Murdaugh Murders Podcast - South Carolina's Chappaquiddick - (S01E1)

Episode Date: June 23, 2021

In order to understand the double homicide investigation of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh, we need to understand the Murdaugh family, their power in South Carolina and the three mysterious deaths tied to them. And a special thank you to: The Bannon Law Group - From sitting by the fires to setting them, the Bannon Law Group has got you covered. Support Our Podcast at: https://murdaughmurderspodcast.com/support-the-show Please consider sharing your support by leaving a review on Apple at the following link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/murdaugh-murders-podcast/id1573560247 For current and accurate updates: Twitter.com/mandymatney This podcast is produced and developed by Luna Shark Productions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before we start episode 1, I want to welcome you as a listener and let you know that we have come a long way since this episode first published on June 22nd, 2021. Since airing this first episode, we've seen good old boys go down and be held to account finally and we have given hope to victims seeking justice. We hope that you'll stay with us through the production flaws of these first few episodes and know that you have our appreciation and that of our sources. Your listenership helps us hold public agencies accountable as we get the story straight, give voice to victims and expose the truth wherever it leads.

Thank you for helping us achieve our mission and stay tuned. We are just getting started. I don't know who killed Paul Murdock. I don't know who killed Maggie Murdock. I can't say who killed Stephen Smith. I don't know who, if anyone, killed Gloria Satterfield, but I think I know who killed Mallory Beach and I know that her family will never get justice in her case and that keeps me up at night.

My name is Mandy Matney. I'm the news director at fitsnews.com and this is the Murdock Murders podcast. There are five recent deaths connected to the Murdock family and I hope to get answers for each and every one of them. I have been investigating the Murdock family for the better part of two and a half years now and it is by far the craziest, most twisted saga I have ever written. Ever since I heard the news of the boat crash on February 24th, 2019, I just couldn't stop. Evidence suggests that 19-year-old Paul Murdock was drunkenly driving a boat that crashed

Jits outside of Parris Island, South Carolina around 2 a.m. 19-year-old Mallory Beach was ejected into the dark water during the crash. Her body was found a week later. Mallory was a bright, bubbly teenager who lit up every room she walked into. She was the embodiment of a sweet southern girl. Mallory had long, blonde hair and a stunning smile. Most of all, she was the type of person who was genuinely kind to everyone she met. She suffered a horrific death on February 24th, 2019 and so many lives were forever

changed by her death. Paul was charged with three felonies in that crash, but he never spent a minute in jail. So who was Paul Murdock? To understand Paul, we have to understand his family. Paul Murdock's grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather all served as the solicitors of the 14th Judicial Circuit from 1920 to 2006. In South Carolina, a solicitor is an elected official similar to the district attorney. They are considered by many to be the most powerful position in the South Carolina judicial

system. The Murdock family power loomed large over law enforcement and influence courtrooms in the low country for the last 100 years. They are one of the most prominent families in the state. Many people say that the Murdochs are the law in Hampton County, one of the poorest counties in South Carolina with a depleting population in a vanishing industry. Hampton is about an hour from Hilton Head, but it feels a world away, a place where time stood still and hasn't moved much since the 1950s.

Hampton County is known as a judicial hellhole due to its long-time reputation of siding with plaintiffs and rewarding an unusually high amount for damages. The Murdock family law firm files a majority of those big money lawsuits in Hampton County. So when we talk about how the Murdochs gained power over the last century, they did this not only through their roles as prosecutors, but also through their well-known law firm. Over the years, I have spoken with over 100 people about the Murdock family, about the power they had over others, about the favors they did for people, about their close ties to law enforcement, about their deep pockets, about their vast tracts of land, and about

the disconnect between their private and public personas. Many called the boat crash South Carolina's Chappaquiddick, a story entangled in the twisted web of politics, power, money, investigative failures, and flagrant cover-ups. But then on June 7th, the story took a wild, unexpected turn that no one's all coming. Paul Murdock and his 52-year-old mother Maggie Murdock were found murdered on their 1,700-acre property about 60 miles west of Charleston. The property is called Moselle, it's the family's hunting lodge. The bodies were found outside.

Police have released almost no official information in the double homicide, but several law enforcement sources have helped us at Fitznews piece together information and leads in the case. A murder investigation like no other. Sources have told Fitznews that Paul Murdock was killed by two shotgun blasts, one to the chest and another through the arm and head. Maggie Murdock 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.

