SC - Paul Murdaugh, 22 and mom Margaret, 52, found shot to death, Islandton, 7 June 2021 #3

[Elley Mae]

Reading the redacted report it reads like weapon/weapons found in both vehicles. Stating on form that status is “temporary custody”.

My question now is were other weapons found? Or did the killer/s put the weapons back in vehicles.

Jmo

Eta.

Reads like one body was exposed to elements.jmo

 

[Midwestmom2019]

Thanks for link, maxwell12

From link

"I didn't think it was a credible threat," Paul's uncle, John Marvin Murdaugh, told ABC News in an interview on Good Morning America. "If it was, I would have tried to do something or notify someone. But, I guess, maybe I made a mistake."

...

Reading this now sounds as if he knew then it was targeted.

Murdaugh’s did not want to expose the truth of the matter made the basis of the threats. Whatever it was, it could have been used for blackmail but the person chose to threaten PM instead. Money was not the goal. Sounds personal to me.

 

[Colorado303]

Murdaugh’s did not want to expose the truth of the matter made the basis of the threats. Whatever it was, it could have been used for blackmail but the person chose to threaten PM instead. Money was not the goal. Sounds personal to me.

You are right if the murders were retaliation. But we don’t know if that’s the case or not.

Unfortunately, social media and unlimited free gmail addresses make it easy for people to send anonymous death threats and send them they do. Many are sent by people who have no intention of harming the recipient—they just want to harass and scare them. Of course some are very real and it’s difficult to tell which are which. I don’t doubt Paul got death threats but I’m less confident the sender was sincerely planning to actually kill him.

When this case is solved I think we’ll find $ was the primary motive. Of course I could be very wrong and hope one way or another we get the answer soon.

 

[Luna20]

I don't believe that a desire for justice is what drove these murders.

I firmly believe that the motive behind this crime was a financial one.

The murderer's passion was a love of money.

"For the love of money is the root of all evil."

JMO.

As in insurance policies, theft, hit man?

 

[Luna20]

Thanks for link, maxwell12

From link

"I didn't think it was a credible threat," Paul's uncle, John Marvin Murdaugh, told ABC News in an interview on Good Morning America. "If it was, I would have tried to do something or notify someone. But, I guess, maybe I made a mistake."

...

Reading this now sounds as if he knew then it was targeted.

Jmo

And we have to remember it was in that same interview where he stated there are “no known enemies.”

 

[Luna20]

Agreed, what about the online threats, where did these lead? Maybe nowhere but why wouldn't these be looked into when received? The family had plenty of resources. Did PM respond to them? Family Said Paul Murdaugh Received Online Threats Before His Death | PEOPLE.com

Considering the events, and active legal pending status it would be most wise to look into them. It may be different to dismiss perhaps a disgruntled person if all was settled, as in ‘case closed’ but that wasn’t the case. All the more reason to research the source.

 

[Midwestmom2019]

You are right if the murders were retaliation. But we don’t know if that’s the case or not.

Unfortunately, social media and unlimited free gmail addresses make it easy for people to send anonymous death threats and send them they do. Many are sent by people who have no intention of harming the recipient—they just want to harass and scare them. Of course some are very real and it’s difficult to tell which are which. I don’t doubt Paul got death threats but I’m less confident the sender was sincerely planning to actually kill him.

When this case is solved I think we’ll find $ was the primary motive. Of course I could be very wrong and hope one way or another we get the answer soon.

Throw away email addresses will still show an IP address. So they can be traced that way, even if at the local library. At least it would be a start.

 

[Midwestmom2019]

Considering the events, and active legal pending status it would be most wise to look into them. It may be different to dismiss perhaps a disgruntled person if all was settled, as in ‘case closed’ but that wasn’t the case. All the more reason to research the source.

Even if Paul deleted them, there are ways to retrieve them. This would be a great way for the FBI to be tapped for their expertise.

