Mother, Son From Prominent Legal Family Found Shot Dead Near Dog Kennel

A mother and son from a prominent legal family in South Carolina were found shot to death at their Colleton County hunting lodge, on Monday, June 7.

The bodies of 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh and her son, 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh, were discovered late Monday night next to a dog kennel at the family’s property near Islandton, Colleton County Coroner Richard Harvey said.

Officers were dispatched to the scene after the deceased woman’s husband, Richard Alexander Murdaugh Sr., discovered the bodies outside one of two homes and alerted the police.

The mother-son duo was shot "execution-style" in a "very ugly" scene, FITSNews reported.

The bodies were found with multiple gunshot wounds, Harvey said. The bodies were sent to a medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.

The motive behind the slaying is unclear. Investigators have not identified any suspects at this time and an investigation is ongoing, authorities said, confirming "there is no danger to the public".

According to court documents, Paul was awaiting trial for the February 2019 boating death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach.

Beach, Paul, and others were aboard a small boat when it slammed into a piling near the Archers Creek Bridge. Beach was thrown into the water. Her body was discovered seven days after the crash.

Police said the survivors were "grossly intoxicated," at the time of the incident.

Paul was indicted months after the incident. A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Beach family is still pending against the Murdaugh family.

Since Paul hails from a well-known legal family, questions were raised doubting whether their connections have influenced the investigation.

No details are available that prove the 2019 incident to have any relation to the current slayings.

"The Beach family extends its deepest and warmest sympathies to the Murdaugh family during this terrible time. Having suffered the devastating loss of their own daughter, the family prays that the Murdaughs can find some level of peace from this tragic loss," said the family’s statement, issued through their lawyer, Mark Tinsley.