South Carolina legal scion Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial wrapped up Day 4

Alex Murdaugh in the Colleton County Courthouse Jan. 30, 2023, listening to testimony. (Andrew J. Whitaker/ The Post and Courier/ Pool)

Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial in Colleton County ended Monday a littler after 5 p.m.

Jurors are due back in court Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. for the prosecution to continue presented their case.

Special agent Jeff Croft is still on the stand.

From left to right, Buster, Maggie, Paul and Alex Murdaugh. Alex is accused of fatally shooting his youngest son, Paul, and his wife, Maggie, June 7, 2021. (Facebook)

During an interview with investigators June 10, 2021, Alex Murdaugh broke down in tears after he was asked about finding his wife and son shot to death.

“I know you saw a traumatic picture I know it’s not easy, I know it’s hard," an investigator can be heard saying as Alex sobs hysterically.

"It's just so bad, I did him so bad," Murdaugh appears to say through tears.

Prosecutor Creighton Waters paused the video and asked the witness, SLED special agent Jeff Croft, what Alex said.

"It's just so bad, I did him so bad," the agent repeated. Alex appeared to mouth from the defense table, "I didn't say that." His attorneys did not object.

SLED investigators did not ask any follow up questions after the puzzling statement.

Earlier in the interview, Croft questioned Alex about his timeline the night of the murders.

"The last time that you saw Paul and Maggie was when you all were eating supper?" the agent asked.

"Yes, sir," Alex replied.

Waters said in opening statements that Paul Murdaugh took a cellphone video at the dog kennels at 8:44 p.m., and Alex and Maggie Murdaugh's voices can be heard on the recording.

Prosecutors have yet to play the critical video in court. The mother and son's phones went dark at about 8:50 p.m.

Alex Murdaugh, 54, becomes emotional Jan. 27, 2023, during testimony at his double murder trial. (Grace Beahm Alford/ The Post and Courier? Pool)

Alex Murdaugh broke down in sobs in an an interview with SLED agents three days after his wife, Maggie Murdaugh and his son, Paul Murdaugh, were shot to death.

Special agent David Owens asked Alex about his marriage. "Very good, as good as it could possibly be," he replied.

The only issue they ever fought about was the length they stayed at his in-laws, he said.

“She was a wonderful wife, she was a great mother," he gushed before dissolving into tears. "She didn’t work. She always said it was her job, because she was privileged enough not to work, she was going to make sure she took care of me and the boys. She took care of everything. She did absolutely everything."

Prosecutors say Alex used two different guns to fatally shoot Maggie, 52, and Paul, 22, to prevent his expansive financial crimes from coming to light.

He described his son as a "wonderful" child in the interview but said he was irresponsible, especially with "guns" and "boats."

"He would leave anything anywhere," Alex told the investigators of his son. Alex said he bought each of his sons a .300 Blackout rifle.

Paul lost his rifle and often used his brother Buster Murdaugh's to hunt hogs. Alex said he was pretty sure he had replaced Paul's lost .300 Blackout but couldn't say for sure.

Creighton Waters, lead prosecutor for the South Carolina Attorney's Office, has suggested that a Blackout rifle was used to execute Maggie, and the Murdaughs at one point owned three. Two are missing.

Alex's defense lawyers have argued that their client is innocent and the crime scene indicates there were two shooters, not one.

From left, Paul, Alex, Maggie and Buster in Murdaugh in a family photo. Alex is accused of fatally shooting his wife and son.(Facebook)

Alex Murdaugh told investigators three days after the murders he hadn't visited the dog kennels June 7, 2021, before finding his wife, Maggie, and his son, Paul shot to death.

He made a similar statement hours after the double slayings to SLED special agent David Owens, who also conducted the second interview.

Alex walked investigators through a timeline of his day. The disgraced lawyer said he ate dinner with Paul and Maggie at the main house.

Maggie, 52, was concerned about Paul's blood pressure, he added.

