EXCLUSIVE: Former South Carolina trooper from 2015 cold case involving Murdaugh family speaks out amid ongoing double murder investigation
Just hours after South Carolina authorities announce the reopening of the 2015 investigation, one of the lead troopers handling the cold case recalls his suspicions surrounding the crime and says the Murdaugh family wouldn't cooperate.
Videos have emerged of the deadly and drunken boat crash that landed South Carolina man Paul Murdaugh in legal trouble two years before he was found executed alongside his mother — with one passenger heard in the footage saying he should "rot in f–king prison."
Authorities in South Carolina are still trying to determine who killed the 22-year-old and his mother Maggie Murdaugh — who are members of a prominent legal family — outside their sprawling 1,700 acre home in Islandton on June 7.
At the time of his killing, Murdaugh was awaiting trial for allegedly drunkenly crashing his father’s 17-foot boat in February 2019, which caused the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach.
Paul Murdaugh (left) and police at scene of the double-homicide in Islandton, S.C. (South Carolina Attorney General's Office/WTAT-TV/DT)
MURDAUGH DOUBLE MURDERS: SOUTH CAROLINA INVESTIGATORS RELEASE HARROWING 911 CALLS
Investigators have been probing whether the 22-year-old’s role in the crash or his legal woes made him the intended target of the double murder.
The release of the crash investigation videos comes just weeks after allegations surfaced that law enforcement tried to cover for the Murdaugh family immediately after the boating ordeal, Fits News reports.
Authorities say Murdaugh was with five others on his dad’s boat when he drunkenly crashed it on February 24, 2019.
Three people ended up in the water as a result of the crash and Mallory Beach’s body wasn’t discovered until seven days later.
"That motherf–ker needs to rot in f–king prison," one of the passengers can be heard telling police at the scene of the boat crash, according to the newly released videos.
"He ain’t gonna get in no f–king trouble."
PAUL MURDAUGH HAD BAC OVER 3 TIMES THE LEGAL LIMIT IN DEADLY 2019 BOAT CRASH
The videos were released after Connor Cook, one of the passengers who sustained a broken jaw, filed a petition with the courts alleging that law enforcement tried to move the focus away from Murdaugh.
The petition claims that police tried to shift the blame onto Cook for the crash.
In one of the newly released videos, an officer can be heard asking Cook’s cousin and Beach’s boyfriend, Anthony Cook, who was driving the boat.
Anthony can be heard telling them it was Murdaugh.
In the police report, however, the officer noted that Anthony didn’t know who was driving.
Another video showed Anthony Cook telling police that he had begged Murdaugh to let him drive the boat because he was too drunk.
"My girlfriend’s gone and I ain’t gonna be able to live with myself," Anthony told officers in one of the videos about Beach. "Is anybody in the water looking for her?"
FATAL BOAT CRASH SURVIVOR ALLEGES ATTMPED COVER-UP IN SOUTH CAROLINA
The allegations that law enforcement agencies tried to obstruct the investigation into the boating death is currently being reviewed by state officials.
Murdaugh is a member of a prominent legal family. His father, Alex Murdaugh, works for the prestigious law firm Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth and Detrick.
His grandfather and great-grandfather were all elected solicitors in the area.
Alex Murdaugh was the one who discovered the bodies at their home on June 7.
In a 911 call that was released last month, the elder Murdaugh can be heard telling police who he was and saying his "wife and child have been shot" near dog kennels on his property.
"I’ve been up to it now. It’s bad," Alex Murdaugh said.
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Alex Murdaugh has said he found the bodies after returning home from visiting his ill father for several hours.
Police have so far refused to name any potential suspects in the Murdaugh murders.
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