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[eerie music plays]
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[phone line rings]
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[operator 1] Hampton County 911,
what is your emergency?
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[driver] Hello, I was just goin' down
along Crocketville Road.
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I see somebody layin' out.
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[operator 1] And is it in the road
or on the side of the road?
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[driver] In the road.
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- [operator 1] In the road?
- [driver] Somebody's gonna hit him.
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[operator 1] We'll get an officer
headed out that way.
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- [driver] Okay.
- [operator 1] All right.
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[eerie music continues]
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[man 1] In 2019, our news outlet
was on the front lines of the boat crash.
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And then in 2021, the double homicide.
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[eerie music continues]
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While covering the death
of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh,
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we'd received an anonymous tip
on our website
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about a highway-patrol report
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for the death of Stephen Smith in 2015.
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Stephen Smith's body was found
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in the middle of a rural highway
in Hampton County,
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right around the corner
from where his car was later found.
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Started workin' sources.
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Who's Stephen Smith?
What... What was his story?
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And that's when I started
listening to the interviews
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those officers taped back in 2015.
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[man 2] Trooper Rowell, this incident
that occurred on July the 8th of 2015,
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just kind of go through it with me.
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[Rowell] From what we've gathered so far,
a nice, you know, young man
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had mechanical problems
with his vehicle on the way home.
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Run outta fuel or had some kinda problem,
and started walkin'.
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Um, I came out about 4:30 that mornin'.
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When I got up to the scene,
I noticed a young, white male
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lyin' in the roadway
with severe head trauma.
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Nothing at the scene appeared
that it was a vehicular accident.
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No torn clothes.
His shoes were still on his feet.
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Cell phone still in his pocket.
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[Will] This is a dark country road.
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But if someone's gonna be
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the victim of a vehicular strike,
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you're probably not
gonna find 'em in the road.
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You're probably not gonna find 'em
with loose-fitting shoes still on them.
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[Rowell] Injuries that I noticed
to this young man was to his head.
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[Will] Not gonna find them
with the blood patterns
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the way they found the blood patterns.
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Probably not gonna find them, again,
positioned the way he was positioned.
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People looked at this, and the report
specifically questioned these things.
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The problem is, nobody dug deeper.
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[Rowell] Like I said,
we don't know for sure.
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We haven't had anybody
to tell us anything different.
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So I reached out
to my sources at the agency,
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obtained a copy of the report,
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verified that it was authentic,
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and immediately noticed
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Buster Murdaugh was in the report.
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[Miley] Me and Mallory and Connor,
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we were in high school
at the same time as Stephen.
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He was always a very sweet person,
just always nice.
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Loved his friends.
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He was a happy person.
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[woman 1] Stephen and I became friends
when I was in tenth grade.
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I just always thought he was so funny,
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and I admired his personality so much,
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because he just did not give a shit
about what people thought about him.
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He was always himself.
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He was always, like, dancing around,
and singin' and, you know, just hilarious.
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[Miley] I was stayin' with Mallory.
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It happened just a couple of roads away
from where she lives.
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We were just like, you know,
scared for someone to end up dead
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in the middle of the road.
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I mean, that's unheard of in,
you know, Hampton County.
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[Olivia] When it first happened,
when he first was killed,
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the town rallied in such
a very supportive way for the family,
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and wantin' to figure out what happened.
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But then his case just disappeared.
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[Will] Stephen's case went cold.
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And his mom, Sandy Smith,
hired a private investigator.
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[man 3] The first thing you wanna do
as an investigator is see all the work
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that has been done
prior to your involvement.
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In South Carolina, the highway patrol
does all death investigations
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related to motor-vehicle accidents.
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So for the first few weeks,
the highway patrol's hot and heavy,
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out interviewing
as many people as they can.
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Associates of Stephen,
friends of Stephen, schoolmates, so forth.
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[man 2] Case number on this
will be CL-062.
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[man 4] Kinda wanted
to touch base with you.
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It's in... Obviously it's in reference
to the Stephen Smith murder investigation.
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- Do you know what I'm talkin' about?
- [informant 1] Oh yes, sir. I do.
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[man 4] Just go ahead and tell me,
you know, what you heard.
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[informant 1] From what I was originally
told was he was struck by a car.
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This, that, and the other.
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[informant 2] I heard he got hit by a car.
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[informant 3] They say
it was like a hit-and-run.
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I haven't really gotten all,
like, one clear story.
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[man 4] I can tell you this.
He didn't get hit by no car.
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[informant 2] Well,
recently I heard that these
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two, maybe three young men
were in a vehicle.
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I guess they were attemptin' to mess
around with him or somethin' like that.
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But it's all rumor. Nobody claims
to be the source of any information.
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They heard it from somebody else.
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[man 4] I need to try to find
somebody who's willin',
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you know,
to give me some solid information.
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And I understand...
I understand your reservation.
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Because I've heard that people
associated with his name
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have been goin' around, kinda...
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Not... Well...
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Kinda threatenin' or puttin' the heat
on people, sayin', you know,
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"Keep your mouth closed
if you heard somethin'."
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[informant 4] She was like,
"You'd never believe who I heard did it."
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And then she said his name
and I was, like, really shocked.
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[informant 2] Y'all have heard
I did hear names, and I'm... Um...
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Or heard a name.
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And that name was...
He goes by Buster Murdaugh.
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- Buster Murdaugh.
- Buster Murdaugh.
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[informant 5] Everybody keeps comin' up
to me and sayin' it was Murdaugh boys.
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[Steve] Over and over and over again.
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[informant 2]
And when I originally heard this,
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I was thinking
of the younger Murdaugh boy,
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Buster's little brother, Paul,
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because Paul's more the "my last name
is Murdaugh and I can do whatever."
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- Know what I mean?
- [man 4] Yeah.
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[informant 2] Everybody's kinda
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shy to say that out, you know what I mean?
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Because of...
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of the... I don't wanna say power,
but of the...
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The name, you know,
it brings a certain standard
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when you say "Murdaugh" in Hampton County.
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[Steve] Listening to these interviews,
it's pretty clear.
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Stephen's death
is now intertwined with the Murdaughs.
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[man 2] So the only rumor you heard
is possibly Buster havin'
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some type of relationship with Stephen?
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[informant 1] Yes, sir.
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[Sam] I was a science teacher
at Wade Hampton.
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There was a rumor
that Stephen and Buster were friends.
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Stephen was real smart,
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and had actually helped Buster
with some papers,
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and, um, I guess tutoring him,
for lack of a better word.
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[Morgan] Stephen Smith was gay,
and he lived in Hampton County.
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God knows
that couldn't have been easy on him,
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being from a town like that, though,
where it's not really socially acceptable,
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and he probably got talked about.
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There were so many rumors swirling around
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that Buster and Stephen
were intimate together.
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Being gay in the Murdaugh family
would have been looked down upon.
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[informant 2] I've known
the Murdaugh family, like I said,
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pretty much my whole life.
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Hampton's not a... Not a very big town.
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I feel like they wouldn't want anything
happening to their reputation,
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or name, or anything like that.
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As soon as the Murdaugh name
was tossed into the mix,
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of havin' somethin' to do with,
like, relationship-wise with Stephen,
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um, I feel like the view on his case
changed entirely.
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It went from finding justice for Stephen
to defending the Murdaughs
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and makin' sure that everyone knew
that they had nothin' to do with it.
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Even if they had, like,
people didn't want to consider that.
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[man 4] Can you tell me what you heard
about the Stephen Smith incident?
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[informant 2] I don't know.
It's strictly hearsay from all I know.
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[man 4] Well, I mean,
at this point it's kinda, you know,
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we'll take whatever we can get.
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The stories that went around
that I've heard so many times
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were that Buster and Stephen
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had a secret relationship,
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and they were wantin'
to come out to Buster's family.
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And then the rumors continued to flow
about how, the night that Stephen died,
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he had been on the way home from school
and his car had run out of gas.
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[informant 2] I just know
that he said it was
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Buster and maybe one or two other people.
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They were ridin' down 601.
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Saw the car on the side of the road.
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I guess saw the boy walkin'.
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[Olivia] Rumor goes,
Stephen felt comfortable enough
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to call Buster for help,
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and Buster just so happens
to be in the area
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on the way home from a softball tournament
with his friend.
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[informant 2] They were attemptin' to,
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I don't wanna say,
you know, mess around with him,
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or somethin' like that.
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[Olivia] I believe
that he picked Stephen up
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and was fooling Stephen into thinkin'
they were takin' him home,
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but I think they got a little ways
down the road,
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and that's when it all started to unravel.
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I believe that the Murdaughs
did whatever the hell it took
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to keep everyone's mouth shut that night.
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[informant 6] Someone told me
that it was Buster, and I was like,
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nothing was gonna be done about it
because of who he was.
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[woman 2] The day that Stephen passed away
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Randy Murdaugh was the second person
to call my dad, after the coroner.
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And he said he wanted to take the case
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and it would be free of charge
and everything.
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It's kinda weird.
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[man 4] The Murdaughs know that.
They know that he's...
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That he's on our radar.