They were reportedly found near the dog kennels on the property. Fitznews sources have confirmed that the family's dogs were not killed during the incident, which is one of many rumors swirling around this crazy story. Alec Murdock, Paul's father and Maggie's husband, called 911 around 10.07 p.m. to report that he had just found the bodies. According to the autopsy report, Maggie and Paul Murdock died between 9 and 9.30 p.m. Soon after the Colletin County Sheriff's Office arrived on scene at Moselle, the South Carolina law enforcement division, also known as SLED, took over the case.

That took over the case for two reasons. First of all, the complexity of the case was beyond what the Colletin County Sheriff's Office resources could handle. And two, the Colletin County Sheriff's Office had too many ties to the Murdock family and rightfully recused itself from the case. Alec Murdock, a prominent local attorney who again was Maggie's husband and Paul's father, was named a person of interest early on in the investigation, according to our sources. However, he is reportedly provided police with an iron clad alibi, according to law enforcement

sources. Good Morning America reported that Alec was taking his father to the hospital on the day of the killings. After that, he reportedly checked in on his mother before returning to the hunting lodge, where he allegedly discovered the bodies of his wife and son. This is what appears to be the iron clad alibi that Fitznews sources told us about. Also, sources close to the Murdock family have told Fitznews that Alec is not a suspect in the case and is cooperating fully with sled investigators.

These sources further claim that Alec Murdock's interview with sled was all about closing the book on him as any sort of suspect in the case. However, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the investigation have cautioned Fitznews against accepting that interpretation. Have I mentioned that this case is so confusing and a murder investigation like no other? There are some things we do know. We do know that Alec Murdock is being looked at not only in this inquiry, but another investigation related to the 2019 boat crash.

Sources told Fitznews that there is credible evidence that obstruction of justice occurred in that investigation and that the Murdock family members are being looked at in that obstruction of justice investigation. That is a big deal. So all of this is inextricably tied to the double homicide investigation. As the investigation into the Murdock murders moves forward, we have to look back at the three other mysterious deaths with connections to the wealthy, powerful Murdock family. We have to go back to 2015 to the shocking, horrific death of Stephen Smith.

I will be clear here, the Murdochs were never named as suspects in Stephen's death. But like the 2019 boat crash, the 2015 investigation into Stephen's death was chaotic from the beginning. They were clouded by jurisdictional confusion and suspicions of investigative interference. Smith was found dead in the middle of Sandy Run Road, in Hampton County, around 4am. On July 8th, 2015, he was 19 years old at the time of his death. Crime scene photos obtained by Fitznews are horrific. Stephen's face was covered in blood.

There was a 7 inch gaping hole on the right side of his forehead. His head was misshapen by blunt force. Officially, Stephen's death was classified as a hit and run, and that decision skewed the entire investigation off course. The theory was that Stephen got hit by a truck mirror, which is hard for anyone to believe, especially those who know Stephen. Also, there was no evidence at the scene that would lead anybody to believe that a vehicle did this to Stephen.

Police found virtually no evidence at the scene. No tire marks, no debris from a vehicle, nothing. In the aftermath of his death, investigators with the South Carolina Highway Patrol received multiple tips linking Stephen's case to the Murdoch family. According to the investigation file, Paul's older brother Buster was rumored to have been linked to Stephen intimately, but detectives never proved his connection. Stephen's death has shaken many family and friends in Hampton. Stephen was an openly gay young man in a small town, which wasn't always easy, but

he made the best of it, according to those who loved him. Stephen was bright and determined to make a better life for himself. He was in school for nursing at the time of his death. The case went cold less than a year after Stephen's death, and his mother is still wrestling without answers or justice. And that brings us to Gloria Satterfield's death. In December 2018, just a few months before the fatal boat crash that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach, Paul's father, Ellick Murdoch, settled a separate wrongful death claim.

In that case, 57-year-old Gloria Satterfield died after a trip in fall in Hampton County on February 26, 2018, according to court documents. Documents do not say where Gloria fell or how she knew the Murdochs, but several sources close to the case have said that she's the Murdoch family housekeeper. Gloria left behind two sons. She, like tennis, loved kids, and her favorite color was purple, her obituary said. Most of all, she will be remembered for her laughter and her outgoing personality. There has been a lot of speculation about Stephen, Gloria, and Mallory's death, and

we will get to all of that in later episodes. In the last two weeks, I've seen national media swarm in on this saga, and many of them are just not getting it. This is just not a case where you can perish it in and get right. Like I said, it's twisted, and every turn takes you down a very dark rabbit hole. You don't know who to trust, you don't know who you can talk to, and the rumors are just as crazy as the truth, which brings me back to the double homicide investigation. What media isn't focusing on is that prosecutor Deppy Stone, who has a long, long list of

conflicts of interest in the case, is still not recused himself. I say conflicts of interest because there are many. One of those is that Alec Murdoch, one of the original persons of interest, carries a bed for the solicitor's office. He is a volunteer for the solicitor's office and has been working for their office for many, many years. Another one of those conflicts of interest is that Deppy Stone was handpicked, according to many, many sources by the Murdoch family, to continue the line of prosecutors in the

