Last week we left off at Alex Murdaugh being arrested for the double homicide of his wife and son Paul. How and why would someone impulsively murder their wife and son? The answer to this question is not simple as there are a series of events that had a domino effect in this case.
Before it was announced that Alex was charged with the murders, there were many theories floating around surrounding the murders. The Murdaugh’s have wronged many families in their past so many members of the community believed these were revenge killings. One of the victims of the Murdaugh family (allegedly) is Stephen Smith.
Stephen Smith was an openly gay teenager that was killed in a “hit and run” accident back in 2015. His body was found in the middle of the street. The circumstances surrounding his death are very suspicious because it was labeled a hit and run yet the only trauma his body experienced was near his head. There was also no broken glass or car parts at the scene. It was rumored that either Buster or Paul Murdaugh were responsible for Stephen’s death.
Another victim of the Murdaugh family is Gloria Satterfield. She was found by Maggie Murdaugh (the wife) in Jan. 2018 laying at the bottom of the family steps. They allege that Gloria tripped over one of the family dogs and fell.
Gloria had surviving sons and Alex Murdaugh decided to file a wrongful death lawsuit against his own company for Gloria’s death in order for them to receive the money. Alex gave Gloria’s sons a lawyer who did all of the litigating without their knowledge. The lawyer funneled the money into Alex’s bank account called “Forge” instead of giving the money to Gloria’s sons.
Gloria’s sons were granted $4.3 million for the wrongful death of their mother but received none of the money because Alex stole it all. The boys were unaware they had even won this money because every time they asked, they were told the court process is slow and they are still waiting to receive funds.
You are probably still wondering what all of this has to do with the murders of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh. Well, after was charged with the felonies for the boating accident and the death of Mallory Beech, there was supposed to be a hearing held where the court would be going through all of the Murdaugh financial records. This hearing was scheduled the same week that Paul and Maggie were found dead (June 2021). If this hearing were to happen, it would expose all of Alex’s scams, including the one involving Gloria Satterfield’s sons. It is widely believed that Alex murdered his wife and son in order for the hearing to be canceled, therefore he would have more time to cover his tracks before the investigation began.
This plan somewhat worked; the hearing never happened because Paul was dead. However, it eventually backfired because in October 2021, just 4 months later, Alex was charged and arrested for the double homicide of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh. Recently, on March 2, 2023, Alex was found guilty of double homicide and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. On March 3 he was sentenced to two life sentences. Alex is currently sitting in Kirkland Correctional Institution where he will eventually be transferred to a maximum security prison to spend the rest of his days.
Sources: https://youtu.be/UlRPE1OPAWw
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Alex_Murdaugh