Former South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) investigator Ryan Kelly was fired from his position as chief inspector for the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office on June 8, the agency confirmed to Fox News Digital.Kelly oversaw the sheriff’s office’s Office of Professional Standards, which handles internal affairs matters.His termination followed allegations of harassment and improper conduct.Kelly was previously a key SLED agent during the high-profile investigations involving Alex Murdaugh.His firing comes ahead of Murdaugh’s anticipated retrial and could raise questions about past evidence and investigative work tied to cases in which Kelly played a role.ALEX MURDAUGH MURDER SAGA LANDS RIGHT BACK WHERE IT STARTED BEFORE NEXT LOWCOUNTRY COURTROOM BATTLEProsecutor Savanna Goude questions SLED agent Ryan Kelly during the Alex Murdaugh trial at the Colleton County Courthouse on Monday, Feb.
13, 2023.(Grace Beahm Alford/Pool)Asked whether Kelly’s termination could affect the upcoming retrial, Murdaugh’s lead defense attorney, Dick Harpootlian, declined to comment.FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X"Not at this time," Harpootlian told Fox News Digital.ALEX MURDAUGH'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY EXPLAINS WHY HE THINKS THE DISGRACED LAWYER IS INNOCENT, WILL GET A NEW TRIALAlex Murdaugh is led into the Colleton County courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., on Feb.
28, 2023.He is on trial for the double slaying of his son, Paul, and wife, Maggie, in June 2021.
(Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTERDuring Murdaugh’s initial 2023 trial, Kelly testified about the September 2021 roadside shooting in which Murdaugh initially claimed he had been shot by an unknown assailant while changing a tire.Kelly, then a SLED senior special agent, was the lead investigator on that incident.Prosecutors used the episode to show jurors what they described as Murdaugh’s pattern of deception after the murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul.SEND US A TIP ...