the murdaugh family.to but maggie -- maggie murdaugh dead, paul murdaugh dead, her son, steven smith, a young man who lived in the area dead, presumably a hit-and-run body left on the road, mallory beach, a teen girl, dead and miss satterfield, a domestic worker within the murdaugh home, dead, that is 5 dead bodies. dr. dupre . >> doesn't that wave a red flag in front of you? 5 dead bodies connected to one family. >> it does, we don't like coincidences that is way too many. nancy: what about the blood found on and around the bodies? if the flood were dried that would be an indicate or of how long they were their, if the blood of the not dry at all, or just beginning to coagco ag late. >> those are estimates, thea. the ambient temperature, they all must be taken to consideration to determine how long the blood could have stayed fluid or not fluid. nancy: what would you expect the condition of the blood to be if they were dead only 30 minutes. >> somewhat coag lated but not dry. >> stick to the touch. >> ri

that detail causing murdaugh to shed tears at the table for murdaugh, it's the latest in a chain of devastating events with several investigations and civil litigations pending, including the murder of his wife and son, possibly misappropriating millions from the family law firm, and the 2018 death of the murdaugh long-time housekeeper who allegedly fell at the murdaugh home. tonight murdaugh is headed back to rehab, but his legal woes are likely far from over catie beck, nbc news >>> and in another deepening mystery, new body cam shows a missing 22-year-old woman weeks before she vanished on a cross-country trip with her fiance. the video shows a distraught gabby petito telling utah officers she and fiance brian laundrie had been fighting that morning. a witness had reported the two had been arguing. petito's family lost contact with her in late august. laundrie has been named a person of interest his attorney says he has been advised not to speak on the matter >>> now to the record migrant surge, and another baby and toddler found abandoned at the border, just as the texas governor tonight is

it was murdaugh that discovered the bodies, murdaugh that called 911. still no publicly known suspects in that double homicide here. now police are talking about a new investigation that has begun into the murdaugh family housekeeper. gloria satterfield. she died in the murdaugh house in 2018. the 57-year-old died from a trip and fall. the coroner said there was no autopsy. so a new investigation there. when you look at the web of the murdaugh family at this point alone, we're looking at six separate criminal investigations, five people dead including two family members. back to you, neil. >> neil: we should point out, steve, he's charged with stealing millions from his company, right? and that's a separate issue. let's go to the courtroom. >> tuesday, september 16, 2021. the time is 4:02 p.m. we're here for a bond hearing for richard alexander murdaugh. we have representation from the attorney general's office. state your name. >> yes. i'm craig waters with the south carolina attorney general's office. >> thank you. also i see the defendant has represe

paul murdaugh shot at least twice with a shotgun.ggest this had been planned carefully? >> it certainly not is something that i would expect an investigator to rule out based on the evidence that i'm aware of that's publicly available. >> reporter: alex murdaugh and surviving son put up the own money for $100,000 reward for information. but at the bottom of the notice is an odd catch. the tip must be submitted to law enforcement on or before september 30th. ever heard of an expiration date on a reward? >> i have not. >> south carolina son and mother -- >> reporter: in an interview on abc's "good morning america" they said paul had been getting threatening messages online. >> i didn't think tft a credible threat. if it was i would have notified someone but i guess, you know, maybe i made a mistake. >> reporter: the family say it started after a fatal boating accident. >> 911, where is your emergency? >> a boat crash on arthur's creek. >> we have someone missing. >> reporter: 2019 south carolina paul murdaugh and five friends with a ni

and alex murdaugh. what do you make of the shooting of alex murdaugh?dously complicate the investigators' job, both for that shooting and, also, for the shooting of his wife and son. it introduces a set of possibilities and facts that investigators are going to have to spend a tremendous amount of time and effort winnowing through to figure out if they are connected, whether they are not connected. >> reporter: with so many new questions and so few answers from investigators, many who thought they knew the friendly, wealthy, successful lawyer, big red, now wonder if they ever really knew him at all. >> we reached out to every entity and every one who is connected to this case -- we are talking family, friends, law enforcement, lawyers, we even tried to reach political acquaintances -- no one would sit down for an on-camera interview. it just goes to show you how people here have been so shocked by recent events. in fact, some people told us had we showed up ten days earlier, before the allegations of embezzlement, before the admission of a drug addictio