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I'm gonna talk to Buster here soon
and say, "Look, man, you know,
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you need to come clean about this."
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"If it was an accident,
you just need to come clean about it."
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You know? "Let's get this process out
and let's get this family some closure."
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[Steve] I'd wanna talk to Buster.
I-I'd wanna talk to Alex.
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But nothing happens in this case. Nothing.
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Nobody investigates anything anymore.
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This case just fades away.
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[Will] In the highway-patrol tapes,
the Murdaugh name is mentioned
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numerous times by numerous people,
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but it doesn't appear
anyone ever interviewed Buster
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or anyone else in the Murdaugh family.
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Why not?
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[Michael] Within one month
of his body bein' found,
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we were hearin' all of these rumors
about a possible Murdaugh connection.
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And I've learned as a reporter
that if you hear the same rumors
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from different groups of people
wherever you go,
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it's either a very good rumor
or there's some truth to it.
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So we did a story
in the Thanksgiving 2015 paper,
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and Sandy Smith
basically appealed to the community.
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"My son was killed."
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"If you know somethin', please tell us."
"We just want answers. We want closure."
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So we could not
put the Murdaugh name in a story
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unless we wanted to face lawsuits.
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We said, "A prominent, well-known family
was rumored to be involved."
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Everybody knew who we were talking about.
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[mysterious music plays]
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We published the story and we waited.
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People would come up to me
in the Piggly Wiggly, pat me on the back.
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"We're so thankful you ran that story."
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"So proud of you
to have the courage to do it."
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I mean, we did everything
but put the Murdaugh name in the story.
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But the story did no good.
Nobody ever came forward.
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[male interviewer] Tell me about Morgan.
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Because she was hearing that rumor
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and she just had started dating Paul.
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[Miley] Morgan told me
she talked to the Murdaughs
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about the rumors with Buster,
and his friends, and Stephen,
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and that Paul might have been with them.
231
00:12:22,658 --> 00:12:25,119
[Morgan] When I first started dating Paul,
232
00:12:25,202 --> 00:12:27,580
this girl had messaged me on Facebook,
233
00:12:27,663 --> 00:12:30,458
just letting me know
that she had reasons to believe
234
00:12:30,541 --> 00:12:33,711
that it could've been Paul or Buster
that had killed Stephen.
235
00:12:35,254 --> 00:12:39,091
Mr. Alex, Maggie,
Buster, Paul and I, we were all home.
236
00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:43,554
We were sitting in the kitchen.
We had just gotten done eating.
237
00:12:44,555 --> 00:12:48,601
And then I asked him, I said,
"Why is this girl saying this?"
238
00:12:49,685 --> 00:12:51,979
He kind of just laughed it off
and they said,
239
00:12:52,938 --> 00:12:54,315
"We wouldn't kill that faggot."
240
00:12:54,815 --> 00:12:55,900
And I was like...
241
00:12:56,609 --> 00:12:58,611
[mysterious music continues]
242
00:13:01,489 --> 00:13:02,823
[Morgan] Looking back now,
243
00:13:02,907 --> 00:13:05,034
that was the first red flag
that I ignored.
244
00:13:06,911 --> 00:13:09,079
But I was like, "They're the Murdaughs."
245
00:13:09,663 --> 00:13:12,666
Surely these people
wouldn't just murder someone.
246
00:13:12,750 --> 00:13:14,752
[bright electronic music plays]
247
00:13:26,639 --> 00:13:28,349
[phone dials]
248
00:13:28,432 --> 00:13:29,850
[phone line rings]
249
00:13:31,393 --> 00:13:33,062
[operator 2] 911, where's your emergency?
250
00:13:33,145 --> 00:13:36,357
[Maggie] My housekeeper has fallen
and her head is bleeding.
251
00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:39,109
- I cannot get her up.
- [operator 2] Where'd she fall from?
252
00:13:40,611 --> 00:13:43,948
[Maggie] The... She fell going up the steps.
The brick steps.
253
00:13:44,949 --> 00:13:46,867
[operator 2] Okay,
so is she outside or inside?
254
00:13:46,951 --> 00:13:47,785
[Maggie] Outside.
255
00:13:47,868 --> 00:13:50,096
[operator 2] Okay,
is she able to talk to you guys at all
256
00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:51,914
or is she unconscious now?
257
00:13:51,997 --> 00:13:54,291
[Paul] She's not unconscious.
She's just mumblin'.
258
00:13:54,375 --> 00:13:56,961
[operator 2] The other lady said
she had tried to stand up
259
00:13:57,044 --> 00:13:58,379
and fell down again?
260
00:13:59,004 --> 00:14:01,131
[Paul] No, I was holdin' her up.
261
00:14:01,215 --> 00:14:02,132
[operator 2] Okay.
262
00:14:02,216 --> 00:14:04,820
[Paul] She told me to turn her loose
and was trying to use her arm,
263
00:14:04,844 --> 00:14:06,136
but then she fell back over.
264
00:14:06,220 --> 00:14:08,472
[operator 2] Okay,
do you guys know who she is?
265
00:14:08,556 --> 00:14:09,765
[Paul] She works for us.
266
00:14:09,849 --> 00:14:11,016
[operator 2] How old is she?
267
00:14:11,851 --> 00:14:13,769
[Maggie] I'm not sure. Like, 58 maybe.
268
00:14:13,853 --> 00:14:15,896
[operator 2] Do you know what her name is?
269
00:14:15,980 --> 00:14:17,356
[Paul] Gloria Satterfield.
270
00:14:17,439 --> 00:14:20,734
[operator 2] Do you know if she's ever
had a stroke or anything before?
271
00:14:20,818 --> 00:14:22,528
[Maggie] Ma'am, can you stop asking...
272
00:14:22,611 --> 00:14:25,447
[operator 2] I already
have them on the way.
273
00:14:27,491 --> 00:14:30,035
[Valerie] Gloria Satterfield
was the family maid,
274
00:14:30,619 --> 00:14:34,206
and in February of 2018,
she was at the house.
275
00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:38,043
And what her family were told
276
00:14:38,127 --> 00:14:43,299
is that she tripped over the family dogs
on the stairs, and fell backward,
277
00:14:43,382 --> 00:14:45,885
and hit her head violently and died.
278
00:14:46,510 --> 00:14:51,640
She really wasn't responsive to us
the whole time she was in the hospital.
279
00:14:51,724 --> 00:14:52,558
[woman 3] Yeah.
280
00:14:52,641 --> 00:14:55,352
From the day she got in the hospital
to the day she died,
281
00:14:55,436 --> 00:14:57,521
she could not tell us what happened.
282
00:14:58,272 --> 00:15:01,358
[Morgan] I remember knowing
that Miss Gloria was in the hospital.
283
00:15:02,276 --> 00:15:03,736
And Alex came home one day
284
00:15:03,819 --> 00:15:05,946
and he said
that he just went and visited her.
285
00:15:06,030 --> 00:15:11,285
And then I think it was, like,
two days later that, um, she had died.
286
00:15:12,953 --> 00:15:16,332
Paul took Gloria's death very hard.
287
00:15:16,916 --> 00:15:19,501
He cried and he hurt.
288
00:15:20,169 --> 00:15:23,255
I remember leavin' her funeral,
and he was just in the truck with me,
289
00:15:23,339 --> 00:15:27,217
and he was just goin' over stories
that he had with her, and memories, and...
290
00:15:27,927 --> 00:15:32,306
Um, so he was very affected
by Gloria's death.
291
00:15:34,516 --> 00:15:36,894
But the day that I found out
that she was tripped
292
00:15:36,977 --> 00:15:41,065
and she had broken ribs
and a really bad brain injury,
293
00:15:41,732 --> 00:15:45,152
I just felt in my heart that, like,
something had happened to her,
294
00:15:45,235 --> 00:15:47,112
and it wasn't by the dogs.
295
00:15:49,490 --> 00:15:53,410
Mr. Alex,
he was a very hard person to read.
296
00:15:55,371 --> 00:15:59,166
And at the time,
he was severely addicted to painkillers.
297
00:15:59,792 --> 00:16:03,212
You know,
Paul would stay the weekend at the house
298
00:16:03,295 --> 00:16:05,422
and just make sure,
like, his dad was detoxing.
299
00:16:05,506 --> 00:16:07,967
And I stayed there one time, and I was...
300
00:16:08,676 --> 00:16:12,262
Alex is already a really pale man,
but you could see through him,
301
00:16:12,346 --> 00:16:14,598
'cause he's on the couch
and he's just, like,
302
00:16:15,224 --> 00:16:19,269
rocking on the couch and completely pale.
303
00:16:19,353 --> 00:16:23,899
Like it was so... It was heartbreaking
to watch, but Paul...
304
00:16:23,983 --> 00:16:26,068
Paul really wanted to help his dad.
305
00:16:26,151 --> 00:16:30,322
There was this time
where Miss Gloria had found drugs
306
00:16:30,406 --> 00:16:33,575
taped in little baggies
under Alex's bed in Hampton.
307
00:16:35,077 --> 00:16:38,205
Paul was really protective
over his dad's health.
