“Murdaugh, who had pleaded not guilty, was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.”
The televised double murder trial heard allegations of corruption, drug abuse, and a botched hitman suicide plot, which riveted people who travelled miles to attend court.
Murdaugh, who had pleaded not guilty, was sentenced to two life sentences to run consecutively without the possibility of parole.
The timeline of this investigation stretches back years before the killings, as a number of high-profile deaths surround the family.
Here is a complete timeline of the major events:
July 8, 2015
Stephen Smith, 19, a nursing student and a classmate of Alex Murdaugh’s oldest son, Buster, was found dead in Hampton County, SC, in the early hours of 8 July 2015, close to the Murdaugh’s Moselle estate. He suffered blunt force trauma to the head and his car was found around three miles down the road. In a letter to the FBI, Smith’s mother names Buster Murdaugh as a prime suspect after a family friend alleged to have seen Murdaugh beating Stephen to death with a baseball bat.
Feb. 26, 2018
Gloria Satterfield, 57, who worked as a housekeeper and nanny for the Murdaugh family for nearly 25 years, died two weeks after she was reported to have had a “trip and fall accident” at their family estate.
Feb. 24, 2019
Alex Murdaugh’s youngest son, Paul, drunkenly crashed the family boat into a bridge at the age of 19, slamming it into a piling below a bridge, and the passengers, ages 18 to 20, were ejected.
The body of Mallory Beach, 19, was found a week later. Her parents sued Alex, bringing pressure on him to reveal details of his finances.
On April 18, 2019, Paul was charged with three felony counts in connection with the deadly boat crash. He later pleaded not guilty.
June 7, 2021
Alex Murdaugh called 911 at 10:07 p.m. to report that he has found the lifeless bodies of his wife Maggie, and his youngest son near the family’s dog kennels on their hunting lodge estate in Islandton. “I’ve been gone,” Murdaugh told the dispatcher in a quivering voice. “I just came back.” Authorities arrived on the scene.
Later, Murdaugh’s attorneys offered an alibi, stating that he spent the day with his mother, who has Alzheimer, and her caregiver.
June 14, 2021
A coroner revealed both Margaret and Paul suffered multiple gunshot wounds, with the prosecutors stating that Paul was first shot around 8:50pm and Margaret right after.
June 22, 2021
State officials announced that they were re-opening investigations into the death of Stephen Smith based on information gathered during investigations of the Murdaugh murders.
Sept. 3, 2021
Mr Murdaugh was forced to resign from his family law firm after his partners said that he had misused millions of dollars of client and firm money.
Sept. 4, 2021
Murdaugh called 911 from the roadside in Hampton County and reported being shot in the head. He claimed that the shooter pulled up beside him in a pickup truck while he was inspecting a flat tire and opened fire.
Sept. 6, 2021
Murdaugh released a public statement saying he has resigned from his family’s law firm to enter rehab and that he “made a lot of decisions that I truly regret.” His litigation firm — Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrickhe (PMPED) — also released a press statement alleging Murdaugh had misused company funds.
Sept. 8, 2021
The South Carolina Supreme Court indefinitely suspends Murdaugh’s law license.
Sept. 14, 2021
Authorities were informed about a new breakthrough in the roadside shooting, accusing Murdaugh of arranging for a man to kill him during a “fake car breakdown” so that his surviving son Buster could collect a $10 million life insurance policy.
The man — identified as Curtis ‘Eddie’ Smith, 61 — was arrested on charges of assisted suicide, assault and battery of a highly aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
Oct. 14, 2021
Murdaugh was arrested in Florida upon his release from a drug rehab facility. They charged him with two felony counts for obtaining property by false pretences and swindling millions of dollars from the sons of Ms Satterfield. He was jailed in Richland County, S.C., and twice denied bond.
Jan. 21, 2022
A grand jury indicts Murdaugh on 23 new charges, including breach of trust with fraudulent intent and computer crimes, bringing the total number of criminal financial charges to 48.
June 3, 2022
The state authorities said that they planned to exhume Ms Satterfield’s body, having received permission from her family.
July 13, 2022
The South Carolina Supreme Court formally disbars Murdaugh.
