In the small town of Hampton County, South Carolina, the Murdaugh family is the law- or at least they were.
The Murdaugh law firm was founded by Randolph Murdaugh Sr. in 1910. Randolph eventually handed the firm off to his son, who handed it off to Randolph Murdaugh III, who then handed it off to his son, Richard Murdaugh, more formerly known as Alex.
Alex married Maggie Kennedy Branstetter in August of 1993. Maggie took Alex’s last name and became Maggie Murdaugh; they had two sons in the late 1990s, named Buster and Paul Murdaugh.
In Hampton County, the Murdaugh’s were known by almost everyone, and if you didn’t know them personally, you knew of them. In an issue of 1989 Carolina Lawyer magazine the Murdaugh family was described as “one of South Carolina’s most prominent legal families.” The Murdaugh’s could receive a call, show up and make anything disappear.
Recently on March 2, 2023 Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering his wife and his youngest son Paul. Originally Alex’s alibi stated he was not home at the time of the murders, but in a video taken on Paul's phone minutes before the murders, you can hear Alex’s voice in the background. Not only did Alex lie to the police about his whereabouts, but a forensic scientist found gunshot primer residue from the guns that were used to kill Maggie and Paul on Alex’s clothing he wore that night.
Alex was sentenced to life in prison and the murders of Paul and Maggie have also uncovered another 5 murders tied to the Murdaugh family. Even if Alex wasn’t found guilty, chances are he would have still ended up in jail as he stole millions of dollars from clients and his law firm.
