Caution: This article contains spoilers for Murdaugh: Death in the Family.
Murdaugh: Death in the Family, a Hulu drama premiering October 15, draws its inspiration from the real-life events surrounding Alex Murdaugh, once among South Carolina’s most prominent personal injury attorneys, who received a 2023 conviction for the murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul.
The series chronicles the events impacting the well-known Murdaugh family during the period preceding Alex’s 2021 accusation and subsequent conviction for the fatal shootings of Maggie and Paul at their family farm, as well as two counts of weapon possession during a violent crime. Prior to his death, Paul was awaiting trial in connection with a 2019 boat accident in Beaufort, S.C., which resulted in the death of classmate Mallory Beach. While Paul’s case progressed, numerous journalists began investigating the influential Murdaugh family and their personal injury law firm, uncovering that Alex had been misappropriating funds from clients and the firm itself.
The initial three episodes, available October 15, focus on the fatal boat crash. Subsequent weekly episodes will show the Murdaughs’ downfall, concluding with the creators’ dramatic portrayal of how Alex Murdaugh (Jason Clarke) may have murdered his wife () and son (Johnny Berchtold) at the family’s kennels in Islandton, S.C.
This drama series is derived from the Murdaugh Murders , co-created by journalist Mandy Matney, who also held an executive producer role for the Hulu production. TIME interviewed Matney and showrunner Michael D. Fuller regarding the known and unknown aspects of the case.
The individual operating the boat during the crash
The series portrays Paul as an outlier within the family. His elder brother lightheartedly remarks that he plans to attend law school solely to keep Paul from mischief. It is accurate that Paul had a reputation for heavy drinking. His friends would refer to him as ‘Timmy’ when intoxicated, as a jest implying he transformed into a different personality.
Although Paul died prior to standing trial, Matney asserts he was operating the boat during the 2019 crash, citing discussions with friends of his who were present. A passenger had provided Matney with a cell phone video depicting everyone on board consuming alcohol, with Paul at the helm of the boat.
“He was the most intoxicated person on the boat, significantly more belligerent than anyone else,” Matney states. “Furthermore, I’ve conversed with many individuals who have been on Paul’s boat, and invariably, only Paul operates Paul’s boat…I believe any uncertainty regarding who was driving at that specific moment originated from coercion by Alex Murdaugh.”
Both the series and real-life accounts show Alex Murdaugh attempting to implicate another young man aboard the boat, named Connor. Connor’s father had played football with Alex Murdaugh, and previously, when Connor encountered legal issues as a youth, Alex sought assistance from his father, Randolph Murdaugh, to resolve them. Through such actions, the Murdaughs performed favors for individuals, at times unprompted, to secure their allegiance. As Fuller explains, “It’s not a matter of direct threats or coercion. It’s more about societal pressure, a sense of obligation.”
The conclusive evidence resulting in Alex Murdaugh’s conviction
As detailed by the Netflix documentary series, authorities accessed Paul’s phone following his death by using his birthday as the passcode. They discovered a video Paul recorded at the family’s kennels shortly before his murder, featuring Alex’s voice in the background, despite Alex’s assertion of being at his mother’s residence at that time.
Matney remarks, “In many respects, Paul inadvertently solved his own murder thanks to that .”
Furthermore, GPS data from Alex Murdaugh’s vehicle indicated his presence at the scene of the . The information revealed that Alex had decelerated and then accelerated away from the location where Maggie’s phone was discovered.
Motivations behind Alex Murdaugh’s murders of his wife and son
Beyond embezzling funds from his family’s law firm, Murdaugh struggled with drug and alcohol abuse, leading Matney to suggest he may not have been in a rational state of mind when he committed the murders of his wife and son. In Murdaugh: Death in the Family, Alex Murdaugh is frequently shown using drugs, concealing pills beneath his bed, and succumbing to drunken slumber on the couch.
“I am convinced he was consuming significant amounts of and simultaneously misusing , which exacerbated all his issues and progressively led his mind further out of control,” Matney states.
Fuller concurs that Murdaugh appears to have forfeited all capacity for rational thought: “I believe his motive was to generate a diversion, to present himself as a victim, necessitating the killing of his wife and son to achieve this.”
Matney considers Murdaugh’s impetus for the killings evident, yet the murder weapons themselves remain unfound. The Murdaugh family possessed numerous firearms due to their passion for hunting, and shell casings at the crime scene confirm that Paul and Maggie were shot with two distinct weapons.
Matney questions whether Alex Murdaugh acted alone: “To this day, I still seek to determine if he received assistance, and if he had internal investigators aiding him in compromising the crime scene and related aspects. He maintained extensive connections within the agencies assigned to investigate him.”
