Who’s who? How figures in Murdaugh murders, SC boat crash, Smith death are connected
READ MORE
Alex Murdaugh Coverage
The Murdaugh family saga has dominated the news after another shooting, a resignation and criminal accusations — with Alex Murdaugh at the center of it all. Here are the latest updates on Alex Murdaugh.
Expand All
This story first published June 16, 2021, and was last updated Sept. 7.
It’s almost impossible to walk the streets of Hampton — possibly anywhere in the surrounding Lowcountry counties — and come across someone who doesn’t know the Murdaugh name.
Lately, many have associated the name with a tragedy. A boat carrying six young people crashed into a bridge near Parris Island in February 2019, killing a 19-year-old woman and implicating Paul Murdaugh, then 20.
In June, another family tragedy brought national attention. Paul Murdaugh, 22, and his mother Maggie, 52, were found shot to death outside their home in Colleton County. No one has been arrested.
Three months later, Alex Murdaugh, Paul’s father and Maggie’s husband, was shot in the head, resigned from the family law firm and was accused of taking money from the business in a string of events that revived the nation’s interest in the Murdaugh family.
Before 2019, headlines involving the Murdaugh family were mostly about their legal victories. Three generations of Murdaughs were state prosecutors, who collectively put thousands of people in prison and sent more than a dozen to death row from the 14th Judicial Circuit, a five-county region. The family’s law firm in Hampton has also won millions of dollars in civil lawsuits.
But who exactly are the Murdaughs? And how are they connected to the news coming out of Hampton?
THE SOLICITORS
Randolph Murdaugh Sr.: This is the original Murdaugh patriarch, who started the family’s legal legacy. He founded the family’s law firm in Hampton in 1910, then in 1920 was the first person elected to serve as 14th Circuit Solicitor. He died in a train wreck in 1940.
Randolph “Buster” Murdaugh Jr.: The son of Murdaugh Sr. He took over the solicitor position after his father’s death. He also succeeded him in running the law firm. He was indicted on charges involving a bootlegger, but was later acquitted.
Randolph Murdaugh III: The son of Murdaugh Jr. After his father retired from the solicitor position in 1986, Murdaugh III took over, holding the position until his own retirement in 2005. He was the final Murdaugh to hold the job, ending the family’s 87-year reign. He died June 10 at age 81, days after his grandson and daughter-in-law were murdered. He had been ill for some time.
THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY
Alex “Alec” Murdaugh: One of Murdaugh III’s sons. Although he hasn’t held the solicitor’s position, his biography on the family’s law firm website said he works as a part-time prosecutor at the office. In early September 2021, he resigned from his family’s law firm, now known as Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick, after he was accused of “misappropriating money.” He said he’d be entering rehab. The news came days after he was shot in the head — sustaining a superficial wound — on the side of a road in Hampton County.
He is the father of Paul and husband of Maggie Murdaugh, who were found shot to death on June 7. He told police he discovered the bodies and is the person who called 911. He is also named as a defendant in a civil suit stemming from the 2019 boat crash that killed a 19-year-old college student. Murdaugh owned the boat involved in the crash.
Maggie Murdaugh: Alex Murdaugh’s wife and the mother of Paul Murdaugh. Maggie, 52, was a “gentle presence” and remembered as a second mom to her sons’ friends. She also enjoyed watching her two sons play sports. She and Alex met while they were students at the University of South Carolina. She was fatally shot on June 7 alongside her younger son.
Paul Murdaugh: The younger of Alex Murdaugh’s two sons. He was fatally shot on June 7 alongside his mother. At the time of his death, Paul, 22, was a student at the University of South Carolina and was facing three felony boating under the influence charges tied to the 2019 fatal boat crash in Beaufort County that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach. A trial had not been set, and he was out on bond. The charges will be dismissed because of his death.
