Murdaugh Murders Podcast - Who Killed Mallory Beach? Part One - (S01E3)

Episode Date: July 8, 2021

In February 2019, Mallory Beach was killed in Beaufort County, South Carolina as a result of a horrific boat crash on Archers Creek near Parris Island. Paul Murdaugh was indicted for Boating Under The Influence Resulting In Death among other charges and awaiting trial. On this episode, we take an initial dive into case files to find out what went wrong in that investigation and how its connected to the Murdaugh Murders of 2021. Thank you to Haskins & Co for sponsoring this episode. Haskins & Company helps law firms grow online. Learn more at Haskins.co. And a special thank you to the Bannon Law Group for supporting our mission. From the big house to your dream house, the Bannon Law Group has got you covered. BannonLawGroup.com This episode of Murdaugh Murders Podcast discusses horrific community tragedies. Hopeful Horizons creates safer communities by changing the culture of violence and offering a path to healing. If you or someone you know is experiencing interpersonal violence please go to hopefulhorizons.org to learn more about their mission. 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

I think I know who killed Mallory Beach, and I think something went wrong in the investigation after her death, but I want you to hear the evidence and decide for yourself. My name is Mandy Matney. I'm the news director at fitsnews.com. I have been investigating the Murdoch family for more than two years now, and this is the Murdoch Murders podcast. Before we start, I want to say thank you. Thank you to our sponsors.

Thank you to everyone who has left a five-star review. Thank you to everyone who shared this podcast. We're just blown away. So thank you again. And thank you to fitsnews. When I first started investigating this case, I was at another newspaper, and now I'm beyond thankful that I met fitsnews. For all of the latest information on this case and the best news around South Carolina,

visit FITSnews.com. So I follow a lot of these sluice groups on Facebook about the Murdoch Murders, and I just want to say a couple things before we get into this episode. So first of all, the name is pronounced Murdoch, not Murdoch. If you hear a reporter saying the name without the kuh at the end, they're basically admitting to having no sources in Hanson County and not knowing what they're talking about. Also, Alex is pronounced Elick. That's just the way that it is.

That's how all of my sources and people that know him say it. So it's Elick Murdoch. In the second thing, I saw another post asking, where has Mandy Matney been, and questioning if I have been silenced by the Murdoch family. I promise you I have not been silenced. I don't think people understand everything that happens behind the scenes when reporting a story. When I'm not publishing a story on this, I'm almost always working on it.

I'm calling sources for updates. I'm calling other sources and talking to them several times before I ever publish anything that they say. Just because I'm not publishing stories does not mean that I'm not working on this, and it does not mean that I'm giving up on this case. There are so many moving parts with this story, and I would rather take my time and get the facts straight. And unlike most other journalists reporting on this story, I take this very, very seriously,

and I'm not going to report on anything that isn't verified. In the last episode, we left you with several cliffhangers in the Stephen Smith case. But we're going to switch to the 2019 boat crash. I made this podcast so that people could get a better understanding of the current news surrounding this national saga. I understand how complicated this story is, and I want to help guide you through the twist and turns before jumping to conclusions. So for a quick review on June 7th, 2021, Paul and Maggie Murdoch, who are members of one

of the most prominent families in South Carolina, were found murdered. On their 1700-acre hunting property, about 60 miles west of Charleston, South Carolina. So to understand why the Murdochs were so prominent and powerful in South Carolina, we have to look at the family's history. Paul Murdoch'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 a district attorney. They are very much connected to law enforcement.

They are considered to be, by many, one of the most powerful positions in the South Carolina justice system. So while the Murdoch family was powerful and prominent for years, they didn't start making headlines until the 2019 boat crash in Buford County, South Carolina. In the recent weeks since the murders, I've seen some bloggers and web sluice ranting about how they don't understand why the boat crash is such a big deal. Since Paul Murdoch's death, we have learned more shocking information about the boat crash that killed Mallory Beach and the investigation that was chaotic from the beginning.

