Who Was Alex Murdaugh's Youngest Son, Paul?

For the Murdaughs, soon-to-be-exposed secrets and exhausted privilege proved to be a recipe for homicide. The Murdaughs, a powerful family in South Carolina, surged in notoriety after Alex Murdaugh, a prominent civil attorney, found himself at the center of a homicide investigation. As the public watched Netflix's "Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal," Alex stood trial for the killing of his wife and son. The 2023 docuseries kicks off with a focus on Paul Murdaugh, Alex's son, whose drunken actions during a night out with friends marked the beginning of a public downward spiral for the family.

In fact, prosecutors believe that night was the catalyst for Alex to murder his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and his son, Paul. What we learn about Paul at the start of the series is just the tip of the iceberg behind the Murdaugh name. His father, Alex, was fourth in his family's line of state prosecutors, who were well-known among law enforcement in Hampton, South Carolina. As is the case with other families at the center of Netflix documentaries — like "Making a Murderer" and "American Murder: The Family Next Door" — rumors surrounding the Murdaugh family began to swirl. Here's what you should know about Paul Murdaugh, the son at the center of the southern scandal.

Born on April 14, 1999, Paul Murdaugh was the youngest of Alex and Maggie Murdaugh's two sons. Paul and his older brother, Buster Murdaugh, grew up with wealth and connections that gave them leverage with the law. Let's start with the money. With a legal dynasty dating back to 1920, Alex Murdaugh's career as a civil litigation lawyer afforded his family, including Paul, a more than comfortable lifestyle on a 1,700-acre property. The estate, which featured a riverfront and hunting lodge, fostered Paul's love for the outdoors. His family even owned a boat that would be at the center of a tragic accident involving the death of a young woman.

As far as power goes, several generations of Murdaugh men, including Alex, served as district attorneys for the state's 14th district court for more than 100 years. "They ran both sides of the legal ledger, from civil cases to criminal cases," said Hampton County Guardian journalist Michael Dewitt in Netflix's "Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal." " They had a network that varied from judges and lawyers to law enforcement to sheriffs to the average man on the street who served on the jury. They were the law in this area. And at times, they were above the law." Paul was aware of this, as he witnessed his family avoid legal consequences surrounding the suspicious deaths of his brother's friend, Stephen Smith, and long-time housekeeper Gloria Satterfield. In fact, Paul's father, Alex, admitted to lying about the manner of Satterfield's death to collect $4.3 million from an insurance claim related to her death.

Afforded more freedom than the average child, Paul Murdaugh began drinking at an early age. His parents, Alex and Maggie Murdaugh, reportedly knew about their son's underage drinking and funded his booze supply. As a result, Paul developed a reputation for out-of-character behavior when he was intoxicated. His friends reportedly called the drunk version of him "Timmy." He'd also use his older brother Buster Murdaugh's ID to purchase alcohol.

His ex-girlfriend, Morgan Doughty, reported numerous instances where Paul's drinking was a problem following the death of her friend Mallory Beach. According to Doughty's affidavit, Paul "consumed alcohol on an almost daily basis and regularly drank to the point of becoming grossly intoxicated" (via The Island Packet). One instance occurred on New Year's Eve in 2018, when Paul drunkenly crashed his father's car into a family friend's vehicle. The automotive crash happened only two months before the infamous boat accident that killed a 19-year-old woman. Doughty also recalled her ex getting so drunk during their high school senior trip to the Bahamas that he threw up in a gift shop. Unfortunately, this bad habit would eventually lead to the loss of an innocent life.

Paul Murdaugh's alcohol consumption would land him in a world of trouble and a young woman's family in a pit of grief. A group of friends joined then-19-year-old Paul on his family's boat to attend a party one night in February of 2019, when tragedy struck. CBS News reported that among the group was Paul's girlfriend, Morgan Doughty, and her friend, Mallory Beach. Paul had purchased alcohol from a liquor store using his brother's ID earlier that day to stock the boat. He drank on board and attended the party before driving his boat full of friends to a local bar, where he consumed two shots with one of the teens from the group, Connor. When Paul and Connor returned to the group, Paul was in "Timmy" mode, exhibiting reckless behavior. The cohort boarded the boat again a little after 1:00 a.m., when things got out of hand. Paul reportedly began traveling at high speeds, driving in circles, and leaving the wheel to argue with his girlfriend, Morgan Doughty.

