Hulu’s Murdaugh: Death in the Family has reignited public interest in the case, and new viewers are revisiting the terrible June 2021 night when disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh murdered his wife and kid — as well as the digital evidence that demolished his alibi.
On June 7, 2021, Paul, 22, was shot in the chest and head with a shotgun at close range on the family’s South Carolina hunting estate. Maggie, 52, was shot many times, including once in the back and again while lying on the ground. She had been shot with 300 Blackout rounds from an AR-style weapon. Both were pronounced deceased on the scene.
More than a year after the bodies were discovered, Alex, the once-prominent attorney, was charged with the murders. According to authorities, Alex killed his wife and son when his personal and financial problems got insurmountable.
During a highly publicized six-week trial, the jury was given a smartphone video taken by Paul on the night of the murders, which placed Alex at the crime scene.
The film, which was taken near the dog kennels on the Islandton, South Carolina, farm, featured the voices of Paul, Maggie, and Alex. Alex first denied being near the dog kennels on the night of the murders, but while testifying in his own defense, he admitted to lying about his movements that evening.
Prosecutors said Alex committed the killings about 8:49 p.m. that night, just minutes after the video was captured. Then, following her death, he called his wife’s phone and sent a text message in an attempt to establish an alibi.
Alex claimed he left his house around 9 p.m. to see his ill mother. When he returned home at 10 p.m., he contacted 911 and informed the dispatcher that he had discovered his wife and son’s bodies. He eventually admitted that he lied about his whereabouts but denied murdering Maggie and Paul.
“I could never intentionally do anything to hurt either one of them,” he claimed on the stand. “Not ever.” He testified that he lied about his whereabouts that evening because of the paranoia he claimed he was suffering as a result of his drug use at the time.
Buster Murdaugh, Alex’s surviving son, testified in his father’s defense, telling the jury he “knew a little bit” about his father’s drug usage and claiming that his father was “heartbroken” after the deaths.
At the time of the murders, the Murdaughs were dealing with a lawsuit filed by the family of Mallory Beach, a 19-year-old who died in a February 2019 boating accident while Paul was driving; he was under criminal investigation. Prosecutors said Alex was concerned that his numerous financial scams, including stealing money from clients, would be exposed during Paul’s future trial.
Alex was found guilty of two charges of murder and two counts of using a weapon while committing a violent crime for Maggie and Paul’s deaths in March 2023. He was then convicted to two consecutive life sentences in jail without parole. Alex also received state and federal prison sentences for financial offenses.
The Murdaugh case has gotten widespread media coverage, including various docuseries and, most recently, a scripted series on Hulu called Murdaugh: Death in the Family, which debuted on October 15.
