On June 7, 2021, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division officers responded to a late-night 911 call reporting the deaths of two people at a home near Islandton, South Carolina.
The bodies of Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22, were discovered on the family’s 1,770-acre hunting lodge property.
Maggie’s husband Alex Murdaugh, who was 53 at the time, and his son Richard, a.k.a. Buster, both members of the prominent Murdaugh family who had been practising law in South Carolina since 1910, survived the couple. Also, the family has worked as 14th Judicial Circuit solicitors for more than 86 years, through three generations.
Police said Paul was awaiting trial in relation to a boat accident that killed a 19-year-old woman in 2019.
According to internet records, Paul, then 20 years old, was detained in April of that year and eventually charged with one count of boating under the influence (BUI) causing death and two counts of inflicting serious bodily injury.
Paul, who was allegedly intoxicated, went behind the wheel of a boat with five passengers after attending a gathering on Parris Island that February, according to court documents, WSAV said. The boat slammed into a bridge piling at around two in the morning. 19-year-old Mallory Beach was ejected from the boat. After a week, her body was discovered.
Paul pleaded not guilty in May 2019. Upon posting a $50,000 bond, he was freed. No scheduled trial date exists.
Alex’s brothers went on Good Morning America a few days after the killings and said that Paul
June 10, 2021: Randolph Murdaugh III dies at 81
Three days after the passing of Maggie and Paul, the family experienced yet another tragedy with the passing of the father, renowned local prosecutor Randolph Murdaugh III, age 81, according to his now-defunct legal practise, Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick (PMPED).
Sept. 4, 2021: Alex Murdaugh is shot and survives
News that Alex had been shot in Hampton County, South Carolina, broke on September 4, 2021.
He was reportedly driven to an ambulance by an unnamed good Samaritan, where EMTs started treating him and requested a helicopter to fly Alex to a hospital.
Alex sustained “an entry and exit wound, a skull fracture, and minimal brain bleeding in two spots,” according to Griffin, who spoke to PEOPLE. He added that the gunshot wound was not self-inflicted at the time.
Speaking on behalf of the SLED (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division), Tommy Crosby told PEOPLE that “agents are actively investigating the event” and that it was a “attempted murder.”
“He was shot in the head while he was changing a tire,” Alex’s attorney Jim Griffin confirmed to PEOPLE. “He is conscious and talking, which is a very good sign.”
The SLED informed PEOPLE that Alex’s injuries were “superficial” two days later when he issued a statement announcing his decision to leave Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick and seek treatment after leaving the hospital.
“The murders of my wife and son have caused an incredibly difficult time in my life,” he said in the statement, which was obtained by The Island Packet. “I have made a lot of decisions that I truly regret. I’m resigning from my law firm and entering rehab after a long battle that has been exacerbated by these murders.”
“I am immensely sorry to everyone I’ve hurt, including my family, friends and colleagues,” he continued. “I ask for prayers as I rehabilitate myself and my relationships.”
Sept. 7, 2021: Alex Murdaugh accused of stealing $1 million from law firm
On September 7, 2021, PEOPLE reported that Alex’s legal team had questioned him about missing money on September 3 before informing criminal enforcement and the South Carolina Bar Association, according to The Island Packet. This is when the story took a new turn. After being questioned, Alex informed his lawyer that he would quit after a source told the publication that more than $1 million was gone.
The following day, Alex was shot, and representatives of his legal team went to the scene to give authorities information about the missing funds.
“This is disappointing news for all of us,” PMPED said in a statement obtained by the Island Packet, noting that the firm had cut all ties with Alex. “Rest assured that our firm will deal with this in a straightforward manner. There’s no place in our firm for such behavior.”
In a statement, Attorney Jim Griffin told PEOPLE that “Alex resigned from the firm after being accused of diverting lawyer fees. These allegations prompted him to confront his dependency and he voluntarily checked into an in-patient substance abuse rehab facility after being discharged from the hospital Monday.”
The South Carolina Supreme Court temporarily suspended Alex’s law licence on September 8.
The South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division reported on September 13 that it had begun an investigation into claims that Alex had stolen money from his law company less than a week later.
Sept. 8, 2021: Randolph “Randy” Murdaugh IV releases a statement
In September 2021, Randolph “Randy” Murdaugh IV, Alex’s elder brother, stepped forth to speak out against his brother’s allegedly criminal behaviour in the midst of the news.