308
00:16:38,288 --> 00:16:40,207
Paul was aware of his drug use.
309
00:16:40,290 --> 00:16:43,293
So Gloria wanted to let Paul know,
310
00:16:43,377 --> 00:16:46,213
because Gloria was scared
to go to Maggie about it.
311
00:16:46,296 --> 00:16:48,382
She might've been scared
she was gonna lose her job,
312
00:16:48,465 --> 00:16:51,343
or Maggie would say
that she was snooping or something.
313
00:16:51,427 --> 00:16:55,931
This was early 2018,
within the same year that she had died.
314
00:16:56,015 --> 00:16:57,516
She knew too much.
315
00:16:57,599 --> 00:16:59,519
[male interviewer]
You think Gloria knew too much
316
00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:01,186
and that's why Gloria is not here?
317
00:17:01,270 --> 00:17:02,438
[Bill] Mm-hm.
318
00:17:02,521 --> 00:17:05,524
[Michael] When she died,
I began hearin' rumors.
319
00:17:06,025 --> 00:17:07,693
I was at the hardware store one day,
320
00:17:07,776 --> 00:17:12,531
and somebody saw
Maggie Murdaugh walk by, and they said,
321
00:17:12,614 --> 00:17:14,450
"There goes old Maggie Murder."
322
00:17:14,533 --> 00:17:17,244
And I said,
"Why are you callin' that lady that?"
323
00:17:17,327 --> 00:17:21,415
And they said, "Well, you know she pushed
the housekeeper down the stairs."
324
00:17:21,915 --> 00:17:25,836
One version of the rumor was that Paul
pushed the housekeeper down the stairs.
325
00:17:25,919 --> 00:17:27,588
One version was that Maggie did it.
326
00:17:27,671 --> 00:17:29,631
I never really understood it.
327
00:17:29,715 --> 00:17:34,303
But, uh, there's been rumors,
you know, hearsay,
328
00:17:35,304 --> 00:17:37,973
that Paul might've had
somethin' to do with her death.
329
00:17:38,057 --> 00:17:41,852
And I'm... I'll tell you right now
on the whole world, that's a lie.
330
00:17:42,436 --> 00:17:43,437
He, uh...
331
00:17:44,104 --> 00:17:45,272
He would never hurt her.
332
00:17:49,276 --> 00:17:50,986
[Morgan] I remember leavin' her funeral.
333
00:17:51,487 --> 00:17:53,989
Alex told Paul
that he was gonna sue himself
334
00:17:54,073 --> 00:17:56,283
for wrongful death
and give them the money.
335
00:17:56,366 --> 00:17:58,494
And he told Paul and I that directly.
336
00:18:00,079 --> 00:18:01,705
[Ginger] Alex said that he was going
337
00:18:01,789 --> 00:18:05,542
to file a claim
against his insurance company,
338
00:18:05,626 --> 00:18:08,295
because their dogs tripped Gloria up,
339
00:18:08,796 --> 00:18:11,090
so that he could help Gloria's sons out
340
00:18:11,590 --> 00:18:13,967
and look out for them,
since they had lost a mother
341
00:18:14,051 --> 00:18:16,303
and it had happened on his property.
342
00:18:16,386 --> 00:18:18,388
[mysterious music plays]
343
00:18:21,725 --> 00:18:24,645
[Steve] I called the caretaker
at the Murdaugh Moselle property,
344
00:18:24,728 --> 00:18:25,728
Ronnie Freeman.
345
00:18:25,771 --> 00:18:28,398
I wanted to ask him,
was he around these people long enough
346
00:18:28,482 --> 00:18:32,111
to overhear conversation
about Stephen Smith's death.
347
00:18:32,194 --> 00:18:34,113
The answer to the question was no.
348
00:18:34,196 --> 00:18:36,907
But during that interview, he brought up
349
00:18:38,283 --> 00:18:40,953
the whole situation
involving Gloria Satterfield.
350
00:18:42,746 --> 00:18:44,748
[mysterious music continues]
351
00:18:45,916 --> 00:18:48,293
[Ronnie] Been gettin' to work
at that time at 7:30,
352
00:18:48,377 --> 00:18:51,213
so Gloria probably come through
at about 8:30.
353
00:18:54,591 --> 00:18:56,385
Walkin' up to the house,
354
00:18:57,177 --> 00:19:00,389
she got a McDonald's cup in one hand,
her purse on her shoulder,
355
00:19:00,472 --> 00:19:01,974
like she does every morning.
356
00:19:02,516 --> 00:19:05,144
And then Maggie calls me
within 15 minutes later.
357
00:19:05,894 --> 00:19:09,273
I asked her what the hell happened,
and she was hysterical.
358
00:19:09,356 --> 00:19:11,942
"You gotta get here.
Gloria fell. There's blood everywhere."
359
00:19:13,527 --> 00:19:15,487
Her feet were above her head.
360
00:19:16,363 --> 00:19:19,074
We needed to at least
get her body horizontal.
361
00:19:19,158 --> 00:19:21,285
So Paul, you know, grabs her legs.
362
00:19:21,368 --> 00:19:24,538
I grab both of her shoulders
to get her horizontal.
363
00:19:26,290 --> 00:19:30,169
[Steve] So then EMS arrives.
And it's you, Paul, and Maggie.
364
00:19:32,004 --> 00:19:36,216
Investigative reports
say Alex talked to Gloria,
365
00:19:36,300 --> 00:19:38,468
and she said that the dog tripped her.
366
00:19:38,552 --> 00:19:40,971
[mysterious music continues]
367
00:19:41,054 --> 00:19:42,931
[Ronnie] That's not true. He wasn't there.
368
00:19:43,432 --> 00:19:47,853
[Steve] So then, you're saying that Alex
is still not there when EMS leaves?
369
00:19:47,936 --> 00:19:49,021
[Ronnie] Correct.
370
00:19:50,731 --> 00:19:53,192
[man 5] I'm meeting
with Alexander Murdaugh.
371
00:19:53,275 --> 00:19:55,611
Mr. Murdaugh, you understand
I'm recording this statement?
372
00:19:55,694 --> 00:19:57,380
- [Alex] Yes.
- [man 5] With your permission?
373
00:19:57,404 --> 00:19:58,924
- [Alex] Yes.
- [man 5] Your full name?
374
00:19:58,989 --> 00:20:00,741
Richard Alexander Murdaugh.
375
00:20:01,241 --> 00:20:02,534
[man 5] And, um...
376
00:20:03,368 --> 00:20:04,703
Do you go by Alexander?
377
00:20:04,786 --> 00:20:05,704
I go by Alex.
378
00:20:05,787 --> 00:20:06,622
[man 5] Okay.
379
00:20:06,705 --> 00:20:09,374
How long would you estimate
that Gloria had been doin' work
380
00:20:09,458 --> 00:20:11,168
for you and/or your family?
381
00:20:12,044 --> 00:20:15,130
[Alex] She's been workin'
for our family for,
382
00:20:15,964 --> 00:20:16,965
hoo,
383
00:20:17,549 --> 00:20:21,220
close to 20 years, I would estimate.
384
00:20:21,303 --> 00:20:25,098
And no, she babysat my children
when they were...
385
00:20:25,182 --> 00:20:27,559
When my youngest was an infant. So...
386
00:20:28,518 --> 00:20:30,604
[man 5] And were you able
to speak with Gloria
387
00:20:30,687 --> 00:20:33,106
before she was taken away
in the ambulance?
388
00:20:33,190 --> 00:20:34,691
- [Alex] I was.
- [man 5] Okay.
389
00:20:34,775 --> 00:20:36,652
Did you ask her what happened?
390
00:20:36,735 --> 00:20:39,738
[Alex] She indicated that the dogs
had caused her to fall.
391
00:20:39,821 --> 00:20:43,408
[man 5] Okay. So there was no witness
to the chain of events.
392
00:20:43,492 --> 00:20:45,132
- [Alex] The fall itself?
- [man 5] Right.
393
00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:46,828
[Alex] No, sir. Not that I'm aware of.
394
00:20:46,912 --> 00:20:47,912
[man 5] Okay.
395
00:20:48,997 --> 00:20:52,376
In Paul's head, I think he really believed
that his dogs tripped her,
396
00:20:52,459 --> 00:20:54,211
and that made himself feel better,
397
00:20:54,294 --> 00:20:58,131
knowing his dad was gonna
do this great thing and sue himself,
398
00:20:58,215 --> 00:21:02,135
and make sure that her sons
and that her family were gonna be okay.
399
00:21:03,178 --> 00:21:06,515
That's why I've never said anything
about my suspicions.
400
00:21:08,433 --> 00:21:13,063
It's just super weird that within
the same year she had found Alex's drugs,
401
00:21:13,146 --> 00:21:15,857
told Paul,
Paul was forcing his dad to detox...
402
00:21:15,941 --> 00:21:17,359
Like, I just don't...
403
00:21:19,152 --> 00:21:20,737
I think somethin' happened to her.
404
00:21:20,821 --> 00:21:23,573
And I... And I don't think
it was handled properly.
