Original subtitles

[music]

[music]

[music]

This is Alex Murdaugh, 4147 Moselle Road.

I need the police and an ambulance immediately!

My child and my wife have been shot badly.

[911 Operator] Could you give us your address again?

[Alex] 4147 Moselle Road. It's bad.

-[Operator] Are they breathing? -[Alex] No, ma'am.

[Operator] And you say it's your wife and your son?

[Alex] My wife and my son.

[Operator] What is her name?

[Alex] Maggie and Paul. Maggie.

[Operator] Are they breathing at all? Are they moving at all?

I know you said she was shot, but what about your son?

[Alex] Nobody. Not one of them never moved.

[Operator] I don't want you to touch them, okay,

in case they can get any evidence off them.

[Alex] I already touched them to see if they're breathing.

[music]

A jury took less than three hours to convict lawyer

Alex Murdaugh of the murder of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul.

Murdaugh has been sentenced to two consecutive life sentences,

and will be spending the rest of his life behind bars.

Murdaugh's family was prominent in Hampton County

for over 100 years and have been described as de facto royalty.

Murdaugh, whose father, grandfather

and great-grandfather were all prosecutors,

claims that his family was killed by people who

wanted revenge for a drunken boat accident

allegedly caused by his late son, Paul.

In addition to this sentence, Murdaugh now faces charges of

embezzling millions of dollars from his law firm and clients,

including his former housekeeper's family. who died

under mysterious circumstances at the Murdaugh house.

Not only that, three months after the murder of his wife

and son, Murdaugh attempted to commit suicide

in order to get a life insurance payment to his surviving son.

Murdaugh will continue to stay at the

Kirkland Correctional Institute for an unspecified time period

until he is processed and sent to a maximum security prison.

[razor buzzing]

[music]

[cell door shuts]

It is a good day to get a little sunshine, Officer Dealey.

Warmer than last week.

I can't argue.

How long are they going to keep you here at Kirkland?

You mean before they send me someplace else?

A couple of weeks, a month.

Lots of processing and figuring to do.

-But I suspect I'll be back. -Why is that?

-You ever have a dog? -Couple of them.

Dogs are like people.

I had this one dog that kept trying to get away.

He'd cause a scrap, then run away,

but as soon as he got over the fence,

he'd come running right back, barking to be let in.

You want to come back to Kirkland Jail?

Not the jail, particularly.

[phone ringing]

Yep.

-Murdaugh. -Good mornin', sir.

You bastard.

-My name's Charlie Boggs. -Boggs?

Yeah, I think I know some of your people.

-My mother. -That's right.

Elsie Boggs. Lovely woman.

You were her lawyer. Do you remember?

-Well, I can't really remember-- -Don't worry.

Because when I get my hands on you, you're gonna remember.

It's okay, son.

Boggs, calm yourself!

We'll talk.

Time to go inside, Prisoner Murdaugh.

What?

I thought I had a couple of minutes out here on the patio.

You got a visitor.

[music]

[door opens]

[door closes]

Good afternoon.

Well, this is a surprise.

I was expecting to see one of my lawyers.

How do you do, Mr. Murdaugh? I'm Alicia Seaborne.

Alicia Seaborne? I don't think we've met.

-I wrote to you two months ago. -Oh, my goodness.

You're not one of those women who started sending me

love letters asking me to marry them, are you?

Because I find it sad.

Mr. Murdaugh, I'm from Modern Metropolitan magazine.

You and your lawyers invited me to interview you.

Ah! Excuse my confusion.

Thank you for coming all the way from New York for this.

You're welcome.

And did you come from New York or did you come from your

father's house in New Hampshire?

Why do you wanna know?

Well, I know your father passed just two weeks ago, so

I admire your decision to keep our appointment.

Well, congratulations on having your lawyers

do a Google search on me.

But if you really wanna talk to me,

you can stop playing the games.

I'm afraid you're too smart for my lawyer games.

Probably not.

Ms. Seaborne, I need your help.

I wanna find who killed my wife and son.

I'm here to talk about your crimes.

You mean my financial wrongdoing?

Yes, but also your attempt to kill yourself so that

your son, Buster, could get a financial settlement as well as

the millions you allegedly stole from your clients and partners.

I admit I did a lot of bad things.

