Money Crimes with Nicole Lapin - MURDER: Murdaugh Murders Pt. 1

Episode Date: February 6, 2025

For decades, the Murdaugh family was famous for being trusted, personal injury lawyers in Hampton County, South Carolina. But when Alex Murdaugh's son was involved in a brutal boating accident, the Murdaughs found themselves under a microscope. And all of the ugly crimes Alex had committed using his law firm started to bubble to the surface. Money Crimes is a Crime House Original. For more content, follow us on Instagram and TikTok @crimehouse. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Crime House. In South Carolina's Hampton County, life doesn't move too fast. Located in a region called the Lowcountry, Hampton is known for its humble, tight-knit communities. It's the kind of place where everybody knows everybody. Life is simple, quiet, and peaceful. But even the smallest of towns have their demons. And in 2021, Hampton County's dark secrets were exposed. At the center of the story was a man named Alex Murdaugh, the heir of a massive legal dynasty. Alex was one of the most trusted people in his

community, but he took advantage of that position to steal from his clients, embezzle from his law firm, and even interfere in criminal investigations he didn't like. His respectable facade allowed him to mask his true nature for years. But thanks to a brutal double murder, Alex Murdoz's true nature eventually came to light. And Hampton County would never be the same, again. As the saying goes, those who don't understand history are doomed to repeat it. That's especially true when it comes to money. If you wanna make the right decisions

when it comes to managing your assets, you need to know what mistakes to avoid and how to spot a trap. This is Money Crimes, a Crime House original. I'm your host, Nicole Lapin. Every Thursday, I'll be telling you the story of a famous financial crime and giving you advice on how to avoid becoming a victim yourself. At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following Money Crimes wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly matters.

And for ad-free and early access to money crimes plus exciting bonus content, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple podcasts. Since today's story is such a big one, it's actually a two-part episode. This week and next, I'll be talking about the downfall of the Murdoch dynasty. This family of prominent lawyers dominated Hampton County, South Carolina for four generations. But in 2019, a fatal accident revealed the tangled web of corruption the Murdos had woven. In today's part one, I'll introduce you to Alex Murdoch, the family's patriarch and a personal injury lawyer with quite a few skeletons in his closet, to say the least.

I'll go through the ways Alex defrauded his clients, how he hid his crimes, and the tragedies that brought his actions into the public light. In next week's part two, I'll cover what happened when Alex's lies were exposed, the bizarre steps he took to rehabilitate his public image, and the horrific murders that brought it all crashing down. Sick of dreaming smaller? Sick of high fees eating away at your investments but just don't have the time to invest on your own? Just because you don't have time to manage your investments doesn't mean you should pay

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Savor the new small and mighty Cortado. Cozy up with the familiar flavors of pistachio or shake up your mood with an iced brown sugar oat shaken espresso. Whatever you choose, your espresso will be handcrafted with care at Starbucks. South Carolina is a paradise for nature lovers.

Serene creeks cut through coastal marshes that are full of fish and water birds. Herds of deer wander through tall pines, evergreens, and gum trees. Wild hogs come out at dusk rooting around in the rich dirt. This natural beauty is extremely apparent at the Moselle Estate, a vast 1700-acre plot at the eastern edge of Hampton County. Right along the Salcahatchee River, the estate features a 5,000-square-foot house, a two-mile stretch of riverfront, and a farm. Think of it as a country vacation home, crossed with a full hunting lodge, equipped with dog kennels, a skinning shed, and duck ponds galore. In 2013, this property was purchased by 45-year-old Alex Murdaugh to serve as the home away from home

for his family. Everyone in Hampton knew the Murdoch name. It was about as close to royalty as you could get around there. For four generations, the Murdoch men served as solicitors in Hampton. That's South Carolina's term for a district attorney or lead prosecutor. That means they were responsible for helping law enforcement investigate crimes, deciding who to prosecute, and representing the state in civil lawsuits. Basically, all major criminal justice decisions flowed through the Murdoch family, which made them very important. And although Alex Murdoch didn't serve in that position, he was a partner at a law firm co-founded by his great-grandfather

called Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Elzroth and Dietrich. PMPED was well known in the area for winning major personal injury settlements and all kinds of high-value lawsuits. All to say the Murda were rich, capable, and connected. An absolute legal powerhouse. And Moselle Estate was the ultimate symbol of their wealth. Of course, maintaining such a large property required a lot of upkeep, but the family had plenty of staff.

One of their longest serving employees was a woman named Gloria Satterfield, a 57-year-old housekeeper, nanny, and babysitter who'd been with the Murdos for nearly two decades. Gloria was a hard worker who went wherever the family needed her to go. As a single mother of two boys herself, she knew what it took to carry a family on her back and she used those skills to support the Murdos with anything they needed.

