Hulu’s new drama series Murdaugh: Death in the Family reimagines the shocking demise of one of South Carolina’s most powerful families.
The Murdaughs’ almost century-long legal legacy was first brought into question in 2019, when 19-year-old Paul Murdaugh was indicted on charges related to a boating accident that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach, CNN reported. In the years that followed, dark secrets the Murdaughs attempted to bury came to light, kicking off a downfall marked by embezzlement, murder and a strange and elaborate scheme to earn millions in life insurance.
Co-created by Erin Lee Carr and Michael D. Fuller, Murdaugh: Death in the Family, based on the Murdaugh Murders Podcast from journalist Mandy Matney, illuminates the unknown aspects of the Murdaughs’ story and the “emotional truth” of who they were.
“The heart of the show is that these are, were real people. They were a real family. They weren’t black mustache-twirling evil villains. They weren’t white knighted, incredibly heroic individuals,” Fuller told the Los Angeles Times. “They were people, and they made choices, good and bad, and in that way, there’s something very relatable for everyone.”
Paul was charged with three felony counts of boating under the influence in 2019
In February 2019, a boat crashed into a bridge close to Parris Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, and killed Beach, who was on the vessel with Paul and five other people. Paul owned the boat and was charged with boating under the influence, causing bodily harm and death in April of that year. He pleaded guilty.
According to NJ.com, Beach’s family filed a wrongful death suit against the Murdaughs in 2019, and Paul’s father, Alex, took extreme measures to conceal his fortune to avoid paying a large settlement to the Beach family. The lawsuit was settled in October 2025 when the insurer agreed to pay the $500,000 policy for the damaged boat.
Alex’s law firm accused him of misappropriating close to $792,000
On June 7, 2021, the chief financial officer at Alex’s law firm, Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth, and Detrick, challenged him about the nearly $792,000 in missing company funds, CNN reported. That evening, Murdaugh called 911 and told the operators that he had found his wife, Maggie, and Paul shot dead outside of their home.
When authorities arrived at the residence, Alex said he was not at the scene of the crime that night, claiming he was visiting his ailing mother before coming home to find his family dead. An investigation into the murders began.
In September of that year, after resigning from PMPED for “misappropriated funds,” Murdaugh called 911 and reported he had been shot. He was later taken to a hospital in Savannah, Georgia, where he was treated for a “superficial gunshot wound to the head,” a statement from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division at the time read. Murdaugh’s legal team later argued it was much more serious than a superficial wound, and an unknown person was to blame.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division opened an investigation into Alex’s alleged misappropriation of funds shortly thereafter.
Court documents revealed that Alex orchestrated his shooting as part of an arrangement where he hired a former client, Curtis Edward Smith, to kill him so Alex’s surviving son, Buster Murdaugh, could collect an insurance payout of around $10 million, NJ.com reported. According to CNN, Smith was charged with assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
Alex was found guilty and is currently serving two consecutive life sentences
In addition to the many civil crimes he was charged with, Alex is indicted on two counts of murder and two weapons counts in connection with Maggie and Paul’s death in 2022. He pleaded not guilty in July, and his trial began in January 2023.
According to NJ.com, Murdaugh’s legal team argued Alex committed the murders to try to distract from his financial crimes. The trial lasted weeks, and after it concluded, jurors deliberated for less than three hours before finding him guilty on all charges. He was sentenced to life in prison the next day.
A year later, he was found guilty of bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, NJ.com reported. Alex is currently serving two consecutive life sentences.
Murdaugh: Death in the Family, starring Jason Clarke, Patricia Arquette, Johnny Berchtold and Brittany Snow, debuts its first three episodes on Hulu on Wednesday. From there, episodes will drop weekly until Nov. 19.