"His feet had swollen up recently, it was a big huge deal," Alex told Owen and SLED special agent Jeff Croft, who participated in the questioning.

They were all seated in Owen's patrol car at the hunting lodge of Alex's brother John Marvin Murdaugh.

Maggie left the house to go to the dog kennels, and Paul also left but he wasn't sure where he'd gone, he said on the recording.

Alex took a nap and when he awoke, he called and texted Maggie --- but she didn't answer, he told the SLED agents.

At 9:06 p.m. he left the main house to check on his mother, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease and lives 20 minutes away.

When he returned, no one was at the main house and he drove down to the kennels.

That's when he said he found his wife and son lying in pools of blood and brain matter and called 911 at 10:06 p.m.

Prosecutor Creighton Waters argued in opening statements that Paul recorded a video at the kennels at 8:44 p.m., and Alex and Maggie's voices can be heard on it.

Waters said the video contradicts Alex's alibi.

Paul, Maggie and Alex Murdaugh in a family photo. Alex is on trial accused of fatally shooting his son and wife.(Facebook)

SLED special agent Jeff Croft sifted through the trash at the Moselle estate after the double murders and found a receipt or credit card statement that showed a $1021.10 charge at a Gucci store.

"[The receipt] appears to have an item circled on it," Croft testified before the lunch break. He did not disclose the date of the purchase or who made it.

The nearest Gucci store to the hunting property, which was Alex Murdaugh's primary residence at the time of the double murders, is on King Street in Charleston, South Carolina.

Alex told investigators Maggie Murdaugh was in Charleston the day of the murders for a doctor's appointment.

A staffer at the luxury retailer told Fox News Digital the last purchase that Maggie made was May 3rd 2021. She spent $3,041 on a shoulder handbag and Gucci slides.

If she made any purchases at Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue or an outlet store, they would also show up on her account, the staffer said.

Prosecutors haven't yet revealed why the $1021.10 receipt is relevant to the double murder case.

An entrance to Moselle, a 1,700 acre hunting estate in Islandton, South Carolina, that served as Alex Murdaugh's main residence. (Mark SIms for Fox News Digital)

SLED special agent Jeff Croft said investigators found Maggie Murdaugh's cellphone the day after the murders and it had been ditched on the side of the road.

They used the Find My iPhone feature to locate it at least a quarter mile from the Murdaugh's hunting estate on the right side of Moselle Road in a grassy area.

An agent, wearing a gloved hand, punched in the passcode to verify it worked and it did, before powering down the device and putting it in an evidence bag, Croft testified.

A member of the Murdaugh family provided the passcode to law enforcement, according to previous testimony.

The morning after Paul Murdaugh was gunned down with a shotgun and his mother, Maggie, executed with a rifle, Croft visited the main residence.

Alex Murdaugh's former law partners Mark Ball, Ronnie Crosby and Lee Cope were present and captured on Croft's bodycamera, according to testimony.

Alex's brother John Marvin Murdaugh and attorney Chris Wilson were also there.

Alex Murdaugh appears to glower at Colleton County Sgt. Daniel Greene, as the defendant enters the courthouse Monday. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)

Alex Murdaugh Monday stared down Colleton County Sgt. Daniel Greene, who was the first witness Thursday at his murder trial.

The defendant appeared to glower at the sergeant, who is positioned at the Colleton County Courthouse each morning to help transport the inmate.

Greene, the first responder at the double homicide, testified that Alex, 54, wasn't actually crying.

"Did you ever observe any physical tears?" asked Creighton Waters, lead prosecutor for the South Carolina Attorney General's Office.

"I did not," replied Greene, who added that Alex mentioned a 2019 boat crash in his first statement.

“This is a long story. My son was in a boat wreck. He’s been getting threats," Alex can be heard saying in body camera footage played for jurors. "I know that’s what it is.”

Paul was facing criminal charges after he drunkenly slammed his father's boat into a bridge, killing Mallory Beach and injuring four other friends.

