A series of 911 calls have been released from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) from an alleged Sept. 4 shooting against former South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh. The shooting was alleged by Alex, who called 911 from the side of a road saying he had been shot in the head.
During the call, Murdaugh spoke calmly while seeking help. It has since been alleged that the call was a death-wish or suicide attempt so that his son Buster could secure $ 10 million in life insurance benefits, reports the New York Post.
Among other counts, Murdaugh is facing charges of insurance fraud.
Recording Number One
The incident comes after a family crisis that occurred this past June, where the wife and son of Alex Murdaugh were killed. Murdaugh was considered a person of interest in the case.
On Sept. 4, Murdaugh called Hampton County 911 alleging that he had been shot on Salkehatchie Road. He said that he was near a church with a red roof. He told the dispatcher, “I stopped, I got a flat tire, and I stopped and somebody stopped to help me….when I turned my back they tried to shoot me.”
He also told the dispatcher that he was having problems seeing and that he was bleeding. When asked where he had been shot he said, “I’m not sure, somewhere on my head.”
Fifty-three year-old Alex Murdaugh was asked for a description of the person that shot him, and he said it was a man who looked younger than him with short hair. The New York Post reports that Murdaugh’s lawyers say that the man Murdaugh identified was 61-year-old Curtis “Fast Eddie” Smith, whose description does not match what Murdaugh said to 911.
Murdaugh’s lawyers say that Smith was hired to help kill Murdaugh. Smith is also facing charges on the matter.
Recording Number Two
Murdaugh’s initial phone call to 911 was cut short, resulting in a second phone call where he asked for an ambulance. He began to tell the operator a passerby was stopping to take him to the hospital, until an ambulance arrived.
There were passerbys on the road at the time, who made a call to 911 themselves, saying there was a man on the side of the road with “blood all over him.” They told the dispatcher, “He looks fine but it kind of looks like a setup, so we didn’t stop.”
The Hampton County dispatcher responded, “Oh, I don’t blame you.” This 911 call from Murdaugh has since become one of his many legal challenges. Murdaugh, a former prominent South Carolina lawyer, has been barred from the firm with his name. He is being sued by the firm for stealing funds as part of a “systematic scheme.”
Murdaugh’s Suicide Attempt
Following Murdaugh’s second 911 call on Sept. 4, he was airlifted to a hospital. One report said there were no visible injuries. His legal team has since requested a change to that report, indicating that he had suffered multiple fractures and bleeding from a gunshot that left a clear entry and exit wound.
Murdaugh’s defense on the call is that he wanted to die due to an opioid addiction and trauma stemming from the death of his son and wife. He was charged with insurance fraud, filing a false police report, and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
Alex Murdaugh Now
Following those charges, Murdaugh was sent to a rehab facility, that he reportedly left without permission. He has been arrested following the 911 calls on unrelated charges of misappropriating funds, and has been denied bail on that matter reports CNN. Curtis Smith has since been charged with insurance fraud counts as well, but has said that he did not ever shoot Alex Murdaugh.
Murdaugh has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. In addition to these charges, he is suspended from practicing law and faces multiple lawsuits. A lawyer for Murdaugh, Dick Harpootlian, told Good Morning America that Murdaugh has “reconciled to the fact he’s going to prison.”
]]>The Inquisitr
