Alex Murdaugh has been ordered to pay nearly half of his remaining $1.8 million fortune to the families of passengers aboard a boat crashed by his son.
Paul, 22, was driving drunk in February 2019 when the boat carrying six people crashed in Archer's Creek near Parris Island, South Carolina, killing 19-year-old Mallory Beach and injuring four others.
According to a Monday court order reviewed by The Post and Courier, Beach's family will receive 29 percent of Murdaugh's remaining money. The funds were pooled after lawyers sold Murdaugh's remaining land holdings and farm equipment and liquidated his 401(K).
Anthony Cook, Connor Cook, Miley Altman and Paul's girlfriend Morgan Doughty – all injured in the fatal accident – will also receive a payout, as will victims of Murdaugh's financial crimes.
Murdaugh, a disbarred lawyer, was sentenced to life in prison last year after being found guilty of the 2021 murders of Paul and his wife Maggie, 52.
He has also pleaded guilty to nearly two dozen federal financial crimes, including money laundering and fraud.
Alex Murdaugh, pictured in January, was ordered to pay nearly half of his remaining $1.8 million fortune to the families of passengers aboard a boat crashed by his slain son, as well as the Victim of his financial crimes
The family of 19-year-old Mallory Beach (pictured) will receive 29 percent of Murdaugh's remaining money, according to a court order issued Monday. Beach died in 2019 when a boat belonging to Murdaugh's drunken son Paul crashed
Paul Murdaugh (pictured) was charged with three counts of driving under the influence in April 2019. But while awaiting trial, the 22-year-old was found shot dead in their hunting lodge with his mother Maggie in June 2021
Paul was “heavily intoxicated,” “drunk” and “belligerent” when he crashed his boat (pictured) into a pole on February 23, 2019, legal documents show. The six teenagers on board that night who were under 21 were thrown from the ship – and all but Beach made it to shore. Her body wasn't found for a week
Paul was “heavily intoxicated,” “drunk” and “belligerent” on Feb. 23, 2019, when he crashed his boat into a pole, legal documents show.
The six teenagers on board that night who were under 21 were thrown from the ship – and all but Beach made it to shore. Her body wasn't found for a week.
Paul was charged with three counts of driving under the influence in April 2019. But while awaiting trial, the 22-year-old was found shot dead in their hunting lodge with his mother Maggie in June 2021.
Murdaugh, who has since been convicted of the murders of his wife and son, had tried to convince the jury that someone else had killed Maggie and Paul in revenge for the boat accident.
Now, five years after the crash, a court has ordered that the victims receive a share of the Murdaugh fortune.
The Beach family receives 29 percent of the sum. This payout is in addition to the $15 million settlement they received from the supermarket that sold Paul alcohol to minors before the accident.
WCIV-TV reported that Doughty is expected to receive 5 percent of the $1.8 million and Altman is expected to receive 2 percent. It is unclear what percentage accident victims Anthony Cook and Connor Cook will receive.
Arthur Badger, a client from whom Murdaugh stole, received the second largest share of the funds at 24 percent.
Murdaugh's law firm, formerly known as Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick, will receive 14 percent of the funds. The company had sought damages after paying Murdaugh's former customers back money he stole from them.
An undisclosed amount of the company's cut will also be passed on to some of Murdaugh's victims.
Johnny Parker, the law firm's namesake, receives 15 percent of Murdaugh's fortune. He allegedly lent the disbarred lawyers a series of loans totaling $477,000 in 2021, but they were never repaid.
Walt Tollison, the court-appointed special arbitrator who worked on the case, will also receive some of the money.
Murdaugh insisted he did not kill his son Paul with a shotgun and his wife Maggie (both circled) with a rifle
Judge Jean Toal ruled that only the 12 jurors who convicted Murdaugh of the murders of his wife and son can testify as the disgraced lawyer seeks a new trial
Colleton County Clerk Becky Hill, pictured with Judge Newman, is accused by Murdaugh's defense team of influencing the jury as they seek a retrial
Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison without parole in March 2023 for shooting Maggie and Paul on their rural hunting ground in South Carolina.
During his tenure as one of South Carolina's most prominent lawyers, he also embezzled more than $9 million, relying on his family name to defraud his law firm's clients, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors alleged that Murdaugh murdered his wife and son to distract from his financial crimes as his life spiraled out of control amid a secret opioid addiction.
In September 2023, he pleaded guilty in federal court in Charleston, South Carolina, to 22 counts of financial fraud and money laundering.
Murdaugh cried in court and said, “I want my son to see that I take responsibility” as he admitted crimes for the first time.
“I hope that by taking responsibility, the healing of the people I have hurt can begin,” he added.
Murdaugh was arrested on July 14, 2022 on two counts of murder and sentenced in March 2023. He was denied a retrial in January this year, but the case may not be over yet.
The convicted murderer has always maintained his innocence and claimed the jury was tainted from the start, influenced by intense media attention and the actions of controversial clerk Becky Hill, who later wrote a book about the case.
His team requested a retrial based on jurors' comments that Clerk Hill made inappropriate comments to them that they said made her sound like she was trying to influence them by telling them to “Watch Murdaugh closely.”
But Judge Jean Toal disagreed and denied their request.
“I do not believe that the authority of our South Carolina Supreme Court requires a new trial based on a few fleeting and foolish comments,” the judge said at the time.
“This is at the discretion of the judge. I do not believe that I am abusing my discretion in finding that the defendant's motion for a new trial must be denied.
“It’s arranged that way. “I will be filing a full order denying this motion.”
Murdaugh was back in court trying to get a new murder trial
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said it was “time to move forward with the case” after the ruling was issued.
“As in all cases, the sole responsibility of the Attorney General’s Office and SLED is to seek the truth and pursue justice no matter where the facts lead,” Wilson said in January.
“It doesn’t matter what name, position or status you have, no one is above the law.”
“We take the allegations in this situation very seriously and have immediately launched an investigation committed to finding the truth, regardless of what emerges.”
“After this thorough investigation and a fair public hearing, it is clear that Alex Murdaugh’s convictions for the murders of Maggie and Paul are based solely on the facts and evidence of the case.”