And that is why I think whoever murdered Maggie and Paul

was after revenge for money I stole.

It's possible.

Or someone wanted revenge for the boat accident Pa-Pa was in.

Where that...

poor girl--

A jury thought otherwise.

I hope you'll listen to me.

You admitted on the stand that you lied, cheated and stole

from your friends and business partners.

-Why would I believe you? -I didn't say believe me.

-I said, listen to me. -What does that mean?

If you listen to me...

Do you wanna do this story?

'Cause it'll win you the Pellinger.

-I've already got one Pellinger. -Got it a long time ago.

So you want me to tell your side of the story?

No. I want you to listen to me.

And maybe help me find who killed my family.

Mr. Murdaugh, I believe the police already found the killer.

I disagree.

Mr. Murdaugh, I flew down here because you invited me.

Now I can drive back to the airport this evening,

and none of this will matter to me.

And that is what I am inclined to do.

Well, you can go, but then all they'll remember

you for at that magazine is that last story of yours.

-What story is that? -The one where you screwed up.

Got enough facts wrong to get your bosses sued.

The judge threw that case out of court.

People don't remember that.

They just remember the lawsuit and your name on it.

And by writing this story, I'll get my reputation back.

I never said it would.

And why do you think I would write this story?

Why is why you'll write it.

You wanna know why.

Mr. Murdaugh, I don't want to sound rude,

but I want to be straight with you.

I want to write a story about you.

-But I am not your friend and-- -I-I understand.

We will keep this businesslike.

And I want you to understand why my family was killed.

And help you to understand it was a revenge killing.

-Revenge? -Yes.

I'm convinced that someone wanted me to pay for something

I did. Either something I did or something my family did.

Maybe even before I was born.

Because people got long memories around here.

And I need to make you see that.

Look, I'm trying to make sense of what I'm hearing.

I will write the story,

but I need you to start from the beginning.

Well, first, I wanna tell you about my drug problem,

-because that's an important-- -No, no, no, we'll get to that.

-But I need you-- -No, no, no, no, no, no.

It's important. And you said that you would listen to me.

I did.

Okay.

Drugs.

What started it?

Football.

Played a little in college.

No trophies, except for a bum knee.

Mr. Murdaugh, it's healed some, but it just takes time.

And I don't really wanna do another surgery.

Well, I appreciate everything you're doing,

and have no problem holding off on another surgery.

-But it is one thing. -What's that?

My prescription for the painkillers ran out.

Hmm. Okay, well, I'll refill your prescription,

but be careful. I don't want you getting used to these things.

I will. I will be extra careful.

All right.

[music]

I moved on to oxycodone in 2008.

And I'm not quite sure how I let myself get where I got,

but it escalates.

It escalates.

The pills were 30 milligrams, but there were some days...

There were some days I was taking 2,000 milligrams.

But those are better than the days when I didn't have any.

[Maggie] Alex.

Alex?

Alex, are you up?

I'm just a little bit under the weather, Maggie.

But I'll be up in a bit.

Alex, you lied.

You told me this wouldn't happen again.

Mags?

Mags?

When you're withdrawing, you're physically sick.

It's like the flu, joints hurt and ache.

It goes to all of a sudden, sweat runs down your body.

It's like you ran a marathon.

[music]

Then there are the intestinal issues.

You literally can't control yourself.

[gagging and throwing up]

I'm sorry to be so graphic, ma'am.

That's all right.

What would you do then?

What do you mean, after I got sick?

-Yes. -I'd buy more pills.

-But-- -Just-just let me explain.

Daddy?

I wasn't expecting to run into you here.

Well, hello, Alex. I was just here with your mother.

Where's Mama at? Is she okay?

Well, they have to run some tests,

but she's just not doing any better.

Alzheimer's does what it does.

If you told me you were coming, I could have--

Never mind. Never mind. What are you doing here?

Oh, I have an appointment with the surgeon about

the old football knee.

As little as you played in college,

who would think that that knee would give you so much trouble?

How many operations you had on that?

Well, surgeries work, but then I always do something

to reinjure it, which reminds me, I'm late for my appointment.

But if you and Mama wanna wait, I can give you a ride.

No, no, thank you. I can still get around.

You know, I'm not a cripple, yet.

[music]

Hey Pa-Pa, where you been all night? On the boat?

