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Netflix has a true crime documentary series titled “Murdaugh Murders,” which explores the deaths of Maggie and her son, Paul Murdaugh. The show also covers other incidents involving at least three other killings linked to South Carolina’s Murdaugh family of prosecutors.
The events covered in the series’ two seasons spanned several years, culminating in the trial and sentencing of convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh, Paul’s father and Maggie’s husband.
With Murdaugh’s punishment meted out, some may wonder whether he is in jail. If you are one of these individuals, you may also want to know where he is serving his sentence.
What is the timeline of Murdaugh’s conviction for his crimes? How did he behave while serving his sentence? Is there any appeal to reduce his sentence and get him out of prison?
This article focuses on these questions and whether Murdaugh has specific privileges while in prison. This article also discusses his net worth and whether his photos can be released publicly.
If you have an incarcerated loved one or person of interest but do not know where their facility is, visit LookUpInmate.org. This website has an online inmate records search tool to help you check inmate jail records, mugshots, judicial reports, and court records.
Where Is Alex Murdaugh Now?
During a March 2023 trial, Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of murder and was meted out with two consecutive life sentences. A September 2023 report states he is serving his sentence in a South Carolina maximum-security prison.
Alex Murdaugh Convicted of Homicide: A Timeline
The unsolved June 2021 murders of Margaret Murdaugh and her son Paul broke the image of one of South Carolina’s well-connected legal families.
Alex Murdaugh, whose father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were among the region’s top prosecutors in roles spanning almost 90 years, denied culpability in the deaths.
The killings started a bizarre series of events that included insurance policy fraud and dozens of other charges accusing Murdaugh of financial crimes.
The following sections discuss the timeline of events surrounding the killings, Murdaugh’s murder charges, sentencing, and jail time.
June 7, 2021
At 10:07 PM, Murdaugh called 911 to say he found Margaret and Paul’s lifeless bodies near the family’s dog kennels on their estate’s hunting lodge in rural Colleton County. During the call, he told the dispatcher he had just been gone and came back. Afterward, authorities arrived on the scene.
Murdaugh’s lawyers told news outlets his alibi, saying he was spending time with his mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease, and her caregiver during that day.
June 10, 2021
On this day, Randolph Murdaugh III, Murdaugh’s father, died at home in Hampton County, South Carolina. Randolph was 81 and had various health ailments when he died. Despite having no connections to the murders, his death added to the case’s growing intrigue.
June 14, 2021
A coroner revealed that Paul and Margaret suffered multiple gunshot wounds and estimated their time of death to be between 9:00 PM and 9:30 PM.
September 4, 2021
According to reports, a roadside shooting occurred in Hampton County and injured Murdaugh.
Jim Griffin, Murdaugh’s lawyer and friend, told reporters that Murdaugh’s black Mercedes-Benz sports utility vehicle (SUV) had a flat tire and had to pull over his vehicle. Suddenly, a pickup truck passed by, turned around, and a person inside the pickup opened fire.
September 5, 2021
Authorities said Murdaugh’s head injury was only a “superficial” wound. He was sent to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia, for treatment.
September 6, 2021
Murdaugh released a public statement saying he made many decisions that he regretted and that he resigned from his family’s law firm to enter rehabilitation.
Hours after his statement, Murdaugh’s firm — Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth, and Detrickhe — released a statement claiming Murdaugh misappropriated company funds.
September 8, 2021
The South Carolina Supreme Court indefinitely suspended Murdaugh’s law license.
The state’s highest court’s ruling came after Murdaugh’s law firm accused him of fund misappropriation and reported him to the state bar and law enforcement.
September 14, 2021
Authorities provided additional details regarding the roadside shooting and claimed Murdaugh arranged for a man to kill him so his older son, Buster, could collect a $10 million life insurance policy.
The man, Curtis Edward Smith, 61, was arrested on several charges, including the following:
- Assisted suicide
- Assault and battery of a highly aggravated nature
- Pointing and presenting a firearm
- Insurance fraud
- Conspiracy to commit insurance fraud
September 15, 2021
Murdaugh’s attorney, Richard Harpootlian, told a news outlet that Murdaugh became depressed and attempted to quit an opioid addiction due to his wife and son’s death.
Harpootlian believed his client’s insurance policy had a suicide clause. This provision may have led to Murdaugh enlisting a man to kill him during a staged car breakdown. A suicide clause, which is usually included as a provision in a life insurance policy, prohibits the payment of insurance benefits in case the insured commits suicide.
