Tinseltown came to the South Carolina Lowcountry this week as the ‘Murdaugh Murders’ crime and corruption saga saw a deluge of new big budget productions – most notably the launch of an extended documentary series streaming on HBO Max.
The documentary – entitled Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty – generated intense controversy as it contained court files sealed in connection with a high-profile wrongful death case filed by the family of the late Mallory Beach of Hampton, S.C.
Beach was killed in a February 2019 boat crash involving the Murdaughs – an event which thrust this influential family, the so-called “House of Murdaugh,” into the statewide limelight.
As we reported, some of the sealed files – including surveillance footage from Beaufort Memorial Hospital taken in the aftermath of the crash – were provided to HBO by Columbia, S.C. attorney Joe McCulloch, who is representing one of the passengers on the boat.
The HBO documentary was also noteworthy in that it further shredded the alibi of Alex Murdaugh, the disbarred 54-year-old attorney who stands accused of killing both his son Paul Murdaugh and his wife, 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh, on June 7, 2021.
Our director of research Jenn Wood has an amazing breakdown of the latest narrative for this crime as put forth by Murdaugh attorney Jim Griffin in the HBO documentary.
Stay tuned for much more on that alibi … and its ongoing evaporation.
Also, check out this post for more of Wood’s incredible investigative work on this case.
One last Murdaugh note: As we were wrapping production of the episode, the first federal trial tied to the Murdaugh saga – the criminal trial against disgraced former banker Russell Laffitte – went completely off the rails.
What happened? Click here …
***
Finally, I devoted some time in this episode to the upcoming 2022 midterm elections in South Carolina – offering predictions on the Palmetto State’s gubernatorial matchup as well as a pair of congressional races.
Are any of those contests competitive? Not remotely … which is why I am reduced to picking the margin of victory in these races.
What were my picks? And how will they fare on election day? Tune into FITSNews on Tuesday evening to find out …
***
SHOW NOTES …
MURDAUGHS
HBO Documentary Includes Confidential Hospital Videos
Inside The Checks To Curtis Eddie Smith
Russell Laffitte Breaks His Silence
CARMEN MULLEN
South Carolina Supreme Court Should Remove Carmen Mullen From The Bench
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to proactively address? We have an open microphone policy here at FITSNews! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
