Fake mugshots, knocked off millions,
and a horrifying body count. You caught the dramatic doc, but did you get the
full story? Reckless boozehound to murder for hire, here's what Netflix left out!
The Netflix documentary, "Murdaugh Murders:
A Southern Scandal," devotes itself to the 2019 boat crash that killed Mallory Beach. Three
couples — Anthony Cook and Mallory Beach, Connor Cook and Miley Altman, and Morgan Doughty and
Paul Murdaugh — went out on the Murdaugh family boat to a party. They started heading back home
around midnight. But despite Paul being highly intoxicated, he wouldn't let anyone else drive.
Episode 2 opens just hours after the crash as rescuers frantically search for Mallory. The
other passengers — except for Mallory's boyfriend Anthony who remained at the scene — were rushed
to the hospital. There, while placed in restraints, Paul's blood alcohol level was
confirmed to be over three times the legal limit. Morgan's mom Diane claimed a nurse warned her:
"'I'm not supposed to say this to you, but Paul,
he's a nasty drunk and you need to get away from him as fast as you can.'"
But what wasn't mentioned was how Paul was apparently laughing and hitting on
the nurses. According to the HBO docuseries "Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty," Paul's
behavior in the hospital was shocking. He appeared unfazed by the tragedy,
and was seemingly unconcerned about his missing friend and the consequences that awaited him.
The Netflix doc
details the many ways in which Alex Murdaugh reportedly tried to get his son's friend Connor
to be named as the driver of the boat, rather than Paul. This ranges from instructing the
kids not to answer questions and say they "don't know" who was driving the boat,
to claiming to legally represent them all, to even contacting Connor's parents.
"And so that night, I'm worried about finding my
child and they're worried about how they're gonna cover up Paul driving."
What the series doesn't mention is that Alex is said to have recommended
attorney Cory Fleming for Connor and his family.
But Cory Fleming is a good friend and former college roommate of Alex's — a
connection that the Cook family was unaware of. It would surely be a conflict of interest
for someone closely tied to the Murdaughs to represent the person Alex wanted to take
the blame. Fleming would later be indicted as a co-conspirator in Alex's many financial crimes.
"He already had the plan in motion. And we fell for it."
"Mm-hmm."
It was two months after the death of Mallory Beach when Paul Murdaugh was charged with
three felonies; one count of driving a water vehicle under the influence resulting in death,
and two counts of boating under the influence resulting in great bodily injury.
But while the Netflix doc provides evidence of various parties questioning why Paul hadn't been
booked into jail yet, it doesn't make clear that this actually never happened. Even after
Paul's indictment, it took an additional month before the charges were brought up.
There are statements from his friends' parents about how he was never handcuffed. Mallory's
mother even recounts how his mugshot was taken of him in a nice shirt. And while all of that
is true, it's shocking to discover that Paul never even set foot in the police station. He
was never booked at all. And that mugshot? It was taken against a wall outside the courtroom.
Another way Paul was
apparently given what's referred to as the quote "gentleman's treatment" is that the judge who set
his bond denied the prosecution's request for Paul to wear an alcohol monitor. Given that Paul was
charged with three felonies committed while under the influence, this was seen by many as gross
neglect of duty. It was even brought up on Twitter using the hashtag "Souths Good Ol Boy System."
"He never went behind bars, he never had handcuffs, never wore the orange suit."
Not only did Paul get sent home to wait indefinitely for a criminal trial,
but he reportedly continued to drink and party like nothing ever happened. Paul's
former girlfriend Morgan says she saw Snapchat stories and other social media posts of people
still partying with Paul. A monitor — which the Netflix series never addresses — would have at
the very least ensured that this underage teen was not continuing to abuse alcohol illegally.
It's not until Episode 2 of the Netflix series
that the main events are discussed in detail. The show provides the audio of the 911 call Alex made,
as well as Alex's timeline of his movements that night. But it leaves out significant details.
Reported problems in the Murdaughs' marriage are noted, as are the rumors that Maggie had
hired a forensic accountant and maybe even met with a divorce attorney. But the episode
doesn't reveal that Maggie wasn't living at the Moselle house at the time. Instead,
she had been staying at their beach house in Edisto, far from Alex. So why was she at Moselle?
The HBO doc "Low Country" explains that Maggie had been living at the beach house,
but that on June 7, Alex texted her, asking to meet up. She apparently even
discussed the worrying texts with her sister, saying Alex was, quote, "up to something."
At the trial, Maggie's sister testified that Alex's father was hospitalized
and that Alex claimed his dad needed Maggie's support. After hearing this,
she agreed to meet him at the Moselle house. She was killed that night.
Netflix covers how the survivors of the 2019 boat crash were each asked to provide an alibi
for the night of the murder, and how they were all cleared of suspicion. But even so,
the crash was continually linked to the murders by many different sources.
"Think this may very well be related to the death of Mallory Beach. What
was the motivation other than anger or revenge?"
But in the "20/20" episode "Murdaugh Family Murders," it becomes clear
why people initially assumed that these two events would be related:
Alex. There's extensive footage from Alex at the murder scene,
in which he frequently mentions the boat crash and claims it's the reason his wife and son are dead.
The episode also shows the very first interview Alex gave to State
Law Enforcement. He again brings up the crash in connection with the murders,
saying that Paul had been threatened and targeted. Then, when Alex took the stand on February 23,
2021 his attorney played the 911 call in which Alex named the threats regarding the
crash as the motive. Appearing to dictate the narrative, he laments,
"Paw Paw. I should've known."
According to the Netflix doc, two weeks into investigating the murders of Paul and Maggie
Murdaugh, State Law Enforcement reopened the case of Stephen Smith's death. Killed in 2015,
19-year-old Smith was found lying in the middle of a road with head injuries. While Alex's oldest
son, Buster Murdaugh, was mentioned in connection with the case, it never led
anywhere. Stephen's death was labeled a hit-and-run, and the case was closed.
