Prominent South Carolina Attorney Shot In Head Less Than 3 Months After Wife & Son Were Murdered

A South Carolina attorney was shot in Hampton on Saturday while he was changing a tire, less than three months after his wife and son were murdered at their home.

Fortunately, Alex Murdaugh, 53, was not killed. He was transported to Parkers Emergency and Trauma Center in Savannah, Georgia, and his attorney Jim Griffin told PEOPLE that he is “conscious and talking, which is a very good sign.”

On June 7, Murdaugh’s wife Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, 52, and son Paul Murdaugh, 22, were shot to death at the family’s 1,770-acre lodge.
Murdaugh called 911 around 10:07 p.m. after he found them lying on the ground, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division reported.

“Both died of multiple gunshot wounds, and both are being handled as homicides,” the Colleton County Coroner confirmed.

No suspects have been arrested for the murders.

“Big family, old money, new drama,” local farmer Joe Grainger told PEOPLE in the Aug. 16 issue. “Everybody has a theory about who did it.”
Friends and acquaintances say the family is both loved and feared. “You don’t cross the Murdaughs,” a local attorney previously shared with PEOPLE. “Or if you do cross them, you don’t let them find out that it was you who crossed them. Because they’ll come down on you, hard. And they’ll come down on you with all that they’ve got. They have a lot of influence and power, and they’ll use it against their enemies.”

Still, there were good things about the family.

“Maggie had a heart of pure generosity and loved welcoming friends and family into her home on any given occasion,” her obituary stated. “She adored her family and cherished spending time on the boat with her two sons. She will be remembered as a ‘second mom’ to her sons’ many friends. She made the most out of every situation and lived each and every day to the fullest.”

The Murdaugh family has worked in the Hampton County law and the judicial system for more than 100 years. Starting in 1920, three generations of the family have served as Solicitor — or state prosecutor — of the 14th Judicial Circuit until 2006.