems like and is described as corruption, I feel it is also an element of guilt and compassion, for everyone fears that their own sacrifices they make for their jobs, may also create children who rebel out of anger.

 

[zencompass]

South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED)

News Release (dated June 15, 2021)

South Carolina Law Enforcement Division

 

[lstiff]

South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED)

News Release (dated June 15, 2021)

South Carolina Law Enforcement Division

Thanks for sharing!