Alex Murdaugh told a 911 dispatcher moments after he says he discovered the bodies of two murdered family members that his son Paul had been receiving threats “for months” over a fatal boat crash.
The unredacted 911 call was played on Thursday at Mr Murdaugh’s trial in Colleton County Court in South Carolina for the murder of Maggie, 52, and Paul, 22, in June 2021.
Mr Murdaugh, 54, can be heard telling the operator that his son Paul had been involved in a fatal boat crash and had been getting threats “for months and months and months.”
Speaking in a high, agitated voice, he says he is going back to his house to get a gun “just in case”.
The dispatcher asks if it appears that they shot themselves, and Mr Murdaugh replies: “Hell no. They’re shot really bad... there’s blood everywhere.”
Earlier, the first officer to arrive at the scene testified that he arrived to find Mr Murdaugh upset but not crying when he arrived about 20 minutes after the 911 call was placed.
Sgt Daniel Greene told the court that Mr Murdaugh “immediately” suggested that his wife and son had been murdered because of a 2019 fatal boat crash that claimed the life of 19-year-old Mallory Beach.
Mr Greene said he arrived to find Mr Murdaugh talking on the phone near to the bodies.
“He was upset, but I didn’t see any visible tears,” Mr Greene said.
Prior to his death, Paul Murdaugh was charged with felony boating under the influence after investigators said he was driving a boat that crashed and killed Beach.
Alex Murdaugh has pleaded not guilty to the murders of his wife and son. He also faces dozens of charges related to the embezzlement of millions of dollars of client and partner funds, and trying commit suicide by hitman so his surviving son could collect a $10m life insurance policy.