July 14, 2022
Murdaugh was indicted for the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh. Prosecutors said he fatally shot his wife with a rifle and his son with a shotgun.
Two sources close to the investigation say that authorities have cellphone video that they believe not only puts Murdaugh at the scene of the slayings shortly before they took place but also contradicts a previous timeline of events provided on the day of the killings.
“It was very clear from day one that law enforcement and the Attorney General prematurely concluded that Alex was responsible for the murder of his wife and son,” Murdaugh’s lawyers say in a statement. “But we know that Alex did not have any motive whatsoever to murder them.”
July, 2022
Murdaugh pleads not guilty to the murder charges.
Oct. 13, 2022
The state Attorney General’s Office sets Murdaugh’s trial date on the murder charges for Jan. 23, 2023, at the Colleton County Courthouse. The trial is expected to last almost three weeks.
Jan 23, 2023
Murdaugh’s trial on the homicide charges commenced with jury selection.
Jan 25, 2023
In an opening statement, lead prosecutor Creighton Waters asserted Murdaugh killed his wife and son at close range with a shotgun and an AR-style rifle, and that forensic evidence would show his culpability. He said that authorities have GPS information from Murdaugh’s smart devices contradicting his alibi, and cell phone video placing him at the estate during the time of the murders.
The defence in its opening statement insists there are numerous holes in the prosecution’s case, claiming: “He didn’t do it. He is innocent.”
Jan 26, 2023
Murdaugh was seen wiping away tears upon seeing a body cam footage of his deceased family — through an officer who was called to the crime scene reported that Murdaugh didn’t seem upset, saying there were no “visible tears.”
Feb 1, 2023
Prosecutors played a previously unseen video taken from the phone of Paul Murdaugh, which he took at 8:45 p.m., in which three voices can be heard in the background shortly before the murders occurred. Witnesses testified the voices of Alex, Paul and Margaret, which places the accused at the scene of the crime and discredits his alibi that he had not seen his wife and son in the moments before their deaths.
Police also testified to the usage of Maggie Murdaugh’s phone on the night of her murder, both before and after she died. In the subsequent hour, Alex called his wife’s phone three times and sent her a text saying “Call me babe,” which prosecutors claimed was an attempt to bolster his alibi.
Feb 15, 2023
Murdaugh’s sister-in-law, Marian Proctor, testified that she found her conversation with Murdaugh immediately after the murders strange saying, “We never talked about finding the person who could have done it. It was just odd.”
Feb 23 & Feb 24
Murdaugh testifies, “I didn’t shoot my wife or son,” and breaks down multiple times as his attorney asks him to describe the murder scene. “I could never intentionally do anything to hurt either one of them, not ever.”
Murdaugh also testified that he lied about information he gave to the authorities, and lied to his family about details of the day of the deaths.
“What a tangled web we weave,” Murdaugh said on the stand. “Once I told a lie — then I told my family — I had to keep lying.”
March 2, 2023
The jury begins deliberations after the prosecution and defence wrap up closing arguments.
A verdict returned three hours later, and Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering his wife and son. The jury also convicted him of two counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime, which carries five more years in prison.
March 3, 2023
Murdaugh is sentenced to life in prison.
At his hearing, Judge Clifton Newman said, “It might not have been you. It might have been the monster you become. When you take 20, 40, 50, 60 opioid pills, maybe you become another person.”
March 31, 2023
Murdaugh has been moved into protective custody in a maximum-security prison after completing an initial evaluation. His unit is in an undisclosed location and is separated from the general population for safety reasons.
Now
Stephen Smith’s death has officially been ruled a homicide, with SLED opening an official investigation into Smith’s murder. Despite suspicion, Buster Murdaugh denies any involvement in Smith’s murder. The investigation is ongoing.
Image by Tingey Injury Law Firm via Unsplash . Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
Khushboo Malhotra
Khushboo is a Twitter Editor at Empoword Journalism. She is an Award-nominated lifestyle and pop culture journalist, writer, and budding entrepreneur aiming to break down the boundaries of cultural stigma and shame attached to mental health and sexual health and bring marginalised topics to light. Send your stories, tips, and press announcements to khushboomalhotrafreelance@gmail.com