The Murdaugh Family Murders Part 1

On Saturday, February 23, 2019, six friends met at a nearby boat landing. They were planning on boarding one of the boats and taking it to an oyster roast. On the boat was Anthony Cook, his girlfriend, Mallory Beach, Anthony’s cousin, Connor Cook, his girlfriend, Miley Altman, Paul Murdaugh and his girlfriend, Morgan Doughty. The 17-foot center console boat belonged to 19-year-old Paul’s father, Alex. The girls had wanted to have a date night that evening. The teenagers had all grown up in the area with each other and were close friends. They’d spent much of their time on boats growing up and were comfortable around water. Before meeting at the landing, Paul, while hauling the boat behind a truck, parked at a nearby Parker’s convenience store. Since Paul and his friends were all under 21 at the time, he used his older brother Buster’s ID to purchase alcohol to bring with him on the boat. Surveillance video showed Paul buying the alcohol and walking out of the door and through the parking lot, raising the cases of beer up in the air to show whoever was waiting in the truck that he’d successfully purchased it. 

At about 6:30PM, the group of six left on the boat and headed to the nearby oyster roast. It was February and the temperature was in the 50’s, but the group decided to take the boat to the party, which was 18 miles away, rather than drive because they’d heard there was an alcohol checkpoint on the road, according to later depositions. Paul was driving the boat, while he and his friends enjoyed drinking on the way. The group stayed at the oyster roast for about five hours. During the party, they took turns walking back to the boat to drink and returning to the party. They weren’t drinking in front of everyone else at the party, likely because all of them were underage. Paul’s uncle, who was at the oyster roast, later said that his nephew didn’t seem impaired at all to him. Later testimony from Paul’s friends said that Paul was actually very intoxicated. When the group left the party just after midnight, Paul was getting more belligerent and out of control. On the way back home, Paul insisted on driving the boat, even though he was clearly the most intoxicated. Despite most of the group wanting to go home, Paul docked the boat at a bar in downtown Beaufort called Luther’s. Paul and Connor went inside to take a few shots at the bar while the rest of the group hung outside near the dock. At 1:17AM, the group boarded the boat and Paul continued driving. Surveillance video showed the group walking towards the boat, Paul unsteady on his feet.

By this time, later interviews with the group on the boat revealed, Paul was incredibly drunk. His friends said that Paul often got drunk. Very drunk. And when he did, he turned into an entirely different person. They referred to his intoxicated alter-ego as “Timmy”. Paul’s friends begged him to let someone else drive, but Paul told them that it was his boat and he wasn’t letting anyone else drive it. Paul was reportedly driving very closely to parked boats, doing donuts in the water, and going way too fast. Like “Timmy” normally did when he was drinking, Paul stripped down to his boxers. Mallory was asking to get off the boat, but Paul wouldn’t stop. He would occasionally leave the wheel of the boat to run up to the front, where he’d scream at his girlfriend, Morgan. Miley later said that Paul was screaming in her face, calling her a bitch and a whore. She said that he slapped her in the face and spit on her before running back to the wheel and pushing anyone else away from it. Anthony said that Mallory yelled at Paul to stop after he hit Morgan, and that Paul looked as though he was about to yell something back at Mallory, but Anthony told him not to make that mistake. Anthony said that’s when Paul went back to the wheel and accelerated. 

He put the throttle down and turned down into Archer’s Creek. The creek was a very narrow, winding waterway, difficult to navigate sober and in the daytime. There were no searchlights on the boat, so one of the boys was holding a flashlight in front of them. Mallory was sitting in the front of the boat on Anthony’s lap, terrified. Everyone was screaming at Paul to slow down, but the GPS later revealed that the boat was traveling between 32-34mph.  Miley later told police that it was then that she saw the bridge coming and only had time to scream before the boat hit a dolphin pylon, a group of 3 pylons latched together. Anthony and Mallory were ejected into the river. Anthony surfaced, but Mallory didn’t. Connor had his phone on him and called 911 at 2:20AM. Paul, somehow, ended up in the water and climbed out. Morgan had injured her hand and Anthony had a shoulder injury. Unknown to them at the time, Connor had fractured his jaw. Mallory was nowhere to be found. 

Connor told the 911 dispatcher that they’d been in a boat crash on Archer’s Creek and that there were six of them, but one was missing. In the background of the 911 call, you can hear Morgan and Miley screaming Mallory’s name, while Connor tried to explain where they were located. Several law enforcement agencies responded, including the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, Port Royal Police Department, and the Parris Island Marshal’s Office. Someone on scene contacted Renee and Phillip Beach, Mallory’s parents, to let them know there’d been an accident and Mallory was missing. 

Mallory Madison Beach was born on April 18th, 1999, the third of three girls to Renee and Phillip. Her parents described her as headstrong, energetic, and bright. She loved animals and never met a stranger. She was a daddy’s girl, who loved hunting and fishing, but could also be a girly-girl. Her teacher said that Mallory was a wonderful student, and described her as effervescent. Mallory had known Anthony since they were kids, after meeting at church. When the two began dating, Renee was surprised, but could tell her daughter was so happy with Anthony. Before she left for the boat that night, Mallory spoke to her father on the phone and Phillip said he could tell that his daughter was excited to be spending the night with Anthony and the rest of her friends. 

