Disgraced attorney indicted for murders of wife and son

A Colleton County, South Carolina, grand jury has indicted Alex Murdaugh for the 2021 murders of his wife and son.

The once prominent, now disbarred, attorney was indicted Thursday morning on two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, according to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel.

Margaret "Maggie" Murdaugh, 52, and their youngest son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, were found shot to death on the family's property in Islandton, about an hour north of Hilton Head Island, the night of June 7, 2021. Alex Murdaugh placed the 911 call reporting the shooting, saying he had just returned home and discovered their bodies.

Murdaugh, a pillar of the South Carolina legal community, has denied involvement in the deaths, saying he had been visiting his mother at the time.

"Alex wants his family, friends and everyone to know that he did not have anything to do with the murders of Maggie and Paul. He loved them more than anything in the world," Murdaugh's attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, said in a statement Thursday.

The attorneys blasted the latest development in the case.

"It was very clear from day one that law enforcement and the Attorney General prematurely concluded that Alex was responsible for the murder of his wife and son," the statement said.

Harpootlian and Griffin said they will file a motion for a speedy trial "requesting that the Attorney General turn over all evidence within 30 days as required by law and (demanding) ... a trial within 60 days of receiving that evidence."

Keel called the indictment "one more step in a long process for justice for Maggie and Paul."

"Over the last 13 months, SLED agents and our partners have worked day in and day out to build a case against the person responsible for the murders of Maggie and Paul and to exclude those who were not," Keel said in a statement. "At no point did agents lose focus on this investigation. From the beginning I have been clear, the priority was to ensure justice was served."

Murdaugh is being held behind bars in Columbia, South Carolina, on a $7 million bond, facing a slew of charges for alleged financial crimes.

Blood spatter found on Murdaugh's clothing could place him at the scene of the killings, a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN.

The blood spatter found could place Murdaugh in close contact with at least one of the victims when they were killed, the source said. High velocity spatter is associated with the use of a particular weapon, such as a rifle, and it creates a specific blood pattern, especially when used at close range.

In addition, a phone belonging to Paul Murdaugh was recovered on his body containing video and audio of Alex Murdaugh talking with his wife close to the time she and Paul were killed, the source said.

Alex Murdaugh is not seen on the video but is heard speaking with her, and that recording has a time stamp, the source said, which may prove key to the investigation.