-Mm. -I know you had a good time.

You catch anything other than a buzz?

I'm heading into the office, but you have a nice day.

And try to get some sleep for a change.

You looking for something?

Yeah, I tucked my keys somewhere.

I thought you might be looking for these.

Where did you get that, Paul? That's not yours.

It's not yours either, unless you're Lenelle T. Robson.

That's interesting.

What are you doing? Your mother brought you up better than that.

It was empty when I found it in the boat.

So you don't have to worry about it.

Paul, you got to understand.

You said you weren't taking this crap anymore.

You promised Mom and me! And you said you were clean!

I am trying, but it's hard, all right?

It's harder than anything you can understand.

Come on, let's talk.

All right. You know what?

We'll go fishing tonight and I'll try to explain.

[music]

[sighs]

[music]

And I can assure you, Mrs. Boggs,

that what happened to you

was not a normal workplace accident.

And that supermarket you worked--

-She worked at a pharmacy. -What?

She worked at the Crown Pharmacy, not a supermarket.

That's right, the pharmacy.

They're gonna pay for all that pain and suffering

they caused you when that delivery vehicle struck you.

Because I can tell you, in all my years in this firm,

which was founded by my great-granddaddy,

I've never seen anything so...

-It wasn't a delivery truck. -I beg your pardon?

It wasn't a delivery truck. She was hit by a customer's car.

It makes no difference.

It was their parking lot, so we're gonna--

[phone buzzing]

Unfortunately, that is a client

who needs my assistance right away.

How are we supposed to talk about the case?

We need to know what steps to take, you know, moving forward.

We will. It's just, this is an emergency.

So you stay right here.

And I'm gonna have one of my associates take over for me.

[sighs]

[music]

Morning, Brett.

Hey there, Cousin Alex.

This is a real nice ride you got here.

Tell me, these, uh, these tinted windows,

they cost extra or do they come with the package?

Eddie, what are you doing in my car?

I saw these nice, dark tinted windows and I thought,

this would be a great place for us to talk. Nobody can see us.

There's cameras everywhere. You're probably on half a dozen

security cameras just walking across the street.

Is that so? If I'd known that, I'd've got my hair done.

Now, you said you got what we were talking about?

Oh, yeah.

All that money...

What about it?

That's money that you stole from clients and partners.

It wasn't my money. That's true.

And from the family of your former housekeeper,

Gloria Satterfield.

Well...

You stole millions by taking checks and depositing them

into the account of a front company,

and then taking money from that account.

-I'm not saying I didn't. -But how did you do it

on 1,000 milligrams of oxycodone a day?

You sound like the prosecutor now.

I don't mean to, but it's hundreds of times

the legal dosage, yet you were functioning enough

to steal millions and keep it hidden for years.

-But why would I lie about that? -Sympathy?

I didn't need anyone's sympathy.

Not even from the jury as an excuse for all these

incriminating details coming out from the prosecution,

-the witness-- -My wife and son were murdered.

I didn't need to make up...

I apologize for raising my voice.

[handcuffs locking]

That's all right.

I am probably gonna stay in this evening.

You have any plans?

I'm going fishing.

Fishing?

Isn't that a reporter's job?

[music]

I'm sure the numbers you're offering are fair.

I just wanna think about it before

committing that much capital.

[bell ringing]

Mr. Wilkins?

Oh, good-bye, Mr. Gustaf. Looking to talk soon.

Mr. Wilkins. I'm Alicia Seaborne.

I emailed you earlier.

-The writer from the magazine? -Yes. You are a hard man to find

with all these businesses you own.

You know, I tried texting you, and when that didn't work,

I went to your other stores and businesses.

Well, you know, you're right about all those businesses.

And that's why I like this place, it's quiet

and almost nobody bothers me here.

I want to ask you about Alex Murdaugh.

Who said I knew anything about him?

A lot of people. I can come back if you're busy.

No, it isn't busy. It's just, uh--

It's just talking about Alex Murdaugh?

Let's go.

Now come on this way. Let me show you something.

-Grab that side. -Oh.

Did you know Alex Murdaugh well?

Well, let's put it this way. I knew him a long time.

You're in the real estate business, I heard.

Did you have any business deals with him?

One or two.

-You fish? -[chuckles] No. I'm no good.