Meanwhile, state investigators opened a criminal investigation into the death of Gloria Satterfield, a longtime Murdaugh housekeeper. Reports mentioned she died in 2018 after an alleged trip-and-fall accident at the Murdaugh family home.
The decision to open the investigation was due to a Hampton County coroner’s request and on information gathered from a separate investigation into Murdaugh.
September 16, 2021
Murdaugh surrendered to authorities after they charged him with filing a false police report, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
The court granted him a bail bond, and the judge told him to surrender his passport. However, he received permission to return to a drug rehabilitation center.
October 14, 2021
After almost a month, authorities arrested Murdaugh in Florida after his release from a drug rehabilitation facility. He was charged with two counts of felony for obtaining property by false pretenses after authorities investigated millions of dollars missing from a settlement involving Satterfield’s death.
Satterfield’s heirs claimed they received no proceeds from the $4.3 million settlement and said Murdaugh secretly orchestrated the incident.
Meanwhile, Smith appeared on a news show to dispute claims that he was a willing accomplice during Murdaugh’s September roadside shooting.
According to Smith’s version, Murdaugh held a gun and appeared to be about to shoot himself. Smith said he intervened at this point. Although the gun still fired, Smith realized Murdaugh was okay, so Smith drove off.
October 19, 2021
After Murdaugh faced embezzlement charges tied to his housekeeper’s death, South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman denied his bail bond and ordered him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
The order followed concerns that Murdaugh presented a potential danger to the community and himself. The embattled lawyer received permission to continue his opioid addiction treatment at an out-of-state drug detoxification center.
November 19, 2021
The investigations into Murdaugh’s business dealings led to new charges totaling 27 counts against him. These indictments include the following:
- Obtaining signature or property by false pretenses
- Breach of trust with fraudulent intent
- Money laundering
- Forgery
- Computer crimes
December 9, 2021
The state attorney general announced the additional charges against Murdaugh as follows:
- Breach of trust with fraudulent intent (nine counts)
- Computer crimes (seven counts)
- Money laundering (four counts)
- Forgery (one count)
Overall, Murdaugh faced 48 charges. Prosecutors said his victims included family friends, a man in a car wreck, and an undocumented immigrant.
December 13, 2021
Murdaugh, who is being held in Richland County Jail, spoke publicly for the first time in months and told the court he went through opiate withdrawal in September when he sought a way to get himself killed. Additionally, a judge set Murdaugh’s bail bond at $7 million.
During a virtual hearing, Circuit Judge Alison Renee Lee said Murdaugh must post the bail bond to be eligible for house arrest with electronic monitoring, counseling, and random drug testing.
January 21, 2022
A grand jury indicted Murdaugh anew with 23 charges, including computer crimes and breach of trust with fraudulent intent. At this point, he faced 71 charges, including theft of about $8.5 million over 11 years.
January 24, 2022
A legal claim was filed against Margaret and Paul Murdaugh’s estates by the mother of Mallory Beach, a 19-year-old killed in a 2019 boat crash. Murdaugh owned the boat, and investigators said Paul was steering at some point with six people on board during a night of underage drinking.
The vessel hit a bridge piling (a post or foundation), ejecting the passengers aged 18 to 20.
Two survivors joined the Beach family’s claim in an attempt to receive what they believe is owed to them due to the accident.
March 16, 2022
A grand jury indicted Murdaugh with four additional charges in relation to a scheme involving his friend and another attorney, Cory Fleming, to defraud several insurance companies. However, Fleming’s lawyer stated that Fleming was another victim of Murdaugh’s crimes.
May 4, 2022
Prosecutors announced that Murdaugh would receive four more charges related to financial crimes involving Fleming and other individuals.
June 3, 2022
State authorities received permission from Satterfield’s family to exhume her body for further investigation into her death.
This investigation was the outcome of questions about why Satterfield’s death certificate mentioned her death was ruled “natural,” which a coroner said was inconsistent with trip-and-fall accident injuries.
June 24, 2022
Authorities placed Smith into custody on new charges, including three counts of forgery, four counts of money laundering, and criminal conspiracy.
June 28, 2022
A grand jury charged Murdaugh and Smith with narcotics offenses and criminal conspiracy. The accusation against these men was conspiring to purchase and distribute oxycodone in Colleton County between October 7, 2013, and September 7, 2021.
Oxycodone is a semisynthetic narcotic analgesic (pain reliever) historically popular among the narcotic-abusing population.
Euphoria and feelings of relaxation are among this drug’s common effects. However, an overdose can cause extreme drowsiness, muscle weakness, slow heart rate, shallow breathing, fainting, coma, and possible death.
