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Harrowing 911 call after man finds wife and son shot dead

A harrowing phone call has been released of a dad desperately calling emergency services after finding his wife and son shot dead.

Paul Murdaugh, 22, and his 56-year-old mum, Maggie, were found shot dead near dog kennels at the family’s home near Islandton, in the US state of South Carolina, on June 7.

Alex Murdaugh, the 22-year-old’s dad, was the one who found them. A call to 911 has since been obtained by Fox News of the moment he found their bodies.

Paul Murdaugh, 22, and his 56-year-old mum, Maggie, are pictured.
Paul Murdaugh, 22, and his 56-year-old mum, Maggie, were found shot dead last month. Source: WSAV3

A woman on the line asks for the address and he provides it in a panic telling her “it’s bad”.

She asks if they are breathing and he says no. He sobs as he’s asked more questions about their condition, whether they were in a car and what colour the house is.

“Please hurry,” he says.

A dog barks in the background as he cries. She asks if his son is alive.

“Neither of them are moving,” he says.

The Murdaugh family's property.
The Murdaugh family's property where the mum and son were found dead. Source: WJCL News

He asks if paramedics are close by. She tells him they are on their way and asks him to turn the hazard lights on his car so he can be spotted.

She also asks him not to touch the bodies as police might need to gather evidence.

"I already touched them to see if they were breathing," he says.

He then tells her he has to call some family before the call ends.

Paul Murdaugh, 22, and his 56-year-old mum, Maggie, and his dad Alex.
Alex Murdaugh with his wife and son. Source: WJCL News

Paul Murdaugh was awaiting trial

The death of Murdaugh and his mum has been the source of much intrigue as he was awaiting trial on a charge of boating under the influence causing death in a February 2019 crash that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach.

It’s alleged Murdaugh was intoxicated and speeding the night Ms Beach died in a boat owned by his dad.

It took authorities seven days to find Ms Beach’s body.

The wreck led to stories questioning whether his family's ties to the legal system in the area affected the investigation.

Robert McCullough, a spokesperson for South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, told Fox News two lawyers prevented police from being able to speak to those on board the boat.

Mallory Beach, 19, is pictured.
Mallory Beach, 19, died in a boat crash. Source: Facebook/ Mallory Beach

They were named as Murdaugh’s grandfather Randolph Murdaugh III and his dad, Alex.

Mr McCullough added the lawyers' intervention made the investigation more difficult, but it's alleged the 22-year-old was driving the boat and he was intoxicated.

An unnamed source told The State newspaper, the Murdaugh family “are the law around here”.

The Murdaughs are one of South Carolina’s most prominent legal families.

There have been suggestions the deaths were targeted slayings with Murdaugh intentionally killed, while his mum was just a victim of circumstance.

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