So what happened on the night Mallory Beach was killed? Everything I'm about to tell you is straight from depositions in the case. And just as a warning, I'm going to say, according to the depositions, a lot because we don't want to get sued. February 23rd, 2019 was date night for Mallory Beach, two of her best friends and their boyfriends. They were a bunch of college-age kids between the ages of 18 and 20. They had plans to boat to a friend's oyster roast on Pocky Island before they all were

going to spend the night at the Murdoch's River Home. And yes, the Murdochs have a river home, among many other impressive properties on the South Carolina coast. That residence is located on what the kids call Murdoch Island on the Chichessi River and Buford County, South Carolina. So around 5.30 p.m. on February 23rd, 2019, Paul Murdoch bought White Claw, Natural Light and Mickel O'Voltra from a clerk at Parker's 55 gas station in Ridgeland, according to court documents.

Paul was 20 years old at the time and allegedly used his older brother's ID for the purchase. According to depositions, the kids heard that there was an alcohol checkpoint that night and that's why they went by boat. So the plan was to drive the boat owned by Paul's dad, the 17-foot sea hunt, which didn't have working lights, to the oyster roast. So for about 5 hours, the six friends hung out at the oyster roast. 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 they consumed. One of the boaters testified and said everybody at the party was talking about how they shouldn't be driving the boat back. Several of the boaters testified that Paul was intoxicated when he left the party but was also determined to drive the boat back. Paul, who was already allegedly intoxicated, then decided he wanted to get a shot from Luther's in downtown Buford, according to depositions. Paul Murdock and Connor Cook then each purchased two rounds of shots, one lemon drop shot,

and one quote-unquote cup of Yeager at Luther's Rare and Well Done in downtown Buford, according to depositions. While they were at Luther's, Paul Murdock allegedly became very drunk. His friends claimed that he had a drunk alter ego named Timmy, who came out that night. According to Paul's friends, his eyes would get quote-unquote as wide as half dollars without blinking when he goes into this Timmy mode. Depositions said Paul would sprawl his fingers out. He would do erratic movements with his arms and quote, he was an angry drunk too, so you

could always tell when he became Timmy. Paul was allegedly so intoxicated at Luther's that he almost got into a fight with another customer and started throwing chairs before they left, according to depositions. Meanwhile, the four other friends waited near the boat and shared their last moments together with Mallory Beach. Timestamp video evidence from the dock shows that they were at Luther's for only about nine minutes. When the boat left downtown Buford around 1am, Paul was visibly intoxicated according

to depositions. So according to depositions, after they left the dock in Buford, Paul started driving extremely slowly. Paul then allegedly took his clothes off while they were on the boat. The temperature was about 59 degrees at the time. This was something that Timmy, the alter ego, was known to do. Another boater said that Paul was acting like he was on drugs quote-unquote and making a fool out of himself.

On several occasions, Connor Cook allegedly took the wheel while Paul allegedly paced around and shouted at his then-girlfriend. Around this time, an argument broke out, according to depositions. Tensions appeared to be boiling within the group for more than an hour at this point. It looks like the four boaters who did not go to the bar were mad that Paul and Connor went to the bar and it was late, it was well past 1am. Paul's slow and erratic driving at times in circles was irritating the frustrated group. According to depositions, Anthony and Paul were fighting because Mallory was telling

Anthony that she was scared and Paul said something to Mallory along the lines of shut up and according to the other passengers, Anthony did not like that. Then there was one final argument. Paul Murdoch's then-girlfriend was at the front of the boat. A quote-unquote belligerent Paul Murdoch would then leave the wheel, walk to the front of the boat to yell at her while Connor Cook would then grab the wheel. This happened three times according to depositions. Paul Murdoch then pushed, spit on and slapped his then-girlfriend in the face, according

to multiple depositions. In the back of the boat, Mallory Beach and her boyfriend Anthony Cook had enough according to depositions. 19-year-old Mallory yelled at Paul to stop. I'll read Anthony Cook's deposition here. Quote, he turned and pointed at her and I could tell he was about to say something and I told him to not make that mistake and then he stared at me for a second and went to the steering wheel.