[laughs] Well, the secret to fishing is that no one's

good at it, except the fish.

Some of those worms look a little beat up.

Well, you know bass will ambush wounded prey.

This torn-up worm is perfect, especially in shallow water.

So if you can't find a worm, you just get a spinner bait

with a red or pink head. And the red, well,

it makes the fish think that the bait is injured.

And they'll bite at it.

Okay, let me show you. Let's thread this.

This hook. Mm-hmm. Be careful now. The hook's sharp.

Ooh. Ouch.

[laughs] Now, once the worm's on the hook, you're 90% done.

Did Alex Murdaugh catch many fish?

Now see, you've got to understand,

the Murdaughs have always been rich for over 100 years.

A Murdaugh without money?

Well, if you look like you have money,

you don't need that much bait at all.

[music]

-Good afternoon, Mr. Murdaugh. -Hello there, Emma.

-You holding down the fort? -I am, though Mr. Parkinson

in accounting says he needs to see you about a settlement check

you were supposed to send him. And he's still asking if we

got the money from the Elsie Boggs' settlement.

Could you just tell old Ron I'll take care of it right away?

Okay. Oh, and Mr. Denny Wilkins is here to see you.

-Can you tell him I'm busy? -[Emma] Yeah.

Is that Alex Murdaugh, I hear?

Denny! What a pleasant surprise!

The same, Alex, the same. And of course, you know,

I'm hoping that you're going to give another pleasant surprise

for me too.

Well, let's go to my office and take of that, all right?

All right. [laughs]

Emma, I'm just going to be just a teensy bit busy, all right?

Of course, I have the money I owe you for the parcel of land

next to the bait store.

When have I ever not paid what I owe?

Well, I don't know about ever, but I was supposed to get paid

two months ago on that. Now I know you got your plate full.

And I'm sorry to hear about your boy's boat accident.

Yeah, well, as if I didn't have enough lawyers and lawsuits

in my life, but it's gonna be okay.

I sure hope so.

I might be a little slow on the paperwork,

but you came on the right day. You have immaculate timing.

[laughing]

And I take it that's the right amount?

To the penny. Thanks.

Hey, I'm sorry if I seem a little--

No, no, no. That's quite all right, Denny.

It's just we're moving a lot of money around.

Did you manage to get a developer interested

in building out there?

Oh, I got a lot of ol' boys interested in my properties,

but some of them are from out of town.

And they want to build them so all these New Yorkers and

Californians can come in here and start avoiding paying

high taxes, you know. And I'm--

I'm not rushing into bed with any of them.

So you don't have a development deal yet?

Oh, you mean is that where this money come from?

Well, that's not polite.

You don't ask a man where his money comes from. [laughing]

Thank you.

To be a little impolite, where did that money come from?

Well, the Murdaughs are a very prominent and wealthy

family in these here parts. Now why would they need money?

[laughing] Very funny.

Now you watched the trial on TV.

You know where that money was coming from. He was stealing it.

Millions for at least 10 years. And you know that check that

he wrote me? It was probably stolen from a client

and moved into his account.

But why did he need to steal all that money?

Well, you may have to go fishing someplace else for that.

But talk to someone who was on that boat

Murdaugh's boy crashed or someone who knew his wife.

[phone ringing]

Mom, what are you doing up at this hour?

[Mom] Hey, I didn't wake you, did I?

No, I'm working.

[Mom] Well, I hadn't heard from you since you left yesterday,

-so I was a little worried. -Mama, I called you

and left a voicemail on the house phone

and then I texted you on your cell phone.

[Mom] I didn't even think to check the voicemail

and I just turned off the cell phone.

But I thought you played Scrabble on the phone.

[Mom] No. I use Dad's old computer for that now.

That way I don't get interrupted by sales calls.

With your father gone, sometimes I don't mind

talking to the salespeople,

even if I don't need a new warranty on my car.

Okay, Mom. I'm sorry that I worried you. Everything is fine.

I'm just working on the Alex Murdaugh story

-down in South Carolina. -[Mom] Oh. Yeah.

I saw that story.

That poor woman got murdered by her husband.

She always dressed so nice in the photos I saw on the news.

Yeah, she did dress nice. Look, Mom, it is late.

And we should both probably go to bed if we want to look nice.