murdaugh provided mr. smith with a firearm and directed mr. smith to shoot him in the head for the purpose of his son collecting a life insurance policy valued at approximately $10 million. but murdaugh survived the shooting calling 911 himself. police say he later admitted to the plot. it was back in june when murdaugh found his wife, maggie, and 22-year-old son paul murdered at their hunting lodge shot multiple times. the deaths remain unsolved and murdaugh denies any involvement. >> are they breathing? >> no, ma'am. my wife and my son. >> reporter: the day before murdaugh's attempted suicide earlier this month he left his law firm amid allegations he misappropriated funds. murdaugh's lawyer says he suffered from depression and had checked into rehab. for the last 20 years there have been many people feeding his addiction to opioids, one of those individuals took advantage of his mental illness and agreed to take alex's life. in the meantime, several other mysterious tragedies continue to swirl around the murdaugh family. authorities have op

murdaugh is not just alex murdaugh. there's generations of them. is he still there?this and matt is going to be a part of it. matt harris. he's been following it. you can go look at his podcast and you'll see what he's been able to piece together. it all resolves around that this one family. but how? we still don't know. now the latest chapter is where we are going pick up our coverage. 2018, 20-plus year housekeeper dies. how? we're not exactly sure because the way it was described does not match the death certificate. then the family brings a wrongful death claim. there's a settlement but it's never paid. now the police are reopening it and looking at it. you'll hear sled, that's the state investigative entity. that's what it is in south carolina. we have the attorney for the estate of the housekeeper, has questions of his own and things he wants you to know about this family and how this place works next. t-minus two minutes and counting. ♪ um, she's eating the rocket. -copy that, she's eating the rocket. i assume we needed that? [chomping sound] ♪ lunchables! bui

murdaugh directed him to shoot him in the head. for the purpose of his son collecting a life insurance policy valued at approximately $10 million. murdaugh survived the shooting. calling 911 himself. he later admitted to the plat. it was back in june, when he found his wife, maggie and son, paul. murdered at their hunting lodge shot several times. the deaths remained unsolved. and murdaugh denies any involvement. >> are they breathing? >> no. my wife and my son. >> reporter: the day before murgd attempted suicide this month, he left his law firm amid allegations he misappropriated funds. his lawyer said he was in solitude. in the meantime, several other mysterious tragedies continue to swirl around the murdaugh family. authorities have opened an investigation in the 2018 death of the housekeeper, glorious satterfield. her death was initially described as a trip-and-fall accident. the coroner has asked for an investigation alleged inconsistencies in the ruling of her death as natural. the fal family settled the wrongful death family

the murdaugh family is a well-known family in the county.f fact there are three or four generations of prosecutors who have come out of that family through the years. in the solicitor's office. they're well-known, they would know and be in contact with the police but i think that there is so much trouble and dark clouds attached to murdaugh whatever family connections he had they're gone now. a charge that the attorney admitted to this morning on the "today" show the client under investigation for embezzling funds from his own law firm and used the funds to purchase painkillers and eventually would be disbarred as an attorney and allegations with respect to the housekeeper who died in a slip and fall accident, no autopsy was done in the case and murdaugh referred the case allegedly to a friendly lawyer. who would be the lawyer in charge of the case against murdaugh. if true that's unethical behavior by the lawyer. >> very deep trouble. paul, our cnn legal analyst, thank you. >> thank you. >>> just ahead, a looming shutdown of booster shots.

