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Anyone following the Murdaugh family murders in South Carolina?

Bojambles

Shiny_Rock
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Can I please speculate more? (I'm the kind of person you'll never want to watch a movie / TV show with).

My money's on that he crashed the boat deliberately because he was angry with his then-gf. The others didn't matter - just collateral damage to him.

Both Ms. Beach and his then-gf are blonde. It's 2am, pitch dark and he's inebriated. Small but not entirely impossible chance that he mistook Beach for the gf and actually committed homicide. Or she could just have been really unlucky and knocked unconscious - Beach's bf had a dislocated shoulder.

Daddy Murdaugh saying "she's gone, baby" might actually be a reference the then-gf (she), talking to his wife (baby). Mummy Murdaugh looks like the coddling kind and they usually do not get along well with the gf / wife. Probably blamed her son's episodes on the gf since they seem to have been fighting pretty often.

Fairly easy to picture Mummy Murdaugh in hysterics on the phone and screaming that it was the then-gf's fault, while Daddy Murdaugh is trying to calm her down by reassuring her that he'll put at end to the relationship (also why he kept trying to go into the then-gf's room)
 

Bojambles

Shiny_Rock
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I stand corrected on my previous post. Found an article that hasn't been linked here yet as it's from a year ago, but it has alot of details on the crash. Only Beach and her bf fell into the water. She suffered blunt force trauma so probably hit something and got knocked unconscious / unable to surface and drowned


Anyway, the family's behaviour is disgusting
 

whitewave

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From the above link:

”Why on a not-so-pleasant February evening — with temperatures in the upper 50s — did Murdaugh and his friends decide to boat to the oyster roast (18 miles away) instead of driving when it was already dusk? Because they’d heard there was an alcohol check point that night, according to depositions.

In other words, the implication is that they knew they were going to drink and drive that night and thought it would be a lot less likely for them to get caught by boat.

Paul Murdaugh drove his father’s 17-foot Sea Hunt boat — which didn’t have working lights. That meant the boaters had to take turns holding a flashlight to give them visibility, according to the depositions.

Boaters said Murdaugh and passengers were drinking prior to their arrival at the house party on Paulkie Island.”



As a boater, this stuck out to be as supreme stupidity and bad decision making. Why anyone went with him makes no sense.
 

whitewave

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This family statement rubbed me the wrong way from the moment I read it:

”The Murdaugh family has suffered through more than any one family could ever imagine,” a family spokesman said shortly after 6:00 p.m. EDT Saturday. “We expect Alex to recover and ask for your privacy while he recovers.”


”suffered more than any one family could imagine”????? In my mind, I‘m thinking you all need to sit down and shut up and keep it mild and low.

anyone else with me on this? I mean it really rubbed me the wrong way.

 

whitewave

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The 911 call when his wife and son were shot

 

Bojambles

Shiny_Rock
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This family statement rubbed me the wrong way from the moment I read it:

”The Murdaugh family has suffered through more than any one family could ever imagine,” a family spokesman said shortly after 6:00 p.m. EDT Saturday. “We expect Alex to recover and ask for your privacy while he recovers.”


”suffered more than any one family could imagine”????? In my mind, I‘m thinking you all need to sit down and shut up and keep it mild and low.

anyone else with me on this? I mean it really rubbed me the wrong way.


Same... complete insensitivity to situation by trying to play the "poor me" card. They're also in the wrong era - now pretending to act dignified won't cover dirty hands, best plead guilty and beg for forgiveness.

Does anyone have a family tree? Are there only 3 adult brothers in that generation? The uncles coming out to make a statement feels like a powerplay... like, "now's not the time to turn on our family because of our sicko nephew, you'll have to take on all of us."

Some of the people interviewed hinted that they would have plenty to say about the family if they felt safe
 

whitewave

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Same... complete insensitivity to situation by trying to play the "poor me" card. They're also in the wrong era - now pretending to act dignified won't cover dirty hands, best plead guilty and beg for forgiveness.

Does anyone have a family tree? Are there only 3 adult brothers in that generation? The uncles coming out to make a statement feels like a powerplay... like, "now's not the time to turn on our family because of our sicko nephew, you'll have to take on all of us."

Some of the people interviewed hinted that they would have plenty to say about the family if they felt safe

Why doesnt the father and remaining son have security? Or why didn’t they? or did they?
the pics of his Mercedes suv do not show like he was changing a tire. No Jack, etc.

I feel like that statement is manipulative and telling us how we are supposed to feel, like they are trying to control the narrative again.
 

Calliecake

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According to a story in Daily Mail, Alex Murdaugh released a statement saying he has made a lot of decisions that he truly regrets. He stated he resigning from his law firm and entering rehab. He is immensely sorry to everyone he has hurt including family, friends and colleagues. He is asking for prayers as he rehabilitates himself and his relationships.