Despite his friend's pleas, Paul refused to park the vessel or hand over the keys. Around an hour after departure, Paul crashed the boat into Archers Creek Bridge. Mallory, 19, was thrown overboard and died. It took officials and volunteers eight days to recover her body from the river. Paul had drunk so much that his blood-alcohol content was three times over the legal limit even though it was tested hours after the crash.

Regarding the February 2019 crash that claimed the life of Mallory Beach, Paul Murdaugh was charged with one count of boating under the influence causing death and two counts of boating under the influence causing great bodily injury. The day he was charged, April 18, 2019, Beach would have turned 20 years old. On May 6, 2019, Paul pled not guilty to the charges and was released on a $50,000 bond. The victim's family would later file a wrongful death lawsuit against Paul's father, mother, and brother, and the store that sold the teen the alcohol earlier on the day of the accident.

Although Paul was eventually taken into custody for the incident, he received rather lenient treatment throughout the entire process. For example, officers reported that he was visibly under the influence at the scene of the accident, but did not arrest him nor did they question him. "It is not an indication that there was incompetence, because you couldn't have that much incompetence," Mark Tinsley, the Beach family's attorney, said on "Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal." "What you don't realize in that moment is the connections that those people had to the Murdaughs and to Alex." Seven weeks passed before Paul was charged for the incident. However, after he was charged, he still managed to avoid handcuffs during his court appearance, Beaufort County Detention Center processing, an ankle monitor, and alcohol testing. Many believe this was due to his family's legal ties to the area.

Following the 2019 boating accident, authorities were informed that Alex and Maggie Murdaugh knew about their son's abuse of alcohol and allowed it. Accounts reported by Paul Murdaugh's ex-girlfriend, Morgan Doughty, detail incidents when Paul would get extremely intoxicated around his parents, although he was underage. His parents would even fund his binges. For example, when Paul visited the liquor store on the day of the boating accident, he used his mother's credit card and his brother's ID at the register.

Interestingly, when he was in trouble, Paul also knew he could turn to his paternal grandfather, Randolph Murdaugh III. "Paul confided in his grandfather Randolph so much," said Doughty in the Netflix show "Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal." "Any time Paul got into any trouble, he would call his granddad. And from there, Randolph would call Alex, and then they'd come up with a storyline, basically. When I tell you it was like you snap your fingers and it was gone, that's how it was." This signals a hierarchy of power within the male family line. The freedom Paul had as a teen and the sense of security that his family's status provided him likely contributed to a feeling of impunity.

On June 7, 2021, Paul Murdaugh and his mother, Maggie Murdaugh, were shot to death with two different guns. Alex Murdaugh called the police around 10:00 p.m. and said he'd found the two victims on the family's hunting property deceased. Per WCSC, the father of two said, "This is Alex Murdaugh at 4147 Moselle Road. I need the police and an ambulance immediately! My wife and child have been shot badly!" Officials believe the murders took place roughly 30 minutes to an hour before Alex reported the bodies.

The incident happened outside near the dog kennels. Paul, 22 at the time of death, was shot twice with a shotgun, causing his brain to be ejected, The New York Post reported. His mother, Maggie, 52, was shot five times with a rifle. It was a gruesome crime scene believed to have taken place at close range. Forensics expert Kenneth Kinsey reported, "The fatal shot to Paul's shoulder, face, and head would likely produce enough back spatter, and would be within range to contaminate the shooter." Prosecutor Creighton Waters noted during Alex's trial that the mother and son were likely unsuspecting victims, given they did not have any defensive wounds (via Today). Paul and Maggie's murder would be pivotal in unveiling the series of crimes Alex Murdaugh had covered up over the years.

As it turns out, Paul wasn't the only one in the Murdaugh family struggling with substance use. His father, Alex Murdaugh, was struggling with an addiction to painkillers, which Paul and his mother, Maggie, began to uncover shortly before their deaths. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) notes that children who have parents with addiction are more likely to have their own substance use issues. "Based on combined 2009 to 2014 NSDUH data, an annual average of 8.7 million children aged 17 or younger live in households in the United States with at least one parent who had an SUD." The Murdaugh sons further support the statistic, as their father is believed to have been addicted to opioids for many years.

