The fall of the prominent Murdaugh family: A timeline of deaths, embezzlement and an insurance scam
By Eric Levenson, Dianne Gallagher, Melissa Gray, Amir Vera, CNN
(CNN) — For 87 years, the Murdaugh family name came to represent a legal dynasty in coastal South Carolina, where three successive generations controlled the local prosecutor’s office.
But the family is now closely connected to a bloody tragedy, the embezzlement of millions of dollars and a bizarre murder-for-hire plot to score millions in life insurance.
The sprawling saga centers on the actions of Alex Murdaugh, the disbarred attorney who stood trial for the 2021 murders of his wife and son. He was found guilty in March 2023 in a closely watched case and sentenced to life in prison.
Murdaugh’s attorneys have appealed for a new trial based on allegations of jury tampering, prejudicial evidence and failures at trial and during the investigation. The state Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on those points on Wednesday.
Murdaugh additionally has pleaded guilty to dozens of federal and state charges of financial crimes related to a wide-ranging scheme to bilk his law firm, clients and the government out of about $9.3 million, according to the state attorney general.
The sprawling investigation has also led to charges against multiple associates and spurred investigators to reopen several death investigations.
Here’s a timeline of all the twists and turns in the Murdaugh saga, including the family’s illustrious history, his alleged financial and violent crimes, the murder trial and its ongoing aftermath:
The reign of the Murdaugh family
Over three generations, a member of the Murdaugh family has served as the 14th Circuit Solicitor, which leads prosecutions for Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties in the southern part of South Carolina.
Randolph Murdaugh Sr. was elected to the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office in 1920 and served in the position until his death in 1940.
His son, Randolph Murdaugh Jr., took over the position and served until his retirement in 1986.
Murdaugh Jr.’s son, Randolph Murdaugh III, was elected to the role in 1987 and served through the end of 2005.
Murdaugh III’s son, Alex Murdaugh, worked as an attorney at the law firm Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick, known as PMPED.
In 2006, then-Gov. Mark Sanford appointed attorney Duffie Stone to serve as the 14th Circuit solicitor, making him the first non-Murdaugh in the position. He has been elected to the position five times since, most recently in 2024, according to the solicitor’s website.
Housekeeper’s death and boat crash
February 2018: Gloria Satterfield, a longtime housekeeper for the Murdaugh family, died in what was described as a “trip and fall accident” at the Murdaugh home, according to attorney Eric Bland, who represented her estate.
After Satterfield’s death, a $500,000 wrongful death claim was filed against Alex Murdaugh on behalf of her estate, Bland said.
February 24, 2019: A boat crashed at a bridge near Parris Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, killing 19-year-old Mallory Beach, according to the South Carolina attorney general in documents obtained by CNN.
Alex Murdaugh owned the boat. Six people were on board at the time, including Murdaugh’s 19-year-old son, Paul.
April 2019: Paul Murdaugh was indicted on charges of boating under the influence (BUI) causing great bodily harm and causing death in connection to the crash, court records show. He pleaded not guilty.
The double homicide
June 7, 2021: The chief financial officer at Alex Murdaugh’s namesake law firm, PMPED, confronted him about $792,000 in missing funds.
That night, Murdaugh called 911 and reported he found his wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, then 22, shot dead outside their home in Islandton, a small community about an hour north of Hilton Head Island, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
Murdaugh told officers he was not at the crime scene that night. He said he had visited his ailing mother in Almeda and returned to find his wife and son dead.
June 10: Randolph Murdaugh III died peacefully at his home at age 81, according to his obituary.
June 15: SLED released basic information about the June 7 killings, saying Alex Murdaugh called 911 at 10:07 p.m. and investigators collected evidence that night and the next morning.
June 17: Alex Murdaugh’s brothers, John Marvin Murdaugh and Randolph “Randy” Murdaugh IV, spoke to “Good Morning America” about the killings. They said Alex called them “distraught” with the news that his wife and son had been shot. They said they do not believe their brother is involved.
June 22: SLED reopened an investigation into the unsolved death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith, whose body was found on a road in Hampton County in 2015. The agency said the case is being reopened based on information gathered while investigating the deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.
June 25: Alex Murdaugh and his other son, Buster, announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for the killings of Maggie and Paul.
July 22: SLED released redacted audio of Alex Murdaugh’s 911 call the night of the killings. In the audio, a distraught Murdaugh advised dispatchers his wife and son had been shot, were on the ground and were not breathing.
August 11: An investigator with SLED sharply questioned Murdaugh and intimated he is a suspect in the killings. Murdaugh again denied killing them.
Murdaugh’s resignation, murder-for-hire plot and arrest
September 3, 2021: Alex Murdaugh resigned from the law firm PMPED, according to the firm.
September 4: Murdaugh called 911 and reported he was shot on a road in Hampton County, according to a SLED spokesman. He was taken to a hospital in Savannah, Georgia, where he was treated for a “superficial gunshot wound to the head,” the statement said.
