‘It’s just sad,’ SC’s McMaster says of Murdaugh family saga

Gov. Henry McMaster on Wednesday called the ongoing Alex Murdaugh case one of the “saddest stories” he’s heard.

“The whole thing from beginning to end, and I don’t know all the details, is one of the saddest stories I think I’ve ever heard. It’s just sad,” McMaster said during a media availability with reporters.

Murdaugh was part of his family’s law firm and has been a prominent member of the South Carolina legal community. His family has been in limelight in recent months following the shooting deaths of Murdaugh’s son, Paul, and his wife, Maggie.

Murdaugh’s attorney Dick Harpootlian, who also is a state senator, said he expects Murdaugh to be charged for allegedly trying to arrange his own suicide for insurance purposes.

The attempted suicide took place Sept. 4 on a rural Hampton County road and has attracted attention because the family released statements through their attorneys that painted the shooting as a failed assassination attempt. Instead, investigators say Murdaugh arranged for a hit man to shoot him so his son, Buster, could receive money from a life insurance policy.

Murdaugh suffered a head wound in the shooting. He also has been struggling with oxycodone use, which can be addictive, and entered an out-of-state drug treatment facility Sept. 6.

Curtis Edward Smith, 61, of Walterboro, a former Murdaugh client, has been charged with assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and distribution of methamphetamine.

Murdaugh has been suspended from practicing law in the South Carolina by the state Supreme Court. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Department also is investigating allegations that Murdaugh misappropriated millions of dollars from his former law firm, where he was a partner.