I believe that's when we took off, end quote. The boat then accelerated rapidly, according to depositions. After entering the twisted waterway of Archers Creek, which is near Parris Island, Anthony Cook sat on the bottom of the boat, clinging to his girlfriend Mallory and his lap because the boat was going too fast and they were scared, according to depositions. Seconds later, the 17-foot boat struck a piling at Archers Creek Bridge. Mallory Beach and Anthony Cook were both flung into the dark water. Only one of them resurfaced.

The boat crash investigation was chaotic from the second it began when Connor Cook called 9-1-1. Where abouts on Archers Creek? In Archers Creek, the only bridge on Archers Creek. Archers Creek? Archers Creek. Archers Creek. Archers Creek.

Archers Creek. Archers Creek. What's going on? This is by Parris Island. Right. What's going on? We're in a boat crash. You know what kind of a?

A boat crash. Did you say a boat crash? The 9-1-1 recordings are hard to listen to. It takes the 9-1-1 dispatcher several minutes to determine the exact location of the crash. Also, Connor Cook, who is speaking, has a broken jaw at the time. The dispatcher appears nervous and breathy and she can't get a grasp of what's going on. It's important to note that this dispatcher resigned from the Beaver County Sheriff's

Office soon after this crash. Okay. And then, well, who's that in the background? There's six of us and one is missing. Okay. There's six. The one is missing. So, six.

Do you guys, do they have life trackers on it? Yes, ma'am. We have more than enough life jackets, but we're on the thing. Okay. So, you're missing. Who is missing? A female. Mallory Beats is missing.

Okay. Why? Okay. What's your name, sir? My name is Connor Cook. Okay. What kind of a boat are you on? We're on a seaball.

A seaball? Okay. So, did you crash into the bridge? Did you crash into the bridge? We're under the only bridge. Okay. It's frustrating because the dispatcher wastes so much time on questions that just don't matter.

She asks about life jackets, about the type of boat they're in, about what Mallory looks like, and about what Mallory's wearing. It's the only boat in the water, and she would be the only person in the water. We should be getting there anytime. Can you hear sirens? Can you hear sirens? They didn't hear sirens for another 30 minutes because first responders were sent to the wrong bridge.

So, when first responders finally arrived on scene, they had three missions. Some were assigned to find Mallory Beach in the water. Some were assigned to treat the injured and get them to the hospital. And others were assigned to gather initial evidence in the criminal investigation. In South Carolina, all boat crash investigations are handled by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, also known as DNR. Because it took DNR a while to get to the scene, the Beaver County Sheriff's Office collected some initial evidence in the case.

Reports from several officers who were on scene that night indicated that there was confusion in determining who drove the boat. But was there? According to a Beaver County Sheriff's Office report, a deputy documented that it was unclear who was driving the boat, despite the fact that Anthony Cook told authorities that Paul Murdock was driving and none of the other boaters said anything to contradict that. A Beaver County Sheriff's Office report said that Paul was almost aggressive towards EMS personnel during the ambulance ride to the hospital.

Those reports underscore concerns as to why Paul Murdock was never administered a field sobriety test. And unlike the vast majority of fatal BUI cases across the country, in this case Paul Murdock, who was the alleged driver, was not offered a field sobriety test that night, nor was he arrested that night, despite the belief that he was grossly intoxicated, according to most of the officers on scene. Years ago, Fitznews was first to report that Alec Murdock and possibly other members of his influential family were part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged obstruction

of justice related to the ongoing boat crash probe, according to our sources. 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 Fitznews sources. In a statement to Fitznews, an attorney representing Conor Cook recently said that there is missing evidence in the case. But whatever happened that night in the investigation definitely delayed the case. And it took two months before Paul Murdock was charged with three felony boating under

the influence counts for allegedly killing Mallory Beach and severely hurting two other people. In May 2019, Paul Murdock appeared in his first court hearing. Unlike most other bond hearings that involved crimes with alcohol, Paul was not ordered to wear an alcohol monitor. Instead, he was ordered to stay within a five-county region in South Carolina. Paul Murdock was not treated like other defendants who were charged with multiple felonies. He was never booked in jail like other defendants.