[Mom] You're right. I'm getting my hair done tomorrow

and I don't want to show up looking bad for that

'cause you know how them ladies will talk.

Yes, you don't want to look bad to get your hair done.

Uh, goodnight, Mom. I love you.

[Mom] Okay. Goodnight, sweetie. Hey, don't work too hard.

[music]

Where did you get your hair done?

[typing quickly]

[music]

We're not open for another half an hour, ma'am.

Oh, hi. I'm Alicia Seaborne. You must be Mollie O'Donnell.

I got your name from--

Yeah, Denny said you'd be calling.

Do you even want a hair appointment?

I just got my hair done, but um...

Come in.

This is a nice place.

One of the best I ever worked at,

which is why I don't want to get into any trouble.

-For talking to me? -All hair stylists do is talk.

Well, I wanted to talk about Maggie Murdaugh,

and I thought you might feel nervous about that

because of the Murdaughs and their power.

No, that's not it.

Anything the Murdaughs had is gone. Maggie was a friend.

I'm happy to chat with you.

No, I just want to be careful because my boss doesn't like me

chatting with someone on company time who isn't a customer.

Oh. Well, um, why don't you sell me some product

and then we can talk?

Why don't you have a seat in my chair?

So...

What do you wanna know?

What you know about Maggie Murdaugh.

I knew everything.

I knew she was kind. She loved her sons.

She practically lived for them.

And what about her husband?

-Not so much. -She wanted a divorce.

Why?

My first ex-husband said there were only two answers

to every single question, sex or money.

Well, in Maggie's case, I am guessing it was money.

Maggie told me.

[music]

Hello, darling. This is a nice surprise.

Is Pa-Pa with you?

Nope, he's with friends.

Oh, so it's just a romantic evening with the two of us?

Do you know what this is?

It looks like a check from here.

Yeah. You know what it says?

I can guess.

Do you know how embarrassing this is for me?

Every year I make a donation to the children's wing

at the hospital, what they call a sustaining pledge.

I know what it's called.

And this year, one week after I wrote the check,

I get a call from Mrs. Laurence at the bank telling me--

-Maggie, I know what they said. -Telling me I bounced a check.

Alex, I know it is not a mistake on their part.

It's just a temporary shortfall.

You shouldn't have used that account.

I talked to a divorce attorney.

What?

You know what she told me?

Um...

Can I get a sip of that tea?

I think I need it.

[sniffs] [laughs nervously]

Why would you go to a divorce attorney?

She told me that I needed to check our other accounts.

-And from what I can tell-- -Maggie, you know you're not

good with money.

I can read enough to know what a negative number is.

And we...

Our bank accounts are hundreds of thousands

of dollars in the red.

No. It's just those accounts.

Those accounts? There are other accounts, Alex?

What? Are you hiding money?

Listen, Mags, you know that the trial

for Paul's boat accident's coming up.

Don't try to change the subject.

That is the subject.

If we lose that trial, we're gonna be broke.

Don't try to blame Paul for your money troubles.

If we are broke, it's because of you.

Well, you certainly enjoy spending it.

And there's always money coming in.

I'm just shifting it around, so--

So you're hiding the money, but we can't write a check?

I got a land deal about to close. And it's so big--

I'm sick of hearing it.

[sighs] Sick of it.

You finish that and get out of here.

Wait, so you're leaving me over money?

I'm leaving you over lies.

[door slams]

It sounds like a third reason for divorce...

Lying.

Maybe, but the only things worth lying about are sex and money.

And my weight. [laughing]

Okay. How much do I owe you for this?

Ah, don't worry about it.

I gave you a bunch of free samples.

Thank you, but you really helped me out today.

No, no. Seriously, it was nice to talk to someone.

Maggie was a good woman.

And I meant to ask,

do you know anyone who was on the boat the night it crashed?

I told you, I do hair.

I know everyone.

[music]

[music]

Excuse me. Are you Bailey-- Oh, my goodness.

I'm sorry. I did not mean to--

Are you the reporter?

Where'd you park your car?

Uh, someone was mad at me and took it out on my tires,

so while I'm waiting for another rental.

I took a taxi.

Did you know Paul Murdaugh in high school?

Everybody knew Paul.

But you knew that already.

You just wanna talk about the boat crash.

The one where Mallory died.

