Detective in Alex Murdaugh case crashes SUV, killing 3-year-old daughter

A South Carolina detective who played a key role in the Alex Murdaugh double murder investigation crashed his SUV into a tree, killing his 3-year-old daughter, his sheriff’s office announced with “great sorrow.”

Detective Sgt. Daniel Greene’s 3-year-old daughter, Carter Greene, was pronounced dead Sunday at the Medical University of South Carolina following the single-car crash, the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) said Tuesday.

Greene was off-duty but driving his county-issued SUV when it left the road and collided with a tree around 11:30 a.m., the office explained.

Greene, his wife and another child also suffered severe but non-life-threatening injuries.

Little Carter Greene — the officer’s daughter with his former wife, Ashley Taylor Greene — was flown to the hospital but could not be saved due to “the severity of her injuries,” the sheriff’s office said.

The CCSO veteran was one of the first local officers at the scene of the June 2021 shooting deaths of Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and her son Paul, 22, on their family’s Moselle estate, the Greenville News reported.

Detective Sgt. Daniel Greene with Carter Greene. — Detective Sgt. Daniel Greene’s 3-year-old daughter, Carter Greene, was pronounced dead on Sunday after the crash.

Chief prosecuting attorney Creighton Waters, left, asks Daniel Greene, a sergeant with the Colleton County Sheriff's Office to identify the 12-gauge shotgun presented as evidence. — Greene (right) testified at Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial earlier this year.

He later testified and helped convict husband and father Alex Murdaugh of the brutal slayings, the outlet said.

The disgraced attorney is serving two consecutive life sentences and faces additional proceedings for a slew of financial crimes.

Greene was not on duty at the time of the tragic accident, according to the CCSO. A day after the accident, he updated his Facebook profile photo to an image of him and his dead daughter.

The dead girl’s mom — who now also uses the last name Wiggins — also shared a heartbreaking Facebook tribute early Thursday.

Greene and his current wife. — Greene and his wife were also injured in the accident.

Carter Greene. — Carter’s mother, Ashley Taylor Greene, posted a heartbreaking tribute on Facebook on Thursday.

Alex Murdaugh in cuffs and a prison jumpsuit in court. — Murdaugh is serving two consecutive life sentences for gunning down his wife and son.

“I’ll never understand why you had to leave us, or how we’re supposed to live this life without you. I am so lost without you and I am so angry,” she wrote alongside a photo of her daughter smiling at the beach.

“This will never make sense to me. You were taken from me way too soon. God knows I need you here. I just wish I could hear you say ‘I love you more’ one more time, and give you all the bear hugs in the world.”