longtime housekeeper who allegedly fell at the murdaugh home murdaugh is headed back to rehab, but hislegal woes are likely far from over >>> let's turn now to the weekend, talk about the weather with nbc meteorologist janessa webb hi, janessa, good morning. >> hi, good morning. happy friday, everyone we're seeing some isolated showers right now for the deep south to the southeast and they're on the light side. that's the good news the bad news things will continue to pick up on the weekend. this is post-tropical system nicholas, and it just has not moved. and it's going to stay stationary for at least the next three days we do still have flash flood watches. they are currently in place across sections of the deep south. they have expired for florida. i do expect them to pick up once again later on this afternoon. so today into your saturday, 1 to 3 inches across this area and it spreads into the tennessee valley as well these rainfall totals really start to pick up sunday all the way into tuesday afternoon because this storm system just won't budge too much so the latest track, it mov

now murdaugh's own attorney reveals that murdaugh hired a hitman to shoot him in the head.e apparent goal to fake a murder so that his surviving son could collect $10 million in life insurance. but murdaugh survived the shooting, and the staged case is raising new questions about those unsolved murders of his wife magee and son paul back in june. cnn's martin savidge has been digging into murdaugh and his claims and has the new revelations coming to light. >> reporter: a shooting on the side of this south carolina road is now embroiled in charges of conspiracy and insurance fraud. he was shot in the head september 4th after he pulled over to check his tires. but it is now said he asked this man chris smith to do it. >> realized that things were going to get very, very, very bad and he decided to end his life. >> reporter: his lawyer tells cnn that the 53-year-old suffered a fractured skull and brain bleed but survived. an affidavit says he provided mr. smith with a firearm and directed mr. smith to shoot him in the head. smith is charged with assisted suicide, assault and b

for the shooting of alex murdaugh.lanned, who -- i would like to know who knew where alex would be. what was alex's last text message? griff: susan, just in the last 30 seconds i've got with you, do you anticipate that the patriarch who, fortunately, is alive and talkative, alex murdaugh, will indeed talk? >> i believe if he gives any statements, he, of course, will have the advice of talented, very competenting legal counsel. so that remains to be seen. griff: susan williams, south carolina defense attorney. please keep us posted. thank you for your insight. >> good-bye for now. alicia: top biden officials now heading to the middle east hoping to use diplomacy to rescue the last americans stuck in afghanistan. next, the key challenges standing between those u.s. citizens and freedom. ♪♪ knows everyone's unique. that's why they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. [ nautical horn blows ] i mean just because you look like someone else doesn't mean you eat off the floor, or yell at the vacuum,

murdaugh's lawyer says he spoke to murdaugh at a first in a personal injury suit and then for a trafficction. murdaugh's lawyers said he spoke to him at a detention center on monday and explains why he finally came forward. >> he didn't want law enforcement spending more time on this fake crime instead of focusing on solving the murders of maggie and paul. >> this is so bizarre. they're now investigating. he had a house deeper who died in his house. then his son and wife were shot to death in the house. that is still unsolved. and now he allegedly hired somebody to shoot himself in the head for his one surviving son. where is he now? >> reporter: well, right now he is said to be in a drug rehabilitation program. i got a phone call from one of his attorneys. he said it is their understanding that an arrest warrant has been issued for alex murdaugh for conspiring to commit insurance fraud. their client is expected to turn himself into authorities sometime tomorrow. this being south carolina, it is possible that he could get a bond hearing tomorrow, and if he's given bond, it is very likel

murdaugh's housekeeper diedtter. after a trip-and-fall accident at their home in 2018. an autopsy was never performed. alex murdaugh is also under investigation for reportedly ented drehab for anof dollarss, opioid addiction. norah. >> o'donnell: nikki battiste, thank you. tonight, police body cam video provides a new clue in a young woman's disappearance that sparked a nationwide search. 22-year-old gabrielle petito is seen sobbing after an altercation with her fiance, brian laundrie, in utah. that was last month. they were on a cross-country drive, and she vanished soon after that incident. well, he drove home to florida, and is not cooperating with investigators. all right, tonight, school districts all over the country face a growing problem. listen to this: a severe shortage of school bus drivers. it's actually forcing states and parents to make some difficult choices. we get more now from cbs' errol barnett. >> reporter: with an alarming shortage of school bus drivers in baltimore, single mftall three to four times a week just to get her kids to school. this costs

