Alex Murdaugh, whose wife and son were murdered in June, was suspended from practicing law after a ruling Wednesday by the South Carolina Supreme Court.
The judge’s order, which stemmed from evidence of misconduct currently under investigation, said Murdaugh was suspended under Rule 17(b) of the SC Appellate Court rules, which says:
“Upon receipt of sufficient evidence demonstrating that a lawyer poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the public or to the administration of justice, the Supreme Court may place the lawyer on interim suspension pending a final determination in any proceeding under these rules.”
The high court ruling comes after Murdaugh abruptly quit his family firm, PMPED, last Friday, the day before he claimed someone shot in the head on a rural road.
It also comes after attorneys at PMPED, founded by Murdaugh’s grandfather over 100 years ago, said Monday that it had hired a forensic accounting firm to investigate missing funds, which may involve at least a million dollars. A member, speaking on the condition of anonymity, claims is in the millions, and had also informed police and the South Carolina Bar Association.
Murdaugh, whose wife and younger son were slain in an unsolved double murder on June 7, said Monday he was stepping down from his law firm in order to enter rehab after a strange shooting over the weekend left him with a minor head injury. He made no mention of the financial investigation. Murdaugh was hospitalized in the aftermath of the shooting but released shortly thereafter.
At the time of the June 7 double murder, Alex’s son Paul was facing trial in the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach, a University of South Carolina student who was killed in a boat crash in the waters north of Hilton Head Island in 2019. Paul had been allegedly operating the craft at the time.
Alex’s grandfather, Randolph Murdaugh III, as well as his great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather, were all elected and served as longtime 14th Circuit solicitors in South Carolina.
PMPED was founded by Randolph Murdaugh in 1910. On Thursday, the firm announced that Randolph Murdaugh III, 81, had died, the day before services were held for Paul and Maggie. No cause of death was given.