Murdaugh family

Randolph Murdaugh Sr. was born in Varnville and graduated from law school at the University of South Carolina (USC).[6] Upon graduation, Murdaugh Sr. founded a one-man law firm in Hampton, South Carolina, about 65 miles inland from Charleston, in 1910.[1][3][10] In 1920 he became solicitor in the 14th judicial circuit and held the position until 1940, when he was killed in a collision between his car and a train.[6] He also ran a local daily newspaper, The Hampton County Herald.[4]

Murdaugh Sr. was succeeded by his son, Randolph "Buster" Murdaugh Jr., who served from 1940 to 1986.[11] In his forty-two years in office, Buster ran opposed only twice.[4] He was known for "his love of chewing tobacco, his courtroom prowess and his flair for acting out murders before spellbound juries".[8] According to Professor John Blume of Cornell Law School, Buster was rebuked several times by the state supreme court for his closing arguments in several death penalty cases.[8] In 1956 he was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly warning a bootlegger to move a still into a neighboring county to avoid the police; he was acquitted.[8] Buster retired in 1986 and died in 1998.[8]

Buster was succeeded as solicitor by his son, Randolph Murdaugh III, who took office in 1986.[12] He ran unopposed in every election and held office until retiring in 2006.[4] Randolph III was married to Elizabeth Alexander[13] and had four children including three sons, Randolph IV (called Randy) and Richard Alexander (called Alex), both of whom entered the family firm; and John Marvin.[2] In 2019 Randolph III was awarded the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina's highest civilian recognition, by Governor Henry McMaster.[8] He retired in 2006 and died of natural causes June 10, 2021.[3]

Alex graduated from USC in 1990 and from the USC School of Law in 1994.[14] He soon joined the Murdaugh family firm, volunteering part-time in the 14th circuit solicitor's office. Alex married Margaret Kennedy Branstetter (called Maggie)[15] and had two sons, Richard Alexander Jr. (called Buster) and Paul Terry, who was born in 1999.[13][15]

Paul Terry Murdaugh (b. 1999), Alex's younger son, was charged with three felonies after the death of Mallory Beach during a boating accident in February 2019.[1][13] He was not given a field sobriety test, was not taken to jail for booking, nor was ever handcuffed. This led to the speculation that he could have received special treatment by virtue of his family connections.[1][3][9][18] Paul's blood alcohol content was .286, almost three times the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle, but the judge denied a prosecutorial request that he wear an alcohol monitor.[1][18] Shortly after the accident, current 14th district solicitor Isaac Stone III, called "Duffie", recused himself from the investigation.[19] Beach's family alleged in court documents that Alex and Buster Murdaugh were implicated in providing alcohol to the then-underage Paul.[20][21] As of September 2021, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) were investigating allegations that police may have been pressured not to charge Paul.[5] The family of another of the teens onboard the boat at the time, Connor Cook, filed a lawsuit claiming Alex had encouraged the Cook family to retain a long-time friend of Alex's, Cory Fleming, in order to orchestrate the protection of Paul.[22]

Sometime before June 7, 2021, Maggie Murdaugh made arrangements for a forensic accountant to review the family finances.[1] Paul was free on bail, attending USC, and awaiting trial.[1][3]

On June 7, 2021, Alex discovered the bodies of his 22-year-old son Paul and 52-year-old wife Maggie near the dog kennels at the family's hunting lodge in Islandton, South Carolina.[1] Both had been shot multiple times and with different weapons.[23][24] Alex, who called 9-1-1 around 10 pm, said that he had been with his terminally-ill father, Randolph III, and mother, who has dementia, at the time of the killings.[7][25][26] Randolph III died of natural causes three days later on June 10, 2021.[3]

In October 2021, it was revealed that Alex was "always" a person of interest, i.e. suspect, with police (SLED) investigating him from the start. As of October 2021 SLED had not released any information about the investigation.[26] A South Carolina lawmaker described SLED chief Mark Keel as a "straight arrow" who wants to have an airtight case, "He knows he's up against the good ole boys who will bury him if gets the tiniest thing wrong. He's not dropping anything until he's absolutely sure."[27]

Late in June 2021, SLED announced it was reopening the investigation into the 2015 death of Stephen Smith, who had been found dead from blunt force trauma on a road in Hampton County, based on details that had surfaced during the investigation into the deaths of Maggie and Paul.[28][7][23] Smith, who was a high school classmate of Buster's,[29] had been connected to him in interviews, but the case had gone cold.[7] According to the Greenville News, "rumors hinting at a cover-up and the possible involvement of one or more members of the Murdaugh family...began circulating around the Hampton County area" soon after Smith's death[28] and according to the Beaufort County Island Packet, the case "reeked of insider interference".[30] Stone recused himself from the investigation into the Murdaugh homicides and requested that the South Carolina Attorney General's office take over the case.[19]

On September 15, 2021, authorities announced they were opening an investigation into the 2018 death of Gloria Satterfield, who worked as Alex's housekeeper. The death had been reported as a "trip and fall", but no coroner was notified, no autopsy was performed, and the death certificate incongruously said it was by "natural causes". A coroner testified that describing her death on the death certificate as "natural" was improper. Investigations of her death by state police were continuing as of October 2021.[31]

Satterfield's two sons were awarded a settlement of about $500,000, but by 2021 they had received no money. During settlement negotiations, the Satterfield sons were represented by Cory Fleming, a lawyer whom they did not realize had long-term close ties to Alex, did not participate in the negotiations, and did not sign an agreement.[32][22] Alex Murdaugh was charged with two felonies related to the missing money.[31]

On September 3, Alex resigned from PMPED after being accused of mishandling funds.[3] According to The New York Times, the amount involved was "in the millions."[3] On September 6, Alex released a statement saying he was entering a rehabilitation facility for substance abuse treatment.[1]

On October 14, 2021 Alex was taken into custody as he was being released from the drug rehabilitation facility in Orlando by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) on two felony counts of Obtaining Property by False Pretenses.[33] These charges stem from the investigation into misappropriated settlement funds in the death of Gloria Satterfield.[34]

On September 4, Alex was allegedly shot in the head while changing a tire on a rural road. He claimed a truck slowed down, shot him, and then drove away. The injury was superficial and he was released from the hospital soon after. The shooting occurred one day after he was forced to resign from PMPED.[35]

On September 15, SLED announced that Alex's former client, Curtis Edward Smith – who had also been Alex's source for an oxycodone addiction – had been arrested for having conspired with Alex to kill him in the roadside shooting so that his remaining son Buster would receive a $10 million insurance payout. Smith was charged with assisted suicide, aggravated assault and battery, and insurance fraud. Alex, suffering from "massive depression" and wanting to kill himself, admitted to concocting the assisted suicide as murder scheme. He was motivated by a mistaken belief that his son Buster would not receive the insurance money if Alex committed suicide.[36]

In September, Alex gave broad powers of attorney to his son Buster, including the power to sell and dispose of his assets, which Buster proceeded to do. Buster was soon after allegedly seen at a Las Vegas casino. On November 1, a judge ordered the Murdaugh assets to be frozen. Buster and Alex sought to overturn it, saying they had no money to pay for food, medical insurance and utilities.[37][38][39]

On November 19, 2021, Alex Murdaugh was indicted on 27 charges of embezzlement and other crimes. The crimes include breach of trust, fraudulent intent, money laundering, computer crimes and forgery.[40] On December 11, an additional 21 criminal charges were filed connected to an alleged scheme that sought to defrauded victims of more than $6 million. [41]