. >>> the case involving the shooting of south carolina attorney alex murdaugh has become more complicated. he is facing a judge after indicating he tried to have himself killed after his wife and one of his sons were murdered. here's eva pilgrim. >> reporter: a once-prominent south carolina lawyer's stunning fall from grace. >> all rise. >> reporter: alex murdaugh, for -- turning himself in for allegedly planning his own murder nearly two weeks ago. police say the goal, to get his son a $10 million life insurance payout. >> anyone wants to see the face of what opioid addiction does, you're looking at it. this is a horrible disease. >> reporter: murdaugh's alleged accomplice, former client curtis edward smith, also appears in court on multiple charges includes assisted suicide. murdaugh's life coming under scrutiny, after the brutal unsolved murders of his wife, maggie, and 22-year-old son, paul, this past june. >> is he moving at all, your son? >> they're not -- neither one of them is moving. >> reporter: police have not identified any uspects but probes into that case now launching sever

three months after alex murdaugh's wife and son were killed, murdaugh was shot in the head over the weekendmurdaugh calling 911 to report he had been shot. the latest attack coming saturday around 1:30. alex murdaugh was on the side of a rural road changing a tire when someone drove by, turned around and shot him. murdaugh now in the hospital suffering a superficial gunshot wound to the head. in june the bodies of murdaugh's wife maggie and 22-year-old son paul were found at the family's hunting lodge. abc's eva pilgrim spoke to alex's brothers after the murders. >> i don't know of anybody that would truly be an enemy, actually want to harm them. >> reporter: at the time of maggie and paul's double murder paul was awaiting trial, qae. questions have been raised as to how the investigation was handled. >> if people tried to cover up what happened, they're offended and they want that out. it shouldn't be that way. >> reporter: there's questions about a 2015 cold case which authorities are now re-opening based upon information gathered during the course of the double murder investigation. that

murdaugh's attorney telling "today" show his client, in rehab for opioid addiction, wanted his son to collect on a $10 million life insurance claim. >> he was in a dark, dark, dark place and wanted to help his son. >> reporter: the staged shooting came one day after murdaugh had resigned from his family firm facing allegations he misappropriated millions but for murdaugh it's the latest in a chain of devastating events. a 2015 cold case into the death of 19-year-old stephen smith recently reopened due to evidence gathered while investigating the murdaugh double murder no member of the murdaugh family has been named a suspect police also investigating the 2018 death of gloria satterfield, the murdaugh's housekeeper, who allegedly suffered a fall at their home in 2019 alex's son paul murdaugh, now deceased was charged with boating under the influence after a crash in 2019 that left 19-year-old mallory beach dead mark tinsley, attorney for beech says crimes like these are being overlooked >> i think the common thread here is wealth and influence. there are two systems of justice one way

. >>> in south carolina murdaugh family mystery deepens. prominent attorney whose wife and son were shot and killed three months ago and now police say murdaugh arranged to have a former client kill him in an insurance fraud scheme so his surviving son could collect a $10 million life insurance policy. murder yo murdaugh is expected to turn himself in this morning. martin savidge is following it for us. >> reporter: murdaugh said he was shot in the head september 4 after he pulled over to check his tires. but now he says that he asked chris smith do it. >> realized had things would get very, very bad. and he decided to end his life. >> reporter: his lawyer tells cnn that the 53-year-old suffered a fractured skull and brain bleed but survived. and an aftffidavit alleges that directed mr. smith to shoot him in the head. smith is charged with assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm and conspiracy to quit insurance fraud. it is not clear whether smith has an attorney or how he intends