405
00:21:24,199 --> 00:21:27,911
[Will] Every one of these dead bodies
has got a story that Alex Murdaugh tells
406
00:21:27,995 --> 00:21:29,454
that suits his needs,
407
00:21:29,538 --> 00:21:31,999
that maintains
that empire that they built.
408
00:21:33,250 --> 00:21:35,669
You have a death in 2015
that's very suspicious.
409
00:21:35,752 --> 00:21:38,880
You have another one three years later,
also suspicious.
410
00:21:38,964 --> 00:21:42,509
And then in the aftermath
of Paul and Maggie's murder at Moselle,
411
00:21:42,592 --> 00:21:44,553
that's when the floodgates really open.
412
00:21:45,262 --> 00:21:47,055
[reporter 1]
And now to more breaking news.
413
00:21:47,139 --> 00:21:49,850
This about
that double-homicide investigation.
414
00:21:49,933 --> 00:21:52,019
Two members of a South Carolina family.
415
00:21:52,102 --> 00:21:56,898
State investigators have reopened
a separate death investigation from 2015
416
00:21:56,982 --> 00:22:00,110
in connection with the deaths
of Paul and Margaret Murdaugh.
417
00:22:00,193 --> 00:22:02,630
[reporter 2] The South Carolina
Department of Law Enforcement,
418
00:22:02,654 --> 00:22:05,115
they would not say what evidence
lead to that decision,
419
00:22:05,198 --> 00:22:07,993
or whether the Murdaugh family
was involved in any way.
420
00:22:09,077 --> 00:22:13,332
Within a couple of weeks
after the double homicides at Moselle,
421
00:22:13,415 --> 00:22:17,210
state investigators say,
"We are reopening the investigation
422
00:22:17,294 --> 00:22:18,837
into the death of Stephen Smith,
423
00:22:19,338 --> 00:22:22,883
because of evidence we found
investigating the double homicides."
424
00:22:23,884 --> 00:22:27,637
[reporter] The once prominent
South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh,
425
00:22:27,721 --> 00:22:29,931
he now faces multiple accusations.
426
00:22:30,015 --> 00:22:33,352
[Valerie] There are multiple cases
unraveling in the public eye.
427
00:22:33,852 --> 00:22:38,482
I think that Alex's world
was slowly falling to pieces around him.
428
00:22:38,565 --> 00:22:40,942
He didn't know what to do.
429
00:22:42,069 --> 00:22:45,822
[Valerie] And then, behind the scenes,
the Murdaugh law firm discovers that Alex
430
00:22:45,906 --> 00:22:48,742
was potentially
misappropriating money from clients.
431
00:22:49,534 --> 00:22:51,828
They called him out on it
and forced him to resign.
432
00:22:52,996 --> 00:22:55,749
[Michael] The law firm held
a come-to-Jesus meeting and said,
433
00:22:55,832 --> 00:22:58,585
"We know you've been stealing money."
434
00:22:59,169 --> 00:23:00,796
"We're gonna investigate this,
435
00:23:00,879 --> 00:23:04,257
but even worse,
you're no longer one of us."
436
00:23:04,341 --> 00:23:05,884
"We're gonna cut ties."
437
00:23:06,385 --> 00:23:09,971
"The law firm that your great-grandfather
started is done with you."
438
00:23:10,055 --> 00:23:13,392
He learned that his world
was about to unravel,
439
00:23:13,475 --> 00:23:16,186
and we gotta put ourselves
in the mind of this character.
440
00:23:16,269 --> 00:23:18,730
Now Alex Murdaugh is a desperate man.
441
00:23:22,818 --> 00:23:24,111
[gunshot]
442
00:23:24,194 --> 00:23:26,029
[indistinct radio chatter]
443
00:23:32,994 --> 00:23:35,288
[Morgan] I was actually
with Miley and Connor.
444
00:23:35,372 --> 00:23:38,542
Someone got a phone call
that Mr. Alex had gotten shot.
445
00:23:40,752 --> 00:23:43,130
And me and Miley
just looked at each other.
446
00:23:43,213 --> 00:23:44,881
It didn't seem real at the time.
447
00:23:45,882 --> 00:23:49,511
[Will] You get the text, "Alex Murdaugh
shot, side of the road, Hampton County."
448
00:23:49,594 --> 00:23:52,389
And you're like, "What the... No."
449
00:23:52,472 --> 00:23:55,183
A mystery in South Carolina
gets even deeper.
450
00:23:55,267 --> 00:23:59,229
Officials telling Fox News
53-year-old attorney Alex Murdaugh
451
00:23:59,312 --> 00:24:02,441
was shot and wounded today
in Hampton County, South Carolina.
452
00:24:02,524 --> 00:24:03,733
No word on his condition.
453
00:24:03,817 --> 00:24:05,819
[reporter] Alex was airlifted
to the hospital.
454
00:24:05,902 --> 00:24:08,280
He'd been shot in the head
in broad daylight
455
00:24:08,363 --> 00:24:11,199
while he was changing a tire
on the side of the road.
456
00:24:13,243 --> 00:24:18,081
[Will] We reported Alex Murdaugh
was airlifted to hospital in Savannah.
457
00:24:19,124 --> 00:24:20,167
"No, no, no, no."
458
00:24:20,250 --> 00:24:22,794
"No, he was flown to Charleston,
not Savannah."
459
00:24:22,878 --> 00:24:25,672
"FITSNews is wrong. They don't know
what they're talking about."
460
00:24:25,755 --> 00:24:26,965
The guy was in Savannah.
461
00:24:28,341 --> 00:24:29,968
His lawyers lied
462
00:24:30,051 --> 00:24:32,846
to the reporters
to keep them from goin' there.
463
00:24:33,763 --> 00:24:36,641
It's like,
"Are they deliberately confusing us?"
464
00:24:37,767 --> 00:24:39,686
[Valerie] And then the 911 calls come out.
465
00:24:39,769 --> 00:24:41,396
[phone line rings]
466
00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:44,065
[operator 3] Hampton County 911.
What is your emergency?
467
00:24:45,233 --> 00:24:48,987
[Alex] I stopped.
I got a flat tire, and I stopped,
468
00:24:49,070 --> 00:24:50,780
and somebody stopped to help me.
469
00:24:51,865 --> 00:24:53,783
And they tried to shoot me.
470
00:24:53,867 --> 00:24:55,035
[operator 3] Were you shot?
471
00:24:55,118 --> 00:24:56,118
[Alex] Yes.
472
00:24:57,329 --> 00:24:58,997
But, I mean, I'm okay.
473
00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:00,165
I can't drive.
474
00:25:00,957 --> 00:25:01,958
[operator 3] Okay.
475
00:25:02,042 --> 00:25:03,627
[Alex] And I'm bleedin' a lot.
476
00:25:03,710 --> 00:25:05,837
[operator 3] Where?
What part of your body?
477
00:25:06,338 --> 00:25:08,798
[Alex] I'm not sure. Somewhere on my head.
478
00:25:08,882 --> 00:25:10,342
[operator 3] What's your name?
479
00:25:10,425 --> 00:25:11,510
Alex Murdaugh.
480
00:25:14,554 --> 00:25:15,889
[operator 3] Alex Murdaugh?
481
00:25:15,972 --> 00:25:16,972
[Alex] Yes, ma'am.
482
00:25:18,433 --> 00:25:19,601
[operator 3] Oh, okay.
483
00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:23,522
It took a couple of days
for the story to completely unravel.
484
00:25:24,606 --> 00:25:29,236
Alex did not feel like he could go forward
and continue down that path. Um...
485
00:25:29,736 --> 00:25:31,821
And he felt like ending his life.
486
00:25:31,905 --> 00:25:34,282
Alex acknowledged wrongdoing.
487
00:25:34,366 --> 00:25:36,076
"It was an attempted suicide on my part."
488
00:25:36,159 --> 00:25:41,623
He figures his last play is to make sure
that his surviving son, Buster, is okay.
489
00:25:41,706 --> 00:25:45,460
If he was going to end his life,
he wanted it to benefit his son.
490
00:25:45,544 --> 00:25:52,008
So he has the idea to hire someone, who
he knows, to, um, shoot him in the head.
491
00:25:52,092 --> 00:25:53,969
[caller] Yes, we're on
492
00:25:55,262 --> 00:25:56,721
Salkehatchie Road.
493
00:25:57,389 --> 00:26:00,225
There is a man on the side of the road
with blood all over him.
494
00:26:00,308 --> 00:26:01,518
And he's wavin' his hands.
495
00:26:01,601 --> 00:26:04,145
[operator 4] He's just layin' there
wavin' his hands around?
496
00:26:04,229 --> 00:26:06,523
[caller] He looks fine,
but it kind of looks like a setup.
497
00:26:06,606 --> 00:26:07,691
So we didn't stop.
498
00:26:08,358 --> 00:26:09,651
[operator 4] I don't blame you.
499
00:26:10,151 --> 00:26:11,987
So all that was kinda strange.
