For decades, the Murdaugh family has been a part of the media headlines because of their cases and their sons’ felony charges. The family came into the headlines after facing a traumatizing tragedy.
On 7 June 2021, Alex discovered that his wife and son were missing from the house. He came outside his house to check and gazed near the dog kennels at the family’s hunting lodge where her wife, Maggie, 52, and his son Paul, 22, were brutally murdered.
He immediately called the 911 helpline for paramedics and police. It was reported that they didn’t have any chance of survival after the attack. After the investigation, Maggie’s lawyer showed Maggie’s property testament.
In the Will, Maggie writes that all her property and belongings will be transferred to Alex after her death. After disclosing her Will, Alex was accused by many people of murdering his wife for the property.
After some months, a transaction was made to his account that the lawyer highlighted this point and tried to relate it with his wife’s murder case. But he didn’t go to jail.
After some days, he tried to fake his death by shooting himself. During the investigation, he told the court that he tried to fake his death to review 10 million dollars of insurance.
Currently, Alex, 53, is a suspended attorney and is living his life in jail for the charges of enacting his own wife’s murder case. He is also charged for stealing money from his clients for many years.
Although there was no information about the properties she owned, according to the will she signed on 5 August 2005, it states that Alex is going to own 1,770-acre property that straddles Hampton and Colleton counties.
One of Alex’s attorneys reported that he knew his client for being involved ‘from the get go,’ but the headlines of Maggie’s will to be transferred to her husband made his involvement in the murder case ignored.
Alex’s Son Felony Charges For Murdering Malory Beach
Alex’s younger son named Paul Terry Murdaugh was charged with three felonies for murdering Paul Beach. Other people saw that he was drunk and the police caught him.
But, the people around the incident saw that the police did not perform a field sobriety test. Neither was he handcuffed nor was he taken to jail.
This led to distress among the people for the Murdaugh family because they started to speculate that Paul was not charged due to the status of Murdaugh.
After the investigation, the alcohol content found in his blood was .286, three times the average drinking limit for driving. The Judge ignored the prosecutor’s request, focusing on Paul for over drinking and killing an innocent.
In 2021, the case was reopened after Beach’s family filed the case. South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) investigated and found that the police department was pressured not to charge Paul with murder charges.
Some days before the death of Maggie, she made some arrangements to release Paul from jail. Paul was free from the email on bail and started attending the University Of South Carolina to stay far away from the investigation.
The family is known to face many legal issues in the past. Their ancestors that have been in the family firm for about a century, have frequently faced legal problems.
Who Is Alex Murdaugh?
Alex Murdaugh belongs to the Murdaugh family, which lives as a legal family in the United States. From 1920 to 2006, three family members have continuously served as solicitors.
Alex was born on 17 June 1958 in Hampton County, South Carolina, USA. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1990. He later attended the University of South Carolina school of law and graduated from there in 1994.
Background Of The Murdaugh Family
Rudolf Murdaugh was born in Varnville, and upon graduating from the law school of the University of South Carolina, he founded a firm in Hampton, South Carolina, in 1910.
In 1920, he became the solicitor in the 14th Judicial circuit 1920 and held the position till 1940. Later he died in an accident when his car and train collided. ‘The Hampton County Herald’ is a local newspaper he ran.
Buster was the son of Rudolf Murdaugh Sr., and he served as a Solicitor from 1940. He was known in the courtroom for frequently chewing tobacco.
He was famous for dealing with murder and death cases. Sometimes, the Judge would get furious at Buster for his closing statement in death penalty cases, as Professor John Blume of Cornell Law School reported.
He was known to be opposed twice in his career. The federal grand jury caught his contribution to the Bootlegging crime because he warned the bootleggers to move to a neighboring country to avoid getting caught.
There were many charges upon him, and after serving as a solicitor for 42 years, he retired in 1986. After retirement, he lived for 12 years and died in 1998.
Then, another member of the Murdaugh family came to take over the office, Rudolf Murdaigh III. He was the son of Buster and went into this family profession in 1986, after the retirement of his father, buster.
He served in the firm for 20 years and ran unopposed in every election held. He was married to Elizabeth Alexander, and the family grew to welcome four children.
The three were his sons named Randolph IV (called Randy), Richard Alexander (called Alex), and John Marvin. Randolph IV and Richard were interested in holding the family firm, while the other had different plans.
Rudolph Murdaugh III retired in 2006 and died on 10 June 2021. His autopsy report shows that he died of a natural cause.
Then Richard Alexander(Alex) entered the firm after clearing his education from the law school of the University of South Carolina. He volunteered for the 14th circuit solicitor’s office.
He was married to Margaret Kennedy Branstetter (called Maggie), and the couple shared two sons named Richard Alexander Jr. (called Buster) and Paul Terry.