Alex's two sons, Paul and Buster, thought of her as a second mother. Like their biological mom, Maggie, Gloria put her whole heart into raising those boys. According to Gloria's best friend, Linda, she never took a vacation. She simply couldn't afford to stop working. Not that you'd ever catch her complaining. So on February 2, 2018, she showed up to Mosul right on time, as always. As she went through her daily tasks, she bustled from one end of the estate to the other. And while climbing a set of brick steps outside of the main house, something terrible happened.

She fell and hit her head. Hard. Just before 9.30am, Alex Murnau's wife, Maggie, found Gloria and called 911. Maggie told the operator that blood was leaking from Gloria's left ear, but she was still semi-conscious. When questioned, Alex later said that their rambunctious hunting dogs

had swarmed around Gloria, causing her to trip while going up the steps. Whether or not that's true is still up for debate. But first responders arrived to the scene and transferred Gloria to the hospital. She remained in a coma for three weeks before ultimately losing her life. The loss devastated Gloria's adult sons, Brian and Tony. The death was ruled an accident, but at Gloria's funeral, Alex Murdaugh told Brian and Tony that he felt some responsibility. After all, Gloria tripped because of his dogs on his property.

To repay 20 years of loyal service, Alex told Brian and Tony he wanted to take care of them financially. But instead of just sending them money, he had something else in mind. According to the Satterfields, Alex wanted them to file a wrongful death suit against him so that they could collect a personal liability insurance settlement. A wrongful death lawsuit is intended for cases where a person either behaved negligently or directly caused someone else's death.

That could mean anything from first-degree murder, a drunk driving incident, or even an accident on your property like what happened with Gloria. If the offending party has liability insurance, like Alex Murdoch did, then the insurance company will investigate the claim and potentially pay out a settlement, if the policyholder is found liable. In some cases, a person may have multiple insurance policies, which could mean multiple different settlements. So what Alex was really saying was that he wanted

to compensate the Satterfields through his insurance rather than paying them directly. To accomplish that, they needed to sue him. To make the unconventional case appear more legitimate, Alex got the Satterfields to bring on one of his colleagues, a lawyer named Corey Fleming. He also made a guy named Chad Westendorf their personal representative or executor in the legal negotiations.

This meant Chad now had the authority to make certain legal decisions in the case on behalf of Brian and Tony. More importantly, it meant that their lawyer no longer had a legal responsibility to keep Brian and Tony informed about their case. Instead, all he had to do was keep Chad in the loop. So months passed without Brian and Tony hearing a word about the lawsuit. No court date, nothing. They called Corey's law firm repeatedly and were told the same thing. Be patient and wait it out. They believed legal negotiations were still underway when in reality, Corey and Alex had zero plans of ever getting them that money. In fact, they'd already filed the wrongful death suit

without them knowing. Even worse, Alex's insurance companies had already agreed to pay settlements worth more than $4 million. And Brian and Tony had no idea. Of that money, almost $3 million was supposed to go to Brian and Tony, while the rest was earmarked for legal costs. But the Satterfields sat there waiting, none the wiser.

The Myrnaws had a sterling reputation in the community and plenty of money of their own, enough to pay for the Mosel Ranch, a separate home in Hampton, and a beach house for the summer. The idea that the Murdos would steal from them probably never crossed the Satterfields' minds. But no one's patience lasts forever. In 2019, more than a year after their mother's passing, Brian and Tony finally started digging for answers. As they escalated the case, another tragic accident thrust the Murdoff family into the spotlight. And this one would make national headlines. TD Direct Investing offers live support. So whether you're a newbie or a seasoned pro, you can make your investing steps count. And if you're like me and think a TFSA stands for total fund savings adventure,

maybe reach out to TD Direct Investing. In the first few months of 2019, the Murdoch family was riding high. Alex had secured a $4 million insurance payout for Gloria Satterfield's wrongful death suit. But instead of transferring the money to her sons, Brian and Tony, like he was supposed to do, Alex had it sent elsewhere. Working with his friend and co-counsel, Corey Fleming, Alex funneled the money to an account called Forge LLC.

Any personal injury attorney would recognize the name, sort of. Forge Consulting, not Forge LLC, is a settlement funding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. When somebody comes into a large sum of money, like say a $4 million settlement from a personal injury lawsuit, companies like Forge Consulting can help them manage the payout. Settlement companies like Forge Consulting can be a great option for people who win a lot of money in court.