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>> my name is alex murdaugh. please hurry. neither one of them's moving. >> reporter: murdaugh calling 911 after finding their bodies. no suspects have been named and no arrests have been made. murdaugh's brothers sitting down with us over the summer asking the public for help. do you think they will find who did this? >> we certainly hope so. >> hope so. >> reporter: the family is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in those double murders. whit? >> complicated investigation. eva, thank you. >>> when we come back tonight, the man accused of killing four family members in florida appearing in court. me than hiv. more love, more adventure, more community. but with my hiv treatment, there's not more medicines in my pill. i talked to my doctor and switched to fewer medicines with dovato. dovato is for some adults who are starting hiv-1 treatment or replacing their current hiv-1 regimen. with just 2 medicines in 1 pill, dovato is as effective as a 3-drug regimen... to help you reach and stay undetectabl

i know you believe this will bring alex murdaugh down.nd have you back on. thanks for being here today. thanks. >> thanks for having us. >> martha: you bet. we'll be watching it. get ready for a big day tomorrow. general milley will face congress over the handing of the exit from afghanistan and questions and his conversations with chinese leadership during the last days of the trump administration. veteran homeowners, mortgage rates are still near all time lows. and home values are at all time highs. that makes right now the best time in history to use your va refi benefit and get cash. you could take out $50,000 or more because the newday 100 va loan lets you borrow up to 100% of your home's value. use that cash to pay high rate credit card debt or plan for retirement. the newday 100 va loan. what's the #1 retinol brand used most by dermatologists? it's neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair® smooths the look of fine lines in 1-week, deep wrinkles in 4. so you can kiss wrinkles goodbye! neutrogena® there is no place like home y'all! and these

>> no, not only didn't go just to the murdaugh family but to the lawyer that alex murdaugh hand pickedd father to his son and college roommate. they were aware of none of it. the only way they found out is when the newspaper found out that paul died in a boating accident after the money was received, they thought $505,000 was recovered. they didn't know that when it was recovered. the newspaper said 505,000. since that time we've learned that it was $4.1 million. none of this, martha, is on the court record, which violates every law in connection with settling debt claims in our state. it's a disgrace. we're getting to the bottom of it and people are going to have to pay civilly through money or they are unfortunately going to be criminally prosecuted. we're not stopping until we find out how this happened. >> martha: i don't blame you. that could include exhuing her body. there was not a cause of death or con ronner's report. >> yes. according to alexmer day, his credibility is shot because of him trying to commit insurance fraud and a whole host of false reporting crimes. they're goi

randy murdaugh, who has never been accused of wrongdoing, spoke out in support of his brother earlierune. >> his voice, the fear, he was just distraught. >> reporter: alec murdaugh announced this week he was leaving the law firm his family has been part of for generations and entering rehab after the firm accused him of misappropriating funds. alec murdaugh's legal team released a new statement saying, alec hopes his conduct does not distract from law enforcement's efforts to find who murdered his wife maggie and son paul and bring anyone responsible to justice. nbc news learning there could be video of saturday's alleged road side incident that left alex murdaugh hospitalized. here along this desolate country rode is where he says he was shot on saturday after getting a flat tire. as it turns out, there's a church nearby with a surveillance camera pointed near the incident. church leaders tell us that investigators confiscated that videotape before anyone had a chance to watch it. it is unclear what, if anything, the video showed. state authorities are still investigating the alleged

>> thank you, cratie >>> joining us now exclusively is alec murdaugh's attorney.'ve prosecuted serial killers, university presidents, you've represented some characters over the years. you have to admit this is a pretty unbelievable story. your client claiming that he paid someone to shoot him to collect $10 million in insurance money and the guy missed is that the story? >> well, let me elaborate. on monday, jim griffin and i, alec's attorneys, traveled to an out of state detox facility where we had the first conversation we've ever had with him when he wasn't on opioids or oxy. as a result of that, he clearly knew what he had done was wrong and explained to us a couple of things one, the murder of his son and wife 90 days ago took a tremendous toll on him his father died of cancer that same week. most people couldn't get through that he got through it with the use of opioids then, last week, a week ago, actually, he -- it was uncovered that he had perhaps -- not perhaps, he had converted some client and law firm money to his own use and, again, spent most of tha

