In the aboriginal greeting hours of Dec. 25, 2017, an intoxicated Paul Murdaugh insisted connected driving himself and his woman Morgan Doughty location from a Christmas party, she recalls successful Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal. He mislaid power of his motortruck going astir a curve and the conveyance landed connected its broadside successful a ditch. Paul had "so galore guns successful his car," Morgan remembers, truthful "guns were everywhere, brew cans were everywhere."

Morgan says she called 9-1-1 but Paul hung up the telephone and instead called his gramps Randolph Murdaugh III and past his dad. Parents Alex and Maggie Murdaugh showed up and, according to Morgan, cleared Paul's motortruck earlier constabulary arrived.

She also alleges that Paul erstwhile got "so drunk" that erstwhile she tried to calm him down, helium enactment his hands astir her pharynx and screamed, "I told you to unopen up!" and past punched her successful the knee.

"I deliberation that our narration was thing I truly clung to," Morgan reflects, "just due to the fact that erstwhile it was good, it was truly good, but erstwhile it was bad, it was just…it was truly bad."

Blinking backmost tears, she continues, "Our narration had gotten, like, truly carnal and past I broke up with him, but Paul would conscionable bash and accidental thing to marque up for what had happened."

Morgan remembers Paul "guilt-tripping" her into going to the Lowcountry Oyster Roast connected Feb. 23.

It was a spontaneous determination for the group—Morgan and Paul, Mallory Beach and fellow Anthony Cook, and chap mates Miley Altman and Connor Cook—to instrumentality a sportfishing vessel to the roast. They were each drinking, Morgan alleges, going backmost and distant from the enactment to the vessel to procure intoxicant from their cooler.

A fig of radical offered to thrust them backmost home, Anthony recalls successful the series, "but I deliberation Paul was a small excessively arrogant to bash that." Morgan says she'll "never halt regretting" getting backmost connected the boat. 

The radical near connected the vessel soon aft midnight and docked by Luther's Bar astatine 12:55 a.m. for a pit halt that Paul wanted to make, Anthony says.

Morgan, Miley and Anthony callback archetypal trying to speech Paul retired of taking the vessel home, and past astatine slightest retired of driving it himself, but he insisted. They acceptable disconnected astatine 1:17 a.m., and his driving was "honestly terrifying," Morgan says.

Paul kept letting spell of the instrumentality and Connor kept having to drawback it, Miley says. Anthony was getting progressively mad, and past Paul screamed astatine Morgan, asking wherefore she didn't person his back. "'You're screaming astatine america and not making sense, you're acting crazy,'" Morgan recalls telling him. "And helium looked astatine maine and helium said, 'You cognize what's crazy? Your begetter not making capable wealth to enactment your family.'"

Morgan says she started crying and Paul slapped her.

"You could archer by the mode that helium did it that it wasn't the archetypal time," Miley says. "It's conscionable heartbreaking to spot 1 of your champion friends beryllium abused successful beforehand of your face."

Anthony and the women retrieve proceeding each other's screams as the vessel deed a piling successful Archer's Creek and slammed into some rocks. The impact threw Anthony and Mallory overboard; helium made it backmost to the boat, but Mallory was obscurity to beryllium found. Anthony says helium kept jumping backmost into the h2o implicit and over, looking for his girlfriend. Connor called 9-1-1.

In the series, Mallory's mother, Renee Beach, and dada Phillip Beach, describe the horrible telephone and getting connected the roadworthy to Beaufort, S.C., wherever astir of the kids were being treated astatine a section hospital. But not knowing wherever to spell because their kid was missing, they drove to Archer's Creek, wherever Anthony—who had a busted shoulder—refused to permission until they'd recovered Mallory.

Local TV quality reports were relaying that authorities were unclear connected whether Paul oregon Connor had been driving the boat.

Connor, who present sports a noticeable scar connected his chin, says helium had just had a CT scan erstwhile Alex Murdaugh approached him successful the hallway astatine the infirmary and whispered to him not to accidental anything, that Paul's dada would take attraction of everything. (In a legal filing responding to lawsuit filed successful September 2021 accusing him of attempting to "shift the blasted for the vessel accident," Alex denied telling Connor not to cooperate with authorities.)

Over astatine Archer's Creek, Renee Beach says instrumentality enforcement was blocking the way down to the vessel and an serviceman told her "he was fixed strict orders that nary 1 was to pass." But then, Renee says, she saw Alex and Maggie being allowed to spell close up to the scene.

"That's erstwhile I started to realize, the Murdaughs," Renee said, "they were much disquieted astir a cover-up than they were trying to find Mallory."

The Murdaugh household has denied trying to power the probe into the vessel crash. A settlement was approved in January 2023 by 16th Circuit Judge Daniel Hall in the Beach family's $50 cardinal wrongful decease lawsuit against the Murdaughs.

Ultimately, Mallory's assemblage was recovered 5 miles distant from the clang site, 7 days aft the accident.

An autopsy determined the 19-year-old's origin of decease to beryllium blunt unit trauma and drowning.

On May 6, 2019, Paul, past 20, pleaded not blameworthy to one number of boating portion nether the power and 2 counts of boating portion nether the power causing large bodily injury. He was released connected a $50,000 enslaved and nary proceedings day was set.

Paul's beingness went connected and, 2 years aft the accident, helium was living at his family's gated hunting lodge connected Moselle Road successful Islandton, S.C.

On the nighttime of June 7, 2021, Alex called 9-1-1 to study that his woman and lad had been shot. He aboriginal told authorities investigators he'd returned to the spot astatine 10:20 p.m. aft visiting his parents and discovered the bodies.

