Murdaugh Murders Podcast - MMP Remastered #6 - Who Killed Maggie And Paul? Part One

Starting point is 00:00:00 Peramount Woose. Check out the big stars, big series, and blockbuster movies. Streaming on Paramount Plus. Cue the music. Like NCIS, Tony, and Ziva. We'd like to make up for own rules. Tulsa King. We want to take out the competition.

Starting point is 00:00:16 The substance. This balance is not working. And the naked gun. That was awesome. Now that's a mountain of entertainment. In the month after Maggie and Paul's murders, there was little information available about the double homicide investigation. My sources and law enforcement were extremely careful and tight-lipped, so it took months to get enough information about the double homicide that would actually fill up a podcast episode.

Starting point is 00:00:50 We knew that ELEC was a person of interest, but a lot of people brushed that off at the time as, well, the husband is always a person of interest. When SLED released Alex 911 call, it felt like the real first piece of evidence in this investigation, and it was full of clues and hints. I listened to this call hundreds of times, trying to answer the question, is this man capable of killing his wife and son? It is still haunting to listen to that 911 call, knowing what we know now. My instincts back then were right. something was not okay with Alec Murdoch. Here is episode six of the Murdoch Murdoch Podcast, Who Killed Maggie and Paul, Part 1.

Starting point is 00:01:39 I don't know who killed Paul and Maggie Murdoch, but I'll tell you what we know about what happened on June 7, 2021. My name is Mandy Matney, and I've been investigating the Murdoch family for more than two years now. This is the Murdoch Murdoch's podcast. On the evening of June 7, 2021, 22-year-old Paul Murdoch and his 52-year-old mother, Maggie Murdoch, were found murdered on their 1,700-acre property called Moselle, which is about 60 miles west of Charleston, South Carolina. Around 10.07 p.m., Paul's father and Maggie's house,

Starting point is 00:02:26 has been Alec Murdoch called 911. The phone call was released by the lead investigating agency in the Murdoch murders, which is the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, also known as SLED, about six weeks after the murders on July 22nd, 2021. We're not sure what exactly made the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division release the 911 call now, but we're going to play it for you and we'll talk about what we're hearing and try to learn what we can. I'm counting now in one with your emergency.

Starting point is 00:03:06 This is Alex Murdoch at 41-47 Moselle Road. I need to police and pass this immediately. My wife and Tom did stop badly. Okay, you said 41-47 Mobleau Road in Allerton? Sir? You said 41-47 Mozel Road in Arlington? Yes, sir. 147 Rose.

Starting point is 00:03:28 Stay on the line with me, okay? Yes, sir. Stay on the line with me, okay? Call on the line with me, okay? Hello? I'm still here. Stay on the line. I'm still here, okay?

Starting point is 00:03:46 Call in the County Communications. Collison, I have an Alex Murdoch on the line call her from 41, 47, Mozel Road. He's advising that his wife and child was. shot. Okay, and sir, give me the address again? It's 41-47, Mozel Road. I've been up to it now. It's bad. 4147 Mozel Road is a property that is in Colleton County, South Carolina, just north of the Hampton County border. We're assuming that the call routed to Hampton County 911 instead of Colleton County because the location is so close to the border.

Starting point is 00:04:24 Okay. Okay. And are they breathing? No, ma'am. Okay, and you said it's your wife and your son? My wife and my son. Are they in a vehicle? No, ma'am, they're on the ground out at my kennels. Okay, and did you see anyone? Okay, is he breathing at all?

Starting point is 00:04:52 No, no. Is she? Sources have said that Paul Murdo. was killed by two shotgun blast, one to the chest, and another threw the arm and head. Maggie Murdoch died of multiple gunshot wounds by a semi-automatic rifle, according to our sources. Two weapons were used in the double homicide, which is highly unusual. Okay. Do you see anyone in the area? No, ma'am.

Starting point is 00:05:19 What color is your house on the outside? What color is your house on the outside? It's white. You can't see it from the road. Okay. Is it a house or a mobile home? It's a house. Okay. And what is your name? My name is Alec, Murdoch. Okay. Did you hear anything or did you come home and find them?