Alex was facing a wrongful death lawsuit over the tragic collision.

Buster Murdaugh, left, and Stephen Smith, right, who was found dead July 8, 2015. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital/Facebook)

Stephen Smith, a former high school classmate of Alex's eldest son, Buster Murdaugh, was found dead July 8, 2015, in the middle of a country road in Hampton, South Carolina. 

The 19-year-old's car was three miles away and out of gas .An autopsy concluded that Smith died from blunt force trauma caused by a hit-and-run — but his mother, Sandy Smith, believes he was murdered.

Highway Patrol investigators disagreed with the autopsy’s determination and pursued several leads — including rumors that Buster was having a secret affair with Smith, and the Murdaugh family may have been behind the killing. But the case remains unsolved.

SLED (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division) announced in 2021 a fresh probe into Smith’s mysterious demise based on evidence gathered during the investigation into Maggie and Paul's murders.

The agency did not elaborate on the nature of the evidence that led to their decision to reopen the case.

Alex Murdaugh poses with his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, in an undated photo. (Facebook)

SLED special agent Jeff Croft sifted through the trash at the Moselle estate after the double murders and found a receipt from Gucci.

"What is that?" asked prosecutor Creighton Waters.

“Appears to be credit card statement or receipt and appears to have an item circled on it," replied Croft who pronounced the store's name as "goosey" before the prosecutor corrected him.

He said the item cost $1,021.10 but did not disclose who made the purchase or who circled the entry. The search occurred after the murders but the witness did not specify the exact date.

Earlier in the testimony, Waters asked Croft to narrate his body camera footage.

"What are you about to do right here?" asked Waters.

"Dig in trash,” he responded, with a smile.

Waters asked him if it was a fun job.

“No it’s not but it has to be done,” he answered.

Alex Murdaugh, 54, is accused of fatally shooting his son, Paul Murdaugh and his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, with two different guns June 7, 2021.

Prosecutors have argued that Alex was under pressure from mounting debts and feared his decades-long corruption schemes could be exposed.

The trial broke for the lunch break a little after 1 p.m.

SLED special agent Jeff Croft shows jurors the .300 Blackout rifle that he retrieved from Alex Murdaugh's gunroom. (Fox News)

SLED special agent Jeff Croft displayed for jurors a .300 Blackout rifle -- the model prosecutors suggested Alex Murdaugh used to shoot his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, at least four times.

It was the only gun that investigators found on the property that could shoot .300 Blackout rounds. It belongs to Paul's older brother, Buster Murdaugh.

The Murdaugh family at one point owned three .300 Blackout rifles, but investigators could only locate two of them.

Croft told jurors the rifle also has a “thermal scope which can be used for shooting in the dark.”

Paul was shot twice with a shotgun.

Prosecutor Creighton Waters also had Croft show jurors the 12-gauge shotguns that were retrieved from Alex's gun room the day after the double murder.

Alex's attorneys repeatedly objected to the weapons coming into evidence.

"There's no evidence linking these guns to the crime," Dick Harpootlian said. Judge Clifton Newman overruled the objections.

Alex Murdaugh's gun room where Jeff Croft recovered a .300 Blackout rifle. (Grace Beahm Alford/ Post and Courier/ pool)

SLED special agent Jeff Croft says he went to the main residence of the Murdaugh's sprawling hunting property the morning after the June 7, 2021, murders.

He narrated his body camera footage for jurors.

When he arrived at the property, he found spent .300 Blackout shell casings outside the exterior door of the gunroom, which prosecutors say matched the casings found near Maggie Murdaugh's body.

Maggie was hit at least four times with an assault rifle, while her son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, was gunned down with a shotgun.

Inside the gun room he found Buster's .300 Blackout rifle -- the only weapon of dozens found at the property that could shoot .300 Blackout rounds, Croft testified.

