Murder: True Crime Stories - MYSTERIOUS DEATH: The Murdaugh Murders

Episode Date: April 17, 2026

In 2021, a powerful South Carolina legal dynasty was rocked by a brutal double murder that quickly drew national attention. Alex Murdaugh, a prominent attorney from a family with deep ties to the region’s justice system, soon became the focus of an investigation that extended far beyond the killings. In this episode of Murder: True Crime Stories, Carter Roy examines the Murdaugh murders, the unraveling of a legacy built on influence and control, and how a local tragedy exposed a pattern of deception that shocked the nation. Head over to our Murder True Crime Stories YouTube channel to WATCH our video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@MurderTrueCrimeStories If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Murder True Crime Stories to never miss a case! For Ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. Murder True Crime Stories is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios 🎧 Need More to Binge?  Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of…, Serial Killers & Murderous Minds, Crime House 24/7, and more wherever you get your podcasts! Follow me on Social Instagram: @Crimehouse TikTok: @Crimehouse Facebook: @crimehousestudios YouTube: @murdertruecrimestories 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

Hi everyone, it's Carter. Exciting news. Video episodes of murder true crime stories are now on YouTube. Every Friday, I'll be dropping a full video episode going deeper into the cases that still haunt us, the mysteries that haven't been solved, and the stories that deserve more than just a headline. Same depth, same commitment to telling the real story. Now you can watch it. Subscribe at Murder True Crime Stories on YouTube.

to catch a new video episode every Friday. This is Crime House, a sprawling estate, a story that didn't line up, corruption that went back years, and one man who was willing to kill to hide the truth. In South Carolina's Hampton County, life doesn't move too fast. Located in a region called the Low Country, 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 towns have their demons. And in 2021, Hampton County's dark secrets were exposed. At the center of the story was a man named Alec Murdoch, the heir to a massive legal dynasty. Alec was one of the most trusted people in his community, but he took advantage of that position to steal from his clon. embezzle money from his law firm and even interfere in criminal investigations he didn't like. His powerful position allowed him to get away with it for years, but thanks to a brutal double murder, Alec Murdoch's true nature eventually came to light, and Hampton County would never be the same again. This is the Murdoch murders.

People's lives are like a story. There is a beginning. a middle and an end. But you don't always know which part you're on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon, and we don't always get to know the real ending. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder, True Crime Stories, a crime house original powered by Pave Studios. New episodes come out every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Thank you for being part of the crimehouse community. Please rate, review, and follow the show. and for early ad-free access to every episode, subscribe to Crimehouse Plus on Apple Podcasts. Welcome back to another episode of Murder Mystery Fridays where I'm covering cases with questions that I can't get out of my head, the ones where the evidence points in multiple directions, and every theory feels like a possibility.

Remember, these episodes are also on YouTube with full video, just search for murder, true crime stories, and be sure to like and subscribe. Today, I'm talking about one of the biggest stories of the last few years, the Murdoch murders. This family of prominent lawyers dominated Hampton County, South Carolina, for four generations. But in 2019, a fatal accident revealed the tangled web the Murdox had woven.

Two years later, the story got even more complicated when two members of the family were found murder. When the people of Hampton County learned who their killer was, it made them question everything they thought they knew. Because it turned out, a monster was living among them lurking in plain sight. All that and more coming up. South Carolina is a paradise for nature lovers. Serene creeks cut through coastal marshes. Herds of deer wander through tall pines, ever going to.

greens and gum trees. Wild hogs come out of dusk, rooting around in the rich dirt. This natural beauty is apparent at the Moselle Estate, a vast 1,700-acre plot at the eastern edge of Hampton County. Right along the Salcahatchie River, the estate features a 5,000 square foot house, a two-mile stretch of riverfronts, and a farm. Think of it as a country vacation home crossed with a full hunting lodge, equipped with dog kennels, skinning shed, and duck ponds. In 2013, this property was purchased by 45-year-old Alec Murdoch. He had Scottish heritage, so although his name was spelled like Alex, he went by Alec, and he wanted Mozel Estate to be a 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 police 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 Alec Murdoch wasn't a solicitor himself, he was a partner at a law firm co-founded

