Murdaugh Murders Podcast - MMP #5 - Who Killed Mallory Beach? Part Two

Starting point is 00:00:05 I think I know who killed Mallory Beach. And the more that I find out about what happened in the first few hours of the investigation, the more undisturbed with her criminal justice system. I think several things went wrong in the criminal investigation after her death. But I want you to listen to the facts of the case and decide for yourself. My name is Mandy Matney. I have been investigating the Murdoch family for more than two years now. And this is the Murdoch Murdoch's podcast.

Starting point is 00:00:31 So before I get into this week's episode, I want to say thank you for all of these support. We have well over 100,000 listens and more than 60,000 downloads in just four episodes, which is incredible, so thank you. But some of you, especially some on Facebook, have not been so supportive. So this podcast is produced by my fiance and I in our free time. And my job as news director while being my first priority. The news I'm reporting on this podcast is only possible because of our subscribers. Investigative journalism is expensive, and we need subscribers to support our work. It is not cool to copy a journalist's entire exclusive story and post that story to a sleuth group on Facebook. I work really hard on these stories and copying and pasting my work

Starting point is 00:01:32 only hurts me in the company that I work for. The news industry is broken right now. And a big reason for that is because people refuse to pay for news online. Sharing the link is totally fine. Just don't screenshot or copy and paste every single word of the story and paste that into Facebook. So I will say this again. For the latest updates in this case, subscribe. It's less than a Netflix subscription and your money goes a long way. So thank you again to all our subscribers. In the last episode of the Murdoch Murdoch Murders podcast, we left you on several cliffhangers in the Stephen Smith case. But in the last few days, huge news broke in the Mallory Beach investigation and we think it's important to dedicate this week's episode to the boat crash investigation.

Starting point is 00:02:21 I made this podcast so that people could get a better understanding of the current news surrounding this national news saga because I understand just how complicated this story is and I want to help guide you through the twist and turns before jumping to conclusions. So on Friday, July 16th, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, also known as SCDNR, released hundreds of documents in several video clips in the 2019 boat crash investigation. So for a recap, on February 24, 2019, Paul Murdoch allegedly crashed a 17-foot center console fishing boat into a piling just outside of Paris Island, South Carolina. 19-year-old Mallory Beach was ejected in that crash. Her body was found a week later.

Starting point is 00:03:05 In the third episode on Ardress Creek, Part 1, we told you about the information that was released in the investigation mostly through depositions in the civil lawsuit filed by Beach's mother. If this is your first time on this podcast, please go back and listen to that episode, so this episode makes a lot more sense. On Friday, the giant file released by SEDNR included chilling videos that show surveillance footage of Mallory Beach, Paul Murdoch, and four of their friends in the last hour of Mallory Beach's life. You can see these videos compiled together on our new Murdoch Murders YouTube channel, and we'll also be releasing the podcast on that channel, too. So stay tuned. In this episode, we're going to go through all of the new information in the case. Let's go back to the beginning on February 23, 2019, which was date night for Paul Murdoch,

Starting point is 00:03:52 his girlfriend at the time, her two best friends, and their boyfriends. Newly released video shows Paul Murdoch, who is a small 19-year-old, purchased beer and White Clause from Parker's gas station in Ridgeland, South Carolina, around 5.30 p.m. on February 23rd. Paul fidgets as he's buying the booze. According to court documents, he was using his brother Buster's ID. While Buster had red hair like Paul, Buster was about 60 pounds heavier and 7 inches taller. But the ID works. After he illegally purchases the alcohol, Paul Murdoch heads to the parking lot, where he raises his boxes of booze in the air, signaling victory to his friends waiting for him.

Starting point is 00:04:34 Around 6.30 p.m., the friends meet at the Murdoch River home, which is owned by Paul's grandfather, Randolph Murdoch, before they leave and, Paul's father's boat and head to an oyster roast. Around 8 p.m., the six friends arrive at the home of Christy Woods for an oyster roast. In her statement to police, she said she only served water and lemonade at the oyster roast. While at the Woods home, the three young couples consumed the alcohol that they stored on the boat, according to depositions. Several adults at the party and Mallory Beach's boyfriend Anthony Cook, who was the oldest in the group, suggested that the group get an Uber because of the alcohol that they consumed. Christy told police that that she offered for them to stay because it was cold outside.

