Alex Murdaugh's alleged hired hitman reveals his 'roadside confession' in new Netflix doc

Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh's circle keeps getting bigger in Season 2 of "Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal."

The Netflix series recaps Murdaugh’s murder trial, where he was convicted of murdering his wife and youngest son, and features interviews with people in Murdaugh's orbit, including the family's former housekeeper Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson, Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill and Curtis Edward Smith, a longtime friend of Murdaugh.

Authorities alleged Smith shot Murdaugh in 2021 as part of a plot Murdaugh arranged, in which he wanted Smith to kill him so his surviving son Buster Murdaugh could collect on his life insurance policy.

Smith was later indicted on charges of presenting a firearm, conspiracy, assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and false claim for payment after the incident left Murdaugh with a "superficial" head wound, but no severe injuries, according to NBC News.

Smith has not entered a plea on any of the charges, South Carolina Attorney General’s Office Communications Director Robert Kittle told TODAY.com. Smith previously told TODAY that he didn’t shoot Murdaugh.

“I didn’t shoot him,” Smith said on TODAY in 2021. “I’m innocent. If I would have shot him, he’d be dead. He’s alive.”

Here’s what to know about Smith and his involvement with the Murdaugh family. TODAY.com has reached out to Murdaugh's lawyers for comment, as did Netflix.

Who is Curtis Edward Smith?

Smith, known to some in the close-knit South Carolina Lowcountry community as "Cousin Eddie," spoke out about his longtime friendship with the convicted killer in "Murdaugh Murders."

“I met Alex in the late 80s, early 90s. I knew his father — I’m half Murdaugh, don’t tell nobody,” Smith said with a laugh in the new Netflix documentary.

Smith said he would run errands for Murdaugh, including land clearing and drainage work on his property.

Smith then described the morning of Sept. 4, 2021, and said Murdaugh called him and asked him to meet at a funeral home. When Murdaugh arrived, Smith said he pulled the sun visor of his vehicle around and only opened the window of his car a little bit, so he could only see part of his face.

Smith said he asked Murdaugh what he was doing, and Murdaugh replied: "I don't need to be seen in town. I'm being watched."

Murdaugh said he was being watched by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division because of the murders of his wife Maggie and youngest son Paul Murdaugh, according to Smith.

When Smith asked what happened that night, he said Murdaugh said: "Things just got all f----- up."

Smith said Murdaugh then asked if he loved him, which Smith said he loved him like a brother and would do anything for him, to which Smith said Murdaugh asked him to shoot him and kill him.

"Ain't happenin'. Not today, not tomorrow, it ain't happenin'," Smith said.

He said Murdaugh said he would have to try to do it himself, and took off in his vehicle, and Smith said he followed him out of concern for what he might do.

Murdaugh eventually pulled over, according to Smith, and approached Smith with a gun. Smith said he wanted to "scare some sense into him," and fired a shot into the air.

Smith said Murdaugh fell onto the ground, and said Murdaugh's injuries to his head occurred when he fell onto rocks, not due to a bullet grazing him.

"I asked, 'Why you want me to shoot you?'" Smith said, saying Murdaugh told him "they knew I'd be responsible because they'll gone be able to prove that I was responsible for Maggie and Paul."

"I knew I hadn't shot him," Smith continued. "I knew there weren't no blood on him, there was no blood on me. So I went home."

It was hours later that Smith learned what Murdaugh had initially told authorities.

According to body cam footage of Murdaugh in an ambulance, he told a police officer he had pulled over due to a flat tire and that a person inside of a truck came to help him.

"I got shot," Murdaugh said. "I turned my head and I mean, boom."

Smith and Murdaugh were arrested in connection with the botched scheme by Sept. 14, according to NBC News, and were later indicted by a grand jury on Nov. 4, according to the South Carolina Attorney General's Office.

He also addressed drug trafficking charge

Smith was indicted on four counts of money laundering, three counts of forgery, trafficking methamphetamine, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, conspiracy and narcotics charges in 2022, according to the South Carolina Attorney General's Office.

The charges stem from an alleged criminal conspiracy between Smith and Murdaugh, where Murdaugh gave Smith 437 checks totaling about $2.4 million between Oct. 7, 2013 and Feb. 28, 2021, according to the South Carolina Attorney General's Office.

Smith said he cashed "a lot" of checks over an eight to 10 year period in "Murdaugh Murders."

"I asked him several times, 'Now this is not money laundering is it?' No, it's just doing me a favor, you cashing my check out of my account, and all the checks I got were out of his account," Smith said of Murdaugh's reply.

Smith said he was trying to find a way out of the deal, but he was afraid of what Murdaugh might do to his daughter.

The indictment also alleged a criminal conspiracy between the two to distribute and purchase Oxycodone, along with three separate drug offenses for Smith.

Smith denied that he was a drug dealer in "Murdaugh Murders."

"No, nope. If I was a drug dealer I wasn't a good one, I would only have one client — it was Alex Murdaugh," he said. "(It was) nothing, other than me running errands for him."

He said it started in late 2015 or 2016, when Murdaugh asked him to take an envelope from his office to Beaufort, South Carolina. Smith said he threw the envelope on the seat, and heard the rattle of a pill bottle inside.

"I never really looked at the name on the envelopes or nothin', I just assumed it was going to law offices down there," It was an hour and a half and I made 200 bucks. I'm just ridin' around."

Where is Curtis Eddie Smith now?

Attorneys Aimee Zmroczek and Jarrett Bouchette represented Smith in a status hearing in April before State Circuit Court Judge Aaron Newman, who also presided over Murdaugh's murder trial, according to the Greenville News.

In April, Smith's attorneys told Newman he had been suffering from ongoing health issues, and had been cooperating with the South Carolina Attorney General's Office on Murdaugh's cases, according to the Greenville News.

There is no date set for Smith's trial on any of the charges.''

This article was originally published on TODAY.com