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Embattled lawyer Alex Murdaugh allegedly orchestrated his own shooting earlier month as part of an elaborate scheme to leave his son with $10 million in insurance cash, authorities said Tuesday.
Murdaugh admitted the deranged plan to investigators on Monday, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and Curtis Edward Smith, 61, the alleged gunman who conspired with him in the botched suicide attempt, has been arrested.
The stunning development, which was spelled out in an affidavit released by SLED, finally sheds light on the Sept. 4 roadside shooting in Varnville.
Murdaugh allegedly provided Smith with a firearm and directed the man to shoot him in the head, according to the affidavit.
On the day of the shooting, Smith allegedly followed Murdaugh to Old Salkehatchie Road and pumped a bullet into the lawyer’s head as he stood in the roadway, the affidavit says.
Smith then fled and ditched the gun.
Murdaugh survived the shooting and initially spun a different tale to authorities about what he purported happened, saying he was shot while stopped on the side of the road to repair a slashed tire.
Smith is charged with assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, according to SLED.
Authorities said more charges in the case are expected.
It’s the latest development in a series of bizarre and horrific events for Murdaugh, whose downfall has been highly publicized since his wife and 22-year-old son were shot dead in June near a kennel outside the family’s hunting lodge near Islandton.
Two days after he was reportedly shot, Murdaugh resigned from his lucrative family law firm and subsequently entered rehab for substance abuse.
Murdaugh is also the subject of a state investigation into allegations he stole money from Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick.
The Murdaughs are one of South Carolina’s most prominent legal families, with three generations having served consecutively as solicitor for the 14th Circuit.
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