Murdaughs’ work for prosecutor’s office outlined as murder investigation continues

Alex Murdaugh, a private attorney in Hampton whose father, grandfather and great-grandfather served as chief prosecutor for five South Carolina counties for nearly a century, has been a special volunteer with the current 14th Circuit solicitor and was not paid for his work, the office said Wednesday, responding to requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

His father, Randolph Murdaugh III, who retired as 14th Circuit solicitor in 2005, worked on a contract basis for $2,500 per month for his successor, Duffie Stone, wrote Stone’s spokesman, Jeff Kidd, citing records that date to 2015.

The roles of the Murdaughs in Stone’s office have come under scrutiny since Alex Murdaugh’s wife, Maggie, and son Paul were found shot to death June 7 outside their Colleton County home. Stone’s office has not recused itself from the murder investigation.

The full extent of the office’s involvement in the Murdaugh murder investigation is not known. Neither is the extent of the work done by the Murdaughs for Stone’s office. The office did not keep records of hours that Alex Murdaugh volunteered as a prosecutor, nor records of hours former Solicitor Randolph Murdaugh III contracted as a consultant and prosecutor.

They were not asked nor obligated to do so, Kidd said Wednesday in response to a records request.

From 2008 to 2019, Randolph Murdaugh, working under contract, was lead attorney prosecuting at least eight cases, mostly violent crimes, with his son Alex assisting with some of them. All but one case were prosecuted in Hampton County. Alex Murdaugh was lead attorney for one case in 2019, Kidd wrote.

Randolph Murdaugh, Kidd said, “frequently contributed to cases for which he was not recorded as the attorney of record.” He also “mentored attorneys, investigators and victim advocates, and occasionally advised us on docket management,” Kidd said.

The agency did not have records of exactly how many cases Alex Murdaugh assisted his father in prosecuting. He is “the only attorney who has served as a prosecutor in a volunteer capacity” between 2006 and 2021, Kidd said.

Kidd’s response came after more than three weeks of unreturned phone calls, voicemails and texts from The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette newspapers to Stone and his office. The newspapers filed FOIA requests, which require responses, after the office failed to return messages.

Double homicide investigation

The Solicitor’s Office said the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division first contacted the office for help with the double homicide investigation during a phone call at 12:29 a.m. June 8.

Alex Murdaugh had called 911 at 10:07 p.m. on June 7, reporting that he had come home to find his wife and son dead with multiple gunshot wounds.

SLED took the lead on the investigation, with help from the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office.

The deaths happened more than two years after Paul Murdaugh was indicted on charges of boating under the influence. He was accused of driving his father’s boat into bridge pilings near Parris Island on Feb. 24, 2019, which sent all six occupants into the water and killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach.

One day after the boat crash, Solicitor Duffie Stone sent a letter recusing the agency from the investigation.

The reason: Passengers in the boat were related to Solicitor’s Office employees, namely Paul Murdaugh.

In the June 7 double homicide investigation, however, Stone’s office has not recused itself.

A press release two weeks after the murders said it is unfair to compare the boat crash recusal to the murder investigation because no one has been charged.

“It was immediately apparent [Paul] Murdaugh would be a suspect, that his father owned the boat in which those involved were traveling and that other passengers were related to employees of my office,” the release said.

The agency said it is offering legal advice and “investigative support” to the S.C. Law Enforcement Division investigating Paul and Maggie Murdaugh’s murder.

Asked whether the S.C. Attorney General’s Office had requested the Solicitor’s Office to step away from the murder investigation, Kidd responded that the S.C. Freedom of Information Act “does not oblige a public body to respond to open-ended interrogatories.” But he said the office has no documents showing any agency asked the solicitor’s office to recuse itself.

Murdaugh legacy

The Murdaughs are an influential family with three generations of prosecutors in the 14th Circuit, from 1920 to 2005. They’ve sent thousands of people to prison and dozens to death row, while the family law firm, which specializes in personal injury cases, has won millions in civil lawsuits over the years.

The Murdaughs also have ties to Stone, the current solicitor.

Stone previously worked as a special assistant prosecutor under Randolph Murdaugh III, who ran the agency from 1987 to 2005.

When Stone took over the office, the Murdaughs continued to help out at the agency, with Randolph Murdaugh taking the lead on at least a handful of cases, sometimes assisted by son Alex.

In five of the eight cases that Randolph Murdaugh prosecuted, the jury found four defendants guilty of murder and one defendant of rape. Three of the eight cases were the result of guilty pleas, not trials, including a man whose murder charge was reduced to voluntary manslaughter after he was accused of strangling his wife in 2009.

The one case where the Solicitor’s Office listed Alex Murdaugh as the lead attorney ended in a mistrial, according to a Walterboro news outlet. On Oct. 16, 2019, a jury found Emmanuel Buckner of Colleton County guilty of failure to stop for blue light, but the jury could not reach a verdict on his two drug charges.

Court records show those drug charges — trafficking in cocaine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute — are still pending.

The role of father and son, contractor and volunteer in prosecution, is unique.

The five other active volunteers for the Solicitor’s Office — four retirees and a graduate student — have never been practicing attorneys, according to Kidd.

Anthony Dore, a Beaufort-based attorney and judge in Yemassee, used to work for Randolph Murdaugh when he was solicitor and credits him with helping his career.

Dore said it probably also helped to have Randolph Murdaugh prosecuting in Hampton after he retired, because he was well known and knew all the players.

“Him being from Hampton ... I’m sure was a great asset to the Solicitor’s Office,” Dore said.

He speculated that son Alex Murdaugh offered to help the office because prosecution has run in his family for so long. Dore said he has never seen a situation like the Murdaughs volunteering and contracting with the current Solicitor’s Office.

“I don’t think there’s anybody in a similar situation as to his family,” he said.