alex murdaugh's arrest is now imminent. news he plans to voluntarily surrender to south carolina officials today on charges of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. the news coming one day after authorities arrested 61-year-old curtis edward smith, a former client of murdaugh charging him with assisted suicide, insurance fraud and several other charges. according to the police affidavit, murdaugh and smith staged a flat tire and planned for mr. smith to murder murdaugh on a rural road on september 4th leaving his only remaining son buster to collect a life insurance policy valued at approximately $10 million, but murdaugh survived the shooting calling 911 himself. he was airlifted to a hospital in savannah, georgia, for a superficial gunshot wound to the head. the shooting happening just one day after murdaugh left the prestigious law firm his family helped build accused of stealing money. murdaugh's life has been under scrutiny following the brutal unsolved murders of his wife maggie and 22-year-old son paul this past june

>> my name is alex murdaugh.ng. >> reporter: murdaugh calling 911 after finding their bodies. both shot multiple times near the family's hunting lodge. his brothers speaking to us at the time asking for the public's help. >> my brother loved maggie, loved paul like nothing else on this earth. >> i can tell you he was willing and still is willing to do anything that's asked of him. he wants this solved. >> reporter: as for alex murdaugh, he has not been charged in this shooting at this time. more charges are expected. his lawyers telling us alex is fully cooperating with s.l.e.d. in their investigations into his shooting, opioid use and the search to find the person or people responsible for the murder of his wife and son. alex is not without fault, but he's just one of the many whose life has been devastated by opioid addiction. >> what a story. >> wow. >>> we are going to move on now to a shark encounter. 16-year-old surfer bitten in the arm and this morning, the teen is speaking out on "gma." will reeve has the

this is a murdaugh office. they control the civil court system down there.e woven themselves into the fabric of the town. this is a very, very powerful family you do not see in many jurisdictions. >> what do you think happened to gloria? >> we'll find out. certainly there were questions by my clients because after she unfortunately fell she was airlifted to a hospital and she had a traumatic brain injury. she never was able to communicate with them for the next three weeks until she died. so it was alex murdaugh who told the story of she had tripped and fell down the stairs over his dogs. so they trusted him. remember this woman worked for his family for 25 years. she was part of the fabric of this family. and they trusted him, and amazingly, chris, he hand walked them to his best friend and college roommate to bring a lawsuit against himself on behalf of the estate. now, you know, as a lawyer 33 years i've never heard that where you encourage somebody and take them to a lawyer who you hand pick and then have that lawyer bring claims against you. this was no

according to court documents, murdaugh arranged for curtis smith, a former client, to shoot and killuse the shot wasn't fatal. smith has been charged with assisted suicide, assault and battery, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. so far he's not entered a plea and has asked for a court-appointed attorney. and now another twist. the south carolina law enforcement division announcing the opening of another investigation involving the murdaughs. the 2018 death of the family's long-time housekeeper gloria satterfield, who died in what was described as a trip and fall accident on the murdaugh property. >> it was alex murdaugh who told the story that she had tripped and fell down the stairs over his dogs. so they trusted him. >> reporter: at the time her death was said due to natural causes. the hampton county coroner angela topper told investigators in a letter the decedent's death was not reported to the coroner at the time nor was an autopsy performed. on the death certificate the manner of death was ruled natural. which is incons

lara: murdaugh mystery with nancy grace ayres tonight at 10:00 p.m.sn't totally convinced about the 911 call, people can go online and listen to it but in retrospect this guy apparently hired someone to kill him one of the insurance monies for his son this is months after questionable murder of his wife and other son, i don't know what is your thought. >> it's common sense there is a rotten human being and they do rotten human being things. it's a small town corruption and it means absolutely insanity, multiple people killed that were connected to this family now multiple people within the family, we at least know he was crazy enough to hire somebody to kill himself which tells you these other things but at the end of the day i hope for the innocent people involved the young lady that was killed in a boating accident i believe a cleaning lady that supposedly fell i hope a lot of truth comes out and the people that are mourned over this family with the evil deeds and some sort of solace to the circumstances that their family members died from i don't h

