Case File: Alex Murdaugh

Richard “Alex” Murdaugh was born into South Carolina's Lowcountry royalty. For generations, the Murdaugh dynasty had wielded significant legal and political power in the region, thanks to their positions as solicitors (the local version of District Attorney) and their prominent family law firm. Seen by many in the community as gatekeepers of justice, the Murdaughs were well-connected and highly influential. 

Alex and Maggie were college sweethearts and had two sons, Richard, nicknamed “Buster,” and Paul. They appeared to be a loving and accomplished family, but there were cracks beneath the surface. Some considered the Murdaughs haughty, arrogant and well aware of their family’s power. A sentiment that came to a head in February 2019, when their younger son Paul became embroiled in tragedy. After a night of underage drinking, Paul and five friends got into a boat crash that resulted in the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach. 

According to those involved, the Murdaugh family swept in in an attempt to hide the fact that Paul had been driving the boat at the time of the accident. The case roiled the community, already familiar with Paul’s reckless behavior, and many were convinced that the Murdaughs’ influence in legal circles made it unlikely that Paul would be held accountable for his actions. Paul was eventually arraigned on felony charges stemming from the case. However, he was still awaiting trial three years later at the time of his murder. Alex got involved in an ongoing civil lawsuit for negligence brought by Mallory Beach’s family. This case could prove to be financially ruinous if successful. 

Shortly after 10:00 p.m. on June 7, 2021, Alex called 911, claiming to have found the bodies of Maggie and Paul near the dog kennels on the family’s vast, rural hunting estate, Moselle. When local law enforcement arrived, they learned that both had been killed execution-style, Paul shot with a shotgun, and Maggie with a rifle. In his initial interviews, Alex claimed he’d had dinner with Maggie and Paul, but that the pair had left the house before Alex went to visit his mother who lived nearby around 9:00 p.m. Alex said when he’d returned home about an hour later and found the house empty, he drove down to the kennels where he discovered the bodies. 

The murders shook the close-knit community. Some were convinced that Paul was the target, a form of vigilante retribution for Beach’s death. But those involved in the crash and their families were investigated and quickly ruled out as suspects. 

Meanwhile, law enforcement turned its attention to Alex thanks to inconsistencies in his stories, including the fact that he claimed to have tried to revive both victims, but his clothes and body showed no traces of blood when police arrived on the scene. 

The case took another shocking turn three months later when Alex reported that he had been shot in the head while changing a tire on the road. But under questioning, Alex admitted he had hired a former client, Curtis “Eddie” Smith, to kill him as part of a scheme to ensure that his surviving son, Buster, could claim a $10 million life insurance policy. 

Smith and Alex were arrested, but Smith denied playing any role in the scheme. Investigators learned that the day before the alleged shooting, Alex had been fired by the family law firm over charges that he’d stolen money from both the firm and its clients. Alex then announced plans to enter rehab for what he described as a decades-long battle with opioid addiction. 

Then came another stunning revelation. In 2018, the family’s longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, had a fatal fall at the hunting lodge, reportedly tripping up the steps to the home. After Satterfield’s funeral, Alex approached her sons to insist they file a wrongful death lawsuit against him to secure a payout from his insurance company, therefore providing financial support. They agreed, but it was later revealed that Alex embezzled the more than $4 million payout. In October 2021, he was arrested and charged in relation to the Satterfield case, and by the end of the year, he’d been implicated in dozens of other fraud cases. 

In July 2022, Alex was indicted for the double homicide of Maggie and Paul.

Although the murder weapon was never found, prosecutors argued that Murdaugh would have had easy access to the firearms from the large collection at the hunting lodge. They stated that the timing of the murders was deliberate. Just days later, Paul’s first hearings in the boat accident case were due to begin, which may have provided additional information about his role in the accident that could be used in the civil negligence lawsuit against Alex. Highlighting his financial deceit and spiraling professional life, prosecutors alleged that Alex hoped to gain sympathy and stop the legal proceedings in the case. 

They challenged the timeline he had provided, and a key witness testified that Alex had spent just 20 minutes at his mother's house that night and returned home with more than enough time to commit the two murders, with Paul being killed first and Maggie shot after she rushed to her son’s defense. 

Prosecutors argued that a key piece of evidence from Paul proved conclusive. In a cell phone video taken by Paul that night, he, Maggie and a third person were recorded at the kennels. Multiple witnesses stated that the third voice was Alex, placing him at the scene just moments before the killings.

The case made international news, and a packed courtroom listened in as Alex took the stand in his own defense. He admitted to lying to investigators about his whereabouts on the night of the murders, but continued to deny killing his family. His defense team argued that the evidence was circumstantial and did not definitively prove guilt. 

On March 2, 2023, after nearly six weeks of testimony and less than three hours of jury deliberation, Alex was found guilty of both murders. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.

Following his conviction, the floodgates opened on Alex’s other alleged misdeeds. He was accused of embezzling over $8 million from clients. The case also revived attention to the unsolved death of Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old whose body had been found in a rural road in 2015. Initially ruled a hit-and-run, Smith’s family and friends insist that the teen was murdered, possibly for his open sexuality, which made him an easy target in the conservative community. At the time of his death, rumors swirled about the possible involvement of either Buster or Paul in his death, another example of a potential cover-up by the Murdaugh family. 

After the murders of Maggie and Paul, state investigators reopened the Smith case, citing new evidence uncovered during the Murdaugh investigation. Though no charges have been filed, renewed forensic testing and public interest have given the case fresh momentum.

The Murdaugh case captivated the nation and was the subject of numerous documentaries, podcasts and films. The ever-twisting southern Gothic saga captivated viewers fascinated by the dramatic fall from grace of the Murdaugh family. It revealed the dark underside of a world of unchecked power and entrenched privilege, where even the most respected figures can harbor deadly secrets.