Creighton Waters, lead prosecutor for the South Carolina Attorney's Office, has suggested that a Blackout rifle was used to execute Maggie, and the Murdaughs at one point owned three. Two are unaccounted for.

Croft was also looking for a 12 gauge shotgun because 12 gauge shell casings were found near Paul's body. He did not find one.

Alex's former law partners, Mark Ball, Ronnie Crosby and Lee Cope were present during Croft's visit.

Alex's brother John Marvin Murdaugh and attorney Chris Wilson of Bamber Legal were also there, Croft testified.

SLED senior special agent Jeff Croft testifies Jan. 30, 2023, at Alex Murdaugh's murder trial. (Fox News)

SLED special agent Jeff Croft told jurors Monday that he interviewed Paul Murdaugh's good friend, Rogan Gibson, June 8, 2021, the morning after the murders.

Gibson showed Croft the communications he had with Paul minutes before he was shot to death. At 8:44 p.m., Paul called Gibson.

Gibson's dog was in the Murdaugh dog kennels, and they were discussing a possible problem with his tail, according to earlier testimony.

Gibson sent Paul a text at 8:49 p.m. “See if you can get a good picture of it," Gibson wrote. "[She] wants to send it to a girl we know that’s a vet. Tell him to sit and stay and he shouldn’t move around too much.”

But Paul didn't respond. Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters argued in opening statements that he was likely already dead. Gibson called Paul 9:10 p.m., 9:29 p.m., 9:42 p.m. and 10:08 p.m.

At 9:58 p.m., he texted Paul, "Yo."

He also sent Maggie a text at 9:34 p.m., "Tell Paul to call me."

About 15 minutes after Alex Murdaugh hysterically called 911 at 10:06 p.m. to report that his wife and son were shot, he called Gibson, according to Croft.

There were missed calls on Gibson's phone from Alex at 10:21 p.m., 10:24 p.m., 10:25 and 10:30 p.m., Croft testified.

Judge Clifton Newman seated at the bench in the Colleton County Courthouse Jan. 27, 2023, at Alex Murdaugh's murder trial. (Grace Beahm Alford/ The Post and Courier/ Pool)

Judge Clifton Newman read a note from the jury after a 10-minute break.

"“Your Honor, will you please inform the audience that the identity of each is to remain anonymous,” Clifton read.

"The audience is reminded," he added look at the packed gallery of spectators -- including Alex Murdaugh's son, Buster, sister Lynn Murdaugh Goette and brother John Alvin Murdaugh.

When the jury was called back into Colleton County courtroom, the judge informed them that "I have addressed your concerns."

The state then called senior SLED special agent Jeff Croft -- the 10th witness to take the stand.

States evidence presented in the Alex Murdaugh trial Friday Jan. 27, 2023 at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro shows the ceiling of the feedroom where Paul Murdaugh was fatally shot. (Grace Beahm Alford/The Post and Courier/Pool)

Testimony of Melinda Worley, the SLED special agent who oversaw crime scene collection, wrapped up after an intense cross-examination by Alex Murdaugh's lawyer Dick Harpootlian.

Worley conceded that there could have been two shooters and that the preservation of the crime scene was not to her standards.

Harpootlian also questioned why she didn't pursue an analysis of a possible footprint found on the back of Maggie Murdaugh's calf after showing her a photograph. She said she wasn't made aware of it for weeks, and investigators only took a single image.

During the questioning, Worley was visibly uncomfortable.

Prosecutor Savanna Goude asked a few follow up questions on redirect.

"The defense shows us dirt on the back of Maggie's leg, do we even know if that’s a shoe print?" Goude asked.

"No," she replied.

An evidence photo presented Jan. 27, 2023, at Alex Murdaugh's murder trial showing the floor of the feedroom where Paul Murdaugh was fatally shot.. (Grace Beahm Alford/ The Post and Courie/ pool)

Dick Harpootlian Monday grilled the SLED special agent who oversaw evidence collection at the crime scene after the murders of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.

