Murdaugh indictments: Disgraced lawyer, alleged hitman charges amplified by SC grand jury decision

A grand jury in South Carolina handed down indictments last week for disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh and his alleged hitman, amplifying criminal charges already filed in connection to the alleged botched suicide plot that happened along a rural road Labor Day weekend.

The Hampton County Grand Jury also issued indictments for the alleged hitman, Curtis Edward Smith, for pointing and presenting a firearm, conspiracy, assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high aggravated nature and false claim or payment for an amount of $10,000 or more.  Circuit Judge Daniel Hall hears arguments from attorney Mark Tinsley during a hearing over prominent South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh's assets on Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, in Chesterfield, S.C. Hall said he will rule on whether to freeze Murdaugh's assets next week.  ((AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)) Alex Murdaugh awaits the beginning of his bond hearing in the Richland Judicial Center in Columbia, S.C., Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. A judge in South Carolina denied bond for attorney Alex Murdaugh on the second set of charges he has faced since finding his wife and son dead last June.  ((AP Photo/Lewis M. Levine, Pool)) Alex Murdaugh listens as attorneys speak during a bond hearing in the Richland Judicial Center in Columbia, S.C., Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. Murdaugh is in court on two felony charges of obtaining property by false pretenses. He spent five days in jail after his arrest Thursday at a drug rehab center near Orlando, Florida. ((AP Photo/Lewis M. Levine, Pool))

Murdaugh conspired with Smith "to assist in Murdaugh’s suicide in the area of Old Salkehatchie Road for the purpose of defrauding an insurer," the indictments say. "To that end, Murdaugh provided Smith a firearm and directed Smith to shoot Murdaugh in the head, which would thereby conceal the suicidal character of the homicide, and thus cause the beneficiary of Murdaugh’s life insurance policy to submit a false claim to the insurer, who they believed would disallow a claim against a policy which resulted from suicide. Smith followed Murdaugh to a location along Old Salkehatchie Road and shot Murdaugh."