Murdaugh Murders: Who are the Murdaugh family?

Paul, Alex's son, was allegedly responsible for Mallory's death in 2019. She passed away when a boat he was reportedly driving while drunk crashed, and he was later charged with three felony counts: one count of boating under the influence causing death and two counts of boating under the influence causing bodily injury. He pleaded not guilty and was released on a bond. In 2021 he was tragically shot dead, alongside his mother.

In the Netflix documentary, Paul's friends talk of his grandfather and lawyer, Randolph Murdaugh III, showing up at the hospital following the boating accident that led to Mallory's death.

Paul's father, Alex Murdaugh, has also been involved in numerous investigations over the years relating to alleged financial crimes, such as insurance fraud. For the last six weeks, he has been on trial for the double murder of Paul and Maggie, and on Thursday 2nd March, the 54-year-old was found guilty of murdering his wife and son.

He was also found guilty of two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime in the killings which took place on 7th June 2021.

So, who exactly are the Murdaugh family, and which members are mentioned in Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal? Here's everything you need to know.

Who are the Murdaugh Family?

The Murdaugh family is a prominent, American family of lawyers in South Carolina. From 1920 to 2006, the state's 14th circuit district consistently saw members of the family serve as solicitor (AKA district attorney), the official in charge of prosecuting all criminal cases in the area. As a result, some locals have nicknamed that region of South Carolina as 'Murdaugh Country'.

Randolph Murdaugh Sr

Randolph Murdaugh Sr was born in Varnville, South Carolina, and graduated from law school in 1910. He then founded a one-man law firm. In 1920, he became the area's district attorney and stayed in the role until 1940, when he was tragically killed in a collision between his car and a train.

He was succeeded by his son Randolph 'Buster' Murdaugh Jr, who served as district attorney from 1940 to 1986 when he retired. He died in 1998 and was succeeded by Randolph Murdaugh III, who took on the role in 1986.

Randolph III had four children with his wife Elizabeth, including Randolph IV and Richard Alexander (better known as Alex). Both joined the family firm. Randolph III retired from office in 2006 and later died of natural causes in June 2021. He is mentioned in episodes 1 and 2 of the documentary.

In episode 2, Gina Altman — the mother of one of Paul's friends who was on the boat — talks about when Randolph III visited the hospital following the 2019 boat crash.

She claimed: "Mr Randolph came to speak to me and I said, 'Is there any word or where Mallory is? Have they found anything?' And he said, 'Who are you talking about?' And I said, 'Mallory Beach, Mr Randolph! Mallory,' and he said, 'Oh I'm pretty sure we know how that's going to end up!' and I just couldn't believe he said that."

Richard 'Alex' Murdaugh

Family patriarch and main feature of the Netflix documentary Alex graduated law school in 1994. He soon joined the family law firm and married a woman named Maggie. They had two sons: Richard Alexander Jr (nicknamed Buster) and Paul.

In September 2021, Alex resigned from the Murdaugh law firm following allegations that he had misappropriated millions of dollars of client and firm funds. He has been disbarred.

For the past six weeks, he has been on trial for the double murder of his wife Maggie and son Paul. After contemplating for almost three hours, the jury found the 54-year-old guilty on Thursday 2nd March.

Alex was also found guilty of two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime in the killings of his Paul and Maggie on 7th June 2021.

Judge Clifton Newman set sentencing for Friday at 9:30am (EST) in South Carolina’s Colleton County. Prosecutors have stated that they will seek life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders, foregoing the death penalty.

The verdict came after a six-week trial which looked into the brutal crime, phone forensics, and Alex’s alleged extensive financial misconduct.

“Justice was done today,” lead prosecutor Creighton Waters said yesterday (Thursday 2^nd March). “It doesn’t matter who your family is. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, or people think you have. It doesn’t matter… how prominent you are. If you do wrong, if you break the law, if you murder, then justice will be done in South Carolina.”

Maggie Murdaugh

Maggie, Alex's wife, was described as an adoring mother to her two sons. In June 2021, she was shot dead at the Murdaugh family home alongside her son, Paul.

"Buster and Paul were her world," her sister Marian Proctor said at Alex Murdaugh's trial.

Buster Murdaugh

Buster Murdagh is the eldest son of Alex and Maggie Murdaugh.

Alex’s only remaining son, Buster Murdaugh, could be seen crying as the verdict was read following his trial, during which Alex appeared to mouth the words “I love you” before being handcuffed.

Paul Murdaugh

Paul Murdaugh was the youngest son of Alex and Maggie. In 2019, he allegedly took his family boat out while under the influence and crashed while with his friends. Some suffered injuries in the incident, while Mallory Beach tragically died.

Paul was charged with three felony counts, including one count of boating under the influence causing death and two counts of boating under the influence causing bodily injury. Two years later, he was shot and killed in June 2021 alongside his mother, Maggie.

Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal is available to stream on Netflix now. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.

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