Alex Murdaugh Wanted His Distant Cousin, Curtis ‘Eddie’ Smith, to Kill Him in 2021 – But the Suicide-for-Hire Attempt Was Unsuccessful

The second season of Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal was released on September 20 and is giving fans a deeper look at the crimes committed by Alex Murdaugh – more specifically, the murders of his son Paul, 22, and wife Margaret, 52, in 2021. The true crime docuseries is definitely worth the watch. 

In one of its newest episodes, one of Alex Murdaugh’s distant cousins – Curtis ‘Eddie’ Smith – detailed an alleged suicide-for-hire plot he was involved in just a few months after Murdaugh murdered his family. It was previously reported that Alex asked Eddie to kill him so his son could collect a life insurance policy.

Alex previously alleged that Eddie shot him, but the bullet only grazed his head and left him with a ‘superficial’ head wound – but no severe injuries. The alleged scheme resulted in both Alex and Eddie being arrested on September 14, 2021 and were both indicted by a grand jury on November 4, 2021.

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Of course, Curtis ‘Eddie’ Smith says that’s not what happened and is now telling his side of the story in the new season of Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal. According to Eddie, he never shot Alex in the head and his head injury was, instead, a result of Alex falling and hitting his head on a pile of rocks. 

It all went down on the morning of September 4, when Alex Murdaugh called Curtis ‘Eddie’ Smith and asked him to meet him at a nearby funeral home. Not knowing what Murdaugh wanted, Smith obliged and met Alex that morning. Smith described Murdaugh as paranoid when he arrived at the funeral home. 

Murdaugh pulled the sun visor around his vehicle and rolled the window up to ensure no one could see him while he talked to Eddie. “I don’t need to be seen in town. I’m being watched,” Murdaugh said when asked what was going on. He said he was being watched due to the murders of his wife and son. 

Smith asked Murdaugh what happened the night of the murders, to which Murdaugh replied, “Things just got all f—– up.” Murdaugh then asked Smith if he loved him – he replied that he loved Alex like a brother and would do anything for him. That’s when Murdaugh asked Smith to kill him – right then and there.

Eddie Smith Says He Never Shot Alex Murdaugh

This is where things get interesting. “Ain’t happenin’. Not today, not tomorrow, it ain’t happenin’,” Smith said when asked to shoot and kill Alex Murdaugh – someone he had known for four decades. Murdaugh said that he would have to do it himself before driving off in his truck – but Smith decided to follow him. 

Concerned about what Murdaugh would do next, Smith eventually caught up to Murdaugh – who had pulled over to the side of the street. Murdaugh then approached Smith with a gun in his hand, but Smith wasn’t having any of it – he wanted to scare his cousin straight, so Smith fired one bullet into the air. 

The bullet allegedly never hit Murdaugh, but Smith admits that Murdaugh fell as a result – which is when he injured his head. When Smith asked Murdaugh why he wanted to be killed, Murdaugh said ‘they knew I’d be responsible because they’ll gone be able to prove that I was responsible for Maggie and Paul.’

“I knew I hadn’t shot him. I knew there weren’t no blood on him, there was no blood on me. So I went home,” Smith said in the doc. Of course, that’s not the story Alex Murdaugh told authorities. He told them he had a flat tire and was shot at by a man in a pickup truck. Alex and Eddie were arrested 10 days later. 

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As of today, Smith has yet to enter a plea after being arrested and indicted for his involvement in the suicide-for-hire plot. He’s currently facing charges of presenting a firearm, conspiracy, assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and false claim for payment.