Randy stated in a statement received by PEOPLE: “I was startled, just like the rest of my PMPED family, to discover of my brother, Alex’s, drug addiction and stealing of money.” Randy was speaking out for the first time since Alex quit PMPED after partners accused him of stealing money.
“I love my law firm, family, and also love Alex as my brother,” Randy wrote. “While I will support him in his recovery, I do not support, condone, or excuse his conduct in stealing by manipulating his most trusted relationships.”
Sept. 15, 2021: Authorities reveal Alex Murdaugh arranged his own shooting
There was a shocking development in Alex’s shooting case on September 15, 2021. Police claim he made an effort to have his shooting death prearranged so that his son who survived would earn $10 million in life insurance.
On September 15, 2021, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division detained Curtis Edward Smith (pictured), the man Alex is alleged to have hired to kill him. Smith was charged with assisted suicide, assault and battery of a highly aggravated nature, pointing and brandishing a firearm, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
The arrest complaint for Smith, which PEOPLE received, claims that Alex and Smith, who was 61 at the time, planned to shoot Smith. He allegedly gave Smith a gun and told him to shoot the man in the head.
On September 13, 2021, Alex admitted to the scam, and the next day, Smith acknowledged his involvement. On September 15, Alex’s attorney Dick Harpootlian confirmed the story on Today and claimed that Alex’s opioid addiction and melancholy as a result of his wife and son’s killings in June 2021 were what inspired him to come up with the plan.
Alex “clearly knew what he’s done was wrong,” Harpootlian told Today. Harpootlian added that at the time of the Sept. 4, 2021, shooting, Alex was in “a massive depression” and was in withdrawal from opioids.
Harpootlian told Today his client wanted his son to claim life insurance monies but “believed that $10 million policy had a suicide exclusion,” not realizing the exclusion had expired.
“It was an attempt on his part to do something to protect his child,” Harpootlian continued.
“On Sept. 4, it became clear Alex believed that ending his life was his only option. Today, he knows that’s not true. For the last 20 years, there have been many people feeding his addiction to opioids,” read the statement obtained by PEOPLE.
“During that time, these individuals took advantage of his addiction and his ability to pay substantial funds for illegal drugs. One of those individuals,” the statement alleged, “took advantage of his mental illness and agreed to take Alex’s life by shooting him in the head.”
Sept. 15, 2021: Alex Murdaugh arrested in his own shooting
According to Alex’s lawyers, they were informed of the arrest order for him and that he intended to turn himself in the next day.
As promised, Alex arrived at the Hampton County Law Enforcement Center in an SUV on September 16, 2021, and gave himself in.
Soon after, the state’s top law enforcement agency, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, declared that it had detained Alex “in connection to a shooting incident on September 4 in which he conspired with Curtis Edward Smith to assist him in committing suicide for the express purpose of allowing a beneficiary to collect life insurance.”
Alex was accused of filing a fraudulent police report, conspiring to commit insurance fraud, and engaging in insurance fraud.
“I can assure you that SLED agents will continue working to bring justice to anyone involved with any criminal act associated with these ongoing investigations,” said SLED Chief Mark Keel in the release. “The arrests in this case are only the first step in that process.”
Sept. 15, 2021: The 2018 death of housekeeper Gloria Satterfield is investigated
Alex was having legal issues when the matter took a fresh turn.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division announced on September 15, 2021, that it was starting an investigation into the death of Gloria Satterfield, the Murdaughs’ housekeeper, who passed away in 2018 following what was initially thought to have been a trip-and-fall accident at the family’s Hampton, South Carolina, home, which has since been sold.
Coroner findings about Satterfield’s death were inconsistent, according to SLED officials. In 2018, neither an autopsy nor a report of the differences to the coroner were made.
Except for a 911 call made two months after the alleged fall, no information has been provided about Satterfield’s alleged fall.
According to court records acquired by PEOPLE, Satterfield’s sons sued Alex and others on September 15, 2021, asserting that they never got an insurance reimbursement for their mother’s passing.
Michael “Tony” Satterfield and Brian Harriott, the plaintiffs’ sons, claim that Alex approached them after their mother passed away. They contend Alex instructed them to sue him.