by his great-grandfather. It was called Peters, Murdoch, Parker, Eltsroth, 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 Murdox 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 lots 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 Murdox 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 exactly what Alex's two sons, Paul and Buster, needed. They 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 Moselle right on time, as always. As she went through her daily tasks, she bustled from one end of the estate to the other, but while climbing a set of brick steps outside of the main house, something terrible happened. She fell and hit her head. hard. Just before 9.30 a.m., 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, Alec later said that their rambunctious hunting dogs had swarmed around Gloria, causing her to trip while going up the steps. Alex's version of events is still up for debate today, but first responders arrived on the scene and transferred Gloria to the hospital. She remained in a coma for three weeks before succumbing to her injuries. The loss was devastating for Gloria's adult sons, Brian and Tony, and though her death was ruled an accident at the funeral, Alec came up to Brian and Tony.

He said he felt part. partially responsible for what happened. After all, Gloria tripped because of his dogs on his property. To repay 20 years of loyal service, Alec 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 these Satterfields, Alec wanted them to file a wrongful death suit against him so they could collect a personal liability insurance settlement. That meant Alec wanted to compensate the Satterfields through his insurance, rather than paying them directly himself.

And to do that, they needed to sue him. To make the unconventional case look more legitimate, Alec got the Satterfields to bring on one of his colleagues, a lawyer named Corey Fleming. He also made a guy named Chad Westendor. their personal executor in the legal negotiations. And this meant Chad now had the authority to make certain decisions 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 day, nothing. They called Corey's law firm repeatedly and were told the same thing. Be patient and waited out. They believed legal negotiations

were still underway when in reality Corey and Alec 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. Still, the Satterfields weren't suspicious yet. The Murdox had a sterling reputation in the community and plenty of money of their own. enough to pay for the Moselle Ranch, a separate home in Hampton, and a beach house for the summer. The idea that the Murdox would steal from them probably never crossed the Satterfield's mines, 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 Murdoch family into the spotlight, and this one would make national headlines. This time, the scandal centered around Alec and Maggie Murdoch's youngest son, 19-year-old Paul. He was used to getting in trouble and buying his way out of it. Tall with red hair and a reckless 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. At 19 years old, Paul was already a heavy drinker and would use his brother's old ID to buy booze. And for him, February 23, 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 Chichese River to get there. 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 them, 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, and more importantly, she didn't like the way Paul treated his on-again-off-again girlfriend Morgan, who also came along for the ride. So there were six young adults in total on a boat that was fully stocked with alcohol. It was sure to be a memorable night. Once they arrived at the party, everyone laughed, danced, and of course roasted oysters over an open fire. around midnight, things started to slow down. Paul and his friends were all pretty drunk, but Paul was probably the worst. 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 temperature was in the upper 50s, which meant it would be absolutely freezing out 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 huge fight. So his friends also drunk and not wanting to argue went along with him. Although Paul was already wasted, he wasn't ready to call it a night. He ignored his friends who just wanted to go home and stopped the boat at a dock downtown and said they were going to a bar. Anthony, Morgan, Miley, and Mallory refused to come along. So they killed time in a nearby playground,

while Paul and Connor stumbled into 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, one of the friends 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 nearly collided with the 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 that 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 other five passengers hunkered down and braced for a collision. Anthony gripped his girlfriend, Mallory, tight as the boat slammed into the Archer's Creek Bridge at full speed. The consequences would plague the Murdoch family for years and ultimately, cost three people their lives. Around 2 a.m. on February 24th, 2019, 19-year-old Paul Murdoch crashed his boat in a head-on

collision with the 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, and 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 an hour and a half, 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.

Alec Murdoch knew his son Paul could be in major trouble. Just hours after Mallory went missing, Alec 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. From then on, all questions had to go through him. First. Against policy, witnesses claim that Alec 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 that maybe Connor was the one driving the boat that night. Morgan, Paul's ex-girlfriend, was so shaken by the experience that she asked a nurse to stop Alec 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. Reports also showed that the police failed to collect Paul's phone as evidence.

Then a key witness statement wasn't recorded as it should have been. Officers also neglected to take photos of the wrecked boat while it was being tested for DNA evidence. And these kind 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 Murdoch family. But no matter how hard Alec tried to cover everything up, Mallory's name dominated the local headlines and word got out that Paul Murdoch had been driving the boat when it crashed.

