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

[helpfulcharlie]

Given that the parents in this case are apparently perceived as enablers of the bad behavior of their youngest son, it doesn't surprise me at all that someone seeking to kill Paul would also kill MM, if only to eliminate witnesses. MM may have just been unlucky. Who would try and rob a dog kennel? Wouldn't a robber break into the house or at least attempt to make the victims hand over their ATM cards and jewelry? If it was a robbery, it was terribly planned and only two murders occurred as a result of it.

Who brings long guns (two different kinds) to a household robbery?

I doubt anyone thinks it's a robbery.

 

[stmarysmead]

Here are my list of some of my questions on this rainy Sunday afternoon where I live.

Was PM living at the Lodge or his apartment? Why would the killers be confident to find him there that evening, and at that time of night…if he was the target? Even if he were staying there, he could have been out with friends, etc. Did they know him well enough to know exactly where he’d be at that time?

Was it raining? Was 9pm around the time the dogs were fed every night? Otherwise what were MM and PM doing out by the kennel? Did PM come out to confront trespassers or acquaintances angry with him that had just pulled up? Did MM come out when she heard shots? Or to defend him?

To our knowledge nothing was stolen. Yet it would seem the killers came with guns. I can’t imagine that they came upon weapons belonging to the family, but anything is possible.

Does the apartment open door…where once again, nothing was reported stolen, have significance? If so, what could PM have had that was of value enough to kill him…that they desperately wanted back?

Has PM’s deposition in the civil trial been released? If he was pleading not guilty…then who was he claiming was driving the boat?

Why the refusal to release the 911 call if it just confirms that AM found the bodies? What more did he say?

 

[Hoytie]

'Affluenza' written all over this case.

 

[Tabulator]

There are so many directions to go when speculating about the murder - with so little information, possibilities of what really happened that night are endless.

I do think local law enforcement giving this case to SLED was a good idea. The local Sheriff’s Department has come under major scrutiny as a result of how the Beach case was handled, but to call in a state agency to TAKE OVER a mere 20 minutes after they got to the scene - that seems very odd.

And a big thanks to Canaille for posting the People article about where PM was shot.

 

[Canaille]

Here’s one link that states where Paul was shot

Paul Murdaugh Was Threatened Online Prior to His Death, Family Says

“Paul was reportedly shot in the head and chest with a shotgun and his mother was killed with an assault rifle, sources told The Island Packet.”

Has anyone seen anything as to what part of the body MM was shot? I’m wondering why they would give the info for Paul but not for his mother.

 

[Sustained]

Here’s one link that states where Paul was shot

Paul Murdaugh Was Threatened Online Prior to His Death, Family Says

“Paul was reportedly shot in the head and chest with a shotgun and his mother was killed with an assault rifle, sources told The Island Packet.”

Has anyone seen anything as to what part of the body MM was shot? I’m wondering why they would give the info for Paul but not for his mother.

IMO, PM's injuries from a shotgun would have been significantly more visible than MM's unless MM was also shot in the head. As I believe AM not to be involved in the shootings, I can't imagine the horror of seeing your youngest child in the state PM most likely was.

 

[sandy_80]

if he really received threats.. wouldn't they be able to trace that

 

[Sustained]

if he really received threats.. wouldn't they be able to trace that

If by phone texts, sure ... if by Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/etc probably not as easy as posts can be deleted unless screenshots were taken.

 

[Boodles]

I agree! I think that may be the house in the far corner of the first link - and it is quite a distance from the house to the other structures.

It would seem that AM had to pass the crime scene on his way to the house so it seems there is a decent chance he would have seen it while driving up.

I believe, from photos posted in various articles, there are 2 entrances (at least) into the property from Moselle Road. One has brick pillars and I think leads to the big house. Another leads to the pole building and other out buildings which can be seen from Moselle Road.

I also think there’s a small house right by the road near the 2nd entrance, perhaps where a caretaker lives? That’s pure speculation on my part.

It’s unclear to me from conflicting reports where the bodies were found. By the big house? By the dog kennel (far from big house)? Outside the 2nd (small) house on the property?

I wonder if the truth will ever be uncovered and shared with the public.

 

[MrsWatson]

Has it been mentioned if anyone lives there full time, or if they have a caretaker?

 

[Canaille]

I believe, from photos posted in various articles, there are 2 entrances (at least) into the property from Moselle Road. One has brick pillars and I think leads to the big house. Another leads to the pole building and other out buildings which can be seen from Moselle Road.

