The Murdaugh double homicide was almost 2 weeks ago. A timeline of what’s happened since

Kacen Bayless
·8 min read
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It’s been nearly two weeks since the shocking June 7 double homicide of Paul Murdaugh and his mother, Maggie, on their sprawling Colleton County property.

The shootings have garnered international attention due to the Murdaugh family’s prominence in the Palmetto state’s legal community. Rumors and theories have been rampant as people wonder who killed Paul Murdaugh, who was charged in the 2019 boat crash that killed a young woman, and his mother, Maggie, and why they were killed.

Following the double homicide, the 2019 boat crash that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach is also facing new scrutiny. The S.C. Attorney General’s Office is probing how police handled the boat crash investigation that led to felony charges against Paul Murdaugh.

Law enforcement has released little information in the wake of the shootings. As of Saturday morning, no suspects or arrests have been publicly announced.

Here’s a timeline of what’s happened since the double homicide:

Monday, June 7

Between 9 and 9:30 p.m.: Paul Murdaugh and his mother, Maggie, die from gunshot wounds on their property, the Moselle hunting lodge in Islandton, according to the county coroner.

10:07 p.m.: Alex Murdaugh, father and husband of the victims, calls 911. He tells the Colleton County Dispatch Center he returned to the property and found the two bodies, according to a statement from the S.C. Law Enforcement Division. Colleton County Sheriff’s Office deputies respond to the scene.

10:28 p.m.: The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office contacts the S.C. Law Enforcement Division to help conduct the investigation.

11:47 p.m.: SLED regional agents begin arriving at the scene and take the lead role in the investigation.

12:07 a.m.: SLED crime scene agents begin arriving at the scene. They collect evidence and submit it to the agency’s forensic lab.

From left, Richard Alexander Murdaugh, Margaret “Maggie” Kennedy Branstetter Murdaugh, Paul Terry Murdaugh and Richard Alexander Murdaugh (Alex) before a formal event in 2019.
From left, Richard Alexander Murdaugh, Margaret “Maggie” Kennedy Branstetter Murdaugh, Paul Terry Murdaugh and Richard Alexander Murdaugh (Alex) before a formal event in 2019.

Tuesday, June 8

Between 6:45 and 8 a.m.: News outlets report S.C. Law Enforcement Division and the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office are investigating a double homicide at Moselle, a well-known hunting lodge in Colleton County owned by the Murdaugh family. Early on, sources confirm the victims were related to the Murdaugh family but will not provide exact identities.

An unidentified car blocks the approach to the Murdaugh family property on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 near the dog kennels where Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and her son Paul Murdaugh, 22, died from gunshot wounds in an apparent homicide in Colleton County.
An unidentified car blocks the approach to the Murdaugh family property on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 near the dog kennels where Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and her son Paul Murdaugh, 22, died from gunshot wounds in an apparent homicide in Colleton County.

9:20 a.m.: SLED spokesperson Tommy Crosby says based on the evidence, they do not believe there is a danger to the public.

Throughout the morning: News continues to spread of the murders as the Hampton community quietly grapples with what happened.

11:31 a.m.: The Murdaughs’ law firm, PMPED, releases a statement about the deaths on its Facebook page. This is the first public confirmation identifying the victims as Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.

Statement on Murdaugh deaths from PMPED law firm.
Statement on Murdaugh deaths from PMPED law firm.

1:17 p.m.: At the time of his death, Paul Murdaugh’s felony charges were being prosecuted by the S.C. Attorney General’s office. A spokesperson with the office says: “We obviously cannot proceed with the prosecution, so once we have a death certificate or other acceptable proof, we’ll officially dismiss the charges.”

3:45 p.m.: The family of Mallory Beach, who died in the 2019 boat crash, releases a statement through their lawyer, Mark Tinsley.

It reads: “The Beach family extends its deepest and warmest sympathies to the Murdaugh family during this terrible time. Having suffered the devastating loss of their own daughter, the family prays that the Murdaughs can find some level of peace from this tragic loss. They would like the family and the community to know that their thoughts and continued prayers are with the Murdaughs. It is their most sincere hope that someone will come forward and cooperate with authorities so that the perpetrator of these senseless crimes can be brought to justice.”

Wednesday, June 9

10 a.m.: The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office releases the initial police report from the double homicide. It’s one sentence long and refers to a supplemental report that the department has declined to provide. Under South Carolina law, initial police reports must be made publicly available within 14 days of an incident, and must include details such as the nature and substance of the incident. The Sheriff’s Office has also declined to release 911 recordings from the night of the shooting.

2:50 p.m.: The state’s top law enforcement officer, SLED Chief Mark Keel, tells The Island Packet: “We are pursuing all leads and the investigation is continuing.”

Thursday, June 10

During the day: Autopsies performed on Paul and Maggie Murdaugh at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Full autopsy reports typically take six to eight weeks to complete.

The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office says it turned the investigation over to SLED because of a conflict of interest, spokesperson Shalane Lowes said.

3:10 p.m.: Despite the three felony charges against Paul Murdaugh being dismissed because of his death, the criminal investigation into the 2019 Beaufort County boat crash will remain active, S.C. Attorney General Office spokesperson Robert Kittle tells The Island Packet.