"This is not a wreck. This is a murder."
But what the HBO doc reveals is that the only reason the coroner called it a hit-and-run is
because Smith's body was found in the road. State police are said to have found the death
suspicious for various reasons; the complete lack of glass or debris at the crime scene,
the odd position of the body, and the lack of injury anywhere else on his person.
The Netflix show fails to mention that the coroner seemingly ignored all this evidence.
Yes, there's an indication that the investigation was rushed or covered
up on behalf of the Murdaughs. But the HBO version actually backs this
up with a statement from Stephen Smith's mother. Sandy Smith says that the morning
Stephen's body was found, Alex's oldest brother offered to represent the family.
"Before the sheriff came in, Randy Murdaugh was calling."
On September 4, 2021,
three months after the murders of Maggie and Paul, Alex Murdaugh called 911 again. This time, he said
he'd been shot in the head by an unknown man who stopped to help him change his tire. The Netflix
miniseries addresses the particulars of this case, but it leaves out some crucial information.
Alex's injury is listed in the police report as a superficial gunshot wound to the head,
which would seem to corroborate Alex's story. But a guest on "20/20" said that the medical report
revealed the wounds weren't from a gunshot at all. Instead, they were likely due to a fall.
Another item left out of the Netflix series is how there were 10 shell
casings found at the scene, which doesn't add up to Alex's story at
all. It was soon revealed that Alex had asked his cousin, Curtis "Eddie" Smith,
to shoot him. Smith confirmed to "20/20" that the request was made, but that he never hurt Alex.
"He said, 'I need you to kill me.' I said, 'Yeah, that ain't happening.'
And I figured I was gonna try to scare some sense into him, and I shot the gun up in the air."
On September 6, 2021,
Alex Murdaugh announced that he was resigning from his law firm and entering rehab. He would
later reveal an opioid addiction. But the firm swiftly contradicted this story. The
law firm was founded in 1910 by Randolph Murdaugh Sr., Alex's great-grandfather.
Netflix mentions the trip to rehab briefly, but "20/20" goes into much more detail.
"If anyone wants to see the face of what opioid addiction does, you're looking at it."
Mere hours after Alex's statement about entering rehab, the firm released its
own statement saying that Murdaugh didn't resign as he claims. Instead,
he was asked to leave on September 3rd — the day before his bizarre roadside
shooting — because he had misappropriated funds from clients and the firm alike.
According to "20/20," Alex was briefly removed from rehab to be charged in the
shooting hoax. He was then charged with the theft of the Satterfield settlement.
The day Alex left rehab, he was charged with the murders of his wife and son.
What the Netflix doc doesn't get
into is just how many financial crimes Alex Murdaugh has been accused of. The memo from
the law firm stating he had been misappropriating funds opened the door to dozens of incidents where
Alex defrauded his clients or embezzled money from his firm. All in, it totalled millions of dollars.
A whopping 99 charges have been filed related to these findings. But the crimes
also seemingly provide a motive for the deaths of Paul and Maggie. Paul's boating
accident in 2019 had yet to go to trial, but a civil case against him on behalf of
the Beach family was progressing. A hearing was scheduled for June 10 — just three days
after Paul and Maggie were murdered. That hearing was to request an accounting of
the family's financial records, which Alex presumably didn't want to release.
Beach family attorney Mark Tinsley told "20/20" that after the murders,
the hearing was indefinitely canceled. And if Maggie was also filing for divorce,
then Alex's finances would have been scrutinized in that scenario, as well.
One of the most egregious of Alex
Murdaugh's financial crimes is the one perpetrated against the family of his former housekeeper,
Gloria Satterfield. The Netflix series covers Satterfield's long relationship
with the Murdaughs, as well as her death in 2018. Satterfield reportedly fell and hit her head on
brick steps at the home. But the inconsistency in the accounting of the incident was troubling.
Alex claimed to be at the scene, talking to Gloria, claiming she told him the dogs
tripped her. But during the 911 call, Paul and Maggie's voices are evident,
but Alex's is not. Witness statements also reveal that Alex wasn't there at the time
of the fall and that Gloria never regained consciousness.
"He said I want to make sure the boys are taken care of."
The Netflix doc also touches on the plan Alex devised to sue himself in order to
collect from the insurance company for Gloria's sons — and his ultimate betrayal in taking the
entire $4.3 million for himself. But what it leaves out is the ending to this tragic tale,
possibly because filming had wrapped. Thankfully, the Satterfield sons were
awarded over $7.5 million in settlements from Murdaugh and his co-conspirators.
Netflix had their
series in the can before the trial of Alex Murdaugh began. And some damning evidence
from the courtroom is missing from the doc. As noted by "20/20," one of the most powerful
exhibits shown to the jury was a timeline. The prosecution's report included GPS data,
steps data, and second-by-second records of all calls and texts between the parties.
Alex placed his 911 call just 19 seconds after he arrived at the dog kennels. As the
prosecution pointed out, this wouldn't have been enough time to check the pulses of his wife and
son — whose bodies were 30 feet apart — before he called for help, as he initially claimed.
Other evidence came from Paul Murdaugh's phone. One video showed Alex in different
clothes than he was wearing when police arrived. And in a second
video Paul had taken of a dog at the kennels just minutes before his death,
Maggie and Alex can be heard talking in the background, voiding Alex's alibi.
"The State versus Richard Alexander Murdaugh,
defendant, indictment for murder, verdict: guilty."
Jurors needed only 45 minutes to convict Alex Murdaugh on both counts. The next day,
he was sentenced to two life sentences without the possibility of parole.