Alex Murdaugh, the once-prominent South Carolina attorney who wasarrested on Thursdayfor allegedly stealing more than $4 million from his late housekeeper’s insurance settlement, is a person of interest in the double homicide of his wife and son.
In an interview withFOX Carolina News, his attorney, Jim Griffin, confirmed Murdaugh is under scrutiny in the murder case.
“SLED [South Carolina Law Enforcement Division] has said from the get-go that Alex was a person of interest,” Griffin told the station.
Alex’s wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and the couple’s younger son, Paul, were fatally shot outside the family home on June 7. Alex returned to the family property shortly after 10 p.m. and called 911 to report discovering the bodies.
Hampton County Detention Center
From left, Buster Murdaugh, Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, Paul Murdaugh, Alex Murdaugh.Maggie Murdaugh/Facebook
Although Alex is a person of interest, his attorney insisted to Fox Carolina that his client was visiting his mother, who has dementia, at the time of the murders. “He had no motive to kill them,” Griffin told the station.
For more on Alex Murdaugh and other top stories, listen below toour daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.
“You would think that if Alex was the one who did it, that SLED would have been able to establish that pretty easily that night,” Griffin continued. “You would think they would have searched his house and found blood somewhere. You would think they would have found the murder weapons on the property. You would think they would come up with something to link Alex to the murders, forensically or independent evidence. To my knowledge, they have not done that.”
While authorities continue to investigate Paul’s and Maggie’s deaths, things are still dire for Alex Murdaugh. Since the murders in June, he has been fired from his job at his family’s law firm, accused of embezzlement, shot in the head, gone to rehab for substance abuse and arrested twice.
Before his Thursday arrest, he had been accused of hiring a hitman to help him commit suicide so his surviving son could cash in on a $10 million life insurance policy. He was charged with insurance fraud and filing a false police report. He has not entered a plea in that case.
Alex Murdaugh, who has admitted to opioid addiction and gone to rehab, has not entered a plea to the new charges.
In a statement to PEOPLE on Thursday, his attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, said, “We have not seen the warrants but have been informed that he is charged with two counts of obtaining goods under false pretenses relating to the settlement proceeds from the Estate of Gloria Satterfield.”
“Alex intends to fully cooperate with this investigation, as he has with the investigation into the murder of his wife and son. He deeply regrets that his actions have distracted from the efforts to solve their murders.”
source: people.com
