Paul Terry Murdaugh, 22, was found dead alongside his mother, 52-year-old Margaret Maggie Murdaugh, on the night of June 7, 2021, at the family’s Moselle hunting property near Islandton. Paul had been shot with a shotgun and Maggie with a rifle, indicating two different firearms were used. The family’s prominence in the Lowcountry and an ongoing criminal case involving Paul in a 2019 boat crash had already placed the Murdaughs under intense public scrutiny.

Alex Murdaugh, the family’s well-known attorney, called 911 that night at about 10:06 p.m., reporting he had found the victims near the kennels and initially saying he had not been there when they were killed. A video Paul recorded near the kennels shortly before the killings later became central; prosecutors said background voices placed Alex at the kennels minutes before the estimated time of death, contradicting his earlier statement.

Alex was arrested in July 2022 on two counts of murder and related weapons charges. At his 2023 trial, the jury convicted him; he was sentenced to two consecutive life terms without parole. In May 2026 the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned those murder convictions and ordered a new trial, finding improper jury influence. As of that ruling, Alex remains the charged suspect and no one else has been publicly charged in the killings.

Are there details from the Moselle property or the timeline that could help clarify what happened that night?

The supreme court overturned his fathers conviction. There was so much evidence that he killed his wife and son. How is this possible? He is going to go free.