500
00:26:12,070 --> 00:26:15,031
And then, a few days into it,
501
00:26:15,115 --> 00:26:16,992
people raised significant questions
502
00:26:17,075 --> 00:26:20,161
about the version
that was coming from Alex's lawyers.
503
00:26:20,245 --> 00:26:23,915
[reporter] Joining us now,
exclusively, is Alex Murdaugh's attorney.
504
00:26:23,999 --> 00:26:27,127
[attorney] He went to his drug dealer
and asked him to shoot him,
505
00:26:27,210 --> 00:26:30,297
and within 30 minutes,
his drug dealer had shot him in the head.
506
00:26:30,380 --> 00:26:34,551
The murder of, um, his son and wife,
uh, 90 days ago
507
00:26:34,634 --> 00:26:36,928
uh, took a tremendous toll on him.
508
00:26:37,012 --> 00:26:39,180
Most people couldn't get through that.
509
00:26:39,264 --> 00:26:41,474
He got through it with the use of opioids.
510
00:26:42,809 --> 00:26:44,227
[Valerie] Within a couple weeks,
511
00:26:44,311 --> 00:26:48,648
Alex Murdaugh went to rehab
for his secret opioid addiction.
512
00:26:48,732 --> 00:26:50,108
And almost immediately,
513
00:26:50,191 --> 00:26:53,445
police ultimately start looking
into a former client of Alex's.
514
00:26:53,528 --> 00:26:54,738
Curtis Edward Smith.
515
00:26:54,821 --> 00:26:57,824
Curtis Smith is the man
accused of shooting Alex Murdaugh.
516
00:26:57,907 --> 00:27:01,369
He appeared in front of a judge
in Hampton County as well.
517
00:27:02,203 --> 00:27:05,999
Authorities say he's facing charges
for assisted suicide,
518
00:27:06,082 --> 00:27:07,917
insurance fraud, and more.
519
00:27:08,918 --> 00:27:11,296
[Valerie] Curtis Edward Smith
subsequently said,
520
00:27:11,379 --> 00:27:13,340
"I felt like I was bein' set up."
521
00:27:13,423 --> 00:27:15,675
"He called me out there
to help him, I thought,
522
00:27:15,759 --> 00:27:18,928
and then kind of, you know,
staged this struggle with a gun."
523
00:27:19,012 --> 00:27:24,059
But he said he absolutely
did not conspire with Alex to kill him.
524
00:27:24,142 --> 00:27:29,648
Does your client maintain
utter and complete innocence in this case?
525
00:27:29,731 --> 00:27:32,651
- Go ahead.
- If I'd have shot him, he'd be dead.
526
00:27:33,151 --> 00:27:34,151
He's alive.
527
00:27:34,569 --> 00:27:38,156
These reports that your client stole
millions of dollars from the law firm.
528
00:27:38,239 --> 00:27:40,784
Did he use all of that money to buy drugs,
529
00:27:40,867 --> 00:27:44,287
or did he use some of the millions
for other things?
530
00:27:45,872 --> 00:27:49,042
The vast majority of it,
as I understand it, was used to buy drugs.
531
00:27:49,125 --> 00:27:51,252
[reporter] That's a lot of Oxy.
532
00:27:53,171 --> 00:27:56,174
[Will] Right, so who is Eddie Smith?
Who is this cousin, Eddie?
533
00:27:56,758 --> 00:27:58,802
Well, we started doin'
some diggin' on him,
534
00:27:58,885 --> 00:28:03,014
and what we found
was over 160,000 in incremental checks,
535
00:28:03,098 --> 00:28:08,269
most of them under ten grand,
from October 2020 to May of 2021.
536
00:28:09,104 --> 00:28:10,563
I did the math on the OxyContin.
537
00:28:10,647 --> 00:28:13,149
You know how much OxyContin
that man could've bought?
538
00:28:13,858 --> 00:28:15,276
114 years' worth.
539
00:28:16,528 --> 00:28:18,530
And that's if he's a hard-core addict.
540
00:28:19,781 --> 00:28:24,035
He's not buying OxyContin with that.
Maybe a little of it, but not all of it.
541
00:28:24,536 --> 00:28:26,371
Where'd it go? Where is that money?
542
00:28:27,455 --> 00:28:32,711
But the key takeaway is not necessarily
where it is, but when it happened.
543
00:28:33,420 --> 00:28:36,339
He's not only depositing a check
days before the double homicide,
544
00:28:36,423 --> 00:28:39,426
but Curtis Eddie Smith's
getting checks directly afterward.
545
00:28:39,509 --> 00:28:42,303
Some of them totally more than $24,000.
546
00:28:43,179 --> 00:28:47,183
I'm told by sources
the more credible theory, in theory,
547
00:28:47,267 --> 00:28:49,853
is that he was setting Eddie up, right?
548
00:28:49,936 --> 00:28:52,188
So he wasn't gonna ask Eddie to shoot him.
549
00:28:52,272 --> 00:28:54,441
He was gonna come, you know,
550
00:28:54,524 --> 00:28:57,152
make it look like
Eddie came out there to shoot him,
551
00:28:57,235 --> 00:28:59,612
and then he had to shoot Eddie
in his self-defense.
552
00:28:59,696 --> 00:29:03,408
I think it was...
The whole thing is hinky from the word go.
553
00:29:03,491 --> 00:29:06,137
[male interviewer] And to make
then Eddie the suspect in the murder?
554
00:29:06,161 --> 00:29:09,581
Mm-hm. And not just his...
Not just his attempted murder,
555
00:29:09,664 --> 00:29:12,709
but somehow culpable
in the murders of Maggie and Paul.
556
00:29:12,792 --> 00:29:14,794
[intriguing music plays]
557
00:29:18,673 --> 00:29:21,176
[reporter 1] SLED says they're looking
at these allegations
558
00:29:21,259 --> 00:29:23,678
that Murdaugh misappropriated funds
559
00:29:23,762 --> 00:29:26,973
at the former law firm
that his family founded.
560
00:29:27,056 --> 00:29:29,016
[reporter 2] As we were standing here
moments ago,
561
00:29:29,058 --> 00:29:31,186
five vehicles,
appeared to be law enforcement,
562
00:29:31,269 --> 00:29:33,897
pulled out of one of the entrances
to the Moselle property
563
00:29:33,980 --> 00:29:35,315
here in Colleton County.
564
00:29:35,398 --> 00:29:38,002
We don't know what's going on.
We're gonna work to figure that out.
565
00:29:38,026 --> 00:29:40,445
We do wanna say
five law-enforcement vehicles
566
00:29:40,528 --> 00:29:41,988
just left this property here.
567
00:29:42,781 --> 00:29:43,823
[man 6] SLED announced
568
00:29:43,907 --> 00:29:47,660
that they were opening an investigation
into Alex Murdaugh,
569
00:29:47,744 --> 00:29:50,163
to his financial crimes.
570
00:29:53,041 --> 00:29:55,418
That same day is the day that I got a tip
571
00:29:55,502 --> 00:29:58,797
that they were executing
a search warrant at Moselle.
572
00:29:59,339 --> 00:30:01,633
So I figured it was worth
driving out there,
573
00:30:01,716 --> 00:30:04,093
putting my drone up
and seeing what I could get.
574
00:30:06,638 --> 00:30:10,141
And as I was pulling up,
there were some official-looking trucks
575
00:30:10,225 --> 00:30:12,185
pulling out of the driveway
and heading out.
576
00:30:12,268 --> 00:30:14,437
So I thought I really missed everything.
577
00:30:16,272 --> 00:30:18,316
It wasn't until a few days later,
578
00:30:18,399 --> 00:30:20,443
when I was really
going through the footage
579
00:30:20,527 --> 00:30:23,571
and seeing what I got,
that I noticed the guns.
580
00:30:23,655 --> 00:30:27,242
My first thought was,
"This is a big deal."
581
00:30:27,325 --> 00:30:29,661
I got the tip
that they were executing a search warrant,
582
00:30:29,744 --> 00:30:35,166
and now I have footage of them
unloading eight guns out of the house.
583
00:30:36,292 --> 00:30:40,880
It clearly captured John Marvin carrying
two uncased rifles out to the truck.
584
00:30:41,798 --> 00:30:43,758
They loaded up a few more things,
585
00:30:44,425 --> 00:30:46,135
drove over to the kennels,
586
00:30:47,095 --> 00:30:50,306
loaded up a hunting dog
and a couple more things, and then left.
587
00:30:51,641 --> 00:30:55,311
John Marvin and Buster,
it could be them going on a hunting trip.
588
00:30:55,395 --> 00:30:56,980
I'm not sure, you know.
589
00:30:57,063 --> 00:31:00,817
Knowing that a double homicide
had recently occurred on that property,
590
00:31:00,900 --> 00:31:05,905
and there were Murdaughs taking guns
off of the property, not the officials,
591
00:31:07,156 --> 00:31:11,244
it can obviously lead someone to speculate
maybe one of these firearms
592
00:31:11,327 --> 00:31:14,497
or some of these firearms
were pieces of evidence
593
00:31:14,581 --> 00:31:18,251
that could be used against
the Murdaugh family in some capacity.
