The man who Alex Murdaugh says shot him in the head in an alleged botched hitman-suicide has spoken out following the disgraced lawyer's guilty verdict.
On Friday (March 3), Judge Clifton Newman handed 54-year-old Murdaugh two life sentences after a 12-person jury found the former attorney guilty of the murders of Murdaugh's 52-year-old wife Maggie and 22-year-old son Paul.
Maggie and Paul's bodies were found back in June 2021 on the grounds of the family's 1,700-acre Moselle hunting estate in Islandton, South Carolina.
Despite Alex Murdaugh repeatedly denying causing his family any harm, Judge Newman bluntly told him during the trial: "It might not have been you. It might have been the monster that you become when you take 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 opioid pills.
"Maybe you become another person. I have seen that before. The person standing before me was not the person who committed the crime, though it is the same individual."
Following the guilty verdict, Curtis "Cousin Eddie" Smith – a former law firm client, distant cousin, and alleged drug dealer of Murdaugh – has released a statement via his attorney.
Per the Daily Mail, Smith is accused of shooting Murdaugh in the head three months after Murdaugh killed his wife and son.
The alleged hit is believed to be part of a life insurance scam that would see Murdaugh's other son, Buster, receive $11 million. Murdaugh has admitted to asking Smith to kill him - with the former legal scion being shot in the head as part of a botched "drive-by".
Murdaugh called 911 shortly after the "drive-by", claiming to have been ambushed while changing a tire on his vehicle. He was later treated in hospital for what police described as a "superficial gunshot wound to the head".
Smith - who is currently in custody on charges that include owning a firearm and lying to officials - has denied Murdaugh's claims, saying that he intervened when a suicidal Murdaugh attempted to shoot himself.
Now, following Murdaugh's guilty verdict, Smith has said in a statement that he should be cleared of any wrongdoing over the deaths of Maggie and Paul.
The statement released by Smith's legal team read: "It should now be clear that our client had nothing to do with the tragic deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.
"For almost a year and a half, speculation, innuendo, half-truths, and outright falsehoods have permeated the public discussion of this case and our client, however, neither the investigation conducted by law enforcement, which included extensive forensic and technological analysis nor the testimony and evidence put forward by the defense team for Mr. Murdaugh revealed any evidence that Mr. Smith was in any way involved."
"Murdaugh was the sole party responsible for the deaths of his wife and son," the statement continues, adding that Smith was never called as a witness because he had no knowledge of the tragic deaths.
Smtih’s attorneys, T. Jarrett Bouchette and Aimee Zmroczek, add: "Furthermore, despite months of filings and courtroom statements seeming to imply that Mr. Smith was either the ‘real killer’ or knew who was, when the time came to present evidence, Mr. Murdaugh’s defense team never attempted to call Mr. Smith to testify despite the fact that he was available to do so."
"In fact, when the issue of his testimony being presented by the state was raised, it was strenuously objected to by the defense," the statement continues, "Ultimately the jury determined that Mr. Murdaugh was the sole party responsible for the deaths of his wife and son. As has happened so many times in this case, the initial representations by Mr. Murdaugh have proven to be unsubstantiated."
Bouchette and Zmroczek add: "Mr. Smith is a good and decent man who was, like so many others, manipulated and taken advantage of by Mr. Murdaugh and we look forward to the opportunity to present his story at trial."
Following his guilty Verdict, Murdaugh debuted a newly shaved head after he was transported to South Carolina's Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center.
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