Starting point is 00:05:45 I've been gone. I just came back. Last month, a Good Morning America journalist who spoke directly to the Murdoch family reported that Ehrlich was taking his father to the hospital on the day of the killings. After that, he reportedly checked in on his mother, whose sources say has dementia before returning to the hunting lodge. But where is home to the Murdox? I really haven't been able to answer this question yet. We know that the Murdox sold their home in Hampton, South Carolina in April 2020. Maggie Murdoch's Facebook page said that she moved to Edisto, South Carolina in July 2020. Edisto is a beach town about an hour and a half southeast of the Moselle property. I know that Paul had an apartment in Columbia,

Starting point is 00:06:32 South Carolina, which is the state capital and where he went to school. But I also heard that he was known to couch surf in the months before the murders. He was often in Charleston, and he was there the weekend before the murders. Sources have also told me that Paul stayed with his uncle John Marvin, often in Okedee, South Carolina, about an hour southeast of the Moselle property. They were also known to go to the family River Home in Okedee, South Carolina, often. I say this because it seems like the family did not have much of a routine, and it would be difficult to ambush them. Okay, and was anyone else supposed to be at your house?

Starting point is 00:07:09 No, ma'am. Please hurry. We're getting somebody out there to you. It sounds like Alec is replying to a question right here. It also sounds like Alec is moving around a lot in this 911 call. In some parts you can clearly hear the dogs in the background, which means that he's close to the murder scene. And in other parts, you can't hear the dogs.

Starting point is 00:07:59 Okay. What is her name? Maggie and Paul. Maggie is her name? Yes, ma'am. Okay. And please, hurry. We're getting somebody out there to you, me asking you these questions.

Starting point is 00:08:17 Don't slow them down, okay? And you're sure they're not breathing? Is he moving now, your son? I know you said that she was shot, but what about your son? Nobody. They're not. Neither one of them is moving. What is your telephone number?

Starting point is 00:08:48 And does anything look out of place? Ma'am, I'm not particularly, really, no ma'am. Okay. So no one knows how they would react to a situation so horrifying is this. But at no point does Alec Murdoch ever mention that he's afraid of a killer being. around. Granted, sometimes in situations like this, people feel so hopeless to the point that they don't care if someone else takes their life. And also, this is a redacted 911 call, and we're not sure what parts the police took out. So in this part of the 911 call, you'll hear a lot of clicks and

Starting point is 00:09:35 beeps, but that's pretty normal for a 911 call, and we're keeping them in so you can hear everything that was provided to us. Okay. All right, I'm going back down there. Are they close, ma'am? Yeah, they've been around with you ever since you've got on the phone with me. I have multiple people coming out there to you. Okay, can you do me a favor, Mr. Murdoch, and turn on the flashers on your car so that way they can see where the kennels are?

Starting point is 00:11:07 Right here, the dispatcher asked Alec Murdoch to turn on his flashers, but from what we've heard, he's not in his car yet. So we can assume here that at some point, Alec tells the dispatcher, that he's in his car. In that part, for whatever reason, was redacted. Looking at the property, the dog canals are about four football fields away from the main house. Tell him out 618, you'll be 615.

Starting point is 00:11:37 Do you have your flashes on for me, Mr. Murdoch? Yes. Okay. I don't want you to touch them at all, okay? I don't know if you've already touched them, but I don't want you to touch them just in case they can get any kind of evidence, okay? I've already touched them trying to get to see if they were breathing.

Starting point is 00:11:59 Okay. Well, I just don't want you to move anything just in case they can get any kind of evidence, okay? Ma'am, I'm going to call. I need to call some of my family. Okay. Well, do me a favor for me whenever you see the officer or the medics because they're all coming to you. Absolutely.

Starting point is 00:12:35 Here, the dispatcher, ask Alec a favor, but something is redacted and we don't know what it is. Okay, but we have them come and turn on the flashes on your vehicle so they can see you, okay? According to the Colleton County Dispatch Log, the dispatcher advised Alec to put, and there's a three-letter word that's redacted, and then it says up, when law enforcement arrives on scene. We don't know what that three-letter word is, and we're not going to speculate. You got the flashes on for me? I do.

Starting point is 00:13:11 Okay. All right. Just whatever you see them. Okay. How old is your son? 22. Okay. All right.

