The Devil in the Flesh: A Series About a Millionaire Lawyer Who Killed 25 People Has Been Released 0 10

The series "Murdaugh: Death in the Family" has premiered on the streaming platform Hulu, eagerly awaited by viewers around the world, as it is yet another retelling of the story of wealthy lawyer Alex Murdaugh, who turned out to be the devil in the flesh.

The real-life plot, which the Hulu showrunners took on, has stirred millions for three years, as the defendant was not a middle-class representative or a worker from a simple family, but a well-known lawyer from an influential legal dynasty in South Carolina. The one who, at the beginning of the investigation, appeared to be a victim of circumstances, an unfortunate family man, turned out to be a monster who coldly planned the murder of his wife and son, embezzled from the firm he worked for for years, was a secret drug addict, bullied the weak, and suffered from a mental disorder. Should a member of high society be punished to the fullest extent of the law, just like any other American? This question will reverberate throughout the premiere of the series "Murdaugh: Death in the Family." We will cover all the circumstances of this scandalous case.

On June 7, 2021, Richard Alexander "Alex" Murdaugh called the police and, with a trembling voice, stated that he had just discovered the bodies of his younger son Paul and wife Maggie in their country house. The arriving police were told by the lawyer that he had spent the night next to his mother in her mansion, as she suffers from dementia, and in the morning he went to his family and found the horrific scene. Alex also explained that his son had been receiving threats from unknown individuals for a long time and suggested that his death could have been the work of stalkers. However, why unknown individuals? At the time of his death, Paul was a defendant in a boat crash case from February 2019. The investigation then established that Paul was drunk and was responsible for the accident that resulted in the death of his 19-year-old girlfriend Mallory Beach, while two others sustained serious injuries. Paul Murdaugh refused to admit his guilt in what happened, although eyewitness testimonies suggested otherwise. The lawyer's younger son was drunk, did not have a boating license, and behaved erratically, which led to the tragedy.

And although the outcome of the accident was the girl's death, the case was quickly swept under the rug, leading the family of the deceased Beach to conclude that an influential father had intervened and they filed a lawsuit against Murdaugh. They demanded a large compensation, and then the elder Murdaugh was forced to declare in court that he was bankrupt. Murdaugh bankrupt?

Three representatives of the Murdaugh family consecutively held the position of district attorney in South Carolina from 1920 to 2006, founding the most influential legal dynasty in the state. Due to the family's popularity, locals referred to the area, consisting of five counties, as "Murdaugh Country."

Alex Murdaugh followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather — law school, practice in the family firm, hundreds of successful cases. Initially, the heir to the dynasty dealt with personal injury lawsuits, but in the early 2000s, he received a carte blanche from state authorities: a new law allowed plaintiffs to choose the venue for their dispute, meaning they could file a complaint in the jurisdiction they believed would yield the most favorable outcome. Residents of South Carolina began filing lawsuits in any county where they owned property and winning cases. This allowed Murdaugh to easily conduct trials, and money flowed to him like a river. In nine years of legal practice, Alex earned nearly $14,000,000.

So, why did he end up at rock bottom financially? As the investigation progressed, shocking facts emerged: for over 20 years, the influential lawyer had suffered from opioid addiction, depression, and spent more than $50,000 a week on drugs. Despite his million-dollar earnings, he was forced to steal millions from his own law firm. On the day Maggie and Paul were found dead, Alex was being contacted by auditors from his firm, who were conducting a financial audit and uncovered facts of embezzlement. Three days later, he had a court hearing regarding financial reports.

Later, in court, prosecutors would conclude that the head of the family’s addiction caused constant conflicts, and when the mother and son learned that Murdaugh had squandered the entire family fortune on drugs, a major argument ensued, which pushed Alex to commit murder. It would also later be revealed that a signal from Murdaugh's phone on the night of the murder was detected near the hunting lodge where his family was shot, meaning the lawyer's alibi did not hold. He did not stay that night at his mother's house.

But this truth would come to light later; in 2021, three months after the death of his wife and son, an assassination attempt was suddenly made on Alex Murdaugh. He himself called 911 and reported that an unknown person shot at him while he was changing a tire on his car on a dirt road. Murdaugh sustained a head injury but survived. However, the billing records of the victim's calls allowed the police to trace the former client Curtis Edward Smith, who soon confessed that Murdaugh himself had asked him to stage a murder so that Murdaugh's eldest son — Buster could collect a $10 million insurance payout. But Smith missed, and Murdaugh survived. On September 3, the day before the assassination attempt, Murdaugh announced his resignation from his own law firm Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick. The firm explained his resignation by stating that he had embezzled millions of dollars.

The thread of the investigation led police to another death — 19-year-old Stephen Smith, who attended the same school as the lawyer's eldest son Buster Murdaugh. In 2015, his body was found on a road 10 miles from the home of our story's hero. The investigation concluded that Smith was struck by a vehicle, and the driver fled the scene. No charges were ever filed. Smith's mother insisted that her son was murdered, as evidenced by the blunt force trauma to Stephen's head — possibly motivated by hatred, as he was a member of the LGBTQ community. Later, witnesses would emerge who saw Smith with Buster Murdaugh that day. The boys were arguing about something passionately. It is possible that this time, Murdaugh's father, using his connections, closed the case regarding the young man's death.

Seeing how events were unfolding around the influential lawyer, the police were approached by the relatives of housekeeper Gloria Satterfield, who had worked for Murdaugh for 25 years. The woman died in the lawyer's home from "natural causes." Allegedly, she was attacked by the owners' dog, causing her to fall from the porch — it is unclear whether she hit her head or suffered a heart attack. No autopsy was conducted, but Satterfield's sons filed a lawsuit against Murdaugh, won the case, which ordered the lawyer to pay the housekeeper's relatives $4.3 million in compensation, but they never received the money. It turned out that Alex Murdaugh, banker Chad Wensendorf, and lawyer Corinne Fleming conspired to steal the payout by transferring the money to Alex's account and notifying the Satterfields of the payment.

And when the case of the housekeeper's sons was taken up by lawyer Justin Bamberg, he found another 20 victims of Murdaugh's fraud. For example, in 2009, Alex took on the case of a deaf African American man, Hakeem Pinkney, who was involved in a car accident and ended up in intensive care. The victim's family sued the tire manufacturer and won, but received only part of the money. The majority was split between Murdaugh and the CEO of Palmetto State Bank, who managed the payouts for the comatose patient. By the way, two years after the accident, someone intentionally broke the ventilator to which Pinkney was connected. The culprit was never found.

Profiting Off the Unfortunate

The family of Blondell Gray, who died in an accident involving an ambulance, also did not receive $112,000. Murdaugh embezzled this money as well. The heir to the legal dynasty secretly negotiated compensation for his clients and then paid them just enough to keep them satisfied, pocketing the rest. His clients were usually unfortunate individuals who could not afford expensive legal help. Among them were an injured state trooper, a deaf paraplegic, a widower, an immigrant, several minors, and even deceased individuals.

Illegal drug transactions, tax evasion, forgery, fabrication of false testimony, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, theft of clients' funds, obtaining property by deception, money laundering, and finally, murders — the influential lawyer faced 99 charges across various counts. On April 1, 2024, Murdaugh was sentenced to 40 years in prison for financial crimes. He will serve this sentence alongside two other life sentences for double murder and 27 years for financial crimes. He is also required to pay $8.7 million in compensation to 25 known victims.