A once prominent and influential South Carolina legal dynasty ends after years of financial crimes, cover-ups, suspicious deaths and the double murder of a mother and son at the hands of the head of the family, Alex Murdaugh.
On March 2, Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his wife, Maggie, 52, and their younger son, Paul, 22 in the family’s rural estate on June 7, 2021.
The murder investigation was the result of a suspicious 911 call made by Mr. Murdaugh on the night of the murders. He called to report the shootings of his wife and son, saying he found them dead near the dog kennels on their family’s estate.
Murdaugh attempted to cover up his crimes with stories that he had left the dog kennels — where the murders had occurred — several minutes before the shootings. His claims were rejected when a minute-long video captured by Paul Murdaugh, in his last living moments, captured his father’s voice in the background. This video inadvertently helped secure the conviction of Alex Murdaugh.
This comes after a series of financial and heinous crimes were found to be tied back to the family. These were referenced as stressors leading to Murdaugh’s motive in the slaying of his family. Murdaugh, who had a proven substantial opioid addiction, committed several financial crimes in order to sustain his addiction which was sometimes costing him upwards of $10,000 a week.
Prosecutors argued that Murdaugh committed the killings in a failed effort to cover up his long-time embezzlement and prevent himself from being exposed.
Murdaugh, who had raked up millions in genuine income while serving as a lawyer in his family’s law firm, had embezzled money from the company and defrauded clients. Murdaugh also had aspirations of following in the footsteps of the three generations of top-region prosecutors before him but was never able to reach that level of accreditation or stardom.
Here is a timeline of events related to the case:
July 8, 2015: The body of Stephen Smith, 19, was found and ruled as a hit and run by the police, but his family still had lingering questions.
Feb. 26, 2018: Gloria Satterfield, 57, who had served as the family’s housekeeper and nanny for about a quarter-century, died two weeks after reportedly falling down the stairs of the family’s hunting property.
Feb. 19, 2019: Paul Murdaugh (now-deceased) drunkenly crashed the family boat into a bridge at the age of 19. Witnesses confirmed that several passengers were ejected from the boat and sent into the water from the crash. One of the passengers, Mallory Beach, 19, was found a week later. Her family later sued the Murdaugh’s, bringing pressure on them to reveal the details of their finances.
April 18, 2019: Paul Murdaugh was charged with three felony counts in connection to the deadly boat crash.
June 7, 2021: Alex Murdaugh reports the shootings of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, in a call to 911.
June 22, 2021: Officials announced they would reopen the cases involving the suspicious death of Stephen Smith back in 2015. This was based on information gathered during the murder investigation of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.
Sept. 3, 2021: Murdaugh was forced to resign from his family law firm after his partners accused him of misusing millions of dollars of both client and firm money.
Sept. 4, 2021: Murdaugh reports to 911 that he had been shot in the head on the side of the road. He claimed the shooter approached him as he inspected a “flat tire.” Murdaugh survived his head wound.
Sept. 6, 2021: Murdaugh’s lawyer released a statement saying he made decisions he regretted and was entering a rehab program.
Sept. 14, 2021: Murdaugh admitted he had asked former client, Curtis Edward Smith, to shoot and kill him on Sept. 4, so his surviving son, Buster, could collect a $10 million insurance payment.
Sept. 15, 2021: Police officials announced the investigation into the 2018 death of Gloria Satterfield. Her family filed a lawsuit against Murdaugh alleging they pocketed settlement funds relating to her death.
Sept. 16, 2021: Murdaugh was arrested and charged with fraud and conspiracy in the suicide scheme.
Oct. 14, 2021: Murdaugh was brought up on additional charges for his financial crimes against the Satterfield family.
July 14, 2022: Murdaugh was indicted on murder charges against his family’s murder.
Jan. 23, 2023: Murdaugh’s murder trial began.
March 2, 2023: Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering his wife and son and sentenced to life in prison.