Alex's brothers Randall "Randy" Murdaugh IV and John Marvin Murdaugh said their sibling had received threats since the vessel crash, but they hadn't believed them to beryllium credible. 

"My member loved Maggie and loved Paul similar thing other connected this earth, conscionable similar helium loves Buster," Randy said connected Good Morning America. "So there's nary imaginable mode helium could person thing to bash with this, I tin guarantee you." Added John, "I tin archer you helium was consenting and inactive is consenting to bash thing that's asked of him. He wants this solved."

Meanwhile, the July 8, 2015, decease of Stephen Smith had gone cold. The 19-year-old's assemblage was recovered successful the mediate of a agrarian road successful Hampton County, dormant from caput trauma but the remainder of him—shoes on, compartment telephone successful his pocket—not showing signs of being deed by a car.

In the Netflix series, FITSnews' Will Folks recalls getting a extremity sometime aft Paul and Maggie were killed to cheque retired the road patrol study connected Stephen's death. It turned retired that Buster Murdaugh, Alex's eldest son, came up dozens of times during the archetypal investigation.

Former Wade Hamtpon High School subject teacher Sam Crews recalls successful the bid that Stephen tutored Buster a bit, and some helium and Morgan accidental determination were rumors backmost successful precocious schoolhouse that the boys mightiness person been much than friends. Which, according to Morgan, wouldn't person sat good with the remainder of the Murdaughs.

In the period aft Stephen's death, according to Hampton County Guardian reporter Michael Dewitt, determination were rumors of a Murdaugh connection—but, helium says, thing ever happened.

South Carolina's State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) announced June 22, 2021, that it was reopening the case. There was no notation of the Murdaughs.

Buster, 26, was ne'er named arsenic a fishy oregon charged with immoderate crime. The Murdaugh household has publically denied immoderate engagement successful Stephen's death. Murdaugh Murders notes that Buster and Alex didn't respond to interrogation inquiries.

Also back connected authorities' radar aft Paul and Maggie were killed: The Feb. 26, 2018, decease of the Murdaughs' longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield. Alex said at the clip that the 57-year-old had tripped implicit the family's dogs and fell down the extracurricular steps astatine the Moselle Road location connected Feb. 2. She died several weeks later astatine the infirmary aft reportedly suffering a stroke.

In September 2021, Hampton County Coroner Angela Topper requested that SLED investigate, noting successful a missive to Chief Mark Keel that nary autopsy had ever been performed, her bureau hadn't adjacent been notified of the decease and the decease certificate stated that the mode of decease was "natural," which was mostly inconsistent with injuries suffered from a fall.

The lawsuit remains open.

A wrongful decease assertion resulted successful a $500,000 colony for Gloria's family—but her lad Michael has since testified that they were the past to cognize astir it.

The Satterfields sued Murdaugh successful 2021, alleging they hadn't received immoderate of the wealth that was expected to beryllium for them. In fact, according to prosecutors, Alex besides secured a $4.3 cardinal security payout that helium kept for himself.

Alex entered a confession of judgment in June 2022, paving the mode for Gloria's sons to get the money.

"I deliberation if Alex wasn't truthful greedy, that if helium conscionable gave the boys $25,000 each, and said, 'Look, the remainder had to spell wage the aesculapian bills,' they ne'er would person asked immoderate questions," Satterfield lawyer Eric Bland told WJCL in January 2023. "It was her decease and the exploitation of her decease done the claims and the stolen wealth that really brought each the fiscal crimes to light."

On Sept. 3, 2021, Alex resigned from the instrumentality steadfast his household founded in the aftermath of allegations helium had been misappropriating clients' money.

The adjacent day, helium was changeable successful the mediate of the time in Hampton County while, helium told 9-1-1, helium was changing a tyre connected the broadside of the road. (The constabulary study called his wounded a "superficial" coiled to the head.)

Soon after, however, Alex's lawyer told media outlets that his lawsuit had actually attempted to instrumentality his ain beingness by hiring his alleged cause dealer, Curtis Edward Smith, to termination him. His alleged reasoning was that Buster could cod connected his beingness security argumentation and not tally up against a termination exclusion. Alex subsequently checked into rehab for opioid addiction and Curtis was charged with assisted suicide, security fraud, battle and battery, and different crimes. 

Alex's lawyer Dick Harpootlian said that the "vast majority" of the wealth his lawsuit pilfered from his instrumentality steadfast went to bargain opioids, and Alex was "in a dark, acheronian place" erstwhile helium concocted his plan.

Curtis denied being portion of immoderate strategy to termination Alex and maintained successful an October 2021 interrogation connected TODAY that erstwhile helium showed up, Alex was carrying a weapon and it went disconnected arsenic they struggled implicit it. "I didn't sprout him," Curtis, who's still successful jailhouse awaiting trial, said. "I'm innocent. If I'd person changeable him, he'd beryllium dead. He's alive."

On Sept. 13, 2021, SLED confirmed they were investigating Alex for fiscal crimes and helium was arrested 3 days aboriginal for security fraud related to his alleged suicide-by-hitman scheme. The pursuing period helium was charged with stealing from the Satterfields. He was past indicted connected 27 further counts, including wealth laundering and forgery, that November.

So Alex was already successful jailhouse erstwhile helium was charged with 2 counts of execution connected July 14, 2022, for the deaths of his woman and son. He pleaded not guilty.

Evidence that moved the lawsuit guardant included a video connected Paul's compartment telephone changeable astatine 8:44 p.m. successful which Alex's dependable could beryllium heard, astir 15 minutes earlier Paul and Maggie were shot, arsenic determined by investigators.

Alex had told authorities helium didn't get location until aft 10. He's facing astatine slightest 30 years successful situation if he's convicted of the treble murder.