The lawsuit claims that Alex personally referred the sons to Cory Fleming, a lawyer, and suggested that he defend them in the case.
Alex did not disclose at the time that Fleming had been his college roommate and was the godfather to one of his sons, the lawsuit alleges.
According to the complaint, Alex’s insurance company agreed to a partial settlement of the claims associated with
According to court records acquired by PEOPLE, Satterfield’s sons sued Alex and others on September 15, 2021, asserting that they never got an insurance reimbursement for their mother’s passing.
Michael “Tony” Satterfield and Brian Harriott, the plaintiffs’ sons, claim that Alex approached them after their mother passed away. They contend Alex instructed them to sue him.
The lawsuit claims that Alex personally referred the sons to Cory Fleming, a lawyer, and suggested that he defend them in the case.
The lawsuit claims that Alex failed to disclose that Fleming had been his college roommate and the godfather of one of his sons at the time.
The complaint argues that Alex’s insurance provider consented to a partial settlement of the claims related to
Sept. 16, 2021: Alex Murdaugh appears in court
Alex appeared in Hampton County magistrate court in Varnville, South Carolina, for his arraignment and bond hearing shortly after his arrest.
During the hearing, Alex’s attorney, Dick Harpootlian, told the Hampton County judge that his client “has fallen from grace,” but that “before any of that falling happened, his wife and son were brutally murdered, and that has had an extraordinary effect on him.”
“We’d ask you to allow him to go and help heal himself,” Harpootlian said, standing beside a tearful Alex.
The judge determined that Alex was not a danger to the community and granted him a $20,000 bond — $10,000 for insurance fraud, $5,000 for conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, and $5,000 for filing a false police report.
Oct. 13, 2021: Alex Murdaugh is revealed to be a person of interest in murders of his wife and son
“SLED has said from the get-go that Alex was a person of interest,” Griffin told the station.
Despite the revelation, Griffin insisted to Fox Carolina that his client was visiting his mother, who has dementia, at the time of the murders. “He had no motive to kill them,” Griffin told the station.
“You would think that if Alex was the one who did it, that SLED would have been able to establish that pretty easily that night,” Griffin continued. “You would think they would have searched his house and found blood somewhere. You would think they would have found the murder weapons on the property. You would think they would come up with something to link Alex to the murders, forensically or independent evidence. To my knowledge, they have not done that.”
Oct. 14, 2021: Alex Murdaugh is arrested on new charges
Authorities announced that Alex was arrested again on Oct. 14, 2021, and charged with misappropriating insurance settlement funds in the wrongful death suit that followed the alleged trip-and-fall death of his longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.
Agents from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement apprehended Alex as he was leaving an Orlando drug rehabilitation facility.
He was charged with two felony counts of obtaining property through deception.
“Alex intends to fully cooperate with this investigation, as he has with the investigation into the murder of his wife and son,” his attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin said in a statement to PEOPLE. “He deeply regrets that his actions have distracted from the efforts to solve their murders.”
Oct. 14, 2021: Medical records disprove Alex Murdaugh was struck by bullet
“I shoved [the gun] up behind him, between me and him. And it went off.”
Curtis Smith, the man accused of assisting with Alex’s botched suicide plot, claimed on Oct. 14, 2021, the same day of Alex’s second arrest, that Alex was never actually struck by a bullet.
Smith stated on Today that he “didn’t shoot” Alex over the Labor Day weekend.
Smith claimed that Alex had asked him to meet him on a rural road in Hampton on September 4, 2021.
He claimed that when he got there, Alex was holding a gun. “‘Are you going to shoot me?’ said [Alex]. “I said ‘No.'” Smith stated. “‘Well, you’ve got to do it,’ he said. And he made this move, and I simply grabbed his arm.
Smith then stated that he was “1,000%” certain that the bullet did not strike either of them.
In response to Smith’s claims, Alex released medical records revealing that he was shot in the back of the head — but only peripherally.
On Sept. 4, 2021, at 5:34 p.m., a “head-to-toe examination” at Memorial Health in Savannah, GA, where Alex was admitted to the ICU on the trauma list, “revealed two superficial appearing bullet wounds to the posterior scalp with no active haemorrhage,” the chief resident in the Department of General Surgery wrote in an addendum.
