5 chilling details about the Alex Murdaugh case in Murdaugh: Death in the Family

Murdaugh: Death in the Family returns to a case that still grips South Carolina and beyond. The eight-episode Hulu series premiered on October 15 with three episodes and continues weekly through November 19. The series revisits a string of deaths, fraud cases, and a double murder that ended a storied legal dynasty’s run.

Built around documented records and courtroom testimony, Murdaugh: Death in the Family traces how investigators formed a tight timeline, why prosecutors said motive mattered, and which open questions remain. The focus stays on verifiable events, not speculation.

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Case background for Murdaugh: Death in the Family

For decades, the Murdaughs held sway in the Lowcountry legal scene. On June 7, 2021, Maggie Murdaugh and her son, Paul, were shot at the family’s Moselle property near the dog kennels.

Patricia Arquette as Maggie (Image via YouTube/@Hulu)

In March 2023, a jury found Alex Murdaugh guilty of both murders and of two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He received two life sentences. He also received state and federal sentences for financial crimes, imposed to run concurrently, tied to thefts from clients and his law firm. His appeal of the murder conviction remains active.

Key evidence included a short cellphone clip recorded by Paul minutes before the shootings, data from phones and vehicles, and testimony about Alex’s finances. The clip placed Alex at the kennels despite his early statements about being elsewhere. The killings followed years of turmoil tied to a 2019 boat crash in which Paul allegedly drove the family boat into a bridge, leading to Mallory Beach’s death.

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5 key details about Murdaugh: Death in the Family

1) Kennel video timeline anchors Murdaugh: Death in the Family

Paul recorded a kennel video at 8:44 pm on June 7, 2021, and multiple witnesses said a third voice on that clip was Alex. He later called 911 at 10:07 pm, claiming he found Maggie and Paul shot near the kennels. CNN reported these timestamps and the role they played at trial.

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2) Two guns were used; murder weapons were never recovered

Scene from Death in the Family (Image via YouTube/@Hulu)

Investigators determined two firearms were used, a shotgun and an AR-style rifle, and the actual weapons were not recovered at Moselle. According to the LA Times, that finding shaped the forensic picture presented to jurors.

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3) A staged roadside shooting

On Sept. 4, 2021, Alex reported being shot on a rural road while changing a tire. The wound was described as superficial, and within days, he reportedly admitted paying an acquaintance in a failed suicide for hire plan so his surviving son could collect life insurance. Authorities later filed insurance fraud and related charges tied to that incident.

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4) The Gloria Satterfield claim and a fabricated dog story

Gloria Satterfield, the family’s housekeeper, died weeks after an alleged trip and fall in 2018 at the Murdaugh home. In later court filings, Alex’s attorneys said the claim that dogs caused the fall was invented to push an insurance settlement, and that statement was not true.

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5) Stephen Smith’s death resurfaces around Murdaugh: Death in the Family

State agents reopened the 2015 death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith after evidence from the Murdaugh probe came to light. The case, treated for years as a hit and run, was later classified as a homicide and remains unsolved. The series depicts the renewed attention surrounding that reopening.

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Murdaugh: Death in the Family streams on Hulu; it’s also available on Disney+ for subscribers with the Hulu bundle in supported regions.

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