If you don't wanna talk... If you're worried--

About someone slashing my tires?

I wouldn't worry about the guys who did it.

They're just a bunch of big mouths who want anyone, um,

badmouthing our town.

Oh, wow.

So not a conspiracy, just idiots.

But um, about the boat accident and what happened after it.

Was that a conspiracy?

You could call it that.

I just call it the Murdaughs.

Well, can you tell me more about that?

Where did it begin?

I mean, what's to tell?

Rich boy gets drunk, a girl dies.

What could I tell you that you don't already know?

A lot.

You could tell everyone what happened that night.

All right.

It starts with Buster Murdaugh's driver's license.

[music]

[Bailey] Then it was party time.

[music]

Around 7:00, Paul picked a bunch of us up,

including Mallory, and Conor, and Anthony.

He'd already been drinking,

but then we headed to a house party on the river

and stayed there drinking for a couple more hours.

Um...

Sometime around midnight, I think we took off from the party

and Paul was at the wheel. After the party, we--

we pulled off to a bar, and he had a couple more drinks.

And then we went back on the river.

He was doing donuts on the river and just chugging beers.

And we were all telling him to stop.

Had he done that kind of thing before?

He was always drinking and doing whatever he wanted.

He was a Murdaugh.

And then what happened?

We were all yelling at him to stop.

Then one of the guys was trying to get someone else to steer.

And then...

We crashed into the bridge.

It took them eight days to find Mallory's body.

[people screaming]

I just remember waking up at the hospital.

Mr. Murdaugh was there.

[siren wailing]

How's Pa-Pa doing?

He's a little bruised, and a little ornery with the doctors.

Well, he needs to behave. This is serious.

The police said that his blood alcohol level was 2.8.

Damn.

-What's gonna happen? -That all depends.

Honey, Paul's room is this way.

You go keep an eye on Paul. I'm gonna check on something here.

Hey, Jerry. Everything all right?

It's calmed down a bit, Mr. Murdaugh.

I certainly hope so.

Thank you for keeping an eye on things.

I'm going to be out in a minute.

-Okay? -Yes, sir.

[monitor beeping]

Mr. Murdaugh.

I'm sorry to intrude on you.

Did you wanna talk to my mom?

She just went to the ladies room.

No, no. I just wanted to see how you're doing,

if you're all right?

What happened is awful,

and I'm just grateful to the Lord that you're alive.

And I'm here to help in any way that I can.

Thank you, Mr. Murdaugh. I appreciate it.

I'm extra glad to help.

Now, I hope the police haven't been bothering you too much.

Oh, I haven't talked to them yet.

Okay, well, they're gonna ask you a lot of questions,

so you just make sure you tell them the truth.

For instance, do you remember who was driving the boat?

-Yeah-- -Because I heard it was Conor.

It was Paul driving the boat.

I'm just saying, you want to be sure when you talk to the police

'cause after all, you have been drinking.

It was Paul. It was his boat.

I'm sure you remember it that way, Bailey.

Memory's tricky. And you want to be careful

what you tell the police 'cause it can have

serious repercussions for a lot of people.

But again, please, if you need anything at all,

you let me know. All right?

You need a lawyer, you want someone to talk to?

I know some good people that can help you.

[music]

Could you tell me what room the other boy is in,

the one who was driving the boat?

You mean your son?

No, that other boy, Conor Lake.

Oh, yes sir. He's in room 209.

Thank you.

What did Mr. Murdaugh say to Conor?

I heard he said the same thing to him he did to me,

that he was there to help.

And he kept prodding Conor to admit that he was the one

driving the boat, not Paul.

I bet he told Conor he was gonna help him get a lawyer

and take care of him.

Take care of him?

Yeah, that's what the Murdaughs do.

Or did.

They make a mess, like getting Mallory killed.

And then they just help someone else take the blame.

-I wanted to ask-- -I hope you don't mind,

but I really don't wanna talk anymore.

Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.

If you think of anything else you want to say,

just give me a call.

Thank you.

[music]

[music]

-Good morning. -Good morning.

I hear you had a little trouble with your tires.

-Who told you that? -Gossip travels fast.

I just wanted you to know I didn't have anything--

I know. That's not your style.

They're probably just friends of Charlie Boggs or

someone else who says I stole their money.