He never had to wear a jumpsuit. He was never handcuffed. When I asked authorities about a mugshot on the day of the hearing, I was sent a photo. And when I opened up the files properties, I saw that this photo was taken in the courthouse hallway and it was taken on an iPhone 7. And Paul was wearing a plaid shirt. This is not normal. Months later, in July 2019, Paul's attorneys decided that his bond conditions were too

much and they asked the court to loosen them. Specifically, they asked for the court to allow Paul to roam the entire state of South Carolina while unbonded. The prosecutor for the Attorney General's office fought this. Specifically, she asked the court to at least put an alcohol monitor on Paul. They're requesting that we change what Judge John has put in place to adjust from going to college. The state is asking that we do, in fact, put in an ankle or rather an alcohol monitoring

situation. But her request was denied by the court. That was it. That was the last of the criminal case before Paul was murdered on June 7, 2021. So that brings us to the civil case. While Paul Murdock was indicted on three felony BUI charges in the aftermath of the boat crash, he was never named as a defendant in a civil lawsuit. Instead, the lawsuit blamed a chain of convenience stores and members of the Murdock's influential

family, including his father, Ellick Murdock, and his brother, Richard Alexander Murdock, who's also known as Buster. Mallory Beach's mother, Renee Beach, is seeking damages from Parker's 55 gas station where the underage Paul Murdock allegedly purchased alcohol prior to the crash, as well as Murdock's brother and father, who facilitated Murdock's drinking according to the lawsuit. The focus of the civil suit isn't simply who is at fault for Mallory's death, it's who's at fault for Paul Murdock's alleged intoxication prior to the crash. Was it Paul Murdock's father and brother, of whom are accused of allowing Paul to purchase

and drink alcohol illegally on multiple occasions in the past, or is it Parker's, a nearly billion dollar gas station company, which is allegedly responsible for selling the underage boaters most of the booze that they drank on that fateful evening? It's important to note that there was a hearing scheduled on June 10th in this lawsuit. That would be three days after the murders. Renee Beach's lawyer, Mark Tensley, said that that hearing involved a number of motions, requiring Ellick and Buster Murdock to fully respond to previous requests for financial disclosure, requiring Parker's to produce evidence in the case, and asking a judge to

have the case moved to be for county. This hearing could have meant that Paul and Maggie Murdock would be added to the lawsuit due to an obscure maritime law, which I will get into later. The lawsuit will move forward despite the double homicide. So while national and some local media have pushed this theory that the murders could have been an act of revenge for the 2019 boat crash, according to my sources, there is nothing to suggest that there is any credence to this theory. According to our sources, all of the boat crash survivors and Mallory Beach's family

members voluntarily submitted to questioning and volunteered to provide their DNA as a part of the double homicide investigation. And that brings us to the latest developments. This news reported earlier this week that Ellick Murdock's marital status, whatever it was, is one of the areas of interest in Sled's ongoing investigation. According to my sources, more information should be released soon about the obstruction of justice allegations, and we should learn more about what happened in the aftermath of the boat crash.

So let's rewind. The boat crash is important because in a lot of ways it's served as a catalyst in this awful story. And it's sad because there's so much surrounding Mallory Beach's death that her story gets forgotten in all of us. She deserves justice. Her family deserves justice. And so do all of the other victims in this saga.

This case is nowhere near over. And this should be one of several episodes about the tragedy on Archer's Creek. Stay tuned. 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-matny-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 Murdock Murders podcast is created by me, Mandy Matney, and my fiance, David Moses.

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