A week after the accident, someone found Mallory's dead body five miles from the side of the crash in a narrow waterway off the main river. An autopsy determined she died from blunt forced trauma and drowning. As the story blew up, tons of journalists looked into the case and uncovered more information about the Murdoch family. 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 settlement. settlements. The significance of it wasn't clear, other than the fact that the Murdox were now involved in two suspicious deaths. But in Mandy's article about the boat crash, she included the information

she had that Alec Murdoch had been involved in a wrongful death settlement regarding Gloria Satterfield. Gloria's 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 Alec 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 Alec Murdoch 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 the second, more substantial settlement, worth $3.8 million. Both of them had gone straight to one of Alex's accounts.

But like I said, this all came to light a couple years after the boat crash, and for the time being, Paul's case was front and center. Even though Alec was able to delay things, Paul was still facing criminal charges. They included boating under the influence causing bodily injury and BUI causing death. In total, he was facing 25 years in prison, and on June 10, 2021, nearly two and a half years after the crash, he was facing 25 years. finally scheduled for his first court hearing. It was going to be a huge moment for the Murdoch family. If things didn't go well, they could be in huge trouble, both criminally and financially. But behind the scenes, things were already falling apart. By this point, Alec and his wife Maggie were living separately. She spent most of her time at the family's beach house on Adisto Island,

about 70 miles from their main house in Hampton, though Alec made sure their separation wasn't public knowledge. Once Paul's trial got into full swing, the press would be constantly hounding them. Any weakness in the family's armor could lead to Alex's crimes being exposed. On June 7, 2021, three days before Paul's court hearing, Alec called Maggie. His 81-year-old father was dealing with health problems and he had just been admitted to the hospital. Alec asked Maggie if she'd meet him at their country estates, Moselle, apparently to talk it over. Maggie reluctantly agreed and started the long drive out to Moselle. But something didn't feel right.

She knew her husband and he wasn't acting like himself. It's not clear if Maggie knew anything about Alex's finding. financial crimes, but she definitely knew about his role in Paul's case. So when she finally arrived at Moselle, Maggie decided she wasn't staying long. She even left her car engine running. It's impossible to know exactly what happened on the Murdoch property that night. But around 10 p.m., 30 minutes after Maggie arrived, Alec called 911 in a panic. He said he'd come home to Moselle and found both Maggie and Paul they'd both been killed by gunshots.

Maggie had been killed with an AR-15-style rifle while Paul was killed at short range with a shotgun. It was a tragic development in the Murdoch's lives and nobody could explain why it happened, but the truth would come out soon. And it was more horrifying than anyone could have imagined. A mother is on trial for allegedly luring her own son-in-law to his death, and her search history may have given away everything. This is Vanessa, the host of Crime House 24-7. Right now in a Utah courtroom, 60-year-old Tracy Grist is standing trial for murder, accused of masterminding a family plot to kill her son-in-law, Matthew Rostelli.

Prosecutors say Matthew was lured from California under the pretense of picking up his wife and kids. What he didn't know, he was walking into a trap. Within seconds, he was shot seven times, three of them in the back. And months before the killing, investigators say Tracy sent a text to one of her daughters that read, quote, Matt made it so I want to kill him. He straight up lied, I'm going to kill him, end quote. Hear the rest of that story and never miss another on Crime House 24-7. where we cover breaking true crime news daily.

Follow Crime House 24-7 wherever you listen to podcasts, so you never miss a story as it breaks. 23-year-old Elizabeth Plunkett heads off for a night away with friends. It's the summer in 1976, the best summer we'd had for years. Just hours later, she is kidnapped by two men in British Bay. These are two career criminals wanted for rape in Britain. They are Ireland's first serial killers. While both men confess to Elizabeth's murder, no one is ever convicted.

How could this happen? We're being denied any sort of justice. Listen to Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister, wherever you get your podcasts. If Alec Murdoch had hoped to stay under the radar, it definitely wasn't going to happen now. After his son Paul and his wife, Maggie, were murdered in June 2021, the media descended on the Moselle estate. Naturally, that came with a lot of conspiracy theories. Because of Alex's deep connections to law enforcement in the area, some people wondered if a disgruntled convict had targeted Maggie and Paul.

