Prominent South Carolina lawyer indicted for murders of wife and son

A prominent US lawyer who tried to stage his own murder was indicted on Thursday for allegedly killing his wife and son in the latest twist in a bizarre crime saga.

Alex Murdaugh, 54, was charged with two counts of murder for the deaths of his wife, Maggie, 52, and his son Paul, 22, officials said.

"Today is one more step in a long process for justice for Maggie and Paul," Mark Keel, the chief of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, said in a statement.

Murdaugh's wife and son were shot and killed on June 7, 2021 at the family's sprawling hunting lodge in Islandton, in southwestern South Carolina.

Murdaugh, who has been jailed since October, has already been indicted for insurance fraud, theft, lying to the police and multiple other offenses.

He is accused of paying a man to shoot him in September of last year so his surviving son, Buster, could collect on a $10 million insurance policy.

Curtis Smith, the hit man allegedly hired by Murdaugh, botched the job, firing a bullet that only grazed him.

Murdaugh's staged murder attempt came a day after he was forced out of his law firm for allegedly embezzling millions of dollars.

Murdaugh has also been accused of pocketing a $4 million settlement that was intended for relatives of the family housekeeper, who died in a 2018 fall at the Murdaugh home.

The Murdaugh family has deep roots in law enforcement in South Carolina. Murdaugh's father, grandfather and great-grandfather all served as district prosecutors.