Randolph Murdaugh III, family patriarch, former Lowcountry prosecutor, dies at 81

Kacen Bayless, Lisa Wilson, Lucas Smolcic Larson
·2 min read

Randolph Murdaugh III, the former state solicitor and patriarch of the prominent Murdaugh family, passed away Thursday just three days after his grandson and daughter in law were found shot to death, Hampton County Coroner Angie Topper confirmed to The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.

He was 81.

Murdaugh III was ill at the time of his death, according to sources close to the family. He was the eldest member of the Murdaugh family, a powerhouse legal family, three generations of whom have been state prosecutors.

It’s the latest blow to the powerful family. On Monday, Paul Murdaugh and Maggie Murdaugh were found shot to death outside their Colleton County home. The shootings have sparked national interest and speculation about potential suspects and motives.

Murdaugh III was the third generation of the Murdaugh family to serve as 14th circuit solicitor, an elected position representing Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties. He served from 1987 until his retirement in 2005.

A Facebook post from the Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick law firm based in Hampton, S.C., announces the death of attorney and former 14th Circuit Solicitor Randolph Murdaugh III on Thursday, June 10, 2021.
A Facebook post from the Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick law firm based in Hampton, S.C., announces the death of attorney and former 14th Circuit Solicitor Randolph Murdaugh III on Thursday, June 10, 2021.

He was awarded the The Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor given by the governor of South Carolina. Established in 1971 and first awarded by Gov. John C. West, it recognizes a person’s lifetime achievements and contributions to the state of South Carolina.

“From the time I was old enough to start following my father, I followed him around the courthouse,” Murdaugh III told Knight Ridder news service in 1993. “I always wanted to be a lawyer.”

His father, Randolph “Buster” Murdaugh Jr., held the same position for 48 years. His grandfather, Randolph Murdaugh Sr., was solicitor for 20 years until his death in a car-train collision in 1940.

The Murdaugh family started the storied Hampton law practice that would become Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth and Detrick, known as PMPED, in 1910. Randolph III worked for the firm.

Randolph III, according to the PMPED website, grew up in Varnville and graduated from Wade Hampton High School in 1957. He graduated from the University of South Carolina and USC law school.

In the 1993 profile, Allendale defense attorney H.W. “Woody” Gooding called Murdaugh “an excellent trial attorney.”