Judge revokes bond for alleged Murdaugh conspirator

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - A man accused of attempting to shoot prominent former Lowcountry attorney Alex Murdaugh last Labor Day weekend is back behind bars.

Judge Clifton Newman decided to revoke bond for Curtis Eddie Smith.

The bond hearing related to charges from a June 23 state grand jury indictment for Smith that included four counts of money laundering, three counts of forgery and criminal conspiracy. That same indictment also included charges against Murdaugh, according to court documents.

Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters argued Smith had violated his house arrest and misrepresented how much money he had at his prior bond hearing.

Waters claims Smith had nearly $80,000 in his bank account when he told the judge he didn’t have any money.

The defense claims they didn’t mean to misrepresent and Smith is using the money from a settlement check to pay off debts

He was previously indicted on charges of pointing and presenting a firearm, conspiracy, assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, and false claim for payment in what prosecutors called an insurance fraud scheme. Investigators say Murdaugh allegedly provided Smith with a gun and directed Smith to shoot him in the head for the purpose of causing Murdaugh’s death and allowing for the payment of a stated “death benefit beneficiary;” state investigators say Murdaugh provided a statement to SLED admitting to the scheme of having Smith murder him for the purpose of his surviving son collecting a life insurance policy.

But Smith, 61, has maintained he knew nothing about the plot. Smith told CBS’s “48 Hours” his side of the story about the Sept. 4, 2021, incident in which Murdaugh claimed he had been shot along a Hampton County road.

Smith said Murdaugh, whom he described as being like a brother to him, called him on Sept. 4 claiming he needed Smith’s help. Smith said he didn’t think twice before heading to the Hampton County road to meet him. But he said that when he arrived, Murdaugh emerged from his car holding a gun.

“He said, ‘You know, you got to take care of this.’ And I said, ‘Well, I can’t do it.’ And he took it, he turned his head. I just grabbed his arm, put it behind his head and took the gun from him,” Smith said.

Smith claims that during a struggle, the gun went off. Then, he said he disposed of the weapon.

At the end of the hearing Thursday afternoon, Smith was handcuffed and led out of the courtroom.

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