By Heather Ruppe
Curtis Smith is in custody at the Colleton County Detention Center and is facing new charges related to his role in the ongoing Alex Murdaugh crime drama.
Smith, 61, of Walterboro was taken to the county jail on Saturday, June 27 after the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) charged him with four counts of money laundering; three counts of forgery; and one charge of criminal conspiracy.
Smith is the alleged accomplice of the now-disgraced Hampton County attorney Alex Murdaugh, who is also facing dozens of charges related to embezzlement and fraud.
Unofficially, Smith was Murdaugh’s alleged drug dealer. However, Murdaugh also reportedly used Smith in a failed suicide-for-hire scheme in 2021. In that plot, Murdaugh claimed to orchestrate his own suicide by hiring Smith to shoot him on a rural road near Hampton County. Murdaugh then called 911, claiming he was ambushed by an unknown man, who fired a shot at his head. Murdaugh had a superficial wound to his temple as a result of that shooting, according to original incident reports released in 2021 by SLED.
Murdaugh said he orchestrated the shooting for the insurance money to go to his eldest son.
However, Smith has denied these allegations and claims he did not participate in the plot.
All information related to Smith’s recent arrest is being handled by the S.C. Attorney General’s Office.
All of these events spiraled after the June 7, 2021 shooting deaths of Murdaugh’s wife and son, Maggie and Paul Murdaugh. Their murders remain unsolved and under investigation by SLED.
