‘Concerned citizen’ asks for $650,000 to hire investigators in Murdaugh murders. Why?
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Murdaugh murders in Colleton County
Two members of a powerhouse legal family were shot and killed June 7 in Colleton County, SC. Read more of our coverage.
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This story first published Aug. 19, 2021.
Editor’s note: After this story was published, the fundraiser was suspended because it violated GoFundMe Terms of Service, an organization spokesperson said Friday.
While the S.C. Law Enforcement Division investigates the murders of Paul Murdaugh and his mother, Maggie, in June outside their rural Colleton County home, an anonymous “concerned citizen” has launched a fundraising effort to hire outside investigators.
The GoFundMe effort is not connected in any way to SLED, its spokesman said.
Meanwhile, SLED has dismissed a rumor posted online about multiple vehicles related to cold cases being unearthed on the Murdaugh property.
‘Seek out what really happened’
The GoFundMe’s organizer, who is not identified, claims they want to know who killed the Murdaughs, as well as Mallory Beach and Stephen Smith.
Beach died in a 2019 boat crash in which Paul Murdaugh was charged with driving while intoxicated, and Smith’s cold case death investigation was reopened because of tips investigators received in the weeks after the Murdaughs’ killings.
To get those answers, the unnamed person created the GoFundMe page, “True Justice for Paul and Maggie Murdaugh,” with a $650,000 goal: hire a group of out-of-state private investigators to “seek out what really happened.”
The page says the fundraiser is based in Columbia.
They anonymous organizer claims the hired investigators would operate “independently of each other” to compile reports and information on the case. They also said they would set up a 24/7 tip line.
The fundraiser wrote: “There have certainly been rumors and even slivers of proof that shine a light on the shady dealings regarding these cases by law enforcement as well as other government officials go so this GoFundMe would provide the ability to fund and obtain a completely private investigation into this matter as a whole.”
The organizer wrote that each donor — five people have contributed since July 1 — would be added to an email list and would receive updates on the investigation.
The effort has raised $55, but no donations have been posted in the past month. The organizer did not return a message through the fundraising page Wednesday requesting an interview.
SLED spokesperson Tommy Crosby said the agency has no involvement with the fundraiser. The agency has agreed to help identify anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the Murdaugh murders because that person is eligible for a reward. Alex Murdaugh and his son, Buster, have offered a $100,000 reward, but SLED typically avoids participating in rewards, according to prior reporting.
Rumor ‘unfounded’
This isn’t the first time in the more than two months since the Murdaughs’ killings that SLED has to fact-checked the credibility of social media conspiracies and rumors.
Last week, Carolina Crimes Podcast posted on Facebook that “local sources” confirmed three vehicles were found buried on the Murdaugh property and had been unearthed.
The post said one of the vehicles was related to Stephen Smith, the second related to a 1970s cold case, and the third was unknown.
After a flurry of comments on the post, it was updated and said, “We do trust our source, but please take this with a grain of salt until we can confirm it ourselves.”
The post was later redacted because the podcast couldn’t confirm the rumor.
SLED’s spokesperson also sent an email to news outlets saying the rumor was nothing more than a rumor.
“The rumor referencing vehicles being unearthed on property owned by the Murdaughs is unfounded. SLED has inquired with local Lowcountry law enforcement and has found no credibility to the rumors currently circulating online,” Tommy Crosby wrote.
A black SUV had previously been towed from the property, but was not found buried there.
Numerous other rumors have circulated on social media throughout the Murdaugh murders investigation, especially among private Facebook groups dedicated to the case, with people across the nation sharing theories and new developments. You can read some of the rumors The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette have debunked here and here.
This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 1:38 PM.
