Content warning: This article contains references to murder some may find upsetting. Reader discretion is advised.
UPDATE 7/12/23: Things appear to be tense between convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh and his oldest son, Buster, now that he has begun serving two life sentences for the murders of his wife, Maggie, and their youngest son, Paul. TMZ obtained a recording of a 43-second phone conversation with Alex revealing his many unsuccessful attempts to contact his son.
"Hey, buddy," Alex reportedly began the conversation. Buster replied, "Hey, I don't have a whole of time. I just boarded a ferry to go back to Hilton Head Island from Daufuskie (Island)," the outlet reports. Alex reportedly told Buster that he tried to get in contact with him and a man named Jim, who TMZ believes is his lawyer Jim Griffin.
The convicted killer then asked his son to have Jim contact him. He went on to ask his son another question about Jim, but Buster claimed that he couldn't understand what his father was saying because of issues with the phone line. The conversation ended with Alex telling Buster, "Proud of you," to which he replied, "alright," and "thanks" before he ended the call.
UPDATE 3/3/23: After only deliberating for three hours on March 2, 2023, a jury found Alex Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul.
The disgraced lawyer was convicted for two counts of homicide, as well as two counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Per NBC News, Alex "blinked repeatedly but was stone-faced as he stood in court as the guilty verdicts were read."
Alex was sentenced to life in prison without parole, getting two life sentences. Though South Carolina does have the death penalty, the prosecution revealed in December 2022 they would not be seeking that for the Murdaugh patriarch. The last execution in South Carolina took place in 2011.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Netflix's newest true crime series, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, follows a more recent string of crimes than previous docuseries on the streaming platform, such as Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer, which both focused on murders that happened decades ago.
But with Murdaugh Murders, the focus is on crimes that happened from 2015 to 2021 — and they all center around the patriarch of a prominent Southern family, Alex Murdaugh, who is standing trial for the double homicide of two of his family members.
There is a series of deaths that can all be linked back to Alex's family, including two teenagers, the family housekeeper, and Alex's wife and son. Alex's oldest son, Buster, was rumored to have had something to do with 19-year-old Stephen Smith's mysterious death in 2015. The investigation into Stephen's death was suddenly halted after the Murdaugh family's name was mentioned in connection with the teenager's death. Private investigator Steve Peterson said in the docuseries that the investigation "just fade[d] away." (To this day, it's still unclear how Stephen died and who killed him, according to People.)
Three years after Stephen died, the Murdaugh family housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, supposedly tripped over the family's dogs while at work, fell, and ultimately died from her injuries. In the docuseries, Morgan Doughty, the ex-girlfriend of Alex's youngest son, Paul, said that Alex was allegedly a drug addict, his drug of choice being painkillers. Morgan claimed Gloria found a stash of drugs taped underneath Alex's bed. Several people shared in the docuseries that they believe Gloria's knowledge of Alex's situation is what got her killed.
A year after that, Alex allegedly tried to set up Paul's friend, Connor Cook, to take the fall for a deadly boating accident that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach and injured several other teens. Paul was ultimately charged with one count of boating under the influence causing death and two counts of boating under the influence with great bodily injury, and pled not guilty to all charges. However, he never stood trial for those crimes because he and his mother, Maggie Murdaugh, were murdered by gunshot in 2021 — a double homicide for which Alex is currently on trial right now.
So, if you're wondering where in the world is Alex Murdaugh, he's in the middle of a murder trial, charged for the deaths of his younger son and wife. The trial began on January 23, 2023, and, as of this writing, is still ongoing. It's being held in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina.
As People pointed out, even if Alex is found not guilty for the double homicide of his family members, he is not out of the woods. Alex "faces dozens of charges for alleged financial crimes, including misappropriating money from his law firm, defrauding clients of funds and computer crimes," the outlet reported.
One of those alleged financial crimes involves his late housekeeper — Alex is accused of swindling her surviving family members out of a $4.5 million insurance settlement. He has not been tried for that crime yet.
Stacey Grant is a senior editor at Seventeen who runs the brand's Snapchat Discover channel. She also covers entertainment topics specializing in nostalgia, such as classic '90s and '00s Disney Channel and Nickelodeon content.
