Mallory Beach death case: A timeline of events from the tragic boat crash day

Mallory Beach was 19 years old when she died in a tragic boat crash in the Beaufort River caused by her friend, Paul Murdaugh, who belonged to a prominent South Carolina family. He later himself became the subject of murder, alongside his mother Maggie, in an incident that took place in one of his family properties.

Beach reportedly went missing after the incident on February 23, 2022, and her body was found eight days later about five miles from the crime scene.

The remaining survivors accused Paul of rash driving under the influence of alcohol and ignoring their constant pleas to stop. Multiple felony charges were pressed against him, but he died before he could be brought to justice.

NBC Dateline is currently slated to drop its episode, titled Dark Waters, this Friday to further examine the death of Mallory Beach and the events that followed. The episode will air on November 4, 2022, at 9 pm ET.

Ahead of the episode premiere, let's explore the timeline of events before and after the accident that led to Mallory's demise.

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Authorities discovered that all six individuals on the boat were intoxicated

On February 23, 2019, Mallory Beach and her boyfriend, Anthony Cook, were expected to attend a house party on Paukie Island along with the latter's cousin Connor Cook and his companion Miley Altman.

They were scheduled to meet with Paul Murdaugh, who would later stand accused in the crash, on his family's island and take the Murdaugh family to the party.

According to investigators, Paul, Connor, Anthony, Mallory, Morgan, and Miley were all intoxicated on the night of the crash. Authorities discovered alcohol in a cooler on the boat.

Moreover, surveillance footage from earlier that day showed Paul Murdaugh using his older brother Buster's ID to purchase alcohol from a convenience store.

According to statements from an individual involved, authorities alleged that the six met up at the Murdaugh family's river house at 6.30 pm, and departed by boat in about half an hour's time.

After spending a few hours at the house party, they left sometime around midnight. Paul then insisted on driving the boat himself and took them to a nearby pub for more drinks.

GPS records from the boat showed that the group docked the boat at around 12.45 am and Paul and Connor went to a bar to get two rounds of shots, using fake IDs. The remaining four waited outside.

According to investigators, the two met up with their pals and returned to the boat's dock shortly after one in the morning. As per testimonies from the other passengers, Paul was apparently drunk and acting impulsively by then. Further surveillance footage revealed that the six teens boarded the boat and left at roughly 1.15 am.

One of the passengers onboard stated that a few of them began to argue with Paul when he allegedly began driving recklessly. Mallory Beach's boyfriend Anthony even requested Paul to let them out but he refused. According to the survivors, Mallory was terrified and Paul kept getting out of the car to argue with her.

Investigators confirmed that the boat was running at a very high speed at the time of the collision with the Archers Creek Bridge, which happened at around 2.20 in the morning. Mallory reportedly fell off the boat into the dark and deep waters. It was then that one of the six called 911, pleading for assistance. First responders started looking for Mallory right away.

Authorities found booze and blood on the damaged boat and the injured passengers were rushed to a nearby hospital. Mallory Beach's body was ultimately discovered on March 3, 2019, about five miles down the river from the scene of the crash, eight days later. Her family sued the Murdaugh family for wrongful death a month after the tragedy.

On April 18, Paul Murdaugh was indicted and charged with three felonies, to which he pleaded not guilty. However, on June 7, Paul was murdered along with his mother Maggie at one of his family properties.

His father, Alex Murdaugh, found them shot to death. After Paul's death, all charges against him were dropped. But on July 15, 2022, Alex was charged with murdering his wife and son.

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NBC Dateline is set to air Mallory Beach's tragic death case on Friday, November 4, 2022.