 

[GordianKnot]

As in insurance policies, theft, hit man?

I think murder for hire or some other type of quid pro quo arrangement is a distinct possibility here.

I'm not all in on that scenario, but it's definitely up there on my list.

JMO.

 

[Elley Mae]

Less then 12 hours to announce no threat to community. And they knew before the release, yet no known enemies.

.....


Earlier Tuesday, around 9:50 a.m., the Colleton County Sheriff's Office issued the following statement:

"SLED is the acting agency regarding the double homicide that took place around 10 pm last night on June 7, 2021, in Colleton Co. SLED has been working closely with the Colleton Sheriff's Office during this investigation. At this time, there is no danger to the public."

2 Murdaugh family members shot, killed in Colleton County SC homicide


Harvey added that the bodies were found outside the residence, near a dog kennel, and that both died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds, but he "could not tell how many" until a forensic autopsy scheduled for Thursday.

...

Multiple times

Could not tell how many

 

[LetsSolvIt]

Greetings -- This is my first-ever post on Websleuths, but I'm not a newcomer. Been lurking on the sidelines since the tragic Savopoulos family murders (Mansion Murders) in Washington, DC. The Murdaugh case is such an intriguing, sad, and complex tangle of overlapping mysteries, I finally decided to join you.

<modsnip>

Despite being a very rural setting, in the country with little going on, surely people who lived around Moselle lodge would have been curious when sirens and police were racing down their country lane. At least where I lived in quiet rural Virginia, folks would have been hopping on ATVs and other vehicles and heading for the driveways, possibly even getting onto the property, or taking a shortcut through a trail in the woods to observe what was going on, or at the least to see if they could help. My point is that it's possible <modsnip> weapons being found at the scene could have been seen by locals or relayed to them by a relaxed police officer standing on the perimeter before those in charge announced secrecy was mandatory.

My primary reaction to this case is that this was personal or an execution type killing because of the overkill. I also wonder about what types of mischief young PM might have gotten himself into -- many kids this out of control have had brushes with drug dealers, gangs, fencing, gambling, etc. He may belong to a very affluent family but a parent or accountant might have noticed a substantial cash flow if he had an expensive habit/activity (outside his alleged alcohol problem), and had to get his funds from other activities, where he might have gotten in over his head.

These are just thoughts (MOO) -- I do not know. Like you all I keep "trying on" different scenarios with the few facts we've been provided by LE.

You all are amazing with your in-depth research and sound analysis. I am really looking forward to being with you on this journey and finding out what happened to MM and PM (and also SS). This case and it's corollary cases are so sad.

Please don't hesitate to let me know if I step out of line while I get oriented with all the rules.

 

[Elley Mae]

“She is the victim, having lost her son, being part of the slaughter at the farm, and [having] her world turned upside down,” one woman who claimed to know Maggie told The Post. “Have [people] ever thought of the terror she faced that night being dragged through the dark to the dog kennels to see the carnage?”

Murdaugh mystery deepens as murder cold case with ties to family reopens

 

[LetsSolvIt]

Thank you, this is the story:
Murdaugh mystery deepens as murder cold case with ties to family reopens

What is confusing here (assuming “she” is MM) is the timing the woman infers in this statement. It’s all past tense like it happened over several hours or days, and then MM gets dragged down the hill. Maybe the woman speaking was so distraught she just wasnt making sense (or paper is misquoting her)—since everything we know is that MM and PM died within 30 min of each other.

At any rate my point was there are usually neighbors/bystanders around when LE or EMT is called.

 

[Midwestmom2019]

“She is the victim, having lost her son, being part of the slaughter at the farm, and [having] her world turned upside down,” one woman who claimed to know Maggie told The Post. “Have [people] ever thought of the terror she faced that night being dragged through the dark to the dog kennels to see the carnage?”

Murdaugh mystery deepens as murder cold case with ties to family reopens

How does she know these details?