“Wasn’t his brain laying at his feet?” Harpootlian asked Worley.

“It was beside his left leg,” she replied. Paul's bloody footprints were found near his body likely when he stumbled toward the door of the feedroom after the first shotgun blast.

The second shot blew off his head. "His brain flew out," Harpootlian said. "There's hair and blood and pieces of skull in the ceiling around him."

Harpootlian asked Melinda Worley, a tire and shoe impression expert, whether a deputy's bloody footprint found near Paul's body was "preservation of the scene to your standards?"

"Not exactly, no," she replied. The bloody footprint that didn't belong to Paul likely came from a deputy on the scene.

"Do you know what other evidence they may have destroyed?" Harpootlian asked of Colleton County deputies, who were the first responders on the scene.

"I have no idea," she answered.

Harpootlian also confronted her with a photo that showed what may have been a footprint on Maggie's calf.

He questioned why there was only one photo of this, and there's no scale indicating the impression's size.

"This was not done according to procedure?" asked Harpootlian.

"I did not know about this on the scene," she replied before acknowledging she was present at the crime scene when the photograph was taken. At the time, no one appreciated that it was a footwear impression, she said.

Worley added that even if she had multiple photos of the suspected footprint, she wouldn't have been able to "attribute it to a type of footwear."

The witness also conceded that Alex's white T-shirt was not completely clean and had what appeared to be dirt smudges.

Melinda Worley testifying on Friday on direct examination at Alex Murdaugh's murder trial. (Pool)

Dick Harpootlian suggested Monday that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division's own evidence suggested there were two shooters who fatally shot Paul and Maggie.

During cross-examination of Melinda Worley, the special agent who oversaw evidence collection at the murder scene, Harpootlian asked her a series of questions about her bullet trajectory analysis.

Maggie was shot with an assault rifle and Paul with a shotgun -- but prosecutors contend Alex was the only shooter.

"Is it possible there were two shooters?" asked Harpootlian.

"It indicated there was movement," she replied, suggesting that the same shooter could have changed position.

"One explanation would be movement, one would be two shooters?" Harpootlian pressed.

“Not the only one,” answered Worley, who appeared nervous, before agreeing that it was possible there was only one shooter.

From left, Lynn Murdaughe Goette, Buster Murdaugh, John Marvin Murdaugh, Brooklynn White arriving Jan. 30 to Alex Murdaugh's murder trial. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)

Buster Murdaugh, his girlfriend Brooklyn White, his uncle John Marvin Murdaugh and his aunt, Lynn Murdaugh Goette, arrived at the Colleton County Courthouse Monday to support Alex Murdaugh.

Goette held up a black umbrella that partially covered the four family members, who have been in court everyday since the trial began last week. Buster is Alex's only living son.

Alex, 54, is accused of fatally shooting his youngest son, Paul, 22, and his wife, Maggie, 52, June 7, 2021.

The fourth day of the trial began at a little after 9:30 a.m. with the cross-examination of SLED special agent Melinda Worley, who oversaw the collection of evidence at the crime scene.

Alex's defense lawyer Dick Harpootlian has suggested in his questions that the crime scene was contaminated by officers with the Colleton County Sheriff's Office, who were the first law enforcement officers on the scene.

Harpootlian has been asking Worley tedious questions about the trajectory of a gunshot that penetrated a quail cage.

Alex Murdaugh watches intently as Dick Harpootlian cross-examines SLED special agent Melinda Worley at Alex Murdaugh's murder trial. (Fox News)

Alex Murdaugh watched intently as his lawyer Dick Harpootlian cross-examined state witness Melinda Worley, the SLED special agent who oversaw evidence collection.

Harpootlian asked her about the diagram and FARO 3D scan she created using measurements she'd taken at the crime scene.

The FARO 3D scan takes a series of images that are converted into a three-dimensional video that can be manipulated in any direction to view the crime scene.