14th Circuit. So Deppy Stone took after Paul's grandfather Randolph Murdoch III in 2006, and everybody that I've talked to in the Low Country says that the Murdoch family handpicked him for the job and fully supported him with their money and their power. This is one of the many angles I will be digging into on this podcast. So where are we in the investigation? In one of the biggest developments of this entire saga, today, June 22, Sled made a big announcement.

The agency has opened an investigation into the death of Steven Smith. Sandy Smith called me today to tell me the news, and it was one of the most emotional phone calls of my entire career. She thanked me for all of my reporting, and honestly, she couldn't, she said she couldn't even cry yet. She was just so overwhelmed with joy. All she wants in all of this is a fair and accurate investigation, and I hope now she's going to get it.

Another big part of that was what Sled told me was that they reopened the investigation based on information gathered during the course of the double homicide murder investigation of Paul and Mackie Murdoch. We don't know exactly what that means at this point, but it is a big deal that they said that, and we are going to try to find the answers. On Thursday, June 17, Sled officials were searching a swamp about two miles from the Murdoch property. We still don't really know what they were doing there, but there were a lot of rumors

surrounding that search. On Monday, June 21, Sled released a stack of heavily redacted supplemental reports from the initial investigation of the double homicide. Unfortunately, the reports didn't say much, other than the fact that police seized a vehicle from the crime scene. Sled appears to be casting a wide net as it is apparently working to exclude individuals who might have had a motive in this double homicide. According to our sources, all of the boat crash survivors and Beaches family members

have voluntarily submitted to questioning and volunteered to provide their DNA as a part of the double homicide investigation. A source close to the family also told Fitts News that the Beaches have not been questioned again since providing their statements and DNA. National media really seemed to be focusing in on boat crash victims as potential suspects, but the truth is we have no evidence to see them as anything besides victims at this point. Something to the world outside of South Carolina just doesn't seem to understand about this case is how fearful people are of talking about this family.

When I first started investigating this case two years ago, sources wouldn't even speak to me on the phone. They were so scared. They wanted to meet in person to talk. Everyone knows who the Mardocs are in the Low Country. They know how powerful this family is. They know all of their ties to law enforcement. And they also are very much aware that murdering two of their family members would be one of

the most high-risk crimes you could even think of. And again, the baseless theories floating around that are implying this was a crime of revenge just only revictimizes the victims in this case. There are still no official suspects in the case, and there's still a lot of unanswered questions about the weapons, about the crime scene, about where the bodies were. We're not sure where this podcast is going, which is produced by my fiance who has been sitting with me at our kitchen table all through the weekend, nights and weekends, and we don't know where the investigation is going.

But every week we're going to publish an episode on this saga, not only about the double homicide investigation, but about Steven's case and about Mallory's case and about Gloria's case. We want to find answers for all of these. I don't know how many voices I will be able to bring to the story because so many people, frankly, are just terrified to speak about this, but I will speak for my sources and I will protect them. This podcast isn't going to be like the others that are simply bumming off other people's reporting.

I have worked hard to report every fact that I'm speaking about in this case. The story is not a Southern cliche, it's far worse, and I want to tell it in my own words straight to you, the listener. For the best breaking news updates on this case throughout the week, visit fitsnews.com. That's F-I-T-S news.com for the latest updates. I promise you, we will not let you down, we will be the best, we will be the fastest. If you believe in our mission, in our reporting, and in this story, and would like to learn more about partnership or sponsorship opportunities, email info at murdochmurderspodcast.com.

That's M-U-R-D-A-U-G-H Murders Podcast.com. And if you could leave a review preferably a five star, we would really appreciate that. So for the latest developments on this case, visit fitsnews.com. Or follow me on Twitter at twitter.com slash mandy-m-a-n-d-y-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 Murders Podcast is created by me, Mandy Matney, and my fiance, David Moses. The Murdoch Murders Podcast is produced by Bernays Incorporated, marketing solutions to

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