Netflix docuseries on the Murdaugh SC crime saga, murders this week. Here’s what to know

As accused family killer Richard “Alex” Murdoff’s double-murder trial begins its fifth week in Walterboro, SC, Netflix is ​​set to air its three-part documentary, The Murdough Murders: A Southern ScandalWednesday, February 22. All three episodes will be available to viewers on the same day and will explore the scandals and criminal charges surrounding the downfall of a South Carolina attorney and his disgraced family dynasty.

E! News recently revealed a sneak peak The Murdough Murders: A Southern ScandalIt’s been called a “close-knit attempt to make sense of the years of dishonesty, misdeeds and bad luck that followed around a powerful family – and changed a small town forever in the process.”

As Gannett/USA TODAY Network journalist Michael DeWitt Jr., who has covered the story for years and provides his experiences and insight into the case in all three episodes, says in the trailer, “For more than a century, the Marduffs was Law and order here in the 14th Circuit.”

While other true-crime documentaries have explored the Murdaugh story, Netflix hopes to dive deeper into this compelling, real-life Southern Gothic story that has captivated an international audience. seriess explores the fatal February 2019 boating accident Murdaugh’s younger son, Paul, is involved in the unsolved 2015 murder Hampton County teenager Stephen Smith That has been linked to the Murdaugh family for undisclosed reasons by the state police, and June 2021 Paul and his mother Maggie are murdered. That Murdaugh was accused of more than 100 other crimes.

The Murduffs were one of South Carolina’s most prominent families, but the death of teenager Mallory Beach in a drunken boating accident began to unravel their legacy. When Paul Murdough – the alleged driver of the boat – and his mother Maggie are brutally murdered two years after the accident, a century of corruption, power and cover-ups in the Lowcountry is exposed. According to a Netflix media release, the three-part series will feature first-hand accounts from those on the boat that fateful night, many of whom have not spoken about Maggie and Paul’s accident or the double homicide — until now.

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The docuseries includes interviews with victims, survivors and SC Lowcountry residents close to the Murduff family – and alleged victims of various crimes.

The three-part series will feature interviews with people close to multiple Murduff cases, some speaking for the first time, including Paul’s longtime girlfriend Morgan Doughty, Mallory’s childhood friends Miley Altman and Connor Cook, and Mallory’s boyfriend Anthony Cook.

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There’s also Hampton’s own Michael DeWitt Jr., a Gannett/USA Today reporter and editor for The Hampton County Guardian who has been covering crime stories since 2015, and has covered the Murduff family in his hometown for nearly two decades.

DeWitt has recently been featured on “48 Hours,” “Dateline NBC,” and “ABC’s 20/20” for his professional, first-hand reporting on the Murdaugh crime saga and its impact on Hampton County. The SC Press Association recently announced that DeWitt and his fellow Gannett reporters earned several news and feature writing awards for their coverage of crime stories and their impact on SC Lowcountry communities.

More about this Netflix series

The Murdough Murders: A Southern Scandal Julia Willoughby Nason and Jenner Furst (Lula Rich; Pharmacist) executive produced by Michael Gasparro (showrunner), Julia Willoughby Nason, Jenner First (Lula Rich; Pharmacist)

Netflix is ​​the world’s leading streaming entertainment service with 223 million paid subscribers in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries, feature films and mobile games in a variety of genres and languages.

The Alex Murdoff saga also features specials on HBO Max and CNN

HBO Max’s three-part series, “Low Country: The Murdough Dynasty,” “explores the legacy of the Murdough family, whose decades of powerful influence over the legal system in the South Carolina Lowcountry unravel amid allegations of fraud, deceit and murder.”

It first aired on November 3, 2022.

A CNN special report aired on October 23, 2022.

This special, “The Murdaugh Murders: A Twisted Tale of Power and Money,” features three roundtable discussions with journalists, attorneys and Murdaugh’s alleged victims.

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What is the status of the Alex Murdoff case?

Murdoff’s double-murder trial began on Jan. 23 in the deaths of his wife and son and is expected to last until late February or early March.

After that trial deposition, Murduff will then face more than 100 other criminal charges charged against him. The date and place of trial in these cases have not been fixed yet.

In addition to criminal charges, there are many civil court cases against South Carolina attorneys.

Murdaugh has already signed a $4.3 million confession of judgment in a lawsuit involving the Gloria Satterfield estate. The Mallory Beach wrongful death case could be heard as early as summer 2023, according to a report by John Monk of The State newspaper.

A trial date has not been set for the remaining civil case against Murdaugh.

This article originally appeared in The Greenville News: Netflix docuseries about the Murdaugh murders and SC crime stories have aired