He asked why prosecutors didn't introduce it on their direct examination, and she said she wasn't sure.

He then played the 3D scan, pausing it as he questioned her.

"This obviously has not be converted totally to 3D has it?" asked Harpootlian, suggesting that the scan is blurry and incomplete.

"I'm not sure," she replied. Alex's son, Buster, and brother, John Marvin Murdaugh, were seated behind him in the courtroom.

Long delays in Harpootlian's questions appeared to irritate Judge Clifton Newman. He sent the jury out of the courtroom for a break to give Harpootlian time to pre-mark exhibits.

The South Carolina Attorney General's Office is prosecuting the double murder case.

Dick Harpootlian cross-examines shoe and tire impression expert Melinda Worley at Alex Murdaugh's murder trial (Fox News)

Alex Murdaugh's attorney Dick Harpootlian kicked off cross-examination of Melinda Worley Monday morning with questions suggesting that the crime scene had been contaminated.

Worley, special agent with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, oversaw the collection of evidence at the scene.

"When you did your footwear impression examination, you found there  was a bloody footprint from one of the officers?" Harpootlian asked.

"Yes, after we started processing the scene," she replied.

"They’re walking in an area where most likely the perpetrator had walked, correct?" he continued.

"Possibly," she answered. Harpootlian is a legendary defense lawyer in South Carolina known for his aggressive cross-examinations of witnesses.

Alex is accused of fatally shooting his son, Paul, and his wife, Maggie, June 7, 2021, near the dog kennels on the family's sprawling hunting estate known as Moselle.

Mallory Beach and three other passengers on the boat Paul Murdaugh was driving when he slammed into a bridge, killing her. (Facebook)

A turning point for the Murdaugh family came in February 2019 when Paul, then 19, drunkenly crashed his father’s boat into the Archer’s Creek Bridge in Beaufort, killing Mallory Beach, 19, and injuring four other friends.

Paul had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit.Before the collision, his friends said he had morphed into his drunk alter ego "Timmy," becoming belligerent, stripping off his clothes and slapping his girlfriend.

Beach’s estate and other passengers filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Alex, Buster and the convenience store chain that sold Paul, then underage, alcohol using his brother’s ID.

Two months later, Paul was indicted on one count of boating under the influence causing death and two counts of boating under the influence and causing great bodily harm.He was murdered before the case went to trial.

Buster and his mother's estate have since settled with the family.

Alex Murdaugh arrives for the fourth day of his double murder trial. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)

Alex Murdaugh stepped out of a black van in khaki pants and a button-down shirt for the fourth day of his double murder trial.

At about 8:58 a.m., he was escorted into the Colleton County Courthouse hiding his handcuffs under his blazer. His trial for the murder of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, is slated to begin at 9:30 a.m.

Minutes later, Buster Murdaugh, his girlfriend Brooklynn White, Alex's brother John Marvin Murdaugh and his sister Lynne Murdaugh Goette entered the courthouse.

They have been in the gallery everyday since opening statements began on Wednesday.

Melinda Worley, foot and tire impression expert with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, is expected to return to the stand.

On Friday, she told jurors about the evidence collected at Moselle, the Murdaugh's sprawling hunting estate where Maggie and Paul were gunned down.

Murdaugh's defense team is expected to cross-examine her Monday.

Alex Murdaugh trial evidence photo showing hte door of the feedroom where Paul Murdaugh was fatally shot. (Grace Beahm Alford/ The Post and Courier/ Pool)

One detective who testified in the Alex Murdaugh double-murder trial claimed there was no visible blood on him the night his son and wife were tragically shot and killed in the family's hunting lodge back in 2021. 

But Fox Nation host Nancy Grace was quick to note that, although there may not have been enough blood on him visible to the naked eye, further testing revealed otherwise on "Fox & Friends Weekend."