Starting point is 00:05:14 It was about 60 degrees, which is not pleasant, on the water at night. Paul, who was already allegedly intoxicated, then decided that he wanted to get a shot from Luthers in downtown Beaufort, according to depositions. On the way to downtown Beaufort, Paul's driving got worse, according to witness statements that said he almost hit the Woods Memorial Bridge. It took two tries to park the boat in downtown Beaufort. So while only Paul and Connor wanted to get shots, the rest of the group stayed behind. Surveillance video at the Waterfront Park captures the group.

Starting point is 00:05:45 You can tell that Paul and Connor's girlfriends look annoyed that they are going to Luther's. According to depositions, they were just tired and wanted to go home at this point. Security cameras capture Paul and Connor entering Luther's at around 12.55 a.m. They sit down for a few minutes and order shots. Paul and Connor then purchased two rounds of shots, one lemon drop, and one Yeager shot each. While Connor said in deposition that Paul almost got into a fight and was throwing chairs while inside Luther's, this is not shown on the video. Paul used his mother Maggie's credit card for the shots.

Starting point is 00:06:21 His math does not add up on the tip. While Paul and Connor were at Luther's, the rest of the group waited at Waterfront Park. This footage is heartbreaking to watch. Mallory and her boyfriend Anthony appear to be doing their best to make light out of the situation. You can tell Mallory and Anthony really love each other. She lights up when she looks at him. In the video, they share an inside joke and they both laugh. These are some of their last moments together.

Starting point is 00:06:47 Paul and Connor meet up with a group. Paul's girlfriend looks angry and they fight. Paul throws his hands up in the air and appears to yell at her. Paul looks drunk in a swing as he walks. At around 1.17 a.m., the kids loaded to the boat and they leave downtown Beaufort. In the video, you can see just how small a 17-foot boat is. They looked crammed. Once the boat entered Archer's Creek, it only took them seven minutes to travel 1.7 miles.

Starting point is 00:07:14 According to witness statements, Paul's behavior and driving became worse at this point. You think you know this river better than me, Paul Murdoch said, according to a witness statement? This is my boat and I'll be damned if anybody else drives. Everybody in the boat was trying to get Paul into letting Mallory's boyfriend Anthony Cook drive the boat, according to depositions, but he refused. Paul started to scream horrible things at his girlfriend, according to a witness statement. As we said before, there was one final argument for Paul's girlfriend at the time then says, what are you going to do? Hit me like you did all those times before, according to a witness statement. Paul Murdoch pushed, spit on, and slapped his girlfriend in the face, according to multiple depositions.

Starting point is 00:07:56 He then headed back to the helm of the boat and accelerated. According to GPS data, released from SEDNR, the following times and speeds, were recorded in the last seconds of their voyage. 2.20 a.m. and 3 seconds, 25 miles per hour. 2.20 a.m. and 31 seconds, 24 miles per hour. 220 a.m. and 33 seconds, 29 miles per hour. 220 a.m. and 40 seconds. GPS coordinates placed them at the bridge. Paul, Mallory, and Anthony were ejected into the water.

Starting point is 00:08:40 Connor and Paul's girlfriend were severely injured, Blood was everywhere and Mallory was gone. Miley, who is Mallory's best friend, was able to brace herself a split second before the crash. The next day, she spoke with SEDNR about what happened during the crash. So Anthony was like all the way over there, like where we had hit. And Paul was on like the closest pile and two to the shore, or like the second closest one to the shore. So like I think like whenever we, the boat started going again, like I think like he got like. you know, like throwing out then because I just, I don't really know about that part because I wasn't, I didn't see any of it.

Starting point is 00:09:20 But like he was closer to the shore than Anthony was. And he stayed in the water for like 10 minutes, just like holding on to the Highland just screaming Morgan's name. And then Anthony was out there screaming Mallory's name. Like I couldn't hear anything because Morgan was screaming so loud. So I was like, and I was like the first person I checked on was Connor because like he's my boyfriend. and I wanted to make sure he was okay. And so I went and found him. And then Mallory was just like nowhere to be seen.