4:40 p.m.: Sources familiar with the investigation confirm that one theory investigators are pursuing is the likelihood that Paul Murdaugh was targeted, while his mother was killed because she was there by happenstance. Paul was shot in the head and upper body with a shotgun, while Maggie Murdaugh was killed with what appears to be an assault rifle, the sources say.

6 p.m.: Hampton County coroner confirms Randolph Murdaugh III, the former state solicitor and patriarch of the Murdaugh family, dies days after the double homicide. Sources say he was ill at the time of his death.

Friday, June 11

Noon: Hundreds of people attend a celebration of life for Paul and Maggie Murdaugh at the Hampton Cemetery on Holly Street. One family member describes the two as “well lived and well loved” before a rainstorm swiftly ends the service.

Buster Murdaugh, center, receives a hug in the pouring rain at the funeral service for his brother, Paul, and mother, Maggie, on June 11, 2021.
Buster Murdaugh, center, receives a hug in the pouring rain at the funeral service for his brother, Paul, and mother, Maggie, on June 11, 2021.

Sunday, June 13

2 p.m.: About 200 people attend the funeral service at the Hampton Cemetery for Randolph Murdaugh III.

A Facebook post from the Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick law firm based in Hampton, S.C., announces the death of attorney and former 14th Circuit Solicitor Randolph Murdaugh III on Thursday, June 10, 2021.
A Facebook post from the Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick law firm based in Hampton, S.C., announces the death of attorney and former 14th Circuit Solicitor Randolph Murdaugh III on Thursday, June 10, 2021.

Monday, June 14

11:45 a.m.: Colleton County Coroner Richard Harvey tells The Island Packet that Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were both shot multiple times. He declines to answer further questions about the autopsy results.

Tuesday, June 15

2 p.m.: Rumors, questions and speculation continue to swirl in the wake of the killings. The Island Packet answers questions related to the investigation.

3:38 p.m.: The Island Packet publishes an exclusive report that Paul Murdaugh had two previously unreported brushes with law enforcement while free on bond.

Paul Terry Murdaugh prepares to leave the Beaufort County Courthouse on Monday after having his bond modified for the three felony charges he faces for the Feb. 24 boat crash which killed Mallory Beach. Murdaugh’s defense attorney Jim Griffin asked judge Michael G. Nettles to allow Murdaugh to travel within the state. Nettles ruled that Murdaugh may travel within the state with no other modifications. The state had asked for GPS monitoring as well as alcohol monitoring which was not a condition set by Nettles.

4:45 p.m.: SLED releases its first public statement about the case, confirming that Alex Murdaugh discovered the bodies and called 911.

Wednesday, June 16

10:35 a.m.: Mark Tinsley, the lawyer representing the family of Mallory Beach, says police improperly tried to influence the 2019 boat crash investigation.

1:28 p.m.: SLED sets up a 24-hour tip line for people to call in with information. The number is 803-896-2605.

2:44 p.m.: The 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, which stepped away from the 2019 boat crash investigation, refuses to say what role it is playing in the double homicide investigation — raising questions about potential conflicts of interest.

Kimberly Smith (center, back row), then Assistant Solicitor, stands behind 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone at a news conference in 2019.
Kimberly Smith (center, back row), then Assistant Solicitor, stands behind 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone at a news conference in 2019.

Thursday, June 17

7:35 a.m.: In the Murdaugh family’s first interview since the murders, John Marvin Murdaugh and Randolph “Randy” Murdaugh IV say strangers had threatened Paul Murdaugh before he was killed.

Mid-afternoon: A worker places “KEEP OUT” signs and a metal gate in front of the Murdaugh family property in Islandton.

A worker places a “keep out” sign at the entrance to the main house to the Murdaugh property on Thursday, June 17, 2021 on Moselle Road in Islandton, S.C. On Monday, June 7, 2021, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and her son Paul Murdaugh, 22, died from gunshot wounds in an apparent homicide in at their residence in Colleton County.
A worker places a “keep out” sign at the entrance to the main house to the Murdaugh property on Thursday, June 17, 2021 on Moselle Road in Islandton, S.C. On Monday, June 7, 2021, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and her son Paul Murdaugh, 22, died from gunshot wounds in an apparent homicide in at their residence in Colleton County.

3:30 p.m.: The Charleston Post and Courier sues SLED and the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office for not releasing public records related to the murders.

Friday, June 18

8:17 a.m.: Another clip of the Murdaugh family’s interview says Alex Murdaugh, Mallory Beach’s family and all occupants of the Sea Hunt boat that crashed near Parris Island in 2019 “voluntarily” submitted DNA samples to investigators.

9:01 a.m.: A letter obtained by The Island Packet says Alex Murdaugh was “authorized as a volunteer” for the 14th Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office. The Solicitor’s Office still refuses to return phone calls.

9:44 a.m.: The Island Packet reports that the S.C. Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation earlier this year into how police handled the 2019 boat crash investigation. A state grand jury is probing whether there was obstruction of justice during the investigation, the newspaper reported.

11:38 a.m.: The State reports that SLED investigators have searched the apartment near the University of South Carolina where Paul Murdaugh was living during the spring semester.