"I see where the defense is headed, because when you look at Alex Murdaugh, the night of the murders, when the SLED South Carolina law enforcement division and other law enforcement got there, it looked like he was wearing a clean shirt, a clean t-shirt, although he was sweating profusely, but there was no sweat on the shirt," Grace told Will Cain on Sunday. 

"But then when you take the shirt for testing under a microscope, there appears to be very fine blood spatter, which is invisible to the naked eye, and that's why we do ballistics and blood spatter test," she continued.Murdaugh is accused of killing his wife, Maggie, and his 22-year-old son Paul on June 7, 2021, at the family's "Moselle" estate. 

Grace suggested that a Snapchat video that prosecutors mentioned in pre-trial motions could hold the key to the missing moments ahead of Paul's death. The Snapchat video has yet to be made public but is expected to presented by prosecutors at Murdaugh's trial.

The Murdaughs, a prominent Democratic family in South Carolina, had wielded enormous judicial and political power for over a century. 

Three generations served as the local prosecutor, known as the solicitor, who oversees the five counties at the southern tip of the state. 

But their dominance began to wane in 2019 after Paul Murdaugh was accused of drunkenly slamming his father’s boat into a bridge in Beaufort, killing 19-year-old Mallory Beach and injuring four others. 

The boat wreck triggered a series of lawsuits that shone a spotlight on Alex Murdaugh’s alleged crooked financial dealings.

Since the double slaying of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) reopened investigations into the mysterious 2015 death of Buster Murdaugh’s classmate Stephen Smith, with whom Buster was rumored to be having a secret affair. 

Authorities also launched a fresh probe into the 2018 death of the Murdaugh’s longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.

Randolph Murdaugh, Sr. was solicitor of the 14th Circuit from 1920 to 1940. He was succeeded by his son, Randolph "Buster" Murdaugh, who served in the role from 1940 to 1986. 

Then Buster's son, Randolph Murdaugh III, was elected in 1986 and served until 2005, when he retired from public office.

The Murdaughs are one of the most powerful legal families in South Carolina, with a member of the family serving as the top prosecutor in the state's Lowcountry for 87 years.

Randolph Murdaugh III died on June 9, 2021 at home at the age of 81, just two days after the deaths of his grandson and daughter-in-law. 

The announcement of Randolph Murdaugh III's death came from his law firm Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick. 

A cause of death was not announced but Democratic state Sen. Margie Bright Matthews of Colleton County said Murdaugh, 81, was in intensive care.

A South Carolina judge earlier this month approved a settlement agreement between a woman killed in a deadly 2019 boat wreck and two members of the Murdaugh family.

19-year-old Mallory Beach died when Paul Murdaugh drunkenly crashed his father’s boat into a bridge. He  used his older brother Buster Murdaugh’s ID to buy alcohol for the excursion.

Beach’s family agreed to drop Maggie Murdaugh’s estate and Buster, 26, from the suit in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Buster is the only living son of disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh.

Alex is accused of murdering his wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, in June 2021.

While the Beach family is "pleased" with Judge Daniel Hall's ruling, they do not feel it was the "best decision given the circumstances," Beach family attorney Mark Brandon Tinsley told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

It was, however, "the only decision for all who had any real interest," he said.

Tinsley added: "We also believe the ruling will help give some closure to the people who so desperately deserve it.”

Alex Murdaugh's youngest son Paul sent his friends a Snapchat video shortly before his murder — and it is a key piece of evidence in the state's case against him, South Carolina prosecutors revealed in a pretrial court filing.

"Amongst other things, critical to the case is a video sent out to several friends at approximately 7:56 p.m. on the night of the murders," wrote Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Creighton Waters in a petition to secure the attendance of a Snapchat witness. "The contents of this video is important to proving the State's case in chief."

It's the first time the video has been mentioned publicly by prosecutors, who have been tightlipped about the evidence they have against the scion of the once-powerful legal dynasty. In the filing, the prosecutor asked Judge Clifton Newman to sign an order requiring a Snapchat representative to testify at the Colleton County trial.