594
00:31:21,713 --> 00:31:24,674
[Will] If SLED had the murder weapons,
we would know by now.
595
00:31:25,592 --> 00:31:27,472
Guns are missin'.
They're still lookin' for 'em.
596
00:31:29,387 --> 00:31:31,389
In the aftermath of the roadside shooting,
597
00:31:31,472 --> 00:31:34,017
everyone realized he's lied,
been caught lyin'.
598
00:31:34,684 --> 00:31:37,812
I think that was the moment
people finally began to question
599
00:31:37,896 --> 00:31:42,025
whether Alex Murdaugh had something to do
with the murders of his wife and son.
600
00:31:42,108 --> 00:31:44,986
Or at the very least,
that he wasn't telling the truth
601
00:31:45,069 --> 00:31:46,362
about what happened to them.
602
00:31:46,863 --> 00:31:48,323
He's lyin' about somethin'.
603
00:31:48,823 --> 00:31:53,244
I began to have a bad taste in my mouth
toward members of the Murdaugh family,
604
00:31:53,328 --> 00:31:55,079
like a lot of people in the community.
605
00:31:56,164 --> 00:31:59,542
And our coroner, Angela Topper,
606
00:31:59,626 --> 00:32:03,338
she goes back lookin' through
Hampton County coroner records,
607
00:32:03,421 --> 00:32:06,382
and she stood up and pointed out
608
00:32:06,466 --> 00:32:11,137
there was something fishy about 2018,
609
00:32:11,220 --> 00:32:14,807
Gloria Satterfield,
another case that went under the radar.
610
00:32:16,017 --> 00:32:18,561
She's seeing that this death
was ruled natural,
611
00:32:18,645 --> 00:32:20,271
even though it was a trip and fall.
612
00:32:20,772 --> 00:32:23,232
She's seein'
that there was no autopsy ever done.
613
00:32:24,484 --> 00:32:26,152
So she wrote a letter to SLED
614
00:32:26,235 --> 00:32:28,446
and asked SLED
to help her investigate this.
615
00:32:29,030 --> 00:32:30,156
At the same time,
616
00:32:30,239 --> 00:32:34,327
SLED has got reason
to investigate Alex's financial crimes.
617
00:32:34,827 --> 00:32:36,454
Eventually, the Satterfield family
618
00:32:36,537 --> 00:32:39,916
were readin' articles
all over the state of South Carolina
619
00:32:39,999 --> 00:32:42,126
about how there was a death settlement.
620
00:32:42,794 --> 00:32:45,421
Her sons didn't know anything
about a settlement.
621
00:32:45,922 --> 00:32:49,425
They're lookin' at each other and said,
"I didn't get any money, did you?"
622
00:32:50,259 --> 00:32:53,888
Whenever that came out
and it was in the paper,
623
00:32:53,972 --> 00:32:55,181
and Eric called me
624
00:32:55,264 --> 00:32:57,517
and he said, "Something isn't right."
625
00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:00,395
It was like, "Holy cow."
626
00:33:00,478 --> 00:33:02,855
'Cause the boys,
they haven't seen anything.
627
00:33:03,940 --> 00:33:06,442
Nothin'. Not one red cent.
628
00:33:06,943 --> 00:33:09,278
[man 7] There appeared to be a lawsuit.
629
00:33:09,362 --> 00:33:13,032
Money was recovered,
and none of it was paid to the clients,
630
00:33:13,533 --> 00:33:15,576
which seemed to be an impossibility.
631
00:33:15,660 --> 00:33:18,121
So we said,
"We will talk to the Murdaughs."
632
00:33:18,204 --> 00:33:20,873
And we were expecting
we were gonna get this response
633
00:33:20,957 --> 00:33:23,918
where they would say, "Oh, absolutely.
There's just a misunderstanding."
634
00:33:24,002 --> 00:33:27,088
"The money's in a bank account."
Or, "It was put in a trust."
635
00:33:27,588 --> 00:33:28,589
And we got silence.
636
00:33:28,673 --> 00:33:31,968
And so the next thing we did
was we filed a lawsuit immediately
637
00:33:32,051 --> 00:33:34,303
because we needed subpoena power
638
00:33:34,387 --> 00:33:36,472
to be able to get
documents and information.
639
00:33:37,140 --> 00:33:41,602
And we learned that Alex Murdaugh
was not practicing law.
640
00:33:41,686 --> 00:33:44,480
Alex Murdaugh
was practicing stealin' money.
641
00:33:45,940 --> 00:33:49,444
At the end of the day,
Alex recovered $4.3 million.
642
00:33:49,527 --> 00:33:52,905
Our clients got none of that money.
643
00:33:53,740 --> 00:33:54,741
Zero.
644
00:33:56,492 --> 00:33:58,972
[Ginger] It's just puttin' the knife in us
and cuttin' it deep.
645
00:33:59,037 --> 00:34:00,037
It perturbs me.
646
00:34:00,079 --> 00:34:05,043
I get really PO'ed
knowing that's what's happened now.
647
00:34:05,543 --> 00:34:08,796
He used her name. My sister.
648
00:34:10,423 --> 00:34:13,593
[Bland] His law firm suspected him.
We confirmed it.
649
00:34:14,385 --> 00:34:17,764
This was not his first time
that he was gonna misappropriate money
650
00:34:17,847 --> 00:34:19,682
from other clients of the Murdaugh firm.
651
00:34:19,766 --> 00:34:23,436
We have evidence
that he did it many times predating this.
652
00:34:23,519 --> 00:34:26,230
You don't lose your virginity
at $4.3 million.
653
00:34:27,065 --> 00:34:31,319
Alex Murdaugh has misappropriated
millions and millions of dollars,
654
00:34:31,402 --> 00:34:34,697
and it's a fraud that began in 2015,
655
00:34:34,781 --> 00:34:39,035
and was the vehicle
to steal the Satterfield's money in 2019.
656
00:34:40,119 --> 00:34:41,954
[Bland] Ronnie and I met with SLED.
657
00:34:42,455 --> 00:34:44,123
We contacted the FBI.
658
00:34:44,207 --> 00:34:48,086
And so were we the genesis
for these criminal charges
659
00:34:48,169 --> 00:34:50,755
to be brought against Alex Murdaugh?
Absolutely.
660
00:34:54,842 --> 00:34:57,011
[reporter 1] We have breaking news
into our newsroom.
661
00:34:57,095 --> 00:34:58,846
The South Carolina
Law Enforcement Division
662
00:34:58,930 --> 00:35:01,849
have taken Alex Murdaugh into custody.
663
00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:05,019
This is Murdaugh's new mug shot.
664
00:35:05,103 --> 00:35:07,814
These charges stem
from a SLED investigation
665
00:35:07,897 --> 00:35:12,902
into misappropriated settlement funds
in the death of Gloria Satterfield.
666
00:35:12,985 --> 00:35:16,405
[reporter 2] Authorities accusing him
of stealing millions in insurance money,
667
00:35:16,489 --> 00:35:19,659
which was meant to go
to the sons of Gloria Satterfield,
668
00:35:20,243 --> 00:35:23,955
his family's longtime housekeeper,
who died after a purported
669
00:35:24,038 --> 00:35:28,501
trip-and-fall incident at the Murdaughs'
South Carolina home in 2018.
670
00:35:28,584 --> 00:35:30,586
[indistinct chatter]
671
00:35:33,548 --> 00:35:35,967
[Will] So in October of 2021,
672
00:35:36,050 --> 00:35:40,179
Murdaugh appears before South Carolina
circuit court judge Clifton Newman.
673
00:35:40,263 --> 00:35:43,099
I am going for a denial of bond
at this time.
674
00:35:44,809 --> 00:35:51,357
[Will] No one... No one in that courtroom
expected him to deny Alex Murdaugh's bond.
675
00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:52,900
No one saw this comin'.
676
00:35:53,901 --> 00:35:56,237
That was the point Alex Murdaugh realized,
677
00:35:56,320 --> 00:36:00,575
"Wait a minute,
this system that's been enabling me..."
678
00:36:03,452 --> 00:36:05,496
Suddenly they can't count on it anymore.
679
00:36:16,007 --> 00:36:18,718
[Michael] Alex Murdaugh is in a jail cell.
680
00:36:18,801 --> 00:36:20,595
No secrets are safe now.
681
00:36:20,678 --> 00:36:23,973
[reporter] Alex pleaded the Fifth,
refusing to answer accusations
682
00:36:24,056 --> 00:36:27,143
that he embezzled
potentially millions of dollars
683
00:36:27,226 --> 00:36:30,730
from his family's lucrative law firm
and his clients.
684
00:36:30,813 --> 00:36:35,193
In October, the Court heard evidence
that Buster was gambling in Las Vegas
685
00:36:35,276 --> 00:36:39,822
and selling off assets to the tune
of hundreds of thousands of dollars
686
00:36:39,906 --> 00:36:40,907
for his father.