Starting point is 00:13:23 We're getting them out there to you, okay? And I'll let it through the people. All right. All right. I'm Dennis Cooper, host of Culpable, and I want to tell you about this case I've been following in a small Ohio town. When 17-year-old Danny Vioux. stormed out of his house one afternoon in 1998, his family thought it was just another episode of teenage angst. But their worst fears materialized when his lifeless, asphyxiated body was later

Starting point is 00:13:59 found in a nearby cornfield. The question remains, what happened to Danny? From Tenderfoot TV, an all-new season of Culpable is available now. 19 minutes after Alec called 911, Deputy Daniel Green, was the first to arrive on scene at 1026 p.m. Within less than a minute, he determined that the scene was secure, clearing the way for fire and rescue to enter. A minute later, Colleton County Fire Rescue requested the coroner, so they arrived on scene of a gruesome double homicide, and they were able to quickly determine that the scene was secure enough for other first responders to join them. At 10.28 p.m., just 20 minutes after the 911 call was placed, SLED was contacted by the Colleton County Sheriff's Office.

Starting point is 00:14:48 At this time, Sledd's assistance was requested. Soon after the Colleton County Sheriff's Office arrived on scene at Moselle, SLED took over the case. SLED took over the case for two reasons. One, the complexity of the case was beyond what the Colleton County Sheriff's Office resources could handle. And two, the Colleton County Sheriff's Office had too many ties to the Murdoch family and rightfully recused itself from the case. According to the autopsy report, Maggie and Paul Murdoch died between 9 and 9.30 p.m. That's a short window of time, and we're not really sure how they came up with it. The next day, South Carolina media woke up to the biggest murder investigation in at least the last decade.

Starting point is 00:15:29 A flurry of South Carolina insiders were texting each other news of the double homicide throughout the night. Law enforcement quickly went on the record to say that there was no danger to the public. But here we are, seven weeks later, and no arrests have been made in connection with the case, nor have any suspects been identified. Prior to the publication of the 911 call, nothing of substance has been released to the public regarding the direction or status of the ongoing investigation. In fact, SLED has been working very aggressively to plug any leaks related to this investigation. So what do we know? There has been a lot of speculation raised since reports were released last week. week. And those reports indicated that another person might be on the crime scene at the time of the

Starting point is 00:16:16 murders. A lot of Webb's sleuths pointed at Buster Murdoch and speculated that he was the other party at the scene that night. So what about Buster? He's been a big question in this investigation. This week, I confirmed with one of my sources that Buster Murdoch was in the Rock Hill, Charlotte area at the time of the murders. From there, we can conclude that Buster was not the other person blacked out from the investigation file. Elic Murdoch was identified by sources very early on in the investigation as a person of interest, although he reportedly provided police with a quote-unquote iron-clad alibi for his whereabouts at the time of the killings.

Starting point is 00:16:59 But we haven't heard directly from Alec what that iron-clad alibi was. He hasn't talked to any media since the time of the killings. We also haven't heard much from the Murdoch family since the time of the murders. During the Good Morning America interview, Paul's uncle John Marvin Murdoch, so that his nephew Paul had been receiving threats from strangers since the fatal boat crash. However, John Marvin Murdoch told reporters he didn't think the threats were credible, and he said that the family didn't try to identify the people behind them. I have to note here that all of the boat crash survivors and Mallory's,

Starting point is 00:17:40 Beach's family members voluntarily submitted to questioning and volunteered to provide their DNA as a part of the double homicide investigation. A source close to the situation told me that the beaches and the boat crash survivors have not been questioned again since providing their statements in DNA. During the interview, John Marvin and Randy Murdoch said their family is misunderstood by the public. I see words like dynasty used in power. And I don't know exactly how people use those words, but we're just regular people, and we're hurting just like they would be hurting if this had happened to them. No one is doubting that the Murdochs are hurting right now, but many are doubting that they are just regular people. The Murdoch family has loomed large and low country law for more than a century, with three generations of its members serving as the solicitor, which is South Carolina.

Starting point is 00:18:40 Carolina's version of a district attorney between 1920 and 2007. They also own one of the most prominent law firms in the state of South Carolina. So three weeks after the murders, Amanda Loveday, who is chief operating officer at a Columbia, South Carolina-based public relations firm called NP Strategy, released a statement about the Murdoch's having a $100,000 reward offered by the family in connection with the murders. The statement said that Alec and Buster Murdoch offered the reward. For a person to get this reward, they must provide information that leads to an arrest. But what's interesting about this one is that tips must be submitted before September 30th.

Starting point is 00:19:33 So there is a deadline to this reward. So now I want to talk about the evidence or lack thereof that we need. know about in this case. So we know that Maggie Murdoch's cell phone was found along a rural South Carolina Road just outside the family's 1,700-acre hunting lodge the day after the murder. Sources have also said that multiple guns were removed from the property the night of the murders. Considering the crime scene was at a hunting lodge, this is not at all surprising, and it does not mean that the murder weapons were taken from there. We also know that law enforcement and pounded a 2021 Chevy Suburban registered to the Murdoch law firm from the scene.

