SLED: Rumors on solicitor’s role in Murdaugh murders case are ‘unfounded, ill-informed’
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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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The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division — which has consistently been tight-lipped on the Murdaugh murders investigation — released a statement Thursday addressing what it called “unfounded and ill-informed speculation” in “some media outlets” related the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office’s role in the death investigation.
“Per long-standing policies, SLED and the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office will not comment on specifics of any case while it is still under investigation,” the joint release said. “However, given the persistence of unsubstantiated assertions, both fairness and public confidence in the integrity of the process requires a limited response.”
SLED Chief Mark Keel later Thursday declined to identify the “some media outlets” referred to in the joint statement.
“It (the statement) speaks for itself,” Keel said.
Hours after Paul Murdaugh and Maggie Murdaugh, the younger son and wife of jailed Hampton lawyer Alex Murdaugh, were found shot to death at their Colleton County home on June 7, both SLED and the Solicitor’s Office were at the scene. This is routine, according to the release.
During this time, Keel, 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone and S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson were in “direct and regular contact.”
Stone would eventually recuse himself from the case on Aug. 11 “immediately” after evidence emerged “establishing a potential conflict,” the release said.
In the days after the murders, two photos published in the Post & Courier newspaper of Alex Murdaugh’s youngest brother, John Marvin Murdaugh, and three 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office investigators walking the property sparked controversy and questions about why Stone hadn’t swiftly recuse himself from the investigation like he did after the 2019 fatal boat crash Paul Murdaugh was charged in.
The photographs were brought to the spotlight again recently when one of the investigators pictured, JoJo Woodward, filed to run for Beaufort County Sheriff.
Marvin Murdaugh recently told The Island Packet that the photo shows him and the investigators trying to find Maggie Murdaugh’s cell phone using an app on Maggie’s son Buster Murdaugh’s phone. The phone was found a day after the murders on the road outside of their home, The Island Packet first reported.
After the Packet published its interview with John Marvin Murdaugh, speculation by other media surfaced online about why the Solicitor’s Office was involved in the search for the phone.
SLED issued Thursday’s statement and denied any improper handling of the case.
“At the scene and in subsequent days, Solicitor’s Office investigators acted solely under SLED’s direction,” according to the statement. “At no time did the Solicitor’s Office conduct a separate or parallel investigation, or act in any manner to undermine SLED’s role as the lead investigative agency.”
Further, the statement said the “depicted action” in the photograph was “undertaken at SLED’s request” and occurred after the crime scene had been processed and the Murdaugh family was allowed to return to the property, adding “any speculation to the contrary is simply false.”
“Chief Keel has maintained from the outset that SLED will pursue justice for Maggie and Paul no matter where that leads, and SLED’s resolve in that regard has not wavered,” the statement read.
Paul and Maggie Murdaugh’s murders remain unsolved more than nine months later.
Alex Murdaugh is the only person who has been publicly named a person of interest in the case. He has been incarcerated since October on charges unrelated to the deaths and involving his alleged theft of more than $8.4 million from clients and associates.
SLED, the lead investigating agency on the case, has rarely spoken about the investigation except to say it is ongoing.
This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 11:17 AM.