alex murdaugh found the body, and although nobody has yet been arrested for those murders, alex murdaughul murdaugh was shot and killed on that hunting ranch, he was on trial for driving and crashing a boat while drunk, a 19-year-old woman died in that crash. and in 2015, another murdaugh son was investigated and cleared in the death of a 19-year-old mao was found with his skull crushed. a tangled web, indeed, but legal analysts now say if alex murdaugh has now admitted that he hired someone to kill him, other admissions might soon be coming, lawrence. >> lawrence: what a mess. thanks, trace. joining me now, criminal defense attorney mark eichler's. mark, this is a tangled web. i need you to put your criminal defense attorney hat on. why is he cooperating right now? did someone confess? what is the motive right now? >> because they got him. there is no "who done it," they got him. night to defend people, it's either "my client did not do it, he or she was framed like the mona lisa" or "okay, he did it, she did it, let's sit down at the table and cooperate, add to that, my client has a 20

listing alex murdaugh as the defendant she died after a trip and fall accident in 2018.ongful death claim and court documents indicate a $500,000 settlement was reached. >> how much money was received from the settlement? >> zero. i'll chase anybody through the gates of hell to get the money these kids deserved. >> reporter: murdaugh's lawyers telling nbc news, "we cannot address these claims until we have an opportunity to review and discuss with alex. >> catie, so much to unpack. talk about the housekeeper a moment what exactly are authorities looking into in that new investigation regarding the housekeeper's death three years ago? >> reporter: well, first and foremost, craig, i think they want to figure out how she died. the coroner says there was no official autopsy done at the time of her death and that her death certificate actually cites the cause of death as being natural. that's inconsistent with someone who suffered a fall. craig? >> so many questions becky becky diamond -- catie beck, thank you. >>> turn to dylan with a check of the weather what's shaking >> t

his attorney says murdaugh was in a massive depression and want his surviving son to receive millions of dollars in life insurance. he confessed to the scheme and is cooperating with investigators. >> it was an attempt on his part to do something to protect his child. he didn't want law enforcement spending more time on this fake crime instead of focusing on solving the murders of maggie and paul. >> murdaugh's attorney insists his client did not kill his wife and son. here's katie beck. >> reporter: south carolina law enforcement announcing an arrest in the bizarre shooting that left prominent attorney alec murdaugh hospitalized. part of a plot he admitted to arguing himself. law enforcement arresting 61-year-old curtis edward smith, charging him with assisted suicide and insurance fraud. police documents revealing alec murdaugh instructed him to shoot him in the head all so his son could collect death benefits on a $10 million life insurance claim. on tuesday, police say smith admitted to being present at the shooting and disposing of the gun, adding more charges are expected police

and alex murdaugh is out of jail tonight on $20,000 bond. his lawyers say he will be going back to that rehab facility for his opioid addiction. david. >> eva pilgrim who has been following this case for us, eva, thank you. >>> when we come back tonight news this evening about convicted former police officer derek chauvin. his plea tonight in another case. >>> then later here the two people who will be hosting "jeopardy!" for the rest of the season. got a couple of bogeys on your six, limu. they need customized car insurance from liberty mutual so they only pay for what they need. what do you say we see what this bird can do? woooooooooooooo... we are not getting you a helicopter. looks like we're walking, kid. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ why hide your skin if dupixent has your moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis under control? hide our skin? not us. because dupixent targets a root cause of eczema, it helps heal your skin from within, keeping you one step ahead of it. and for kids ages 6 an