You talking to me, you must be my friend.

I am not your friend!

You didn't have to say that so fast.

Guess all I'm saying is,

I got a lot of people out there who still don't like me.

I see.

Now, I hear you talked to a couple people,

including Denny Wilkins and that nice, young Bailey Swann.

What'd you talk about?

Wilkins and I talked about money.

And Bailey talked about Paul's boat accident.

What did she tell you?

She told me that the Murdaughs clean up a lot of messes.

That's why I wanted to ask you about your suicide attempt.

Well, three months after your wife and son were killed,

you got yourself shot in the head for life insurance money,

so that you could give a $10 million settlement

to Buster.

So?

This is about fixing up messes.

Really?

Well, that's one way to look at it.

But since you know so much about it,

why don't you tell me what you heard?

Well, a lot of people think it was fake, that the law was

closing in on you for the deaths of your wife and son.

And that this could be a distraction,

that those random vigilantes you said murdered your family

were coming after you.

Well, if my plan was to have Eddie shoot at me and miss,

then I did a bad job 'cause

he got me in the head.

All right, then.

Why don't you tell me what really happened?

[music]

[music]

-What took you so long? -I'm sorry. You know, I--

It don't matter now, but I've been standing out here

half the day.

You know if somebody pulled over, offered to help me,

it would've screwed up the whole plan.

Look, I'm not so sure about this.

Like I told you, this is the only way.

Come on.

I wanna explain again what you need to do.

I don't think we should be doing this.

I mean, I shouldn't be the one helping you.

I mean, we're talking about your life, Alex.

I appreciate what you're doing for me

because you're helping me help my family.

-This is for Buster. -I know.

And as for me,

I'll be in a better place with Mags and Pa-Pa.

So you just do like I told you. You shoot me, drive off.

-You throw the gun in the river. -In the river.

You don't talk to anyone.

You ready?

Yeah. Yeah.

All right. It's in your hands, my friend.

[gunshot]

Ah! Dammit, Eddie! What did you do? You idiot!

How'd you manage to miss?

Ah, this hurts so bad. I can't believe it.

I'm sorry I missed, man. Do you want me to shoot you again?

No, dammit!

I don't trust you to shoot a wall from inside a house!

[laughing]

Is there something wrong?

Look, I'm sorry, but-- [laughs]

I can't argue with that. It is...

It's hard to get good help.

Look, the way you tell it, it is possible,

but Eddie tells a different story.

Oh, so you talked to Cousin Eddie?

That why you were drinking so much?

I wasn't drinking with him. After I talked to everyone,

including him, I thought a couple of drinks would help.

-Did it? -It never does,

but that's beside the point.

Do you know how Cousin Eddie tells it?

He said he went to meet you there.

-What took you so long? -I was just thinking about this.

It don't matter now, but I've been standing out here

half the day. Somebody--

-Take the gun. -I don't--

Take the gun. You take the gun. Take the gun.

You take the gun. You shoot me. You drive away.

You throw it in the river. You don't talk to anyone.

Take the gun. Come on.

Take the gun, all right? You ready?

All right. It's in your hands, my friend.

[gunshot]

He actually claims he fired the gun as a warning shot

to scare me off to not do this?

Well, either way, you gotta wonder how

someone who grew up around here is such a lousy shot.

Mr. Murdaugh, you admit to setting up your own murder,

fake or real, to cheat the insurance company.

To help my son, Buster.

Well, don't you think having a living father would be more

helpful to your son than a check from the insurance company?

All I ever tried to do was help my family.

Did you try to help Paul?

You know when you tried to pin the boat accident

and Mallory Beach's murder on that other boy?

I did no such thing.

Like any man,

all I have ever done was try to protect my family.

Is that all you've ever done?

You admitted to stealing millions of dollars.

Was that to protect your family?

See, you don't know because you weren't there.

Yeah, you're right.

And I wasn't there the night...

You mean, the night...

I'm here to talk about the night your family was killed.

I'll be, uh, happy to talk.

But only because I want you to hear the truth.

Then I'm gonna ask you some questions.

That's fine.

What do you wanna know?

Everything that happened that day.

Everything you did.

All right, then.

Well, I had a busy day at the office.

I was mostly busy dealing with the trial

of Paul's boat accident.

But I decided to leave early so I could go hang out with Paul.

