Television
The story behind Netflix’s hit crime docuseries ‘Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal’
The new series looks at the boating death of Mallory Beach, as well as the murders of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.
Netflix’s ‘Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal’ has finally hit the streaming service, premiering on Wednesday February 22.
The three-part limited series looks into the Murdaughs, a prominent South Carolina family whose lives changed when 19-year-old son Paul crashed his boat, resulting in the death of friend Mallory Beach.
However, just two years later, both Paul and his mother Maggie were found dead in their family hunting lodge in June 2021. Paul’s father, Alex Murdaugh, is currently on trial for the double murder.
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Who is Alex Murdaugh?
A member of the Murdaugh family in South Carolina, the 54-year-old is currently on trial for the murder of his wife and oldest son.
According to the Office of the Solicitor, Fourteenth District, the Murdaugh family served as prosecutors in South Carolina’s Fourteenth Judicial Circuit for three generations until 2005.
This gave the family wealth and power, and while Alex never fan for the prosecutor job, he did volunteer as a prosecutor for the district until he was removed from the role in September 2022.
Alex worked for a family law firm in Hampton County, South Carolina, primarily for fatal accident and workplace injuries. However, in September 2021 the firm reported he had stolen funds from clients, estimated at over $1 million.
What are the ‘Murdaugh Murders’?
The phrase ‘Murdaugh murders’ most often refers to the shootings of Paul and Maggie in June 2021, though the family has been linked with several other crimes and deaths.
In September 2021, Alex was shot in the head while changing a tire on the side of the road according to his lawyer, Jim Griffin.
However, his gunshot wounds from the shooting were superficial in what was found to be a pre-planned attack. Alex was trying to make his suicide look like a murder so his living son, Buster, could collect $10 million in life insurance.
He later turned himself in and was charged with insurance fraud following the arrest of Curtis Edward Smith, the man he hired to shoot him. His lawyers say that an opioid addiction and depression following the deaths of his wife and son led to him creating the scheme.
Alex involved in another crime
He’s also been connected to other crimes, including the death of his family housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, in 2018. She died after allegedly tripping over the family dogs and falling down the stairs.
Alex introduced Satterfield’s sons to lawyer Cory Fleming. He is reportedly a close friend of Alex, with the sons testifying they had no knowledge of that in a recent lawsuit.
Prosecutors allege that Alex told Gloria’s sons he could admit fault in her death, which would allow him to sue his insurance companies for a large settlement.
He was arrested for allegedly misappropriating funds that were meant for the Satterfield family, and later agreed to pay them $4.3 million in June 2022.
Alex has been in jail since October 2021, when he was initially arrested on fraud charges related to the Satterfield’s insurance claim.
Prosecutors are arguing he killed his family members to cover up other financial crimes, which reportedly includes defrauding clients out of $8.8 million over the years.