Were this mother and son shot as revenge?
MAGGIE AND PAUL MURDAUGH WERE FOUND DEAD AT THEIR HOME, TWO YEARS AFTER HE KILLED MALLORY BEACH
On 7 June this year, the bodies of Paul Murdaugh, 22, and his mother Margaret, 52, were discovered at their hunting lodge in South Carolina. At 10.07pm that night, authorities had received a distressed call from part-time prosecutor Alex Murdaugh, who found his wife and youngest son motionless near dog kennels on the property after he had returned from a hunting trip. They had both been shot. Investigators quickly ruled the incident as a double homicide, believing that the deaths occurred between 9pm and 9.30pm that evening. The pair, who were lying just yards apart from each other, had been killed in an assassination style shooting. Investigators also revealed that two different weapons had been used, indicating that there were two assailants. Paul sustained gunshot wounds to his head and chest, while Maggie was killed using an assault rifle.
It was a brutal end for two members of a powerful American family beset by recent scandal.
At the time of his death, Paul was awaiting trial for the death of Mallory Beach, 19, in a boating incident two years earlier. And as news of his demise broke, rumours began to circulate that Paul was the main target – and Maggie had paid the ultimate price for her son.
BOATING TRAGEDY
On 24 February 2019, Paul and a group of his friends (including his cousin Anthony Cook, and Anthony’s girlfriend Mallory) were – despite all being under the legal age – drinking heavily. The air in South Carolina was thick with fog when, ignoring pleas from a group of adults at the marina, the group boarded Paul’s father’s 17ft boat and
Paul got behind the wheel.
While aboard the vessel, an argument broke out. Friends later testified in court documents that a heavily intoxicated Paul had adopted a bizarre alter-ego named “Timmy”, and begun acting completely differently. Deposition papers revealed Anthony’s admissions about
his cousin’s alter-ego, saying, “It’s a different name because he turns into a completely different person. Somebody will say, ‘All right, here comes Timmy. We’ve got to go’.” Anthony also testified that during the evening, when Timmy emerged, Paul had stripped down to his underwear and either slapped or pushed his own girlfriend, Morgan Doughty. Then, while operating the boat, Timmy began driving in circles. As people asked to leave during further alcoholfuelled altercations, Timmy is said to have driven it “full throttle”.
At 2.20am, the boat was speeding towards a bridge piling, and slammed into it with such force that all six passengers were flung into the water. While five of them were immediately recovered alive, Mallory was missing. Tragically, her body was found seven days later. The Murdaugh family were initially accused of not cooperating with investigating authorities over the incident, and Paul was not given an alcohol breath test by officers at the scene. But a police report stated that the teens were all “grossly intoxicated”.
The South Carolina District Attorney’s office charged Paul with causing Mallory’s death, and Paul’s father Alex acted as his attorney. He pleaded not guilty
‘HE TURNED INTO A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERSON’
on 6 May 2019, and was released on a $50k bond with the condition that he was not allowed to travel outside the legal district in which he was being charged. However, this condition was swiftly removed after only two months. Shockingly, while he awaited the criminal trial, and despite a request from the South Carolina District Attorney, Paul was not prohibited from consuming alcohol or from operating a boat.
As a result, it was alleged Paul was receiving special treatment, due to his powerful connections.
He received two further citations while he was driving his father’s other boats – one for driving over the speed limit, and another for driving with an expired fire extinguisher aboard. This meant he was now facing three felony charges. And, in addition to the criminal prosecution, Mallory’s family also filed a wrongful death suit against the Murdaugh family and the shop that sold the alcohol to the underage teens.
Just three days before the killings, a court-ordered mediation session was conducted to attempt a resolution in that case. However, the parties failed to reach any agreement. Earlier this month, the four other survivors of the boat crash, including Mallory’s best friend Miley Altman, voluntarily gave DNA samples and provided statements to the police in connection
with the investigation.
In the wake of Paul and Maggie’s deaths, Mallory Beach’s family issued a statement of condolence, and urged anyone with any information about what had happened to contact the authorities. It read, “The Beach family extends its deepest and warmest sympathies to the Murdaughs during this terrible time. Having suffered the devastating loss of their own daughter, the family prays that the Murdaughs can find some level of peace from this tragic loss.” It went on to say, “It is their most sincere hope that someone will come forward and cooperate with authorities, so that the perpetrator of these senseless crimes can be brought to justice.”
Prosecutors issued a further statement outlining that, following Paul’s death, the felony charges against him would be dropped, but the Beach’s civil suit – which was lodged against the Murdaugh family – will continue.
‘EVERYONE HAS QUESTIONS AND RUMOURS ARE ABUNDANT’
PAYBACK
Paul’s father Alex is the latest in a long line of Murdaugh lawyers, including Paul’s grandfather and greatgrandfather, whose power and influence have been at the centre of South Carolina’s justice system for nearly 90 years. Directly responsible for putting thousands of people behind bars and sending more than a dozen to Death Row, assumptions have subsequently been made about other possible enemies. And while investigators have yet to identify a suspect, locals are questioning whether this was a case of twisted revenge.
The New York Post recently reported that an anonymous tip had been given to the South Carolina Highway Patrol connecting the Murdaughs to the mysterious death of Stephen Smith, 19, whose body was found on a rural roadside in 2015. No one in the family has ever been charged or formally considered a suspect. It was also reported that the Murdaughs made an out-ofcourt settlement to the family of their housekeeper Gloria Satterfield, who died after a fall on their property.
The State Law Enforcement Division said in a recent statement that “everyone has questions, and rumours are abundant”, and in a TV interview, Paul’s uncle revealed that his nephew had received multiple death threats, but the family hadn’t felt they were “credible”.
Speaking about the Murdaugh family to local press, a close family friend, Tangie Peeples Ohmer, said, “They are not the monsters the other media outlets are portraying them to be. Regardless of how anyone feels about Paul’s past, a family lost a son, a grandson, a brother, a nephew and a cousin. And Maggie paid the ultimate price, as well.” ◼