The First Degree

Episode 275: The Murdaugh Family, Part 1

11.29.2023 - By Alexis Linkletter, Jac Vanek, Billy JensenPlay

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On February 24, 2019, a 19-year-old woman and her friends are on a private boat ride in the very early hours of the morning near Beaufort, South Carolina. The carefree night turns ugly when the 19-year-old skipper crashes the boat into a bridge, killing the young woman. The saga that follows is something, few people could have predicted. Two more people close to the case end up losing their lives in a brutal double slaying, before other previous deaths in the community soon become linked to a prominent local family at the center of the investigation. In episode 275, Jac and Alexis detail the tragic deaths of Gloria Satterfield, Stephen Smith, and Mallory Beach, followed by the shocking murders of Paul Murdaugh and his mother Maggie, the latter two orchestrated by their husband and father, local attorney Alex. This is a story about how all the power, prestige, and privilege in the world don’t make us untouchable when it comes to the law, and what happens when someone is brought to account by those whose job it is to expose the truth, no matter the risk.

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