 

[LetsSolvIt]

To MidWestMom —

I’m wondering if she could be in the nosey neighbor category or heard it from someone who was a bystander — or she may not be credible at all, like people decided earlier.

The point I was trying to make with her as an example is I don't think the secrecy around this case is air tight because there must have been a neighbor or two or friend who showed up with all the commotion. Things this upsetting are hard not to share with your best friend or spouse. And so it goes ...

 

[MoeInVA]

<modsnip - quoted post moved to MB thread>

I don’t see boat crash revenge as the motive here, but you never know. I do see an out of control person may have pissed people off or may have been holding damning old secrets over others who would want to eliminate that problem. If PM thought he could trade intel on SS murder or other cases for a reduced sentence, that could have very much incentivized some to silence him. JMO

ETA if you haven’t seen the bar receipts from Luther’s they were released in the docs too. A compelling visual.

 

[Midwestmom2019]

To MidWestMom —

I’m wondering if she could be in the nosey neighbor category or heard it from someone who was a bystander — or she may not be credible at all, like people decided earlier.

The point I was trying to make with her as an example is I don't think the secrecy around this case is air tight because there must have been a neighbor or two or friend who showed up with all the commotion. Things this upsetting are hard not to share with your best friend or spouse. And so it goes ...

Absolutely agreed. But it’s in the NYPost. I’d think they would have some idea how the woman knew all of this and would share it. I read the article but did not see any information about the source. So I can agree that nosey neighbors were all over this case. Your thoughts make a “whole lotta” sense.

 

[LetsSolvIt]

I know I’m changing the subject (SS case getting a new look from SLED, which might relate to this case) but have been sitting with this thought:

So much has been said about the Murdaughs having the means to offer a substantial award for leads that result in a conviction for the murders of PM and MM. And how the SS’s family doesn’t so in combination with all the LE/ ME double talk about what really happened to SS, his case has sat cold.

Wouldn't it be nice if some benevolent person or group put up money for tips on his case?

 

[MoeInVA]

I know I’m changing the subject (SS case getting a new look from SLED, which might relate to this case) but have been sitting with this thought:

So much has been said about the Murdaughs having the means to offer a substantial award for leads that result in a conviction for the murders of PM and MM. And how the SS’s family doesn’t so in combination with all the LE/ ME double talk about what really happened to SS, his case has sat cold.

Wouldn't it be nice if some benevolent person or group put up money for tips on his case?

It would be nice. Though I am thinking that RM’s offer for pro Bono legal services may have been the closest we’ll come. And I assume that offer expired.

I can be snarky, but I do truly believe that the journalists who took up the SS case put the pressure on for SLED to reopen. And any award should go at least in part to local investigative journalism. Huge step forward. Let’s see what SLED does next.

 

[Midwestmom2019]

<modsnip>

I don’t see boat crash revenge as the motive here, but you never know. I do see an out of control person may have pissed people off or may have been holding damning old secrets over others who would want to eliminate that problem. If PM thought he could trade intel on SS murder or other cases for a reduced sentence, that could have very much incentivized some to silence him. JMO

ETA if you haven’t seen the bar receipts from Luther’s they were released in the docs too. A compelling visual.

Out of all the ideas that have been tossed out about the perp(s) and motives, this one makes the most sense. Some one had mentioned two males who are unrelated to the Murdaugh family, that were alleged to have been at/participated in the SS tragedy. That would explain two different guns used during the murders. And tie up the on line threats to Paul. Murdaughs never pursued the threats bc that meant Paul and Buster would be implicated in SS death. But if it came down to Paul being guilty in Mallory’s death, and going to jail, Maggie and Paul would throw the other two males under the bus. The deal would cover Buster and Paul, and hang the other two males. It was getting a little too close for comfort, so the two males took it upon themselves the get rid of the problem: Paul and Maggie, both. And that, my friends, is what I have deduced.
ETA: grammar