September 6: Murdaugh released a statement through his attorney, Dick Harpootlian, to WCSC saying he was resigning from the law firm and entering rehab. Murdaugh’s other attorney, Jim Griffin, said his client has an opioid addiction.
September 7: The law firm said Murdaugh resigned “after the discovery by PMPED that Alex misappropriated funds in violation of PMPED standards and policies.”
September 8: The South Carolina Supreme Court issued an order suspending Alex Murdaugh’s license to practice law in the state.
September 10: A family spokesperson issued a statement saying an unknown person was to blame for the shooting of Alex Murdaugh.
“Alex pulled over after seeing a low tire indicator light. A male driver in a blue pickup asked him if he had car troubles, as soon as Alex replied, he was shot,” the statement said.
September 13: SLED released a statement announcing it has opened an investigation into Alex Murdaugh for allegedly misappropriating funds at his law firm.
September 14: Court documents alleged Murdaugh’s roadside shooting was part of an arrangement in which he hired a former client to kill him so Murdaugh’s surviving son could collect a life insurance payout of about $10 million.
Curtis Edward Smith, 61, who allegedly shot Murdaugh, was charged with assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, according to SLED.
September 15: SLED announced it was opening a criminal investigation into the February 2018 death of Gloria Satterfield, the housekeeper for the Murdaugh family, and the handling of her estate.
September 16: Alex Murdaugh was arrested in connection to an insurance fraud scheme that court documents said involved Murdaugh arranging for his own killing. He was charged with insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and filing a false police report, according to a law enforcement statement.
More allegations and charges
September 26: The PMPED law firm issued a statement claiming Murdaugh “lied and stole from us.” The firm said no member was aware of “Alex’s scheme” or his drug addiction.
September 28: The children of Gloria Satterfield filed a motion for Murdaugh’s arrest and detention until the money he allegedly embezzled from her estate is returned. The estate has not received any of the money owed as the result of a 2018 civil settlement, the estate’s attorney said.
October 6: Murdaugh’s law firm announced it was suing him to recover funds he allegedly stole from clients for his own personal use, according to a statement from the firm.
October 14: After being released from a drug rehabilitation center, Alex Murdaugh was arrested in Orlando on suspicion of misappropriating settlement funds in connection with Satterfield’s death, authorities said.
He was charged with two felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses, according to SLED.
October 16: A pair of affidavits were released that alleged Alex Murdaugh coordinated with Satterfield’s family to sue himself for insurance money that he then pocketed for himself.
October 26: Attorneys for the Satterfield’s estate said they’ve reached a settlement with his former law firm.
Murdaugh’s multiple indictments
November 19, 2021: South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office announced a state grand jury has issued five indictments with a total of 27 charges against Alex Murdaugh alleging he defrauded and laundered almost $5 million.
The indictments include four counts of breach of trust with fraudulent intent; seven counts of obtaining signature or property by false pretenses; seven counts of money laundering; eight counts of computer crimes; and one count of forgery.
December 10: Seven indictments with another 21 criminal charges were filed against Murdaugh for allegedly defrauding victims of millions of dollars, according to the state attorney general.
December 14: Murdaugh agreed to a $4.3 million settlement with the family of Gloria Satterfield, according to family attorney Eric Bland.
January 21, 2022: Alex Murdaugh was charged with 23 more crimes in four new indictments returned by a grand jury, the state attorney general said. The indictments alleged Murdaugh stole more than $2.2 million meant for four clients.
March 16: Murdaugh was indicted on four more crimes, including conspiracy and false statement or misrepresentation in an insurance transaction, related to a scheme to defraud multiple insurance companies, according to the attorney general.
June 3: South Carolina law enforcement officials announced they sought and received permission from Satterfield’s family to exhume her remains. The exhumation stems from a Hampton County coroner’s request that led to the state law enforcement division opening a criminal investigation into Satterfield’s death.
“The decedent’s death was not reported to the Coroner at the time, nor was an autopsy performed. On the death certificate the manner of death was ruled ‘Natural,’ which is inconsistent with injuries sustained in a trip and fall accident,” the coroner’s request to the law enforcement division said.
June 28: Murdaugh and former acquaintance Curtis Smith were indicted on two counts of criminal conspiracy by a state grand jury, according to the attorney general. The indictment alleged Murdaugh gave Smith hundreds of checks over a number of years totaling about $2.4 million.
Smith was also indicted on charges of money laundering, forgery, drug trafficking and drug possession, the attorney general’s office said.
July 12: The South Carolina Supreme Court disbarred Murdaugh, according to an order released by the court.
Murdaugh charged with murder
July 14, 2022: Alex Murdaugh was indicted on two counts of murder and two weapons counts in connection with the 2021 killings of his wife and son, according to authorities.
July 20: Murdaugh pleaded not guilty to murder.
August 19: Murdaugh was indicted by a grand jury on nine charges, including four counts of obtaining signature or property by false pretenses, three counts of money laundering and two counts of computer crime, the attorney general said.