There has to be so much more to this story than we know about.
 

seaurchin

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I'll definitely check it out. Also, I highly recommend the websleuths forum for anyone who likes to follow crimes. Of course some of it's blabber but sometimes people will add insider stuff that's not available on the news: specialists in related areas, friends of those involved, people who live in the area etc.
 

rainwood

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The day before the father was allegedly shot by an unknown assailant, he was fired from the family law firm for embezzling money, believed to be in the millions. With law firms, embezzlement often involves money being held in trust or escrow for clients. And the flat tire was apparently slashed which if true means it could have been someone else who did it or he could have done it himself, staging the whole thing, including the superficial gunshot wound to the head as a plea for sympathy or distraction or some combination of both.

The most charitable thing one can say is that this whole family was 'troubled.' And a number of people have died. And probably some more are out money to which they're legally entitled.
 

Lisa Loves Shiny

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If I were in full conspiracy mode, I'd suspect that the dad wounded himself for some reason only he knows -- perhaps to deflect attention from his responsibility in the murders of son/mother. It's a stretch, but not impossible, to believe that whoever wants to exterminate this family watches them 24/7 and managed to be around the day the dad just happened to decide to take a rural, low traffic road and got a flat tire.

This makes the most sense to me. And we have seen it before time and time again when the murderer tries to deflect suspicion by becoming a victim. Darlie Routier comes to mind.
 

mellowyellowgirl

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Let's say if the dad did it, what would be his reason?

Take out the son because the son was a liability?

Why did he take out the mother? Mother was protective of son and that was going to bring them all down?

Or all these evil blokes generally hate their wives and it might as well take her out? Or was she there at the wrong place, wrong time?

I can't see myself offing hubby even if he was there at the wrong place, wrong time though so I think if it was the husband, he must have hated the wife too.
 

PinkAndBlueBling

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Alex gets shot and goes to rehab?!

Also, don't name your law firm "PMPED." You're just looking for trouble....
 

tyty333

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Let's say if the dad did it, what would be his reason?

Take out the son because the son was a liability?

Why did he take out the mother? Mother was protective of son and that was going to bring them all down?

Or all these evil blokes generally hate their wives and it might as well take her out? Or was she there at the wrong place, wrong time?

I can't see myself offing hubby even if he was there at the wrong place, wrong time though so I think if it was the husband, he must have hated the wife too.

I'm thinking the father was involved too. Maybe there was a disagreement with him and his wife on how to handle what was going
on with Paul?

The Dad made a statement about how these "murders" had affected him (why he needs to go to rehab). It struck me odd. I would
have thought he would say it more like "the loss of his wife and son" had affected him.
 

whitewave

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Roselina

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Same... complete insensitivity to situation by trying to play the "poor me" card. They're also in the wrong era - now pretending to act dignified won't cover dirty hands, best plead guilty and beg for forgiveness.

Does anyone have a family tree? Are there only 3 adult brothers in that generation? The uncles coming out to make a statement feels like a powerplay... like, "now's not the time to turn on our family because of our sicko nephew, you'll have to take on all of us."

Some of the people interviewed hinted that they would have plenty to say about the family if they felt safe

Well, wife and son shot to death and father shot in the head. It’s pretty bad, I’d say. As for anything else it’s speculation at the moment.
 

tyty333

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MissGotRocks

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I wonder about him being shot in the head only to find out it was a superficial wound. Would he have possibly done that to himself to bolster the case of murder of his wife and son? If the mother had asked for the audit and his son was possibly going to be convicted and obviously civilly charged for the girl’s death, you have to wonder who had the biggest motive to murder them both? He clearly had a lot of bad things going on and the actual murders seem to be unsolved. I would guess there are layers and layers to this dysfunction - some of which may never be known. This is when you need Ann Rule or Dominic Dunne to investigate and unfortunately, they have both passed away.
 

Rfisher

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are they saying Maggie ordering a forensic accounting of the family’s finances as being related to her filing for divorce, maybe?
I bet the bullet grazing the head was a failed suicide, and he decided to turn that failure into a win situation for himself.
 

whitewave

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Anyone else noticed the name Murdaugh is pretty darn close to murder!

I’ve definitely been thinking about this and how the law firm is basically Pimped.

I’m not sure Alex was “shot” in the head, vs a head wound from maybe flying glass or something?
 

diamondseeker2006

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I've kind of followed this with interest because an in-law relative was born and raised in that area. I haven't talked to him yet, but I am sure everyone knew this family since it is a small town.

The fact that Alex was addicted to opioids explains a lot. I hadn't heard about him being fired and accused of embezzlement until I read this thread. At this point, they may never know the story of the death of the housekeeper or the boy who was killed in the road. The boat accident was awful, but I think it's kind of grossly irresponsible for every one of those kids to be on a boat drunk after 2am and using a flashlight to navigate??? I don't think the accident was intentional, but driving or riding in any vehicle in the dark drunk has a high probability of not turning out well.