Alex “Buster” Murdaugh Jr.: Alex and Maggie Murdaugh’s 25-year-old son. He graduated from Wofford College in 2018 and was planning to work at the family’s law firm post graduation. In addition to his father, he is named as a defendant in a civil suit stemming from the 2019 boat crash that killed a 19-year-old college student. It’s alleged Buster let his younger brother use his ID to buy alcohol that day.
John Marvin Murdaugh: One of Randolph Murdaugh III’s sons and Alex Murdaugh’s brother. News outlets have reported that John Marvin Murdaugh was at the crime scene talking with investigators after Paul and Maggie Murdaugh’s double homicide. A friend of John Marvin’s has given multiple interviews saying the family is “confident justice will be served.”
Randolph “Randy” Murdaugh IV: One of Randolph Murdaugh III’s sons. He began working at the family law firm in 1991, according to the firm’s website. He was one of the first people Alex Murdaugh called after being shot in the head on Sept. 4, 2021.
Elizabeth “Libby” Alexander Murdaugh: The widow of Randolph Murdaugh III. The two met in high school and were married after Murdaugh III completed undergraduate studies at the University of South Carolina. Alex Murdaugh was visiting his mother at her home in Varnville before he discovered Paul and Maggie’s bodies on June 7, according to a Good Morning America interview.
Here, you can read the detailed history of the Murdaugh family from 1910 to 2019, when the fatal boat crash happened.
OTHERS CONNECTED TO THE FAMILY, BOAT CRASH
Mallory Beach: The 19-year-old college student who died in February 2019 after being launched into the water when a boat carrying her and five others crashed into a bridge near Parris Island in Beaufort County. Her body was found a week after the crash. She was from Hampton and worked at a boutique in Beaufort. The crash and her death captured the attention of the nation.
Renee Beach: Mallory Beach’s mother, who filed the wrongful death lawsuit against multiple people and entities in March 2019. Now, the lawsuit names only Paul Murdaugh’s father and brother, Alex Murdaugh Sr. and Alex “Buster” Murdaugh Jr., and convenience store Parkers 55 as defendants. It’s still unresolved and likely to go to trial.
Anthony Cook: Mallory Beach’s boyfriend at the time of the crash. He was on the boat and told police Paul Murdaugh was the driver. In a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report, a deputy interviewed Anthony Cook, who said he “begged Paul Murdaugh, who was driving the boat at the time of the incident, to please let him drive because he was too intoxicated to drive.” Some news outlets are reporting Anthony and Paul were cousins, but in a recent court deposition, Anthony said only that they’d known each other since he was in the third or fourth grade and that they were friends.
Connor Cook: Anthony Cook’s cousin, who was also on the boat at the time of the crash. The morning of the crash, a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputy wrote in his report: “It is unclear at this time whether Connor Cook or Paul Murdaugh was driving the boat.” To date, no one has faced criminal charges in the crash other than Murdaugh. Connor Cook filed a civil petition on July 7, 2021, claiming some law enforcement officers may know about intentions to hamper the crash investigation and shift blame away from Paul Murdaugh, possibly with the intention to frame him.
Michael Brock: A former officer with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, the lead law enforcement agency investigating the crash. Brock was the lead investigator on the case but later moved to an assisting role because of his ties with the Murdaugh family. Attorneys’ interview with Brock about the investigation was published among other depositions with Connor Cook’s civil petition.
THE STEPHEN SMITH CASE
Stephen Smith: A 19-year-old from Hampton County who was found dead in a road near Hampton in 2015. Authorities disagreed on whether he was killed in a hit-and-run accident or in a homicide. No arrests were made in the case that eventually went cold. Two weeks into the Murdaugh double homicide investigation, SLED announced it was reopening Smith’s investigation because of information received in its Murdaugh probe. No official statement has connected the Murdaughs to Smith’s death.
Sandy Smith: Stephen Smith’s mother, who has been vocal since 2015 that she believes young adults from prominent families are responsible for her son’s death.
Stephanie Smith: Stephen’s twin sister, who has spoken publicly about her brother and his death.
This story was originally published June 16, 2021, 2:06 PM.
_fitted.png)