Or maybe it had something to do with Paul's boat crash, someone looking to avenge Mallory Beach. But one thing was clear. Alec Murdoch was a person of interest. After all, he was the one who'd have found. found the bodies, and a victim's spouse is usually at the top of a suspect list. The investigator's suspicions only grew when they learned Maggie wasn't living with Alec. There was also rumors she'd recently seen a divorce attorney.

Alec didn't handle the pressure well. At some point, he started using opioids. It's not clear how bad his problem was, but the drugs altered his mood and made him paranoid, and it wasn't long before his colleagues realized he was slipping. Three months after the murders on September 3rd, 2021, the partners at Alex's law firm confronted him. They'd been looking into his past cases and didn't like what they were seeing. It was clear Alec was stealing from his clients, and when his partners took a deep dive into the firm's accounts, they had discovered.

Alec had been stealing from them too. He got away with it for so long because of his prominence in the firm. After all, the name Murdoch had been on the door for over 100 years. He'd reportedly tell the junior attorneys to send settlement checks directly to him instead of routing them through the firm like they were supposed to. Since he was the big boss, nobody questioned him. His partners asked him for an explanation, but there was no talking his way out of it. At that point, all Alec could do was agree to quietly resign.

As he cleaned out his office on the morning of September 3rd, 2021, Alex's mind must have been reeling. This was exactly what he'd feared for the past few years. His financial crimes were finally exposed. Now there was nothing he could do to stop the reckoning coming his way. But the next day, September 4th, Alec found himself in another unpredictable situation. He called 911 to report a different crime, only this time he was the victim. He told police he was changing a flat tire on the side of the road when an unknown assailant drove by and shot him.

Luckily, the bullet only grazed him, and the attacker sped away without firing again. It seemed like Alec had come within inches of death and miraculously survived. The news ignited another media firestorm. Now, it really looked like someone was targeting the Murdoch family. First, they'd come after Maggie and Paul, and now it seemed like someone was trying to kill Alec, too. Not everyone saw it that way, though, because Alex's story wasn't exactly airtight. First of all, his Mercedes SUV didn't come with a spare tire, so it didn't make sense that he'd be trying to fix a flat on the side of the road that day. Alec also said he was on his way to the city of Charleston when the shooting happened, but the road he was on wouldn't get him there.

Finally, it was odd that the shooter had driven off after only firing once. If they really were targeting Alec, they probably would have shot at him a few more times before driving away. Of course, none of these holes in his story proved Alec was lying, but they were enough to raise the investigator's eyebrows, especially with everything else going on in his life. Alec must have sensed their doubts because just one day after the shooting, he changed his tune. He released a surprise press statement and confessed to being a long-term opioid addict. He said it had only gotten worse since the deaths of his wife and son.

That's why he decided to check himself into rehab. This day seemed to give Alex some perspective. After a week in the rehab facility, he said he was more clear-headed than ever. He even approached the police and changed his story about the recent shooting. In this new version of events, Alex said he'd engineered the whole thing. He claimed that after he was forced to resign from his law firm, he snapped. With his mind clouded by the opioids, Alex. had decided there was no way out for him, but he wanted to do right by the only family he had left,

his oldest son, 28-year-old Buster. So he made a reckless choice. He called his friend, a guy named Curtis Smith, and offered him money in exchange for killing him. By making it look like a murder, Alec hoped his one surviving son could collect his $10 million life insurance policy. This was going to be his final desperate way to make things right. According to Alec, Curtis agreed to his scheme and met him on the side of the road. But things didn't go as planned. Somehow Curtis missed his shot and refused to try again. He drove off and Alec called 911.

pretending he'd been randomly attacked. Investigators were baffled by Alex's confession, and they only became more confused after talking to the alleged hitman, Curtis Smith, who also happened to be Alex drug dealer. As it turned out, Curtis had his own version of what went down. According to him, he met Alec on the side of the road, but he was there as a concerned friend, not a hitman. He claimed that Alec was acting strange, and at some point he drew a gun and handed it to Curtis.

When Curtis refused to shoot him, Alec tried to grab the gun himself. Curtis claimed that as they wrestled over it, the gun went off, but the bullet missed Alec completely. So police had three versions of the same incident, random shooting, suicide for hire, and now a struggle over a weapon. It wasn't immediately clear, which story they should believe. But one thing was clear. Alec Murdoch had officially admitted to insurance fraud, which meant he'd almost certainly go to jail. The question now was, for how long? Over the coming months, Alec was arrested and faced a total of 84 criminal charges spread over 11 different lawsuits.