My guess is Alex killed the wife and son. His mother being his alibi isn't the strongest. I thought the minor wound a couple of days ago sounded suspicious. Now knowing about the specific addiction and the embezzlement, and the fact that his wife was having their finances looked at, I am betting she was leaving him and the out of control son was causing problems for the prominent family, so he lost it and killed them. This is my theory. I suppose we will see what happens. I am sure someone will make a lot of money from the movie rights...perhaps the remaining son.
 

MissGotRocks

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I've kind of followed this with interest because an in-law relative was born and raised in that area. I haven't talked to him yet, but I am sure everyone knew this family since it is a small town.

The fact that Alex was addicted to opioids explains a lot. I hadn't heard about him being fired and accused of embezzlement until I read this thread. At this point, they may never know the story of the death of the housekeeper or the boy who was killed in the road. The boat accident was awful, but I think it's kind of grossly irresponsible for every one of those kids to be on a boat drunk after 2am and using a flashlight to navigate??? I don't think the accident was intentional, but driving or riding in any vehicle in the dark drunk has a high probability of not turning out well.

My guess is Alex killed the wife and son. His mother being his alibi isn't the strongest. I thought the minor wound a couple of days ago sounded suspicious. Now knowing about the specific addiction and the embezzlement, and the fact that his wife was having their finances looked at, I am betting she was leaving him and the out of control son was causing problems for the prominent family, so he lost it and killed them. This is my theory. I suppose we will see what happens. I am sure someone will make a lot of money from the movie rights...perhaps the remaining son.

Yes, I think this too DS. I thought that the wound to his head was either accidental or done so that it would appear 'they' are after him too. That would look like he couldn't have murdered them as someone was trying to murder him too.
 

rainydaze

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I watch a lot of murder shows. The detectives often say that 90-something percent of all murders are for three reasons: money, revenge, and jealousy (or s#x). That breaks it down pretty simply and pulls in the focus.

Learning that Alex hid millions from his firm, money becomes quite the motive. Assuming there was a substantial life insurance policy on Maggie, and possibly Paul, he might have tried to go that route, desperation fueled by drug use, thinking he could somehow dig himself out of the hole he'd created. Furthermore, Maggie's order of a forensic investigation into the family's finances would have heightened Alex's fear and panic response. You would think, being a lawyer, he would know these schemes often don't pan out the way the killer hopes. On the other hand, he may have thought that precisely *because* he's a lawyer, he would be able to get away with it. That, or his opioid use prevented him from rational thought or emotion, regardless. It's also possible that he thought Paul was expendable considering Paul had just killed someone and was prone to making a mess of the family name. Or perhaps Paul was just in the wrong place at the wrong time when Alex had planned to kill Maggie. In a nutshell: his crimes had caught up with him and he was in deep doo. Maggie was the impetus for getting him solidly convicted once the forensic investigation was done, and she was also a potential solution. Killing her was a frantic effort to save himself; maybe it halts the investigation and it provides him with life-insurance money that he somehow thought he could use to cover up his activities. Or get out of dodge and disappear.

Alex being 'shot' by the side of the road is a decoy, imo. My first thought when i read that he was changing a flat was 'bullsh*t'. Of course I don't know him but I would find it hard to believe a person of his lifestyle has someone he can call to do that for him, or at the very least has AAA and would use it. It also occurred to me, as it did to others here, that it was a failed suicide attempt, but I am more inclined to believe he cooked up the whole 'flat-tire-on-quiet-road-got-shot-by-passerby'. We've seen that false scenario used in many a murder, sadly. I think he was still trying to save his butt.

There are other intriguing possibilities such as:
- the boyfriend of the woman who was killed by Paul in the boating accident killed Paul and Maggie (revenge). He could have killed Maggie because he wanted the 'invincible' Murdaughs to know how it feels to lose someone innocent, someone that they value. What the boyfriend said in the interview was interesting in regard to his being able to do this. However, I doubt it. I'm not sure why he would then try to kill Alex afterward, unless Alex was somehow onto him.
- Alex owed some opioid dealers some serious money (and didn't have it, since people who usually embezzle money are broke) who sent a warning with Paul and Maggie's murders (money). I think this is what Alex wants the police to believe, and set up his 'drive-by shooting' incident to try and bolster this theory.
-
ETA: a forensic investigation into finances also suggests to me that Maggie may have been getting ready to divorce Alex. This would also add a lot to motive.
 
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tyty333

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Ok, so if I was a passenger on that boat with Paul being an obvious asshat (he slapped and spit on his girlfriend), I think I would
have been looking for some ropes (lines) on the boat. The 3 guys could have taken him down and the girls could have hogged
tied him. If he didnt behave after that I would start looking for the anchor! Of course, someone else would have had to figure
out how to get them home. Going back to where they came from and calling someone (or uber) would have been a good idea
too. I know, hindsight...but it sounds like he was really scaring people and his behavior was way out of bounds. He sounds like
a huge jerk who was never told no!

I'm mad that the other guys didnt stick up for Paul's GF when he slapped and spit on her. Really, enough is enough!
 
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