Starting point is 00:20:16 We also know that on June 16th, sled agents were collecting evidence in a swampy area approximately two miles south of Moselle, and we have no idea what they were doing there. Ehrlich and Buster Murdoch were facing a massive wrongful death lawsuit, which their insurance company was refusing to cover them for in the death of Mallory Beach. A hearing in that lawsuit was scheduled for June 10th, three days after the murders. That hearing included a number of motions requiring Alec and Buster Murdoch to fully respond to previous requests to disclose their financial documents and asking the judge to have the case move from Hampton County to Beaufort County. That hearing could have also meant that Paul and Maggie Murdoch would be added to the lawsuit.

Starting point is 00:21:03 So all of this means that Alec must have been under immense pressure with the lawsuit loom. combined with the fact that his father was dying of cancer, Randolph-Mernark III died at his home on June 10, 2021, the day the hearing was supposed to take place. And we know that SLED has asked for patience and that a judge recently ruled that SLED did not break the law in this case by being selective of the information they've released. We have to wait on law enforcement.

Starting point is 00:21:32 We have to give them time, and it's still early to judge in this case. So on that note, we need more time too. I made this podcast for one reason to expose the truth on another platform. But it brought on way more work and way more pressure than I ever imagined. Turns out, spending 99% of your free time working on a murder investigation is not great for your mental health. I can feel myself getting close to burnout and I cannot afford to get there. So I need to prioritize my mental space and I need to take a step back.

Starting point is 00:22:11 We will still be doing podcasts, but they won't be every week because it's just been absolutely grueling on David and I. We will be back with more episodes, but we need some time until then. And my name is David Moses, fiancé, producer extraordinaire, and I may be a little biased here, but I believe that Mandy Matney is the most knowledgeable investigative journalist covering this saga and others in South Carolina. If you believe in her reporting like I do, if you believe in our mission to expose the truth wherever it leads,

Starting point is 00:22:45 please follow and subscribe to the podcast so you get an alert when we publish the next episode. Until we return, we want to hear from you. Email us at info at murdock murderspodcast.com any questions you want answered. What do you want to know about Mandy's reported? Are you curious about advertising? or sponsoring the podcast, drop us a line to info at Murdochmurterspodcast.com.

Starting point is 00:23:10 That's info at M-U-R-D-A-U-G-H-Murterspodcast.com. And thank you to all of you supporters out there that are leaving five-star reviews, leaving positive comments. It really does keep us going. Stay tuned to the Murdoch Murdoch's podcast for the latest updates in the case. or follow me on Twitter at Twitter.com slash Mandy M-A-N-D-Y Matney, M-A-T-N-E-Y.

Starting point is 00:23:43 And don't forget to leave a five-star review unless you're going to be nasty and talk about my vocal friend. The Mardock Martyrs podcast is created by me, Mandy Matney, and my fiance, David Moses. Produced by Luna Shark Productions. In retrospect, Randy and John Marvin Murdoch were in a tough spot here. Speaking to Good Morning America weeks after the murders, neither of them have ever been in a situation like this

Starting point is 00:24:18 where people from all over the world were questioning the motives of their entire family, constantly looking for clues. At the time, people closely paying attention to the story were confused by the fact that the Murdox, who were known as one of the wealthiest families in the area with multiple properties and part ownership of the notorious and prosperous PMPED law firm took almost three weeks to offer a reward to anyone who helped SLED solve the double homicide. I'm wondering now if the family looks suspicious to the public at the time simply because they were following ELEC's orders.

Starting point is 00:24:56 Like maybe ELEC told the brothers to do the Good Morning America interview and make the point, which is a lie that the Murdox were just a regular old family who were not powerful at all. Maybe Elyke Murdoch advocated against offering a reward, which is why it took so long for a family who was supposed to be in fear for their lives to put it up. Now, we know that Ehrlich has a history of pushing lies that make no sense, because he was never used to getting fact-checked. So maybe the family was just simply following ELEC's chaotic lead there. I'm also wondering now, where did that reward money come from?

Starting point is 00:25:38 We know that Ehrlich was in a massive amount of debt at the time, as his decade of stealing from clients had caught up with him in a way that he could no longer contain. And yeah, which brings me to the question, where is all of that money? Thank you.

Murdaugh Murders Podcast - MMP Remastered #6 - Who Killed Maggie And Paul? Part One

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