this is a horrible, horrible disease. >> murdaugh is charged with insurance fraud. his alleged accomplice is charged with assisted suicide. it comes as authorities investigate the killing of murdaugh's wife and son back in june. they're also investigating the death of murdaugh's housekeeper. >>> and turning to the weather, heavy rain triggered flash flooding around washington, d.c. and northern virginia. several people had to be rescued from their flooded vehicles, but no injuries were reported. more rain is expected today. >>> wildfires in california's sequoia national park are forcing crews to wrap some of park's giant trees in fire resistant blankets. games could endanger the ancient trees in just a matter of days. and time now for a look at your friday weather. >>> so lots of rain in the forecast across the southeast today. the heaviest will be along the gulf coast with possible flash flooding. storms are also expected in the midwest and plains and rain will move into the pacific northwest. checking today's high temperatures, 64 degrees in seattle. 70s in the no

live in hampton county, south carolina, catie beck murdaugh heading back to rehab now? >> reporter: yes, he is en route back to rehab right now, after this explosive bond hearing this afternoon, where prosecutors tried to convince the judge that murdaugh was, in fact, a flight risk they painted him as a man of means who had every reason to try to escape and should have a gps tracker put on him the judge actually disagreed with that after hearing the defense's argument was that murdaugh had a clean record, was no longer the man of means he once was and had most of his assets tied up in civil litigations and other things in the end, he is headed back to rehab. he had one opportunity to go back tonight before being keked out of the program and the judge agreed him to go there under the condition he surrender his passport and only remain at the rehab facility a number of investigations and civil litigations are pending and surrounding him. the most recent was just announced yesterday, when south carolina investigators said they are opening a death investigation into the 201

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police documents revealing alec murdaugh instructed him to shoot him in the head, even giving him the firearm to do it all so his son could collect death benefits on a $10 million life insurance claim on tuesday, police say smith admitted to being present at the shooting and disposing of the gun, adding more charges are expected police documents describe murdaugh as a codefendant. in an exclusive statement obtained by nbc newing his lawyers blame the shooting incident on people feeding his addiction to opioids, adding these individuals took advantage of his addiction and ability to pay substantial funds. for illegal drugs. one of those individuals took advantage of his mental illness and agreed to take his life by shooting him in the heady after he the shooing occurred one day after he resigned from his law firm amid accusation of financial misconduct, which authorities are looking into three months ago, murdaugh told police he found his wife and son shot on their property there have been no arrests related to their deaths. his lawyers say their client is fully cooperating with sled t

that's exactly what alex murdaugh did.e policies, home owners, excess, umbrella coverage, and i will admit liability, and in return i will give money to the estate. it never happened. he used his friend and his friend went along with it, corey fleming, and they selected a personal representative who wasn't even a family member, erin. they selected a banker who had no relationship to the family. it is uncustomary to select somebody who is not a family member to be a pr. our clients were never notified of any proceedings, of any claims made, of any settlements made. they only found out after the boating accident when reporters like you and investigators like your -- like cnn went and started inve started investigating the murdaughs. they found out that this had happened, and the newspaper article was written, and then they realized $500,000 was settled and paid in 2018 and they didn't get their money in 2020. so then they decided they had to go to a lawyer, and that's how it got to us. >> and now you realize $4 million. i me

this is a horrible, horrible disease. >> reporter: murdaugh's alleged accomplice, former client curtis edward smith, also appearing in court on multiple charges including assisted suicide. murdaugh's life coming under scrutiny after the brutal unsolved murders of his wife, maggie, and 22-year-old son, paul, this past june. >> is he moving at all, your son? >> nobody -- they're not -- neither one of them is moving. >> reporter: police have not yet identified any suspects but probes into that case now launching several other investigations, and alex murdaugh is out of jail tonight on $20,000 bond. his lawyers say he will be going back to that rehab facility for his opioid addiction. >> eva pilgrim who has been following this case for us, eva, thank you. >>> when we come back tonight, news this evening about convicted former police officer derek chauvin. his plea tonight in another case. >>> and then later here the two people who will be hosting "jeopardy!" for the rest of the season. got a couple of bogeys on your six, limu. they need customized car insurance from liberty mutual so they