Who is John Marvin Murdaugh from Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal?
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Content Warning: This article contains references to murder and abuse some may find upsetting. Reader discretion is advised.
ICYMI, Netflix's three-episode true crime docuseries, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, tells the true story of 54-year-old lawyer Alex Murdaugh, who was accused of and is being tried for killing his wife and one of his sons in 2021. The murders come two years after a boating accident in South Carolina that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach. What is the correlation between both incidents? At the center of it all, is Alex Murdaugh. His son, 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh, who was one of the victims of the double homicide, was driving the boat that crashed and killed Mallory.
Since the show aired on the streamer, questions have risen regarding other members of the Murdaugh family, including Alex's oldest son, Buster, and his brothers, John Marvin Murdaugh and Randolph Murdaugh IV, who were all mentioned in the docuseries. Here's what we know about the case, and specifically the whereabouts of Alex's brother John Marvin.
Along with the murders of Paul and his mother Maggie, there are some other peculiar passings tied to the Murdaugh family.
On July 8, 2015, 19-year-old Stephen Smith, who was rumored to have a romance with Alex's son Buster, was found lying in the middle of the street, several miles away from his truck. It was later ruled that he died from blunt force trauma. Authorities initially assumed Stephen's death was the cause of a hit-and-run and closed the case as such, despite there being evidence to suggest foul play may have been at hand. Rumors in the South Carolina town quickly spread, proposing that Stephen was the victim of a homophobic hate crime because of his supposed secret relationship with Buster.
In February of 2018, the Murdaugh family's housekeeper Gloria Satterfield fell down the stairs at the Murdaugh’s home while working and suffered trauma to her head. She sadly passed away three weeks later from her injuries. It was later alleged that the Murdaughs were involved in the accident.
On June 17, 2021, Alex's brothers John Marvin Murdaugh and Randolph Murdaugh IV made an appearance on Good Morning America to speak to the nation in hopes of finding the murderer that killed their family members. They said they did not believe that Alex was in any way responsible.
So where is John now? Where was he during the time of the murders, and how does he connect?
John, the youngest of four siblings, was the first and only on his father's side to not follow along the path of becoming a lawyer. He did graduate from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice, but he eventually decided to start two businesses.
John was consistently at Alex's side whenever he needed help. He way the one who removed the boat from the water after the fatal crash involving Paul. Despite Alex being tried for the murder of their nephew and sister-in-law, both brothers John and Randolph have publicly supported Alex since the beginning, and continue to do so to this day.
On June 7, 2021, just after 10 p.m., Alex called the police to report that he had found his wife and one of his two sons shot and dead. Now, it's probably important to note that Alex's father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had all served as top prosecutors for most of South Carolina. Phone records showed that Alex left his house at 9 p.m. to go visit his mother, and he claims that on his return home he found his family murdered. After over a year with no answers, Alex was finally arrested on July 14, 2022, for two counts of murder, and he could serve at least 30 years in prison.
The Murdaugh murder trial began on January 23 of this year, and Alex's younger brother took to the stand and testified for the defense that he was the one who cleaned up Paul's remains at the gruesome murder scene, saying it was "the hardest thing" he ever had to do. John got permission from a friend in law enforcement to visit the crime scene to see "what had gone on and just kind of take it in."
"I saw blood, I saw brains, I saw pieces of skull, I saw tissue. And when I say brains it could just be tissue. I don't know what I saw, it was just terrible," John tearfully told the jury.
He decided to clean his nephew's remains to honor his memory.
"I felt like it was the right thing to do. I felt like I owed him, and I just started cleaning, and I promise you, no mother, father, aunt, or uncle should ever have to see and do what I did that day. It's the hardest thing I've ever been through in my life," John said.
To further honor Paul, John vowed to get him justice and find his killer.
"I told Paul I loved him, and I promised him I'd find out who did this."
He testified that Alex called him on the night of the killings after allegedly finding the bodies, and he immediately drove over to the house.
"He was just broken, I mean destroyed. All we did was hug and cry. I don't even know that we talked," John said in court.
John still does not believe that his brother is at fault for the murders.
He currently lives in Okatie, South Carolina with his wife Li,z and their three children.
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