Most of them were finance-related, like embezzlement, and it turned out, Alec didn't just have an opioid problem. He was allegedly funding an entire drug ring. Okay, here's how the authorities said it worked. Alec would write small checks to his friend, Curtis Smith, the same friend who he may have tried to get to kill him. These payments were under the guise of legitimate services, like yard work or the odd handyman job.

In total, he paid Curtis $2.4 million. Curtis would cash those checks, then use them for their opioid ring. But the biggest and most shocking indictment came down on July 14, 2012. That day, Alec Murdoch was charged with double homicide for the murders of his wife and son.

The trial finally began in the first few months of 2003. The proceedings attracted media from all over the world and turned the Murdoch family into a household name. Throughout it all, Alec maintained his innocence. He told the police he was nowhere near Moselle that night, swearing that he'd gone to visit his elderly father in the hospital. his lone surviving son, Buster, even took the stand to defend him.

Because Paul and Maggie Murdoch were killed using two different weapons, the defense suggested there had been two shooters. But based on the testimony of a crime scene analyst, that was pretty unlikely. The angle of both entry wounds was the same, which meant that the two gunshots came from the same. height. Not only that, but evidence directly placed Alec at the crime scene. Towards the end of the trial, prosecutors played a video taken from Paul Murdoch's phone, just minutes before his death. The video showed Paul and the dog kennel by the house. In the background, Alec Murdoch could clearly be heard, proving he didn't just find his wife and son dead.

He was there when it happened. On March 2nd, 2003, after less than three hours of deliberation, a jury unanimously convicted Alec of murder. He was served with two consecutive life sentences, and that was on top of the 40 years he'd already received for all of his financial crimes. He was also ordered to forfeit over $10 million in ill-gotten gains, and to pay an additional $8.7 million to his many victims. In February, 2006, Alec tried to appeal his conviction for double murder

before the South Carolina Supreme Court. His lawyers argued that a county clerk had made improper comments during the original trial. They also claimed the judge should have limited the testimony related to Alex's financial crimes. The Supreme Court is still deliberate, as of this recording, but it's possible Alec may get a new trial. Whatever happens, one thing is clear. The Murdoch Dynasty has ended. Thanks so much for listening.

I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories. Come back next time for the story of another murder and all the people it affected. Murder True Crime Stories is a crime house original powered by Pave Studios. 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 Crime House on TikTok and Instagram. Don't forget to rate, review, and follow Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly makes a difference. And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience,

subscribe to Crimehouse Plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode early and at free. We'll be back on Tuesday. Murder True Crime Stories is hosted by me, Carter Roy, and is a crime house original powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the Murder True Crime Stories team. Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benadon, Natalie Protofsky, Lori Marinelli, Tara Wells, Sarah Tardiff, Nicolette Tavallero, Cassidy Dillon, and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening. A mother is on trial for allegedly luring her own son-in-law to his death,

and her search history may have given away everything. This is Vanessa, the host of Crime House 24-7. Right now in a Utah courtroom, 60-year-old Tracy Grist is standing trial for murder, accused of masterminding a family plot to kill her son-in-law, Matthew Rostelli. Prosecutors say Matthew was lured from California under the pretense of picking up his wife and kids. What he didn't know?

he was walking into a trap. Within seconds, he was shot seven times, three of them in the back. And months before the killing, investigators say Tracy sent a text to one of her daughters that read, quote, Matt made it so I want to kill him. He straight up lied, I'm going to kill him, end quote. Hear the rest of that story and never miss another on Crimehouse 247, where we cover Breaking True Crime News daily. Follow Crimehouse 247 wherever you listen to podcast.

so you never miss a story as it breaks. Thanks for listening to today's episode of Murder, True Crime Stories. Not sure what to listen to next, check out America's Most Infamous Crimes, hosted by Katie Ring. From serial killers to unsolved mysteries and game-changing investigations, each week Katie takes on a notorious criminal case in American history. Listen to and follow America's Most Influced. infamous crimes now wherever you listen to podcasts