"The witness, Snapchat Inc Custodian of Records, of Santa Monica, California, is a material witness because in a search warrant return, Snapchat provided records belonging to one of the victims in this case," Waters wrote in the petition. "Because this video was provided by Snapchat, a Snapchat custodian is required to testify in person that the video is a true and accurate record kept in the normal course of business activity."

The documents do not indicate what is shown on the Snapchat video.

Buster Murdaugh arrives to the Colleton County courthouse for his father's double murder trial on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023.

Richard "Buster" Murdaugh Jr. — the lone surviving son of disgraced South Carolina lawyer and accused killer Alex Murdaugh. Buster grew up with his younger brother Paul on a sprawling 1,700-acre hunting farm, known as Moselle, in Islandton, South Carolina.

Buster lives with his girlfriend, Brooklynn White, both 26, and their beloved golden retriever, Miller, in a modest one-bedroom Hilton Head Island condominium. It’s unclear when Buster and White began dating — but she accompanied him to the joint funeral of Paul and Maggie, according to a source.

Buster attended University of South Carolina Law School alongside White. He was allegedly kicked out in his second semester for plagiarism, the Wall Street Journal reported. Alex paid an attorney $60,000 to try to get Buster readmitted, according to FitsNews.

The news site also reported that Buster attended the annual South Carolina Association for Justice convention on Hilton Head in August with his attorney uncle, Randolph "Randy" Murdaugh IV.

Buster was named as a defendant in the Mallory Beach death suit for allegedly letting his brother Paul, who was underage, use his ID to buy alcohol for the doomed boating trip. 

He has since settled the suit.

Alex Murdaugh is accused of gunning down his son, Paul, and his wife, Maggie, on June 7, 2021, near the dog kennels on their sprawling 1,700-acre hunting estate known as Moselle in Islandton, South Carolina.   

Prosecutors say he used a shotgun to blow off his son's head, which was "severed" from his body, according to court papers.  

Maggie was shot with a semiautomatic rifle five times — including in the back of the head — and died about 30 yards from her son, according to police and court papers.   

Prosecutors have suggested that the family patriarch murdered Paul and Maggie over mounting debts and fear that his decades-long schemes to embezzle money from his clients would be exposed.  

Alex  has denied involvement. He alleges that he found his wife and son's lifeless bodies andplaced a hysterical 911 call to police at 10:06 p.m. He has one surviving son, Richard "Buster" Murdaugh.

Alex Murdaugh, 54, is the fallen scion of a local legal dynasty in South Carolina. He is accused in the double slaying of his youngest son Paul, 22, and his wife, Maggie, 52, in June 2021. 

Since their murders, he has been disbarred and linked to several  mysterious deaths in the community. 

He’s also charged in a failed murder-suicide in September, 2021. Prosecutors allege he hired a former client, Curtis Edward Smith, to shoot him so his older son, Buster, would get a $10 million life insurance payout. 

State prosecutors suggested that Alex shot his son and wife over mounting debts and fear his decades-long corruption schemes would be exposed.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced in December a fresh indictment accusing Alex of nine counts of tax evasion for failing to report $6,954,639 of illegally earned income between 2011 and 2019.

Alex is being held without bond and his financial assets have been frozen.

Alex Murdaugh, 54, the once powerful scion of a South Carolina legal dynasty, is on trial for the slayings of his wife and son.

Prosecutors say Alex gunned down 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh and their troubled 22-year-old son, Paul, on June 7, 2021.

The Murdaughs, a prominent Democratic family, wielded enormous judicial and political power for nearly a century . A comprehensive timeline details the events that contributed to their downfall.

But the family’s dominance began to wane after Paul was criminally charged for a deadly 2019 boat wreck that triggered a series of lawsuits and threatened to expose his father’s financial schemes.

The accident set in motion a spiral of destruction that has stained the family’s legacy.