When you get a big payment, it can be tempting to spend it all at once. To help yourself be more financially responsible, companies like Forge Consulting can set you up with an annuity, which basically breaks up the lump sum into monthly payments. The account was probably named this way to make it look like that money was going to Forge Consulting. But in reality, the funds went to an account

tactically called Forge LLC and was actually controlled by Alex. That's right, Alex had made a fake account linked to his personal finances that sounded exactly like Forge Consulting. finances that sounded exactly like Forge Consulting. And because Chad Westendorf was the Satterfields executor, Alex didn't have the legal responsibility to inform them about where their money went. He only had to tell Chad who happened to be a close friend. So Brian and Tony had no idea that Alex was stealing from them, and they wouldn't, until

a tragic accident brought the Murdoch family's finances into the spotlight. This time, the scandal centered around Alex and Maggie Murdoch's youngest son, 19-year-old Paul. He was used to getting into trouble and buying his way out of it. Tall, with a brilliant shock of red hair and a devil-may-care attitude, Paul was the quintessential product of Southern privilege. Although he was a student at the University of South Carolina, Paul wasn't exactly academically inclined.

He was happy to work at his Uncle John's rental business by day and spend his free time hunting, fishing and partying. Young as he was, Paul was already a heavy drinker using his brother's old idea to buy booze. For him, February 23rd, 2019 was like any other Saturday. Just another chance to cut loose. That was the night of a huge oyster roast, a South Carolina cookout tradition, at a friend's waterfront home. Paul took the family boat from his grandfather's house, 25 miles down the Cheechessie River, to attend the party.

25 miles down the Cheechessie River to attend the party. It was a sleek white speedboat built for leisure. It wasn't the biggest, but it could fit about six passengers if they packed in tight. That night, Paul was accompanied by a group of friends and frenemies all between the ages of 18 and 20 years old. Two of his friends, Anthony and Connor, brought their girlfriends, Mallory and Miley. They had all known each other since they were kids and were generally on good

terms, except for Miley, who was not a fan of Paul. She saw him as brash and selfish. More importantly, she didn't like the way Paul treated his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Morgan, who also came along for the ride. That made six adults in total, all fully stocked with alcohol for what promised to be a memorable night. And by all accounts, it started off as a good time. Everyone laughed, danced, and of course, roasted oysters over an open fire. Finally, around midnight, things started to slow down. Paul and his friends were all pretty drunk, though Paul was probably the worst off.

He was on the cusp of blacking out, which was kind of a signature move for him. And when that happened, Paul went from a harmless party boy to mean, obnoxious, and bullheaded. The other people at the party must have noticed it too, because a bunch of them offered Paul and his friends a ride home. That late at night, it was pitch black on the river. The air temperature was in the upper 50s, which made it absolutely frigid on the water. Plus, a dense fog had rolled in, making the river difficult to navigate, even for a sober person. The Murdoch crew had every reason to hitch a ride and return for the boat the next day.

But Paul insisted on taking them all back by water. And when he was drunk, every little disagreement exploded into a knock-down, drag-out fight. So his friends, also drunk and not wanting to argue, went along with him. But despite the fact that Paul was already wasted, he wasn't ready to call it a night. Ignoring his friend's objections, he stopped the boat at a dock downtown. Just before 1 a.m., he and his friend Connor stumbled off the dock and into a bar.

The other four, Anthony, Morgan, Miley, and Mallory, refused to come along. Instead, they killed time at a nearby playground. They just wanted to go home, but Paul was absolutely unreasonable. As a Murdaugh, he wasn't used to being told no. So Paul and Connor made their way to a bar called Luther's Well and Rare Done to take some shots. By the time they all got back to the boat, Paul was belligerent, off balance, and completely loaded. So Anthony, his friend who stayed back at the playground,

tried to take Paul's keys, but Paul wouldn't hear it. His boat, his rules. Against their better judgment, the rest of his friends gave in and followed him onto the wobbly boat. They regretted it almost immediately. Paul was an even worse captain than before. He swerved, went in circles, and merely collided with a fleet of sailboats. But no matter how hard everyone else tried, he wouldn't give up the wheel. At one point, Paul tried to get Morgan,

his on and off again girlfriend, to take his side. When she refused, he went as low as he could. He insulted Morgan's father, mocking him for not making enough money to support their family. That really set things off. Morgan started crying while Paul screamed at her. She demanded again that Paul let someone else drive. In response, he slapped her in the face and spat on her.

