Live updates Friday: Murdaughs’ SC campaign contributions, Solicitor’s Office involvement
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Murdaugh murders in Colleton County
Two members of a powerhouse legal family were shot and killed June 7 in Colleton County, SC. Read more of our coverage.
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This story first published July 2, 2021.
Almost a month after Paul and and his mother Maggie Murdaugh were found shot to death outside their home in Colleton County, investigators are still looking for clues in the tragedy befalling one of the most prominent legal families in South Carolina.
Their access to people in power, shown in the campaign contributions the family and their law firm have made over the past 12 years, and in their relationships with the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, make clear why this case is so closely watched.
As of Friday, no arrests have been made in either the double homicide or in the 2015 cold case of Stephen Smith’s death, an investigation recently reopened after the State Law Enforcement Division obtained information during its Murdaugh investigation.
MURDAUGHS WORKING FOR CURRENT SOLICITOR
Friday 12:37 p.m.: After the Murdaugh family’s 87 years at the helm of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office ended, members of the family, including former solicitor Randolph Murdaugh III and his son Alex Murdaugh, assisted the agency in some capacity, according to information obtained by The Island Packet.
Murdaugh III, who died of natural causes days after the shooting, worked on a contract basis, earning $2,500 a month, while Alex Murdaugh, husband and father of the two who were shot to death, was classified as a volunteer, Solicitor’s Office spokesperson Jeff Kidd said.
Between 2008 and 2019, Murdaugh III was lead attorney prosecuting at least eight cases, with Alex Murdaugh assisting in some. Alex Murdaugh was listed as lead attorney on one case in 2019.
They were not required to log or report their hours, Kidd said.
The Murdaughs’ roles at the Solicitor’s Office have come under scrutiny since Paul and Maggie Murdaugh’s killings because the agency has not recused itself from the double homicide investigation. People criticizing the failure to recuse often compare the case to the 2019 fatal Beaufort boat crash. The agency recused itself a day after the crash because passengers in the boat, namely Paul Murdaugh, were related to Solicitor’s Office employees.
Paul Murdaugh was later criminally charged in the crash.
- Lana Ferguson, Jake Shore
MURDAUGH CONTRIBUTIONS TO POLITICIANS
Friday 10:04 a.m.: The Island Packet publishes its review of data showing members of the Murdaugh family contributed more than $110,000 to political candidates across South Carolina in the past 12 years.
Since 2012, the family’s law firm, Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth and Detrick (PMPED) also donated more than $200,000 to political action committees.
The candidates receiving the donations range from prominent political players in the state such as S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster and 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone to local candidates.
Although such political contributions, which candidates are required to report, are not uncommon in South Carolina, they may indicate the prominent family’s access to power through the people who make, interpret or enforce laws and policies in towns, counties and the state.
- Lana Ferguson, Kacen Bayless
Follow our previous coverage here.
This story was originally published July 2, 2021 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Live updates Friday: Murdaughs’ SC campaign contributions, Solicitor’s Office involvement."