December 16: Murdaugh was indicted on nine counts of tax evasion for failing to report more than $6.9 million in income he earned through illegal acts, the attorney general said.
The double murder trial
January 25, 2023: Murdaugh’s trial for the killings of his wife, Maggie, and son Paul began in Walterboro, South Carolina.
In opening statements, prosecutor Creighton Waters said Murdaugh killed his family as a “gathering storm” was set to expose his vast financial crimes. Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian said the state’s accusations are filled with “theories” and “conjecture.”
February 1: Prosecutors played video taken by Paul Murdaugh on the night he was killed in which Alex Murdaugh’s voice can be heard in the background, contradicting his claim he was not at the crime scene that night.
February 23: Alex Murdaugh took the stand in his own defense and admitted he lied to investigators when he said he was not at the scene of his wife and son’s deaths. “I wasn’t thinking clearly,” he said, blaming his addiction to opiate painkillers.
In addition, he admitted under oath that he stole from his law firm and his clients, and he admitted he had set up the murder-for-hire plot when he was shot on a roadway.
Still, he denied that he shot and killed his wife and son.
March 2: Jurors deliberated for less than three hours before returning guilty verdicts on all four charges – two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon in the commission of a violent crime.
March 3: Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison.
March 9: Alex Murdaugh’s attorneys file a notice of appeal of his murder conviction.
The trial’s aftermath
March 21, 2023: The death of Stephen Smith, whose body was found in the middle of a road in 2015, was being investigated as a homicide, a spokesperson for the SLED told CNN. The agency announced two years earlier it was reopening the case based on information it learned while probing the deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.
April 2: Stephen Smith’s body was exhumed and an autopsy was conducted, family attorney Eric Bland said.
May 24: A federal grand jury indicted Alex Murdaugh on 22 counts for alleged financial schemes to obtain money and property from his personal injury clients.
August 15: Cory Fleming, a former South Carolina attorney and longtime friend of Alex Murdaugh, was sentenced to nearly 4 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiring with Murdaugh to defraud Satterfield’s estate.
Investigation into court clerk
September 5, 2023: The South Carolina attorney general asked SLED to investigate claims of jury tampering during Murdaugh’s murder trial. Murdaugh’s attorneys had filed a court motion demanding a new trial and alleging the Colleton County court clerk Becky Hill tampered with the jury.
September 14: Fleming was sentenced to an additional 10 years on state charges related to stealing settlement money from the estates of Satterfield and another man.
September 21: Murdaugh pleaded guilty to 22 federal financial crimes.
October 17: The South Carolina Court of Appeals granted Murdaugh’s motion to suspend his appeal and send his murder case back to circuit court to consider allegations of jury tampering by Becky Hill, the court clerk.
October 27: Murdaugh’s attorneys filed a motion for a new trial, asking a judge to hold an evidentiary hearing on their allegations of jury tampering by Hill.
November 17: Murdaugh pleaded guilty to dozens of state financial charges and waived his right to appeal.
November 28: Murdaugh was sentenced to 27 years in prison for the state financial crimes.
January 29, 2024: A South Carolina judge ruled Murdaugh will not receive a new murder trial related to allegations that Hill tampered with the jury.
Judge Jean Toal said the clerk made improper comments to the jury and was “attracted by the siren call of celebrity,” but the comments did not influence the verdict.
March 25: Hill resigns as Colleton County clerk.
April 1: Murdaugh was sentenced to 40 years for the federal financial crimes.
August 13: The South Carolina Supreme Court agreed to hear Alex Murdaugh’s appeal of the judge’s ruling that he would not receive a new murder trial.
Court clerk charged
May 14, 2025: Hill was arrested and charged with obstructing justice, misconduct and perjury related to Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial.
The charges alleged she made available sealed evidence, lied under oath about doing so, and used her court position to promote her tell-all book about the trial.
August 11: Prosecutors submitted a 182-page filing on why Murdaugh’s murder conviction should stand and he should not get a new trial, arguing the jury convicted him because he was “obviously” guilty.
September 9: Murdaugh’s legal team filed its reply to the prosecutors’ filing, alleging corruption, prosecutorial misconduct and jury tampering.
September 28: Murdaugh’s former banker, Russell Laffitte, is sentenced to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to fraud and financial crimes. The charges are related to helping Murdaugh hide millions in stolen settlement funds from the disgraced attorney’s clients.
October 13: Laffitte was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to state felony charges including breach of trust, computer crime and conspiracy. The charges related to helping Murdaugh misappropriate hundreds of thousands of dollars belonging to Murdaugh’s former clients.
December 8: Hill pleads guilty in Colleton County Circuit Court to charges of obstruction of justice, perjury and misconduct. She was sentenced to three years of probation.
February 11, 2026: Oral arguments are scheduled for Alex Murdaugh’s appeal of his double-murder conviction at the state Supreme Court.
This story has been updated with additional information.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