Despite Paul's own challenges at the time, he left Alex a voicemail on May 6, 2021, seemingly concerned about his father's drug habit. "I am still in EB (Edisto Beach) because when you get here, we have to talk," said Paul (via CNN). "Mom found several bags of pills in your computer bag." Based on internet searches his wife made that month, Alex was taking Oxycodone Hydrochloride and a nonprescription nighttime cold and flu capsule. The day after the pill discovery and Paul's voicemail, Alex texted his wife Maggie, "I am very sorry that I do this to all of you. I love you." This would be used as evidence by the prosecution in Alex's trial for the murder of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.

So what was Alex Murdaugh's motive for killing Paul and Maggie Murdaugh? Prosecutors argued that Alex feared his opioid addiction and theft from his clients would be exposed due to the investigation surrounding Paul's boat accident. The easiest way to stop the investigation, so he thought, was to end Paul's life. Renee Beach, Mallory Beach's mom, shared her reaction to the news of Paul's death, corroborating how it impacted getting justice for her daughter. 

"I just broke down and started crying," she told People. "I wanted him to own up to what he had done, and I never wanted anything like this to happen to him or Maggie. That was the last thing ever that I would want. I was hoping that he would change, just admit that he had done wrong and change his life, and it upset me a lot."

Despite Paul's death, the Beaches' lawsuit against Murdaugh did bring attention to Alex's illegal financial dealings. In the end, Alex was found guilty of a series of money-related crimes, including money laundering and fraud.

Paul Murdaugh recorded a Snapchat video shortly before his death that would be key in convicting his father. When officials questioned Alex Murdaugh, he claimed he'd just gotten to his property when he called to report Paul and Maggie Murdaugh's deaths. However, his voice can be heard in the background of a video Paul shared on social media, placing him at the scene within the time frame the murders occurred. 

State attorney for Florida's Palm Beach County Dave Aronberg told CNN,"It is ironic, in the end, that it was the victim, Paul Murdaugh, who solved his own murder." A jury member told CNN that the Snapchat footage is what led him to vote that the former attorney was guilty. The juror, Craig Moyer, said Alex was "not good enough" to deceive them.

"The jury saw how he was trying to manipulate them, saw how he was lying, and they read through it, and they heard the kennel video, and they made the right decision," said South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who was part of the prosecuting team. During the trial, Alex confessed to lying about his location due to stemming caused by his opioid addiction. He did not know that Paul recorded the video until his trial. CNN Legal Analyst and lawyer Joey Jackson added, "As much as you deny, deny, deny being at the kennels, you took the stand because it came out that you were there. Cell phone data put you there, car data put you there, in addition to the fact that your own voice put you there, by virtue of what your son recorded."

In Hulu's 2025 series, "Murdaugh: Death in the Family," we get to watch the scandalous story of this South Carolina dynasty reenacted. Johnny Berchtold plays Paul Murdaugh, a character defined by hard partying, drinking, and a bit of an attitude. Per Variety, the show describes Paul as the son "who constantly finds himself in some form of trouble or another, Paul is always on the hunt for a good time regardless of the consequences." Berchtold is best known for his roles in "The Passenger," "Reacher," "Gaslit," and "Dog Gone."

"I love that sunflower storyline so much because I think you have a young man who is trying to pick up the pieces after doing something terrible, essentially ... and he is going through what happened with the boat crash, but also now dealing with Gloria and having a sense of hope for the first time, I think, in the story," Berchtold told TV Insider about a scene in the fourth episode of the series. Paul's brother, Buster Murdaugh, is played by Will Harrison, while Patricia Arquette and Jason Clarke star as Maggie and Alex Murdaugh. He's described as the family's chosen one, ready to be his father's successor in the family business as a solicitor.

"Murdaugh: Death in the Family" debuted on Hulu with three episodes on October 15, with the remaining episodes released incrementally. Although Paul's murder case has been solved and Alex is serving double life sentences, the Murdaughs cycle in and out of the spotlight as one of the most infamous families in true crime history.