So many law enforcement officers were on scene and things quickly became chaotic. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) actually had jurisdiction since the crash occurred in the waterway. There is dash cam video that was pulled from the scene that showed Anthony standing by a police car. He was crying, clearly devastated. When he sees Paul walking around the area, he starts screaming at him, saying that he killed his girlfriend, that he killed Mallory. He yells at Paul to stop smiling like it’s funny.  Anthony told the officer that Paul was the one who was driving when they crashed. He asked the officer if he knew Alex Murdaugh. The officer said that he was familiar with the name. Anthony told him that Paul was his son. In a disgusted voice, Anthony said to the officer, “good luck.” At least three officers on the scene had known connections to the Murdaugh family. As solicitors, the Murdaughs naturally had interactions with law enforcement but the family made it personal and social, going fishing, drinking, and inviting them to gatherings at the Moselle property. 

In an interview with DNR the day after the crash, Miley told officers that the first thing Paul did after the crash was demand to use her cell phone so he could call his grandfather. She told them that he wanted him there because he was a lawyer. When asked why Paul didn’t call his father, Miley said, he just always calls his grandfather. 

Further dash cam footage recorded the conversation between Paul and officers, where he’s asking to use one of their cell phones. They told him that they found his cell phone in the grass and then gave it to him to use. Paul’s clothing, cell phone, and wallet were never collected and submitted to evidence. Beaufort County SO said they saw his cell phone, but didn’t collect it because they believed DNR would be taking over the investigation. DNR said that they never saw any of Paul’s belongings. 

Everyone on scene noticed that Paul was being extremely belligerent and was obviously very intoxicated. At one point, he even got in an officer’s face and yelled at him. Despite this behavior, the report that he was driving when the accident occured, and that this was a crime scene, NOBODY DID A FIELD SOBRIETY TEST ON HIM. He was transported to the hospital and was reportedly so aggressive, he had to be restrained in the ambulance. Miley, Morgan, and Connor were all transported to the hospital as well, but Anthony refused to leave the scene without Mallory. Mallory’s parents were on scene by this time, while law enforcement continued to scour the area looking for the 19-year-old.

At the hospital, investigators were talking to Paul in his room when his father and grandfather walked in and told police that Paul was done talking to them. Finally, TWO HOURS after the crash occurred, hospital staff drew Paul’s blood as he was restrained on the gurney to run tests. He was so incredibly altered and aggressive, staff was concerned that he might’ve had a head injury. But no, Paul’s BAC was just .286, more than three times the legal limit to drive for an adult of drinking age. And again, this was TWO HOURS after the accident. Witnesses at the hospital saw Alex going from room to room, telling the other kids to be quiet, that he’d take care of everything. He saw Connor in a wheelchair in a hallway and stopped him. He told him that he didn’t need to tell anyone who was driving, that he’d take care of it. Connor had been asked to do a field sobriety test, but refused. It seemed as though law enforcement was trying to focus on Connor being the driver when the accident happened. After doctors finished evaluating Paul, he was allowed to go home. He was not arrested or taken to jail. 

Out at Archer’s Creek, the search for Mallory continued throughout the night with no sign of her. Law enforcement, first responders, and volunteers from the community were searching by air, boat, and on foot for several days. Eight days after the crash, Mallory’s parents drove to the boat landing after church. There were several police cruisers there, along with a man wearing a shirt that said “coroner”. Mallory’s dad said that as soon as he saw that, he knew they’d found her body. Mallory’s body had been found by two fishermen, about 5 miles from the crash site. The coroner determined that she’d died from drowning and blunt force trauma. Despite having the outcome that they feared the most, Mallory’s parents were relieved that she’d been found. There were hundreds of people in attendance at her funeral and the community began to wonder if any sort of justice would be served for her. Mallory’s mother said that from the moment she found out who was driving the boat, she felt that there would be a coverup. Paul still hadn’t been charged. If anyone else had been in Paul’s shoes, they would’ve been arrested immediately after the accident. The community thought that Paul was going to get away with it. 

Just a few weeks following the crash, Renee Beach filed a civil suit against the convenience store, Parker’s, for providing alcohol to a minor with an ID that wasn’t his, Alex, and Buster Murdaugh for giving him his ID to use. Renee said that she wanted to get evidence of everything that had led to her daughter’s death because she thought the accident would disappear if she didn’t. Parker’s denied knowing that they were selling alcohol to a minor. The Murdaugh’s denied that Paul was driving and also denied that Buster knew that his brother was using his ID. Paul’s uncles said that Paul was very sad that his friend was killed…ooookay.

Two months after the accident, Paul was charged with three felony counts of boating under the influence. He was arraigned in court on April 18th, which would’ve been Mallory’s 20th birthday. Paul was brought to the courthouse by his lawyers and was never handcuffed. After the arraignment, the court officer went to handcuff Paul, which was standard practice, but the PROSECUTOR waved him away. Paul’s mugshot was taken on an iPhone in the hallway of the courthouse before he was released on his own recognizance. If convicted, Paul would face up to 25 years in prison.