Then he stripped down to his underwear and wildly steered the boat around the river. Everyone wanted Paul away from the wheel, but there was no way to stop him without physically restraining him in an unsteady boat. Before anyone could act, Paul grabbed the throttle and slammed it all the way forward. A bridge emerged from the fog, but it was too late. The five other passengers hunkered down and braced for a collision. Anthony gripped his girlfriend Malloryite as the boat slammed into Archer's Creek Bridge at full speed. The consequences would plague the Murdoff family for years and ultimately cost three people their lives. Around 2 a.m. on February 24, 2019, 19-year-old Paul Murdaugh crashed his boat in a head-on

collision with a bridge. The impact catapulted Paul, along with his friends, into the cold water. From there, it was chaos. Paul and the others managed to splash their way to shore one by one. But when they counted heads, they realized their friend Mallory was still missing. Paul's friend Anthony screamed his girlfriend's name and swam out to search for her. But it was no use. He eventually flopped back onto the riverbank, too exhausted to keep going.

First responders arrived a few minutes later. Despite the terrifying situation, Paul was just as drunk and belligerent as ever, mouthing off to the EMTs and a sheriff's deputy. Officers sent a search team out to look for Mallory, but by the time they assembled the boats, it was around 4 a.m. and the conditions were bad. After 90 minutes, they had to pause the operation while they waited for the sun to burn off the thick fog. But even when the conditions cleared up,

they couldn't find her. Alex Murdon knew his son Paul could be in major trouble. Just hours after Mallory went missing, Alex visited Paul and his friends in the hospital. When he found a detective questioning his son, he shut the interrogation down and identified himself as Paul's lawyer. He shut the interrogation down and identified himself as Paul's lawyer. From then on, all questions had to go through him first. Against policy, witnesses claimed that Alex also entered the hospital rooms where Paul's

friends were staying. He spoke to the young women and tried to get them to change their stories, suggesting maybe Connor was the one piloting the boat that night. Morgan, Paul's ex-girlfriend, was so shaken by the experience that she asked a nurse to stop Alex from going into her room again. And Alex's actions at the hospital weren't the only suspicious developments in the boat crash investigation. According to witnesses, Paul

wasn't given a field sobriety test until 90 minutes after police arrived on the scene of the crash. Doing it so late meant the results weren't accurate, which meant there was no way to know exactly how intoxicated Paul was at the time of the collision. These kinds of procedural errors weren't lost on the crash victims. A lot of them wondered if this was an oversight or an unspoken favor to the Murdoff family. No matter how hard Alex tried to cover everything up, Mallory's name dominated the local headlines, and word got out that Paul Murdaugh had been driving the boat when it crashed. A week after the accident, someone found Mallory's dead body

five miles from the site of the crash, in a narrow waterway off the main river. An autopsy determined she'd died from blunt force trauma and drowning. As the story blew up, a bunch of journalists looked into the case and uncovered what they could on the Murdaugh dynasty. And in November 2019, a reporter for a local paper called The Island Packet, Mandy Matney, discovered something startling. A document on one of Gloria Satterfield's wrongful death settlements. The significance of it wasn't clear, other than the fact that the Murdos were now involved in two suspicious deaths.

But in Mandy's article about the boat crash, she included the information she had, that Alex Murdaugh had been involved in a wrongful death settlement regarding Gloria Satterfield. Gloria's two sons, Tony and Brian, happened to read the story. By that point, it had been almost two years since their mother's passing. They still hadn't heard a word from Alex or his law firm about any settlement. So this was news to them. They decided to hire a new lawyer to look into the situation. And it was a good thing they did. It took some time, but Brian and Tony's new lawyer uncovered settlements from two separate

insurance companies. Now it is legal to have more than one insurance policy that covers the same thing. For instance, many people have multiple life insurance policies. And Alex Murdaugh happened to have two personal liability agreements. Mandy Matney had already found the first, a smaller settlement worth just over half a million dollars. But there was also a second, more substantial settlement worth 3.8 million. Both of them had gone straight to Alex Murdaugh's Borge LLC account.

But like I said, this all came to light a couple of years after the boat crash. And by the time Alex Murdaugh had to answer for his crimes against the Satterfields, he had bigger problems to worry about. Because not only was he defending himself against a ton of other financial crimes, Alex Murdaugh had also been accused of murder. Thank you so much for listening. I'm your host, Nicole Lapin. Come back next time as I wrap up the story of the Murdoch family murders and give you

tips on how to avoid schemes like the ones Alex Murdoch pulled. Money Crimes is a Crime House original. Join me every Thursday for a new episode. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media at crimehouse on TikTok and on Instagram. Don't forget to rate, review and follow Money Crimes wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly makes a difference.

And for ad free and early access to Money Crimes plus exciting bonus content, subscribe to Crime House plus Plus on Apple Podcasts. Money Crimes is hosted by me, Nicole Lapid, and is a CrimeHouse original powered by Pave Studios. It is executive produced by Max Cutler. This episode of Money Crimes was produced and directed by Ron Shapiro, written by Carol Wells, edited by Lori Maranelli, fact checked by Sarah Tardiff, sound designed by Russell Nash, and included production assistance from Sarah Carroll.