Murdaugh murders spur rumors, conspiracy theories in SC and beyond

Rumors and conspiracy theories are like fire: give them oxygen and they spread fast.

Until there is an arrest in the case, the murders of Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and her son Paul Murdaugh, 22, will no doubt continue to be a topic of conversation around the state.

The killing of the mother and son, members of a wealthy, well-connected South Carolina family, were always going to be a source of fascination.

Paul Murdaugh was waiting to go to trial in the boating death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach and investigators have said the murders led to the reopening of an investigation into the 2015 death of Stephen Smith. Since the murders, Alex Murdaugh, Maggie’s husband and Paul’s father, has also reportedly been shot and he has since been asked to leave his law firm for misappropriating large sums of money, suspended from practicing law by the state Supreme Court and on Sept. 6 issued a curious statement.

“The murders of my wife and son have caused an incredibly difficult time in my life,” Alex Murdaugh’s statement said. “I have made a lot of decisions that I truly regret. I’m resigning from my law firm and entering rehab after a long battle that has been exacerbated by these murders. I am immensely sorry to everyone I’ve hurt including my family, friends and colleagues. I ask for prayers as I rehabilitate myself and my relationships.”

Americans love a good scandal, and if the scandal involves the rich and powerful, well ...

Since June 7, the night the two were found dead at the family’s hunting lodge on Moselle Road in Islandton, Colleton County, details have emerged about the family thanks to Freedom of Information Act requests from news organizations including ours. Court depositions, redacted law enforcement documents, audio recordings, and dash cameras have been among the sources of new information related to the family’s life before and after the murders.

Each new morsel has fueled speculation and the case has so many twists and turns that news outlets including People magazine and the New York Times have written about it. It has been the subject of podcasts, news stories and office gossip.

Meanwhile, the one organization that could tamp down the speculation has chosen to stay mostly silent.

The South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) website notes that it “is committed to providing valuable and beneficial information to the public in a timely manner.”

But more than three months after mother and son were brutally slain and 17 days before the current deadline to claim the $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction expires on Sept. 30, it appears SLED’s definition of timely might differ from others.

Now, we understand that ongoing criminal investigations require discretion and as SLED noted in a June 15 press release the organization “cannot and will not do anything that could jeopardize the integrity of this investigation or that would violate the due process afforded to all in our constitutional system of justice.”

Fair enough.

But SLED does have a responsibility to operate in a manner which gives the public confidence in its investigations.

South Carolinians want to have faith in their institutions, including their law enforcement agencies, but that faith has to be earned.

SLED, for instance, has not held a single press conference about the case since the Murdaughs’ bodies were found.

The day after the murders were discovered SLED spokesperson Tommy Crosby told our reporters via telephone that he was not aware of anyone arrested or detained related to the crime but, based on the evidence, SLED does not believe there is a danger to the public.

That appears to be one of the very few times SLED attempted to quell the rumors.

We don’t expect SLED investigators to reveal all, but we do expect the agency to live up to its own commitment of offering valuable and beneficial information to the public “in a timely manner.”