Alex Murdaugh’s brother will no longer represent Paul Murdaugh’s estate. Why?
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Alex Murdaugh Coverage
The Murdaugh family saga has dominated the news after another shooting, a resignation and criminal accusations — with Alex Murdaugh at the center of it all. Here are the latest updates on Alex Murdaugh.
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Five weeks after being appointed to handle the estate of Paul Murdaugh, who was found murdered in June, Randolph Murdaugh IV, Paul’s uncle, has resigned, citing a conflict of interest, probate records show.
“Due to recent discovery of events, I now have a conflict of interest and can no longer serve as personal representative for the estate of Paul Terry Murdaugh,” Murdaugh IV wrote in an Oct. 7 letter to Colleton County Probate Judge Ashley H. Amundson.
Murdaugh IV’s resignation marks the second time the estate of Paul Murdaugh, 22, has changed hands within the family. On Aug. 27, eight days before Alex Murdaugh called 911 to report that he’d been shot in the head in what police call a botched insurance fraud scheme, Murdaugh signed away his right to administer the estate and asked Murdaugh IV, his older brother, to take it over.
Now, Murdaugh IV has indicated he wants his youngest brother, John Marvin Murdaugh, to handle the estate. His resignation will not take effect until a successor is appointed.
No one, including John Marvin Murdaugh, has applied yet, according to Amundson.
Randolph Murdaugh IV’s abrupt resignation does not indicate what recent discovery created a conflict of interest, whether it was related to the criminal investigations involving the Murdaugh family, whether it’s because Murdaugh IV’s law firm is suing Paul’s father, Alex or if it’s for another reason.
Murdaugh IV did not return a call for comment Wednesday.
On Oct. 6, Alex Murdaugh’s former law firm, Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth and Detrick, sued him, alleging that he secretly stole client funds and diverted them to a fraudulent bank account. Murdaugh IV, Alex’s older brother, is still listed as a lawyer on the firm’s website.
A day later, on PMPED letterhead, Murdaugh IV informed Judge Amundson that he could no longer represent the estate of his nephew, Paul.
Attached to his letter was a formal statement of resignation and an interim accounting form that indicates no money went in or out of Paul Murdaugh’s estate from Sept. 2 to Oct. 6.
Paul Murdaugh’s probate records also show that on Sept. 16, Sept. 23 and Sept. 30, Murdaugh IV had notices filed in a Colleton County newspaper that Paul’s estate was open for creditors’ claims. The records indicate that no claims have been filed as of Wednesday.
Paul Murdaugh’s estate
On June 7, Paul Murdaugh and his mother, Maggie, were found shot to death on their family’s sprawling hunting lodge, situated in both Colleton and Hampton counties. The still-unsolved murders have sparked national intrigue, wide-ranging allegations and criminal investigations into the prominent Murdaugh family.
On Aug. 27, after his son’s estate went to probate, Alex Murdaugh signed away his right to administer the estate and asked Murdaugh IV to take it over.
While it’s unclear exactly why Alex Murdaugh waived his right, the circumstances — eight days before he allegedly tried to orchestrate his own murder — raised questions.
On Aug. 25, news broke that 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone, whose office has close ties to the Murdaugh family, had quietly recused himself from the investigation into the deaths of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.
In an Aug. 11 letter to the S.C. Attorney General, Stone said he was stepping away from the case “considering the events of today in SLED’s investigation.” Stone and police have refused to say what happened on Aug. 11.
Murdaugh was later arrested and charged with insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and falsifying a police report related to his botched Sept. 4 shooting.
While Murdaugh’s attorney Jim Griffin has acknowledged that Murdaugh is a person of interest in the deaths of his wife and son, police have made no official statements connecting him to the murders.
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