The bleeding from “two wounds to the back of the patient’s head” had stopped by the time Alex was airlifted from Hampton, S.C., where the shooting had occurred, to Savannah, GA.
Alex’s spokesperson stated in an email regarding the documents on Oct. 15, 2021, “Other than providing these records, we will not be offering any other comments at this time.”
Nov. 18, 2021: Grand jury charges Alex Murdaugh with 27 counts of financial misconduct
Alex was charged with 27 counts of financial misconduct by a grand jury on November 18, 2021.
According to the November indictments, Alex stole money from his clients, other lawyers, and the family of his late housekeeper.
The grand jury issued seven more indictments accusing him of financial crimes on December 9, 2021, one day before the judge decided whether to set bond on the charges.
Forgery, money laundering, computer crimes, breach of trust with fraudulent intent, and obtaining signature or property by false pretences were among his 48 charges at the time.
According to the South Carolina attorney general, Alex stole more than $6.2 million from his alleged victims.
Jan. 21, 2022: Alex Murdaugh faces more charges
A South Carolina State Grand Jury indicted Alex on four new charges on January 21, 2022, according to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson.
He was charged with 19 counts of breach of trust with fraudulent intent and four counts of computer crimes in those indictments.
Moselle, the Murdaugh estate where the double homicide occurred, was listed for sale for $3.9 million in February 2022.
June 29, 2022: Alex Murdaugh indicted on money laundering charges
Alex was indicted again in June 2022 in connection with an alleged eight-year money laundering and painkiller ring with the former client, who is accused of attempting to assist him in committing suicide. He was facing 81 charges at the time.
July 14, 2022: Alex Murdaugh indicted for murders of wife and son
A grand jury in Colleton County, South Carolina, indicted Alex in the murders of his wife and son in 2021.
Alex was charged with two counts of murder as well as two counts of possessing a weapon while committing a violent crime.
After the charges were handed down, Alex’s lawyers —Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin — maintained their client’s innocence in a statement to PEOPLE.
“Alex wants his family, friends and everyone to know that he did not have anything to do with the murders of Maggie and Paul. He loved them more than anything in the world,” their statement read.
“It was very clear from day one that law enforcement and the Attorney General prematurely concluded that Alex was responsible for the murder of his wife and son.”
July 15, 2022: PEOPLE reports Alex Murdaugh allegedly lured wife to cabin on night she was killed
According to a law enforcement source close to the investigation, Alex allegedly reached out to Maggie on the night of the murders, asking her to meet him at the family’s 1,770-acre estate.
According to the source, Alex informed Maggie that his 81-year-old father’s health was deteriorating and that she needed to see him before he died.
Maggie and Alex’s marriage had hit a snag, according to multiple sources. She was staying at the family’s beach house on Edisto Island, about an hour away from the estate.
According to a law enforcement source, Maggie initially declined to meet Alex at the family home, instead suggesting that they meet at the hospital. Finally, she agreed to meet at the property, and they made plans to do so.
Maggie allegedly messaged a friend on her way to the house, saying that something about her husband’s behaviour felt “fishy,” according to a law enforcement source. “He’s up to something,” Maggie is said to have written to a friend.
Maggie and Paul were assassinated not long after.
Jan. 23, 2023: Murdaugh trial begins
Alex’s trial began on January 23, 2023, 17 months after Maggie and Paul were murdered.
Choosing impartial jurors proved difficult due to widespread media coverage of the murders and the Murdaugh family’s prominence in Colleton County, where the trial is being held.
According to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, the jurors were shown a slew of evidence, including a Snapchat video that Paul sent to “several friends” on the night of his and his mother’s deaths. Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Creighton Waters called the videos “critical to the case.”
According to the filing, Waters requested that a representative from Snapchat testify at the trial, which was scheduled to last three weeks.
Jan. 25, 2023: Prosecutors detail how Alex Murdaugh’s son’s cell phone placed him at murder scene
On January 25, 2022, opening statements began, during which prosecutor Creighton Waters revealed that cell phone evidence would be crucial in the trial. He went on to say that Paul had sent a cell phone video taken near the ranch’s dog kennels to a friend at 8:44:55 p.m. on June 7, 2021.