687
00:36:40,990 --> 00:36:43,701
[Valerie] There have been some pictures
entered into evidence
688
00:36:43,784 --> 00:36:49,248
of John Marvin and Buster
at the casino out in Las Vegas,
689
00:36:49,332 --> 00:36:51,417
right at the same time that Alex Murdaugh
690
00:36:51,500 --> 00:36:52,627
is in the county jail.
691
00:36:54,170 --> 00:36:55,755
[Alex] Did you get to gamble any?
692
00:36:56,756 --> 00:36:59,342
[Buster] Yeah.
Yeah, so I did go gambling, and then,
693
00:36:59,425 --> 00:37:03,846
the next day, there was an article created
about how I'm misusing funds.
694
00:37:06,432 --> 00:37:07,432
[Alex] By gamblin'?
695
00:37:08,517 --> 00:37:11,604
[Buster] Yeah. Someone took a picture
of me and John Marvin in the casino.
696
00:37:12,104 --> 00:37:13,397
[Alex] You're kiddin' me.
697
00:37:13,481 --> 00:37:14,482
[Buster] Uh-uh.
698
00:37:15,942 --> 00:37:18,945
[Alex] What a fuckin'... Are you kiddin' me?
699
00:37:19,695 --> 00:37:20,695
[Buster] No.
700
00:37:21,113 --> 00:37:22,490
[Alex] How'd they recognize you?
701
00:37:22,990 --> 00:37:25,576
[Buster] Apparently,
I'm a national figure, I think.
702
00:37:26,953 --> 00:37:31,415
Listening to the jailhouse calls
has been fascinating, just to hear Alex.
703
00:37:31,499 --> 00:37:34,377
Sometimes, you know,
you're aware that you're being taped.
704
00:37:34,460 --> 00:37:36,879
But then, after a certain point,
705
00:37:37,463 --> 00:37:40,675
I think you start to fall
into a natural pattern of conversation
706
00:37:40,758 --> 00:37:45,137
and talk about your Super Bowl winnings
of, you know, meat sticks in the canteen.
707
00:37:46,222 --> 00:37:49,141
[Alex] Hey, I hit nine out of 11 games on...
708
00:37:49,934 --> 00:37:52,561
Sunday. Nine out of 11,
that's pretty damn hard.
709
00:37:53,437 --> 00:37:54,437
[Buster] Yeah.
710
00:37:54,855 --> 00:37:57,692
[Alex] I won, like, six soups,
711
00:37:57,775 --> 00:37:59,193
four beef sticks...
712
00:37:59,277 --> 00:38:00,361
[Buster] Well, that's good.
713
00:38:02,905 --> 00:38:04,198
[phone line ringing]
714
00:38:04,282 --> 00:38:05,741
[machine] Your party has answered.
715
00:38:05,825 --> 00:38:08,577
- With a prepaid collect call from...
- Alex.
716
00:38:08,661 --> 00:38:12,164
[machine] All phone calls are subject
to monitoring and recording.
717
00:38:13,082 --> 00:38:14,667
- [Buster] Hello?
- [Alex] Hey, bud.
718
00:38:14,750 --> 00:38:20,256
Jim and them told me they, the grand jury,
indicted a bunch more things
719
00:38:20,339 --> 00:38:21,632
on the last Friday.
720
00:38:21,716 --> 00:38:23,634
But you know that's just overkill, right?
721
00:38:24,677 --> 00:38:25,928
[Buster] Yeah, I mean...
722
00:38:26,012 --> 00:38:29,015
[Alex] I mean, they're just trying
to pile it on me now, you know that.
723
00:38:29,515 --> 00:38:31,475
[Buster] Yeah, I'm aware.
724
00:38:31,559 --> 00:38:32,810
[Alex] But I can take it.
725
00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:37,231
Stephen Smith and Gloria
and all that bullshit.
726
00:38:37,732 --> 00:38:41,027
Are they still tryin' to say out there,
there are some mysteries
727
00:38:41,110 --> 00:38:42,778
surrounding Gloria's death?
728
00:38:42,862 --> 00:38:44,280
About how she died?
729
00:38:44,780 --> 00:38:46,157
[Buster] Sayin' what now?
730
00:38:46,240 --> 00:38:49,952
[Alex] About how she died. Are they still
tryin' to make some innuendo there?
731
00:38:51,245 --> 00:38:52,747
[Buster] I don't know. I, um...
732
00:38:54,373 --> 00:38:56,500
[Alex] They still sayin' anything
about Stephen Smith?
733
00:38:56,584 --> 00:38:59,062
- [Buster] I don't think...
- [Alex] They still connecting to us?
734
00:38:59,086 --> 00:39:00,963
[Buster] Yeah, I don't think anybody
735
00:39:01,714 --> 00:39:02,923
took to heart any of that.
736
00:39:03,007 --> 00:39:04,592
[Alex] SLED say there's no connection?
737
00:39:04,675 --> 00:39:07,511
[Buster] No.
SLED has not released anything.
738
00:39:07,595 --> 00:39:10,723
They wouldn't even... They didn't even
release a statement about...
739
00:39:12,433 --> 00:39:14,894
What was this most recent thing? Um...
740
00:39:15,436 --> 00:39:18,439
Something came out not long ago,
talkin' about how there's been, like,
741
00:39:18,939 --> 00:39:20,983
a breakthrough in evidence...
742
00:39:24,278 --> 00:39:25,363
to do with, like,
743
00:39:26,572 --> 00:39:27,782
the homicides.
744
00:39:31,327 --> 00:39:34,121
[Will] We're comin' up to a year
since this crime took place,
745
00:39:34,205 --> 00:39:36,832
and we're just now
startin' to hear about forensic evidence
746
00:39:36,916 --> 00:39:40,252
that links Alex Murdaugh
directly to the scene of this crime.
747
00:39:41,379 --> 00:39:42,838
Will Folks. How are you, sir?
748
00:39:44,090 --> 00:39:46,092
[eerie music plays]
749
00:39:48,928 --> 00:39:52,473
[Will] The coroner says that Paul
and Maggie were killed at around 9:00 p.m.
750
00:39:52,973 --> 00:39:56,435
According to Alex Murdaugh,
he was not at Moselle until 10:07 p.m.
751
00:39:56,519 --> 00:39:58,896
and finds his wife and son murdered.
752
00:39:58,979 --> 00:40:00,398
[eerie music continues]
753
00:40:01,190 --> 00:40:02,900
According to our sources,
754
00:40:02,983 --> 00:40:04,985
high-velocity impact spatter,
755
00:40:05,069 --> 00:40:07,530
some kind of fluid
on Alex Murdaugh's clothes,
756
00:40:07,613 --> 00:40:10,783
places him at Moselle
when the murders occur.
757
00:40:11,826 --> 00:40:13,744
It's not necessarily what it is,
758
00:40:13,828 --> 00:40:17,873
it's where it puts him
at the moment Maggie and Paul were killed.
759
00:40:18,624 --> 00:40:20,584
There's no other place he could've been
760
00:40:20,668 --> 00:40:22,670
than with at least one of these victims
761
00:40:22,753 --> 00:40:24,046
at the moment they died.
762
00:40:25,548 --> 00:40:27,716
So the next thing we got was the video
763
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:31,303
from Paul Murdaugh's cell phone
at 8:44 p.m.
764
00:40:32,346 --> 00:40:35,266
Now the video on Paul's phone,
you can't see Alex on it,
765
00:40:35,349 --> 00:40:36,809
but you can hear him talking,
766
00:40:36,892 --> 00:40:39,895
and the time stamp
is right before the murders took place.
767
00:40:41,147 --> 00:40:42,690
A second piece of evidence
768
00:40:42,773 --> 00:40:47,445
that conclusively places Alex Murdaugh
at the scene of the murders
769
00:40:47,528 --> 00:40:49,655
at or around the time they happen.
770
00:40:50,239 --> 00:40:52,074
And this breaks this thing wide open
771
00:40:52,158 --> 00:40:54,410
as it relates to Alex's
potential involvement.
772
00:40:54,493 --> 00:40:58,873
Because for the first time,
we know he was there when it happened.
773
00:41:00,332 --> 00:41:04,128
Maybe he didn't kill his wife and son.
We don't know that for sure.
774
00:41:04,211 --> 00:41:07,089
But we know he was there when they died.
775
00:41:07,173 --> 00:41:10,801
We know he knows something
about what happened to them.
776
00:41:12,720 --> 00:41:14,013
[reporter] High-velocity spatter
777
00:41:14,096 --> 00:41:16,557
is associated with the use
of a high-velocity weapon,
778
00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:19,560
like a rifle,
especially used at close range.
779
00:41:19,643 --> 00:41:22,855
FITSNews also first reported
that Paul Murdaugh's phone
780
00:41:22,938 --> 00:41:24,857
was found on his body at the scene.
781
00:41:24,940 --> 00:41:29,487
And we've confirmed with that same source
that on that phone there is video
782
00:41:29,570 --> 00:41:33,782
which contains audio of Alex Murdaugh
talking with his wife, Maggie,
783
00:41:33,866 --> 00:41:35,618
close to the time of the murders.
784
00:41:35,701 --> 00:41:39,371
Alex Murdaugh is not seen on the video,
but he is heard speaking with her.
