Alex Murdaugh case: Former lawyer expected to be charged for the killing of wife and son

Alex Murdaugh, the infamous South Carolina attorney previously charged with fraud and drug distribution, is now set to face charges related to his wife's and son's mother.

The Carolina Law Enforcement Department (SLED), the investigating agency in the case, has determined Alex as the Person of Interest in the case, and prosecutors are ready to present their evidence to a grand jury this week.

Notably, Alex Murdaugh already faces 81 other charges unrelated to the killings. He has already been charged with misappropriating money from his law firm and for fraud of funds with clients.

SLED officials spoke to the media in regards to the charges and said:

“SLED’s investigation into the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh is still active and ongoing. Agents are committed to the integrity of the investigation, thus no additional information from SLED will be provided at this time.”

Murdaugh's family was also informed about the impending charges against him but did not specifically say what those charges were.

Murdaugh's lawyer, Jim Griffin, said in a statement Tuesday:

"We have not been advised by anyone associated with law enforcement or the Attorney General's office that Alex will be charged with murder."

He added further:

"I am aware that SLED advised the family that they intend to seek murder indictments from a grand jury later this week. We won't have any comment until charges are actually brought against Alex."

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Who is Alex Murdaugh and what happened to his family?

Murdaugh is a former attorney from the state of South Carolina who first came to the eye in public when his wife, Maggie, 52, and troubled 22-year-old son Paul were found shot dead in their home.

He was the one who discovered the bodies and called 911. Authorities concluded that both Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were shot multiple times with distinctive weapons, which led to their deaths.

Alex claimed to have been with his parents, his mother, who was suffering from dementia, and his severely ill father, Randolph III, at the time of the murder. His father died just three days after the brutal murders due to natural causes.

Murdaugh, a third-generational attorney, belongs to one of the biggest families in his county. A few months after the murders, Murdaugh was accused by the authorities of arranging his death with the help of an acquaintance.

Apart from these charges, he has also been indicted for drug distribution and has the same acquaintance named Curtis Smith. Murdaugh also faces multiple charges of fraud amounting to millions in total, for which his bond was set for a whopping $7 million.