The marriage between South Carolina legal scion Alex Murdaugh and his wife, Maggie, was reportedly in flux before Maggie’s murder in June.
A source close to the family told the Daily Mail that the couple repeatedly argued over money and Alex’s drug use. The source said they never saw the Murdaughs show affection to one another — and that Alex “checked out of the family.”
“Their marriage was absolutely on the rocks,” the source said.
According to the tipster, Maggie felt trapped in the marriage, and she was hiding money in a closet. However, the tipster was unsure whether she was pilfering money to cover bills or because she was planning to leave.
The source also told the Daily Mail that Maggie had been dealing with her husband’s pill addiction for some time, but the financial issues it was causing were new.
“She confronted him about money more than once and his response was always the same, ‘Leave it to me. I’ll figure it out just like I did the last time,'” they said.
The source’s claims about Alex’s drug addiction appear to contradict those made by Alex’s attorney, Dick Harpootlian, who said Alex became addicted to opioids after the murders of his wife and son, Paul, 22. The pair were found fatally shot at the family’s South Carolina hunting lodge in June.
Harpootlian also claimed Alex embezzled millions from his law firm to fund his pill addiction.
On September 4, Alex called 911 and said he had been shot in rural Hampton County. A day earlier, he was forced out of his family law firm amid allegations he misappropriated funds. Two days after the shooting, Murdaugh said he was entering rehabilitation for drugs.
However, Alex was arrested in Hampton County on September 16, after an investigation determined he had an ex-client, Curtis Edward Smith, 61, shoot him so his surviving son would receive a $10 million life insurance payout.
Alex, who is charged with fraud, is currently free on a $20,000 bond. No arrests have been made in connection with Maggie and Paul’s murders.
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[Featured image: Alex and Maggie Murdaugh/Facebook]
