Why did SC solicitor step away from Murdaugh murders? Who will take over next?

Charlotte Observer (NC)

In the more than two weeks since the 14th Circuit’s chief prosecutor stepped away from the Murdaugh murders investigation, no prosecutor is known to have taken over the high-profile case.

That raises questions: What prompted Solicitor Duffie Stone to recuse himself? Who will oversee the case now?

14th Circuit Solicitor Stone informed the S.C. Attorney General’s Office that he would recuse himself from prosecuting the murders of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh, “[c]onsidering the events of today in SLED’s investigation,” according to an Aug. 11 letter.

Stone declined to answer a question from a reporter Wednesday asking why he stepped aside and whether his recusal meant that the S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has focused on a suspect or suspects in the homicides — and whether that suspect posed a conflict with Stone.

Since the murders June 7, Stone had defended his role offering legal advice and “investigative support” to SLED in the unsolved murder case.

Now, nearly three months after the killings, it appears something “crystallized” for the solicitor, according to University of South Carolina law professor Rob Wilcox.

“It was certainly significant,” Wilcox, a legal ethics professor, said. “I don’t think Duffie has changed his mind. ... There has been a change of some type of determinant of his ability to stay in the case.”

Wilcox said that could be anything from the investigation expanding to “earlier events,” like the 2019 boat crash investigation, in which Stone initially recused himself, or the murder investigation turning to someone associated with the office.

According to Wilcox, prosecutors have to be sensitive to perceived conflicts of interest as well as actual conflicts.

The public, however, doesn’t know what that conflict is or what SLED discovered. The state police agency has offered little information about the killings and none whatsoever on suspects or motives. Paul, 22, and Maggie Murdaugh, 52, were both found shot to death on the night of June 7 at the family’s Colleton County estate, by reportedly two different weapons, according to sources. Alex Murdaugh, a prominent attorney and Maggie’s husband and Paul’s father, called 911 to say he’d discovered their bodies.

Who will prosecute now?

On Friday, the Attorney General’s office declined to say whether it would handle the prosecution of the Murdaugh murders in-house or hand it off to one of South Carolina’s 16 solicitors, nearly all of whose offices have substantial experience in murder cases. (“Solicitor” is South Carolina’s term for an elected prosecutor.)

Stone’s letter asked the attorney general to assume responsibility for the case.

In a response to a query by this newspaper, the Attorney General’s office also declined to reveal how many, if any, murder cases it handles each year.

The Attorney General’s office’s website does not list “homicide” as one of the crimes the office handles.

Instead, the Attorney General’s prosecutors handle cases involving securities fraud, insurance fraud, internet crimes against children, Medicaid fraud, human trafficking cases, environmental crimes and violence against women cases. There is no separate listing for “homicide.”

“I would hope the Attorney General’s office would consider passing it off to another solicitor,” said 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe, whom Wilson appointed special prosecutor in 2014 to handle public corruption cases in the General Assembly because Wilson had a potential conflict.

Pascoe said that just as heart surgery is a specialized medical practice, murder cases are a specialized area of criminal law that require a prosecutor with extensive homicide experience.

“There are many solicitors who handle many murder cases each year,” said Pascoe, mentioning Scarlett Wilson (9th Circuit), Ernest “Chip” Finney (3rd Circuit), Kevin Brackett (16th Circuit), Solicitor Rick Hubbard (11th Circuit), David Stumbo (8th Circuit) and Barry Barnett (7th Circuit).

“These are people who could walk into a courtroom and easily handle a murder case,” said Pascoe, whose office handles “dozens” of murder cases a year.

Pascoe also said it might be advisable for the Attorney General’s office to consult with State Law Enforcement Chief Mark Keel on choosing a prosecutor.

In addition to handling the investigation into the Murdaugh murders, Keel as SLED chief has experience with prosecutors all over the state, Pascoe said.

“I would think the Attorney General is seeking the advice of Chief Keel as well,” said Pascoe, who has worked with SLED and Keel on various criminal cases over the years.

Keel this week declined to comment on all aspects of the Murdaugh case.

The recusal

The work done by Alex Murdaugh, as well as Paul’s grandfather, former solicitor Randolph Murdaugh, for the Solicitor’s Office was the reason Solicitor Stone recused himself from the investigation of a fatal boat crash in 2019. Paul Murdaugh was subsequently indicted on charges of felony boating under the influence resulting in death.

Some questioned why Stone recused himself immediately after the boat crash but not immediately after the double homicide. Stone said it was because there weren’t any suspects identified, unlike the boat crash, where it was clear afterwards that Paul Murdaugh would be implicated.

“I see nothing similar at all in those two situations,” Professor Gregory Adams, also with the University of South Carolina law school and an expert on legal ethics, said.

Stone said this week that he came to his decision after speaking with Adams, his former law school professor, and has been in constant contact with him since the double homicide.

In an interview, Adams declined to share the content of those conversations.

Adams said Stone would have considered questions like, “Is his relationship with members of the Murdaugh family such that his judgment, his zeal in prosecuting a murder case, involving the murder of two members of that family — is that likely to be affected?”