I also think there’s a small house right by the road near the 2nd entrance, perhaps where a caretaker lives? That’s pure speculation on my part.

It’s unclear to me from conflicting reports where the bodies were found. By the big house? By the dog kennel (far from big house)? Outside the 2nd (small) house on the property?

I wonder if the truth will ever be uncovered and shared with the public.
View attachment 301469

I think there is also a way to access that property from the back… the road that runs behind it. I was looking at the satellite view the other day and noticed a dirt road to the back of the property, opposite the house. It’s hard to see, but it appears to be a trail or dirt road that follows the river.

 

[Hoytie]

I remember speculating on the Rhoden case thinking it may be due to a drugs, money, etc. Didn't it turn out to be about child custody? The Murdaugh case may actually turn out to be something totally unexpected.

 

[Oakie]

Has it been mentioned if anyone lives there full time, or if they have a caretaker?

On a property of that size, there would normally be a farm manager living on site.

 

[stmarysmead]

https://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article227456544.html

 

[evilwise]

I believe, from photos posted in various articles, there are 2 entrances (at least) into the property from Moselle Road. One has brick pillars and I think leads to the big house. Another leads to the pole building and other out buildings which can be seen from Moselle Road.

I also think there’s a small house right by the road near the 2nd entrance, perhaps where a caretaker lives? That’s pure speculation on my part.

It’s unclear to me from conflicting reports where the bodies were found. By the big house? By the dog kennel (far from big house)? Outside the 2nd (small) house on the property?

I wonder if the truth will ever be uncovered and shared with the public.
View attachment 301469

The scenario I've been coming to visualize is that the killers approached the outbuilding (the next one being perhaps a barn that primarily serves as a garage, the smaller being the kennel) at which point Maggie and Paul were alerted to something because at the very least, the dogs were making a racket. The killers probably saw them coming with plenty of time to take cover in the woods with a good shot at the kennel entrance, correctly predicting it would be the first thing to be checked. Perhaps both were armed, making it necessary to neutralize Maggie as well before approaching to finish Paul. They may also have felt forced to act at that point since if their targets had loosed the hounds it could have tremendously complicated their situation.

This is absolutely a speculative scenario but in this most simple form it is the most likely one I can think of, though I'm perfectly willing to entertain alternative ones. It doesn't even necessarily mean that the killers approached from that side of the property though. They might have intentionally alerted the dogs to draw out their target(s). They might know the property and the family will or it might have been their first time there - or it might be one intentionally trying to appear to be the other.

It is extremely frustrating to know so few details. Frustrating and unusual.

 

[MrsWatson]

On a property of that size, there would normally be a farm manager living on site.

That was my thought.

 

[stmarysmead]

It is not uncommon in the rural South for people to have gun racks on their pickups. So it is not necessarily the case that the killers went there armed, intending to murder two people. Something might have escalated and the guns were handy on their vehicle.

Even young ladies who go on to be debutantes often learn to shoot, and bag a deer…hunting with their Dad at an early age. So the manner of death does not rule out a female assailant.

It’s possible they drove right in.

 

[LaborDayRN]

Here’s one link that states where Paul was shot

Paul Murdaugh Was Threatened Online Prior to His Death, Family Says

“Paul was reportedly shot in the head and chest with a shotgun and his mother was killed with an assault rifle, sources told The Island Packet.”

Has anyone seen anything as to what part of the body MM was shot? I’m wondering why they would give the info for Paul but not for his mother.

I was wondering this as well when I read the story. All I could think of was that it wasn't released to the press. But why one and not the other?

 

[MajorHoople]

On a property of that size, there would normally be a farm manager living on site.

And someone has keep those hunting dogs fed and watered.

 

[evilwise]

I was wondering this as well when I read the story. All I could think of was that it wasn't released to the press. But why one and not the other?

It wasn't released, it was just told to them by "a source" which could mean the self-same source that had immediately leaked that info, only this time with more info, or depending on the reporting agency's journalistic integrity it could just mean the daily mail article despite the daily mail being notorious for "creatively rephrasing" the details in stories to get more clicks.

And someone has keep those hunting dogs fed and watered.

That house out front right along the road strikes me as the likely home of the caretaker given the way I would assume the property lines run but he may very well take his own vacation away during the summer months when the owners use it full time.