Starting point is 00:09:47 Like it was just like she disappeared. And then Anthony was screaming in the water for Mallory. And that's when like I knew like something bad at having like that Mallory was missing. Connor had his phone still on him. So I was like calling on one. And it took us like five minutes like regroup ourselves to like be able to call. And so it was like maybe like five or ten minutes before we even. called anybody and like we didn't know where we were what the bridge was called so we didn't

Starting point is 00:10:23 know like what to say like you know we didn't know like what bridge to say we were at or when we really only thing we knew is that we were in arthur's creek hello we're in a boat crash on archer street where we're about on archer street in archer street the only bridge on archer street archer street Archer's Creek. Archer's Creek. Archer's Creek. And then Paul came up and he said just in his underwear, like no pants or anything. So I don't know, like, when, like, if he took off his pants before he hit the water or just, like, he's underwriting.

Starting point is 00:11:09 He's wearing a belt. So I don't know if, like, the water, the impact, just he took off his pants. I don't know. But then he came back short. and he tried to help Morgan and she didn't want anything to do with him and she was like get away from me she didn't want to talk to him at all

Starting point is 00:11:26 and like he didn't care that Mallory was missing because she was like upset because she was like get away from me like I'm fine but Mallory's missing and all that's kind of something and just didn't register with him and like she was missing and I'm sorry about this audio

Starting point is 00:11:40 apparently in the only recorded interview of the entire investigation file SEDNR decided to vacuum in the middle of it. So I apologize, it's hard to hear. And he just, like, didn't say anything besides just wanting to call his granddad. Just let me call my granddad and he took my phone because there's only 1%. So that's why I was, like, hesitant to call 911 because I was like, it's on 1%. Like, I don't know if, like, it's going to go through or not. So he took my phone and he called his granddad. The first question,

Starting point is 00:12:09 he called and just told me to call. And then... Did you hear the conversation? Mm-mm. Anthony was just like, you know, he was just, like, belligerent. about everything. He was just, like, so upset. And he didn't want to, like, you know, cooperated either, but, I mean, that's not a shame because it was his girlfriend. He just wanted to stay. While they were waiting for the ambulance to arrive, Paul and Anthony almost got into a fight. Paul came to corner and, like, wrapped his blanket around him and I was standing right there. And so when Paul, like, smiled or something. And Anthony saw him and smiled. And he was, like,

Starting point is 00:12:38 he was, like, like, he think this is funny, you know, this kind of stuff. And he, like, was, like, about to, go and, like, fight him because he was that mad because he was, like, smiling about it. So then they told us, I mean, the ambulance and all of them had gotten nearby them. And they told us that we needed to go into the ambulance and sit down because it's warm in there and Paul had fallen in. But like, I was just so hot. I just remember like I was so hot and I just couldn't like breathe. Like I had the seatbelt on me and like I felt like I was going to like suffocate because I just like I couldn't breathe. Miley, like so many others from that night, described Paul as belligerent and out of control.

Starting point is 00:13:17 Paul apparently got into a deputy's face and was so out of control to the point where they had to strap him down in the ambulance. And he still was not arrested. And we were just sitting there and, I mean, Paul was just like going on and on and on. And like got into several like officers. Like officers faces and they were like just like saying like because they were trying to get in the calm down and sit down. And because they were like, we need to take. you to the hospital and he was just like being rude about it just saying because it was like the officer was a man and there's two of the lady emsses and the lady was trying to be nice and just like

Starting point is 00:13:58 calm him down at first and then um he got into the guys the officer's face and was like you think that you're like a bigger man and I am and all this kind of stuff and it was just like I need to like get out right now and then um Paul was having this conversation with the officer a police officer. He was like in his face, like, cussing at him. Miley tells investigators something interesting. She says that Paul begged her to use her phone so that he could call his grandfather, former solicitor Randolph Murdoch. For a reminder, Paul's grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather all served as a solicitor over a five-county region from 1920 to 2006. A solicitor is South Carolina's district attorney.

Starting point is 00:14:46 an elected official who's considered by many to be the most powerful position in our judicial system. It's interesting that Paul skipped the chain of command in his family and went directly to the most powerful person, even while he was drunk. You said Paul took your phone to call his ground dad. Why didn't he call his granddad? Did he say why? Why didn't he call his dad? Or was there? Well, because, like, you know, they're lawyers and stuff, and he went home to me at first.

Starting point is 00:15:14 he just called his grandad because that's what he does in everything. Is his dad a lawyer? Yes. But he didn't want to call his dad? He just wanted to call his great dad. And then we were in the ambulance and he kept on going back and forth about calling his dad.

