A South Carolina lawyer told a former client to shoot him fatally, to which the client now faces charges for assisted suicide, police said.
The attorney, Alex Murdaugh, was shot in the head on Saturday shortly after resigning from his law firm for allegations that he misused funds. The lawyer survived the shooting and was taken to a local medical facility for treatment, according to an interview with Murdaugh’s attorney, Dick Harpootlian.
An affidavit released by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division showed that Murdaugh admitted on Monday to having Curtis Edward Smith shoot him in order for his son Buster to collect a life insurance policy, with the insurance plan valued at an estimated $10 million.
Harpootlian claimed his client had fallen into depression after his wife, Maggie, and his son Paul were found shot and killed on their family hunting property in June this year.
“It was an attempt on his part to do something to protect his child,” Harpootlian told NBC’s Today. “He didn’t want law enforcement spending more time on this fake crime instead of solving the murders of Maggie and Paul.”
Harpootlian has also said his client regularly took opiates as a coping mechanism to deal with the loss of his wife and son. The attorney for Murdaugh also said it is unknown who killed his family members earlier this year.
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Police initially said Murdaugh called 911 emergency operators after being shot in the head while changing his tire on the side of a road in Hampton County. On Tuesday, Smith admitted to being present during the shooting and disposing of the firearm after the incident.
Smith, 61, faces multiple charges, including assisted suicide, assault and battery of a highly aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. He also faces charges of distribution of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana, and “additional charges in the case are expected and will be announced at the appropriate time,” the affidavit added.
Murdaugh was not charged on Tuesday, but the affidavit refers to him as a “co-defendant.”
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Smith was represented by Murdaugh during a 2015 lawsuit against a forest management company and for a 2013 speeding ticket, according to the New York Times.
