‘I s–t a lot of people up’ when confronted over $192K theft: pal

Alex Murdaugh’s self-described best friend said that he felt “betrayed” after the disgraced scion stole $192,000 from him — and when he was confronted, his longtime pal sobbed, “I s–t you up. I s–t a lot of people up.”

Chris Wilson, Murdaugh’s law school roommate who said the fallen lawyer was “one of my best friends if not my best friend,” choked up as he testified Thursday about learning that Murdaugh had stolen the large sum, The Daily Beast reported.

“Shocked. Betrayed. Mad. I don’t know. Numb,” Wilson told jurors at the Colleton County Courthouse.

Wilson learned he had been duped after he and Murdaugh worked together on a personal injury case in early 2021. The pair won the case, and Murdaugh asked Wilson to write out his $792,000 in legal fees in three separate checks made out to him, according to The Daily Beast.

Murdaugh told his pal that he intended to purchase annuities that had been cleared by his family’s law firm, Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick [PMPED]. Wilson testified he faithfully accepted the explanation because he “trusted his friend.”

Murdaugh sent him some of the money — $600,0000 — claiming that he had “messed up” the fee structure and would pay him back so Wilson could forward the payment to his law firm.

Willson testified that he later learned that Murdaugh’s firm had been stealing money for years, the Daily Beast reported.

He said he “wanted to talk to him face-to-face,” after giving Murdaugh space after his wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, were found shot to death at the family’s hunting estate on June 7, 2021.

The morning of the murders, Jeanne Seckinger, CFO of Murdaugh’s firm, had confronted him about the $792,000 in missing client settlement money.

On Sept. 4, Wilson met Murdaugh on his front porch. He said Murdaugh “broke down crying” as he admitted to stealing money from Wilson and other clients and that he had been battling an opioid addiction for 20 years.

“I’ve s–t you up. I’m sorry. I s– you up. I s–t a lot of people up,” Murdaugh allegedly told Wilson, who added that was their final verbal conversation.

Hours later, Murdaugh attempted to stage his own shooting death, in which he hired a distant cousin, Curtis Edward Smith, to kill him so his surviving son Buster could collect $10 million in insurance cash. However, the plan failed, and the bullet only grazed his head. 

In December 2021, Murdaugh said in court that he was “embarrassed” by the failed plot and that he was in the “throes of withdrawal” from opioids at the time.

The disgraced 54-year-old heir to a powerful legal dynasty has pleaded not guilty to killing his wife and troubled son, who were found shot to death with two different weapons near the dog kennels at one of the family’s residences.

Prosecutors allege he gunned down his family to cover up his extensive financial crimes, for which he is separately facing 99 charges.

At the time Murdaugh allegedly killed his wife and son, the family was facing a lawsuit from the family of 19-year-old Mallory Beach, who died after Paul drunkenly crashed a boat into a bridge in December 2019.

Prosecutors said that a pre-trial hearing in the boat crash case, which had been scheduled to take place just three days after the murders, would have exposed Murdaugh’s criminal financial dealings — and was part of the motive that allegedly led Murdaugh to kill his wife and son.

Murdaugh’s lawyers have argued that their client is a family man who could never have killed Maggie and Paul.

Wilson testified Thursday that Murdaugh was very close to his family, with whom he had a personal relationship.

“He was not just my best friend. Our wives were close, our kids were close,” Wilson said, adding that the two spoke on the phone almost daily, according to the Daily Beast.

Murdaugh called Wilson at 9:11 p.m. on June 7 — just moments after Murdaugh allegedly gunned down his wife and son. Wilson said Murdaugh told him he was working on a broken pool pump while he and Maggie watched “The Bachelor” on the porch.

Murdaugh texted Wilson at 9:52 asking to call him if he was up. Wilson called but Murdaugh did not answer. He called him back and Murdaugh told him that he had just visited his sick mother and was driving back home.

Prosecutors said Murdaugh arrived at the home around 10:01 p.m. and called 911 at 10:06 p.m. to report that Maggie and Paul had been murdered.

Wilson testified that he was woken up that night by his wife hysterically crying after learning about their deaths.