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Killing of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh

OVERTURNED2021Moselle estate, Islandton, South Carolina3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

On the evening of June 7, 2021, South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh called police from his cell phone at 10:06 p.m. to report that he had discovered the bodies of his 52-year-old wife, Maggie, and 22-year-old son, Paul, near the dog kennels of the family's hunting estate in Islandton, South Carolina. Both had been shot multiple times, with different weapons. Alex initially said he had been with his mother, who has dementia, at the time of the killings. It later emerged that Maggie had been considering ending the marriage and had consulted a divorce lawyer in Charleston, South Carolina, several weeks before her death. At the time of his death, Paul was under criminal indictment in connection with a fatal 2019 boating accident.

Alex Murdaugh was a fourth-generation member of a family whose members had held the elected office of circuit solicitor for South Carolina's 14th judicial district for three generations between 1920 and 2006, and he was a partner at the family's law firm, then known as Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick (PMPED). In the days before the killings, a judge had scheduled a hearing on a motion to compel Alex to turn over his financial records, and Maggie had separately arranged for a forensic accountant to review the family's finances. Three months later, in September 2021, Alex resigned from PMPED after the firm confronted him over suspected embezzlement, and his financial misconduct — fraud, theft and money laundering spanning years and involving millions of dollars — began to draw sustained national media attention.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) had regarded Alex as a person of interest in the killings since the start of its investigation, according to a disclosure made in October 2021. In July 2022, Alex Murdaugh was indicted for the murders of Maggie and Paul. Prosecutors suggested a motive in which Murdaugh sought a distraction from his financial crimes, which were beginning to become public, and to garner sympathy. Alex pleaded not guilty.

On March 2, 2023, a jury convicted Alex Murdaugh of both murders, and he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole. The case, and the wider allegations of financial fraud against the family, drew years of national media coverage, including documentaries, docuseries and podcasts.

Murdaugh appealed his conviction, arguing that a court clerk had interfered with the jury during the 2023 trial. In May 2026, the South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously overturned his murder and weapons-possession convictions and ordered a new trial, ruling that the clerk's conduct had tainted the proceedings. Prosecutors have said they plan to retry the case. Murdaugh remains imprisoned: separately from the murder case, he pleaded guilty to state charges of embezzlement, breach of trust, money laundering and other financial crimes and was sentenced in November 2023 to 27 years in prison, and in April 2024 he was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for related bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, to run concurrently with the state sentence, with an order to pay $8.7 million in restitution to 25 known victims.

Key facts

Victims
Paul Murdaugh, Margaret "Maggie" Murdaugh
Date
2021
Location
Moselle estate, Islandton, South Carolina
Case status
overturned

Case timeline

  1. 2021-06-07

    Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were found shot to death at the family's hunting estate in Islandton, South Carolina; Maggie's husband and Paul's father, Alex Murdaugh, reported discovering the bodies to police at 10:06 p.m.

  2. 2021-09-03

    Alex Murdaugh resigned from his law firm after being confronted over suspected embezzlement, the start of the public unraveling of his financial crimes.

  3. 2022-07

    Alex Murdaugh was indicted for the murders of Maggie and Paul.

  4. 2023-03-02

    Alex Murdaugh was convicted of both murders and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

  5. 2023-11

    Alex Murdaugh pleaded guilty to separate state charges of embezzlement, breach of trust, money laundering and other financial crimes, and was sentenced to 27 years in prison.

  6. 2024-04-01

    Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for related bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, to run concurrently with his state sentence, and ordered to pay $8.7 million in restitution to 25 known victims.

  7. 2026-05

    The South Carolina Supreme Court overturned Murdaugh's murder and weapons-possession convictions after finding the 2023 trial had been tainted by jury interference involving a court clerk, and ordered a new trial; prosecutors said they plan to retry the case.

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People

  • Paul Murdaugh

    VICTIM

    Fatally shot at the family's hunting estate on June 7, 2021, at age 22, while under criminal indictment in connection with a fatal 2019 boating accident. His father, Alex Murdaugh, was convicted of his murder in March 2023; that conviction was overturned on appeal in May 2026 and a retrial was ordered.

  • Margaret "Maggie" Murdaugh

    VICTIM

    Fatally shot at the family's hunting estate on June 7, 2021, at age 52. Her husband, Alex Murdaugh, was convicted of her murder in March 2023; that conviction was overturned on appeal in May 2026 and a retrial was ordered.

  • South Carolina Law Enforcement Division

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    State investigative agency that investigated the killings; had regarded Alex Murdaugh as a person of interest in the case since the start of the investigation, according to a disclosure made in October 2021.

  • Alex Murdaugh

    CONVICTED

    Convicted on March 2, 2023, of murdering his wife and son and sentenced to two consecutive life terms without parole; in May 2026 the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned the murder and weapons-possession convictions due to jury interference involving a court clerk and ordered a new trial, which prosecutors have said they plan to pursue. Separately convicted, by guilty plea, of state and federal financial crimes — embezzlement, breach of trust, money laundering, bank fraud and wire fraud — and sentenced to 27 years in state prison and a concurrent 40 years in federal prison; those financial-crime convictions were not part of the overturned ruling.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Moselle estate, Islandton, South Carolina

32.9092, -80.9358

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On June 7, 2021, Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were found shot to death at their family's hunting estate in Islandton, South Carolina. Maggie's husband and Paul's father, attorney Alex Murdaugh, was convicted of both murders in March 2023 and sentenced to two consecutive life terms, but the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned the convictions in May 2026 after finding a court clerk had tampered with the jury; prosecutors have said they plan to retry the case.
Where did the killing happen?
Moselle estate, Islandton, South Carolina.
Who was convicted?
Alex Murdaugh (Convicted on March 2, 2023, of murdering his wife and son and sentenced to two consecutive life terms without parole; in May 2026 the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned the murder and weapons-possession convictions due to jury interference involving a court clerk and ordered a new trial, which prosecutors have said they plan to pursue. Separately convicted, by guilty plea, of state and federal financial crimes — embezzlement, breach of trust, money laundering, bank fraud and wire fraud — and sentenced to 27 years in state prison and a concurrent 40 years in federal prison; those financial-crime convictions were not part of the overturned ruling.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: overturned.
More cases in South Carolina

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICMurdaugh familyWikipedia · 2026-07-12
  2. OFFICIAL / AGENCYContemporaneous coverage — scag.govscag.gov · 2026-07-12
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — The New York TimesThe New York Times · 2026-07-12

Record history

First published
JUL 13, 2026