July 13, 2022
The South Carolina Supreme Court formally disbarred Murdaugh, who was facing 11 lawsuits and 84 criminal charges.
Disbarment is the revocation of an attorney’s license to practice law for failing to uphold the lawyer’s oath, such as in cases of incompetence or criminal or unethical conduct.
July 14, 2022
A grand jury issued another charge against Murdaugh for the double murder of Paul and Margaret.
Authorities obtained cell phone video evidence they believed put Murdaugh at the crime scene shortly before the killings occurred. The video also contradicted the timeline of events provided during the day of the crime.
Despite the evidence, Murdaugh’s lawyers said law enforcement and the attorney general prematurely concluded that Murdaugh was responsible for the murder of his wife and son. The lawyers also insisted that Murdaugh had no motive to murder them.
July 20, 2022
Murdaugh pleaded not guilty to the murder charges.
His defense lawyers requested the judge to deny his bond, stating he could not afford the amount anyway. He also preferred a speedy trial because he felt the killer or killers were still on the loose.
August 19, 2022
A grand jury charged Murdaugh on nine additional criminal counts associated with computer crimes and money laundering.
This indictment alleged Murdaugh stole money from his law firm from late 2020 to 2021 and took advantage of an accounting error in 2017 and 2018. That error sent $121,358 to him for a loan repayment when the money was supposed to be for his brother.
October 13, 2022
The state attorney general’s office scheduled Murdaugh’s trial date for January 23, 2023, at the Colleton County Courthouse. The trial was for his murder charges and is expected to last about three weeks.
December 9, 2022
State prosecutors claimed during a pretrial hearing that Murdaugh killed his wife and son to earn sympathy and escape accountability for his financial crimes.
Murdaugh’s lawyers rejected the state’s grounds, questioning why their client would shift a financial investigation’s focus away from him to avoid scrutiny only to get himself involved in a murder investigation.
December 16, 2022
Murdaugh was indicted with nine counts of tax evasion, referring to his failure to pay almost $487,000 in state income taxes despite making nearly $14 million in nine years. With this latest indictment, the number of finance-related charges against him totaled more than 100.
December 20, 2022
State prosecutors announced they would seek a life sentence without parole for Murdaugh during his double murder trial. If he got convicted, this sentence would allow him to avoid the death penalty.
January 23, 2023
Murdaugh’s double murder trial opened at the Colleton County Courthouse with jury selection. Around 900 jury summons went out in a county with 38,600 people.
In a jury selection, a court randomly selects qualified citizens from counties within the district for potential jury service.
January 25, 2023
State prosecutors contended in an opening statement that Murdaugh killed his son and wife at close range using an assault rifle (A.R.)-style firearm and a shotgun and that forensic evidence would confirm his guilt.
Meanwhile, the defense insisted in its opening statement that the prosecution’s case had numerous holes and claimed such a case was built on conjectures (conclusions based on incomplete information) and theories.
February 1, 2023
Prosecutors showed a previously unseen video taken from Paul Murdaugh’s phone in which three voices were heard in the background right before the killings occurred.
Witnesses testified the voices were of Paul, Margaret, and Alex. This evidence placed the family patriarch at the crime scene and contradicted his alibi that he did not see his wife and son moments before their deaths.
February 23, 2023
On the fifth week of the trial, Murdaugh took the stand for his defense. He testified that he did not shoot his wife or son and broke down multiple times as his lawyer asked him to describe the crime scene.
February 24, 2023
Murdaugh took the stand again, and the prosecution grilled him during cross-examination regarding his new story. The prosecution argued his earlier testimony was fabricated to align with the video evidence showing he saw his son and wife minutes before they died.
Murdaugh revealed that he lied to law enforcement officers regarding his location before the murders due to his general paranoia and addiction to prescription pain pills.
March 2, 2023
The jury started deliberations after the prosecution and defense wrapped up their closing arguments.
A verdict came three hours later, and the jury found Murdaugh guilty of murder. Furthermore, the jury convicted him of two counts of possessing a weapon during a violent crime. This offense would carry a prison sentence of five more years.
March 3, 2023
Murdaugh received a maximum of two consecutive life sentences for the murders. During this hearing, Judge Clifton Newman reprimanded Murdaugh for the lawyer’s dishonest courtroom conduct and apparent lack of awareness.
Murdaugh continued proclaiming his innocence, and his defense lawyers said they would appeal the conviction.
March 8, 2023
A Beach family lawyer said Murdaugh will go on trial for a wrongful death lawsuit on August 14. The family previously settled with surviving son Buster Murdaugh and Margaret’s estate.