785
00:41:39,455 --> 00:41:43,751
And that recording has a time stamp,
which could be key to the investigation.
786
00:41:44,376 --> 00:41:45,920
[Michael] One of my editors suggested,
787
00:41:46,003 --> 00:41:48,214
go ahead and write a breakin'- news thing
788
00:41:48,297 --> 00:41:51,008
in case Alex Murdaugh
is charged with homicide.
789
00:41:52,468 --> 00:41:54,178
And I can't bring myself to do it.
790
00:41:54,678 --> 00:41:57,223
That's an awful thing
to even wrap your head around,
791
00:41:57,306 --> 00:42:00,935
that a man could kill his wife and child,
and if it's true,
792
00:42:01,685 --> 00:42:03,270
this is the fall of a dynasty.
793
00:42:03,354 --> 00:42:04,813
This is a fall from grace.
794
00:42:06,982 --> 00:42:10,528
[reporter 1] Alex Murdaugh is used
to walking into court as a lawyer,
795
00:42:10,611 --> 00:42:12,947
but this week,
he's not only been disbarred,
796
00:42:13,030 --> 00:42:17,493
now he's facing two counts of murder
in the deaths of his wife and his son.
797
00:42:17,576 --> 00:42:20,746
[reporter 2] Now Murdaugh's legal team
immediately responded to this
798
00:42:20,829 --> 00:42:23,290
this afternoon,
with a statement saying, in part,
799
00:42:23,374 --> 00:42:26,710
"Alex did not have any motive whatsoever
to murder them."
800
00:42:26,794 --> 00:42:29,838
"We are immediately
filing a motion for a speedy trial."
801
00:42:31,298 --> 00:42:32,550
[attorney] We are here today
802
00:42:32,633 --> 00:42:36,637
on the case
of the State versus Richard Alex Murdaugh.
803
00:42:36,720 --> 00:42:40,349
He has been indicted
by the Colleton County grand jury
804
00:42:40,432 --> 00:42:44,019
for 2022 G.S. 15-592.
805
00:42:44,103 --> 00:42:46,355
That charge is for the murder
of Maggie Murdaugh.
806
00:42:47,189 --> 00:42:52,486
2022 G.S. 15-593,
that is for the murder of Paul Murdaugh.
807
00:42:54,029 --> 00:42:55,823
Uh, Richard Alex Murdaugh.
808
00:42:55,906 --> 00:42:58,409
If that is your name,
please raise your right hand.
809
00:42:59,785 --> 00:43:01,829
Do you waive reading of the indictments?
810
00:43:01,912 --> 00:43:02,912
Yes, sir.
811
00:43:03,581 --> 00:43:05,708
What say you, Richard Alex Murdaugh?
812
00:43:05,791 --> 00:43:07,501
Are you guilty or not guilty
813
00:43:07,585 --> 00:43:10,254
of the felonies
wherein you stand indicted?
814
00:43:10,337 --> 00:43:11,380
Not guilty.
815
00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:14,675
- How shall you be tried?
- By God and my country.
816
00:43:14,758 --> 00:43:15,758
Thank you.
817
00:43:17,094 --> 00:43:19,305
[judge] Bond will therefore be denied.
818
00:43:19,972 --> 00:43:21,181
Right, thank you all.
819
00:43:28,981 --> 00:43:30,649
[Morgan] I think Mr. Alex,
820
00:43:31,400 --> 00:43:34,903
facing all this heat from the media,
from the court...
821
00:43:34,987 --> 00:43:40,909
He's about to be exposed from all angles
of cheating and lying and stealing.
822
00:43:40,993 --> 00:43:42,494
I do believe that Alex Murdaugh
823
00:43:42,578 --> 00:43:43,996
would kill Paul and Maggie.
824
00:43:47,374 --> 00:43:51,128
I don't care who you are,
what you've done, no one deserves that.
825
00:43:52,713 --> 00:43:55,382
[Anthony] Everything
that Mr. Alex's going through right now.
826
00:43:55,466 --> 00:43:59,261
If all of that's actually true,
then, you know,
827
00:43:59,345 --> 00:44:02,056
you kinda... You kinda get what you ask for.
828
00:44:02,973 --> 00:44:04,850
Everybody's sufferin' for those mistakes,
829
00:44:04,933 --> 00:44:09,480
and some mistakes are a lot bigger
than others and that you can't take back.
830
00:44:11,649 --> 00:44:16,654
I lost a really, really big piece,
uh, of my heart.
831
00:44:19,865 --> 00:44:21,533
You know, I was lost.
832
00:44:23,702 --> 00:44:27,748
Started partyin' again,
you know, like I was a teenager.
833
00:44:27,831 --> 00:44:31,085
You know, I...
You know, I acted stupid for a while.
834
00:44:31,960 --> 00:44:33,629
I tried to run away from everything.
835
00:44:36,048 --> 00:44:39,176
I don't know, I just think
everybody's kinda got the wrong idea
836
00:44:39,259 --> 00:44:40,678
about what's goin' on.
837
00:44:41,887 --> 00:44:46,725
I've heard all kinds of stuff. I've heard
people say that Paul deserved to die.
838
00:44:46,809 --> 00:44:50,688
He made a mistake, and, yeah,
there's a lot of people sufferin' for it,
839
00:44:50,771 --> 00:44:53,607
but nobody deserves to die.
840
00:44:55,734 --> 00:45:00,781
[Morgan] After the boating accident
and Paul and Maggie's murders,
841
00:45:00,864 --> 00:45:03,951
everyone as a community was very shook.
842
00:45:05,494 --> 00:45:07,913
I've hit a lot of low points.
843
00:45:07,996 --> 00:45:09,665
You're tryin' to cope,
844
00:45:09,748 --> 00:45:12,710
but you're also tryin'
to be a regular 20-year-old.
845
00:45:13,961 --> 00:45:15,546
To be able to sit here today
846
00:45:16,130 --> 00:45:19,925
and to tell my story
847
00:45:20,676 --> 00:45:22,928
without having to be scared anymore,
848
00:45:23,011 --> 00:45:25,389
and going through
all the suppressed emotions
849
00:45:25,472 --> 00:45:27,891
and the stuff that I try to forget,
850
00:45:27,975 --> 00:45:29,935
I think that's strength.
851
00:45:32,271 --> 00:45:36,608
Our relationship's changed drastically
after four years.
852
00:45:38,026 --> 00:45:40,529
It was hard for me
to start hangin' out with Miley again
853
00:45:40,612 --> 00:45:44,450
after we lost Mallory,
just because I felt guilty in a way.
854
00:45:45,284 --> 00:45:47,536
Miley and Mallory,
they were best friends too,
855
00:45:47,619 --> 00:45:51,582
and I didn't want it to feel like
anyone was replacing anyone
856
00:45:51,665 --> 00:45:53,125
in each other's lives.
857
00:45:54,960 --> 00:45:59,339
[Miley] We're one of the only ones
that understand what we're goin' through.
858
00:45:59,923 --> 00:46:05,012
I mean, I think about her every day,
and it's hard to move on without her,
859
00:46:05,554 --> 00:46:08,056
but a good way to honor her...
860
00:46:08,140 --> 00:46:09,808
...is keepin' her name alive.
861
00:46:17,775 --> 00:46:20,235
[Morgan] What justice looks like
for me now
862
00:46:20,319 --> 00:46:23,655
is getting the answers that we need.
863
00:46:24,156 --> 00:46:25,824
I wanna know what happened to Gloria.
864
00:46:25,908 --> 00:46:29,244
[reporter] South Carolina authorities
say they received permission
865
00:46:29,328 --> 00:46:33,165
from a Satterfield estate lawyer
to exhume the body of Gloria Satterfield
866
00:46:33,248 --> 00:46:36,001
and further investigate
the circumstances of her death.
867
00:46:36,084 --> 00:46:38,295
I wanna know who killed Paul and Maggie,
868
00:46:38,378 --> 00:46:40,214
and who killed Stephen.
869
00:46:43,258 --> 00:46:45,886
I still think that Mr. Alex
is hiding things,
870
00:46:45,969 --> 00:46:48,305
and if you ever meet him,
871
00:46:49,348 --> 00:46:51,225
I'm sure you'd get that feeling too.
872
00:46:55,354 --> 00:46:56,897
[phone line rings]
873
00:46:58,857 --> 00:47:00,359
[machine] Your party has answered.
874
00:47:00,442 --> 00:47:03,946
All phone calls are subject
to monitoring and recording.
875
00:47:06,573 --> 00:47:08,450
- [Alex] Hey.
- [Buster] Hey.
876
00:47:08,534 --> 00:47:09,660
[Alex] What you doin'?
877
00:47:10,410 --> 00:47:11,787
[Buster] Nothin'. What's up?
878
00:47:12,871 --> 00:47:14,873
[Alex] Hey, Bus, I meant to ask you,
879
00:47:16,083 --> 00:47:18,752
did Netflix put somethin' out
about all this?
880
00:47:24,049 --> 00:47:26,051
[theme music plays]