Starting point is 00:15:30 He's like, I need to call Big Red. That's what they call him. He's like, I need to call him. Big Red is... And so he just kept up a little back and forth like, I need to call him. I need to call him. And he was like, no, no, no, I can't call him.

Starting point is 00:15:42 And he was like, I think he found him. So what Miley says here is that Paul called his grandfather because his family is full of lawyers. And that's what he always does in situations like this. Call his granddad. New court documents allege that law enforcement officers might have conspired a cover-up in the investigation. The documents were filed by attorneys representing Connor Cook, the young man who was heard in the 911 call. The documents are explosive. They allege that officers from Dean.

Starting point is 00:16:14 and the Beaver County Sheriff's Office possibly conspired to essentially frame Connor Cook as the driver and intentionally shifted the investigation away from Paul Murdoch. That is a big deal. Most of the alleged conspiracies circled around three officers. Michael Brock and Austin Pritcher of SEDNR and John Keener of the Beaver County Sheriff's Office. All three of the officers have some ties to the Murdoch family. In depositions, attorneys question an almost accused. those officers of falsifying the reports to favor Paul Murdoch, which would then create confusion about who was driving the boat. In multiple depositions, attorneys played audio from the scene

Starting point is 00:16:55 where Mallory Beach's boyfriend Anthony Cook was very clear about who was driving the boat. Anthony got angry at Paul while officers were on scene. Anthony Cook told DNR officer Austin Pritcher that Paul was driving. That conversation was picked up on car audio, according to depositions. did not write this in his report. Instead, he wrote that Anthony said he didn't know who was driving. This is very different from what the audio said, according to depositions. A Paris Island officer said in a sworn affidavit that he was there when Anthony Cook told Officer Michael Brock of DNR that he knew Paul was driving the boat and that Paul killed his girlfriend. But Brock did not write that in his report. Instead, he wrote that Anthony flipped

Starting point is 00:17:44 out and was yelling at Paul. John Keener of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office wrote in his report that it was quote unquote unclear who was driving the boat. But he admitted in deposition that this was his personal opinion and no one said anything to him that would indicate that Connor may have been driving. One thing that nearly all of the reports and depositions are clear about is that Paul Murdoch appeared grossly intoxicated in the hours after the crash. One Beaver County Sheriff's Office report said that Paul was almost aggressive toward EMS personnel during the ambulance ride to the hospital. Deputy John Keener of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office testified that Paul was, quote, being belligerent and stupid, end quote, to the point where they had to send a deputy in the ambulance to ride with him.

Starting point is 00:18:30 At the hospital, DNR officer Austin Pritcher said that Paul appeared to be intoxicated and was, quote, acting pretty out of control, end quote. He said that he was strapped to a girl. Bernie and there was a security officer monitoring him at the hospital. Paul Murdoch was never offered a field sobriety test that night, which was a move highly criticized by the public at the time. Austin Pritcher testified that his superior at DNR, Michael Brock, ordered him to only offer Connor Cook a field sobriety test that night. Pritcher said that he offered Connor Cook a field sobriety test because he was starting to, quote,

Starting point is 00:19:08 unquote, zero in on him as a main suspect. Pritcher wrote in a report that Connor refused to take a field sobriety test. Such a report does not exist for Paul Murdoch, son of the owner of the boat, who was heavily intoxicated, according to multiple police reports. Pritcher said that he was trying to get a statement from Paul Murdoch when Paul's father, Elyke Murdoch and his grandfather, Randolph Murdoch, the third, walked in and stopped him. Quote, they came in and said, Paul's not saying anything else, and I told him, I'm talking to Paul, and they said, no, you're talking to us now, end quote.

Starting point is 00:19:43 Pritcher testified that that moment was when, quote, everything clicked in who the Murdochs were, end quote. So about 10 minutes after Paul Murdoch arrived at Beaufort Memorial Hospital on February 24, 2019, Paul's father, Ehrlich Murdoch, and grandfather, former solicitor Randolph Murdoch, appeared. According to witnesses, Ehrlich Murdoch appeared to be more concerned with orchestrating a plan in the criminal investigation than he was with Finding Mallory Beach, who had just gone missing. In fact, a security guard overheard Ehrlich on the phone saying, She's gone, don't worry about her.

