The mysterious double murder, which is later linked to two other suspicious deaths, takes another bizarre turn

A MYSTERIOUS double homicide that was later linked to two other suspicious deaths has taken another bizarre turn.

Alex Murdaugh — a suspended South Carolina attorney accused of a range of felonies — is facing additional charges including drug trafficking.

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The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office announced Tuesday that Murdaugh, 63, and Curtis Smith, 62, have been charged with two counts of trafficking oxycodone.

It is alleged that Smith – a distant cousin of Murdaugh – also helped with Alex’s failed suicide attempt last September.

Smith also faces money laundering, counterfeiting and additional drug trafficking charges.

Murdaugh and Smith were accused of committing hundreds of illegal transactions with the help of others in several South Carolina counties between 2013 and 2021 “to facilitate the acquisition and distribution of illegally obtained narcotics.”

They are also said to have conspired to commit financial crimes together over the same period after Murdaugh allegedly provided Smith with over 300 checks totaling $2.4 million.

“Murdaugh drew the checks against accounts under his control at multiple banks and made the checks payable to various versions of Smith’s name and Smith’s close associates,” the indictment said.

“In some cases, Smith forged confirmations from his close associates without their knowledge or consent, and then certified the checks himself.

“In each case, Smith cashed the checks into cash or deposits. Murdaugh and Smith structured many of these transactions and used them to facilitate the acquisition and distribution of illegally obtained narcotics.”

Prosecutors allege Smith shot and killed Murdaugh in a failed suicide attempt to claim a $10 million insurance payout for his son, Buster.

The alleged suicide attempt came months after Murdaugh’s wife, Margaret, and their other son, Paul, were found dead outside their sprawling estate.

Murdaugh called police on September 4, 2021 and said he was shot in the head by an unidentified truck driver on a country road.

But days later, he admitted to police that Smith shot him at his behest in order to stage his own murder-suicide.

He was soon put into rehab for opioid addiction.

Smith has vehemently denied Murdaugh’s version of events, claiming he was “rigged up” and denied allegations that he was the suspended attorney’s drug dealer.

Since his arrest for the failed suicide, Murdaugh has faced 16 charges before a grand jury, including 81 counts of financial crimes, for allegedly stealing more than $8 million from clients and his former law firm, according to Yahoo News.

Murdaugh was also accused of diverting millions of dollars into a secret bank account stemming from a wrongful death settlement intended for the sons of his former housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.

Satterfield died in a fall on the disgraced lawyer’s home in 2018, and Murdaugh reportedly coordinated with her family to “sue herself to seek an insurance settlement.”

The housekeeper’s two sons insist they didn’t receive a penny of the $4.3 million payout.

Murdaugh has also been implicated in other investigations, including allegations that he conspired to influence an investigation into a 2019 drunk boating accident involving his late son Paul, which killed a young girl.

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