Police arrested a hitman who shot and wounded South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh as he changed a tire on the side of a highway.
Murdaugh was wounded three months after his wife, Maggie, 52, and son, Paul, 22 (pictured left), were shot and killed in an ambush at their South Carolina home on June 7.
Murdaugh, a well-known legal heir in SC, was shot in the head on a rural highway on Septmber 4. He survived the shooting, but he now faces arrest for allegedly embezzling millions of dollars from his law firm to buy opioids.
Police arrested Curtis Edward Smith, 61, on Tuesday on and charged him with shooting Murdaugh. Smith also faces charges of assisted suicide, assault and battery, possession of a firearm, insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, Dailymail.com reports.
Police say Murdaugh hired Smith to kill him so his surviving son, Buster, 25, would receive a $10 million insurance payout. However, Smith was a bad shot.
Murdaugh’s lawyer, Dick Harpootlian, says he knows who shot Maggie and Paul, and the suspect’s name will be revealed this week. He said the motive for the murders was “personal”.
Harpootlian acknowledged that Murdaugh is likely to be arrested for allegedly misappropriating millions from his own law firm.
Harpootlian said Murdaugh was still grieving the deaths of his wife and son when he embezzled millions from his law firm to finance his opioid addiction.
Murdaugh was fired from the law firm and the state bar revoked his law license for tampering with clients funds in escrow accounts.
Murdaugh has denied involvement in his wife and son’s deaths.
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