Starting point is 00:20:30 Multiple nurses noted that Ehrlich Murdoch was often looking at the emergency room screen trying to track down boat crash victims. Several nurses noted that they observed ELEC Murdoch moving from room to room a lot, while the other patient's parents stayed with their children. The charge nurse also told a security guard to keep an eye on Elyke Murdoch because he was trying to enter other patients' rooms. Specifically, Elic Murdoch was seen multiple times trying to get into Paul's girlfriend's room. The same woman Paul had spit on and slapped moments before the crash.

Starting point is 00:21:05 According to witness statements, Elyke Murdoch tried to get into her room and was telling the nurse that he had to tell her what to say. While Ehrlich Murdoch was allegedly going from room to room, orchestrating a plan, Paul was restrained in his hospital room. Paul's nurse described him as one of the most arrogant teenagers to ever come through the ER. She said he was the most intoxicated and most belligerent of all of those involved, and his security guard had to stay with Paul because he was so out of control. Family patriarch Randolph Murdoch kept telling Paul to keep his mouth shut,

Starting point is 00:21:36 according to a security guard. Another security guard said that Randolph seemed angry at Paul, and said his grandson was, quote, as drunk as Cooter Brown, unquote. Remember, Ehrlich Murdoch is a volunteer for the solicitor's office, which means he works with solicitor Duffy Stone, who would later recuse himself from the criminal case against Paul due to conflict of interest.

Starting point is 00:21:58 Elic was also seen multiple times talking to Connor Cook, who broke his jaw in the crash, and telling him that they were going to figure everything out. Nurses also reported seeing Elyke Murdoch attempting to talk to Connor Cook on the way to his cat scan. An ER tech told SEDNR that she overheard Elyke tell Connor Cook he was handling it and told him not to say anything. Paul's friends told SEDNR that they were afraid of the Murdochs

Starting point is 00:22:29 and assumed that they were working on a cover-up, mentioning previous similar incidents. Paul's girlfriend told her nurse that Paul and his drinking habits almost killed them in a vehicle accident before all of this happened. She didn't mention details but said that they were in a truck. Was this another cover-up? Because there does not appear to be any law enforcement records of this crash. Anthony Cook, Mallory's boyfriend, told DNR several days after the accident that Connor was not driving the boat. And he said that his cousin was scared because, quote, the Murdochs are out to pin it on him, unquote.

Starting point is 00:23:05 But while testimony is one thing, physical evidence is another. Attorney suggests that several pieces of evidence appear to be missing in this case, including Paul's phone, which was picked up by another officer on scene, according to audio. Paul's pants, which attorneys assume, contain his wallet with his fake ID inside, DNA swabs from blood on the boat and corresponding photographs of DNA collection, which could prove where Connor was positioned

Starting point is 00:23:32 in the boat at the time of the crash. And an audio recording of Anthony Cook telling Michael Brock that Paul Murdoch killed his girlfriend, Mallory Beach. SEDNR never sought a warrant to compel the hospital to draw Paul's blood that night, but the hospital did anyways because he was behaving so erratically

Starting point is 00:23:53 they thought he might have a head injury. At 4 a.m., his BAC level was about 0.286, which would mean that he was 3.5 times over the legal limit to drive. Because of the confusion and the initial investigation, it took two months for authorities to charge Paul with three felony counts of voting under the influence. Unlike the vast majority of felony VUI cases, Paul Murdoch never stepped foot in a jail.

Starting point is 00:24:22 At the time of his death, he was facing 25 years in prison for the charges. Paul Murdoch was murdered on June 7th, which ended the criminal investigation of the boat crash. However, there is another criminal investigation ongoing in this case. Now, years later, sources are questioning if obstruction of justice took place that night. This obstruction of justice investigation is currently before the statewide grand jury in Columbia, South Carolina, according to sources. So one big question remains in the case. Did the Murdox and their law enforcement connections conspired to frame Connor Cook and create confusion in the investigation? Stay tuned to the Murdoch murders podcast for the latest updates in the case.

Starting point is 00:25:12 Or follow me on Twitter at Twitter.com slash. Mandy M-A-N-D-Y, Matney, M-A-T-N-E-Y. And don't forget to leave a five-star review, unless you're going to be nasty and talk about my vocal fry. The Murdoch Murder's podcast is created by me, Mandy Matney, and my fiance, David Moses. Produced by Luna Shug Productions.

Murdaugh Murders Podcast - MMP #5 - Who Killed Mallory Beach? Part Two

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