March 9, 2023
Murdaugh filed an appeal for his double murder convictions. However, the notice did not include his legal team’s arguments, such as the admission of Murdaugh’s financial misconduct into evidence, which were raised during the trial.
March 31, 2023
After their initial evaluation, South Carolina corrections officials announced Murdaugh’s transfer into protective custody in maximum security.
May 1, 2023
Murdaugh’s lawyers revealed that a part of the lawsuit accusing him of life insurance fraud connected to Satterfield’s death was that he fabricated critical facts about her 2018 trip-and-fall accident to receive millions of settlement dollars.
May 24, 2023
The Justice Department announced a 22-count indictment against Murdaugh on money laundering and financial fraud charges.
These accusations included allegations of defrauding homeowner’s insurance carriers and Satterfield’s estate by directing the settlement claims into a fake bank account and using the money for his personal enrichment.
July 16, 2023
Lawsuits over the 2019 crash of a boat allegedly driven by Murdaugh’s son have been settled, according to two lawyers familiar with the negotiations.
The settlement money amounted to $15 million, most of which went to the Beach family.
August 15, 2023
A federal judge sentenced Cory Fleming to 46 months with three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiring to commit fraud related to the Satterfield theft.
August 30, 2023
Murdaugh lost his prison phone and canteen privileges after the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) said he violated the rules by engaging with the media. This situation occurred after an investigation found Murdaugh read his journal entries to his attorney in a recorded phone call.
September 5, 2023
Murdaugh’s lawyers filed a motion for a new trial after reportedly uncovering evidence of jury tampering.
The motion accused the Colleton County clerk of court, Rebecca Hill, of tampering when she allegedly told the jury not to believe Murdaugh’s testimony and other evidence the defense would present.
This move would have pressured the jury to accept a quick guilty verdict and misrepresent critical information to the trial judge.
September 14, 2023
Murdaugh showed up in court for the first time since his murder trial. Judge Newman had set a November 27 trial date on the state’s financial fraud charges.
September 21, 2023
As part of his plea deal, Murdaugh pleaded guilty to 22 counts of federal financial fraud and money laundering. His sentence would come at a later date.
Former Dormmate Says Alex Murdaugh Controlled Prison and Had Privileges
Once an outstanding attorney, Alex Murdaugh now spends the rest of his life in prison for the death of his wife Maggie, and youngest son Paul, in Colleton County, South Carolina, on June 7, 2021.
However, Murdaugh’s ex-dormmate revealed how Murdaugh’s life was behind bars while inside the SCDC.
His ex-dormmate said inmates could receive a tablet, but these devices were already used and often not in good shape. On the other hand, Murdaugh got a new one, which no one else ever gets.
Murdaugh’s ex-dormmate also explained that the former lawyer was the money source behind some contraband.
Lawyer Claims Alex Murdaugh Doesn’t Want to “Rot Away” in Prison
Despite threats from other inmates, Alex Murdaugh, serving two life sentences in protective custody in a South Carolina maximum-security prison, wants to return to the general population.
Murdaugh’s lawyer believes Murdaugh can still be productive in the general population. Murdaugh also said he would rather take his chances outside than spend his life in a cell.
Alex Murdaugh Prison Photos: How Photos Were Taken and Released
According to a July 18, 2023, report posted online at 6:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), some photos of Alex Murdaugh in prison have surfaced and generated plenty of discussion online. Some people were wondering where these images came from.
The SCDC told news outlets that those photos were legal and that taking pictures is a service provided to all inmates.
Murdaugh’s pictures were released after a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request was filed, providing the public the right to request access to federal agency records.
Prison officials also said each inmate is issued a tablet with which they can make monitored telephone calls, read books, take classes, subscribe to pre-approved entertainment, and receive messages from the institution. However, these devices are not connected to the internet or social media.
What Is Alex Murdaugh’s Net Worth?
As of October 2023, Alex Murdaugh’s net worth was $2 million. Despite this value, recent controversial events, such as his wife and son’s death and the boat crash, have overshadowed his professional achievements.
Still, he continues working while undergoing medical treatment, even while in prison. His net worth has seen steady growth over the years, reflecting his success in his career.
Although the court has sentenced Murdaugh for his wife and son’s death, the results of his other cases are still pending. News watchers paying close attention can stay up-to-date on breaking news regarding this topic.
While waiting for updates on the Murdaugh cases, observers can check other news, such as the 2023 Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas and the election fraud case during the 2020 U.S. presidential elections between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.