Paul, Maggie, and Alex provide their voices for the video. The prosecution claimed that Alex killed his wife and son three minutes later, at approximately 8:49 p.m., and then called his wife’s phone to create an alibi. Alex initially denied being in the vicinity of the dog kennels on the night of the murders.
Alex’s defence team claims that the prosecution’s timeline is incorrect.
Feb. 1, 2023: Alex Murdaugh’s last text to wife revealed in court
Maggie received a text message from Alex that read, “Call me, babe,” on the night of her murder. Alex sent the text at 9:47 p.m. on June 7, 2021, after Maggie and Paul had already been killed, according to court testimony.
Her cell phone camera was briefly activated at around 9:06 p.m., after prosecutors believe she was dead. Britt Dove, a member of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s computer crimes unit, provided an explanation.
“It appears the phone’s being moved, and the camera’s activating in the background to see if it would recognize somebody’s face that would unlock it,” Dove stated. A change in the phone’s orientation also suggested someone had picked it up.
Feb. 2, 2023: Prosecutors show video of Alex Murdaugh wearing 2 different shirts on night of murders
Feb. 6, 2023: Alex’s mother’s caregiver testifies at trial
Mushelle “Shelley” Smith, the carer for Alex’s elderly mother, testified through tears that Alex came for a brief visit the night of the murders. Smith described himself as “fidgety” while carrying a blue tarp under his arm.
Smith also testified that Alex’s visit lasted about 15-20 minutes, despite the fact that he insisted on staying longer. Smith stated that Alex attempted to explain the timeline of the encounter to her, estimating the visit to last 30-40 minutes.
The prosecution claimed that Alex went to see his mother in order to create an alibi. Nonetheless, prosecutors claim that if his visit to his mother’s house had only lasted 15-20 minutes, as Smith testified, he would have had enough time to murder his wife and son.
In the early afternoon, Judge Clifton Newman addressed his Colleton County courtroom, saying, “At this time, we must evacuate the building. We’ll be on break until we figure out what’s going on.”
The courthouse had received a bomb threat, according to officials. “This is a very serious situation,” said a Colleton County police officer to PEOPLE. “Until we figure out what’s going on, everyone should keep a safe distance away.”
Feb. 15, 2023: Murdaugh’s sister-in-law testifies
“He assured me that she had not,” said Proctor. “Now, I don’t know that I think that was true.”
The next day, jurors learned more about Alex’s alleged opioid addiction, including claims that he spent $50,000 per week on drugs, which the defence claims could have motivated someone else to kill Maggie and Paul.
Alex’s lawyer, Jim Griffin, claimed that Murdaugh bought the drugs from his cousin, Curtis “Eddie” Smith (the same cousin who is accused of being involved in the murder-for-hire plot in which he allegedly shot Alex in the head).
February 21, 2023: Buster Murdaugh testifies about murders of mother and brother
“He said, ‘Are you sitting down?’ ” Buster recalled, referring to his father. “He sounded odd, and then he told me that my mom and my brother had been shot.”
Following the news, the eldest Murdaugh brother and his girlfriend drove to the family estate from her home in Rock Hill, S.C. — approximately 200 miles away.
“He was heartbroken,” Buster testified about his father’s reaction when he arrived that night. “I walked in the door and saw him, gave him a hug. He was destroyed.”
Buster also claimed that he “knew a little bit” about his father’s drug use, pointing out that his mother and brother had confronted Alex when they found pills.
“I thought that he had handled it,” he said, though admitting that there were “a couple of more times” that his father had relapsed.
February 23, 2023: Alex Murdaugh Takes the Stand in His Own Defense
Disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh took the stand in his own defence on Thursday during his ongoing murder trial in the deaths of his wife and son in 2021.
Murdaugh admitted on the stand that he lied to law enforcement about his whereabouts on the day his wife and son were killed.
“As my addiction evolved over time I would get in these situations or circumstances where I would get paranoid,” Murdaugh said on the stand. “I’m sorry I lied.”
Murdaugh also apologized to his surviving son Buster and additional family members for lying about the last time he saw Maggie and Paul.
“What a tangled web we weave,” Murdaugh said on the stand. “Once I told a lie — then I told my family — I had to keep lying.”
Although he admitted to lying, Murdaugh adamantly denied killing Maggie and Paul.
“I could never intentionally do anything to hurt either one of them,” Murdaugh testified. “Not ever.”