Hey, Paul. What you up to, Son?

Your feet still sore?

Your mama around?

I hear we're having country fried steak

and mac and cheese for dinner.

I don't know.

Hey, let's take a walk down to the field.

I'm a little busy.

Come on, you're not too busy for your old man.

Besides, I need to pick your brain about them sunflowers

'cause you know more about running this place than I do.

How come you don't want to go to the doctor's?

Your mama made you two appointments with Dr. Redding.

You skipped on both of them.

And I can tell your feet are still sore and blowed up

from all the stress.

I just don't want to go to the doctor.

Well, don't your feet hurt?

It's no big deal.

Besides, if they hurt, couldn't I just take some pills like you?

-Now, that's just mean, Pa-Pa. -Yeah, whatever.

I thought we were going to look at sunflowers.

Yeah, we are.

So you think they got some kind of root rot or mildew?

I just know something's wrong with them.

Well, they ain't gonna get better unless we treat them.

-Yeah. -Just like your feet.

I don't wanna talk about that.

I know people have been saying some mean things

to you about the boat accident.

And I heard you got into some fights over it, but I--

I've just gotta tell you, there's nothing to worry about.

I'm taking care of it.

Are you and Mom getting a divorce?

Did she tell you that?

Are you?

I have no intention of leaving your mother.

She says she's leaving you.

Yeah, we're all under a lot of stress right now,

so you know, sometimes your mother says things.

All you do is say everything's okay.

You'd never admit there's a problem.

Well, I never say there's no problem.

It's just that if there is a problem,

I'ma try and fix it.

That's what problems are for, for me to fix 'em.

You're saying you can fix anything?

My daddy could fix any problem.

As for me, I haven't met a problem yet I couldn't fix.

So you ever hear anything bad about your old man,

you just remember I was probably trying to fix a problem.

-Got that, Pa-Pa? -Yeah, I got it.

All right, then.

Then there is no problemo, amigo.

Some problems can't be fixed.

I never met one I couldn't.

You do realize you're sitting in a prison?

My problem is not that I'm in prison.

My problem is that someone murdered my wife and son.

And I want to find them.

All right.

Tell me what happened later that night.

Well, we had dinner.

And Maggie and Paul went down to the kennels

to look after the dogs.

I drove over my mom's house for a visit

'cause my dad was in the hospital.

[music]

I'm gonna stay here just a little longer.

And I'll be back to see you tomorrow.

All right, Dad. Goodnight.

You can just tell Mama I'll be back tomorrow.

Come on, Mags, what's going on with you?

[music]

[music]

Maggie, I'm home!

Maggie! Pa-Pa!

[music]

Mags! Pa-Pa!

[dogs barking]

[music]

You alive?

Paul!

Paul.

Maggie. Maggie!

Paul, are you alive?

Paul, are you alive?

Maggie!

Maggie!

Maggie.

[crying]

No, no.

[music]

This is Alex Murdaugh, 4147 Moselle Road.

I need the police and an ambulance immediately!

My child and my wife have been shot badly.

[Operator] What is her name?

[Alex] Maggie and Paul. Maggie.

[racks shotgun]

[dogs barking]

You got any firearms on you at all?

I brought out a shotgun.

It's leaning against the side of the car.

You're fine, man. You're fine.

Turn around for me.

Yeah. I don't have anything on me.

[dogs barking]

Is this your wife and son?

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

This firearm, is that the one that you brought

from inside the house?

Yes, sir. It's a long story.

My son was in a boat wreck a few months back.

He's been getting threats. Most stuff's benign.

We didn't take serious,

but he's been getting, like, punched.

There's a lot of evidence and things that don't make sense.

Are you going to cross-examine me?

Well, I've done what I said.

-I said I would listen. -And you did.

Now, if you really want my help finding who killed...

Maggie and Paul.

Then I'm gonna have to ask some questions.

But first I want to show you the footage from that night.

Are you okay with that?

[Officer] Do you have any guns on you at all?

I brought out a shotgun.

It's leaning against the side of the car.

[Officer] You're fine, man. You're fine.

Turn around for me.

Yeah, I don't have anything on me.

[Officer] This your wife and kid?

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

[Officer] This firearm, is that the one you brought

-from inside the house? -Yes, sir. This is a long story.

My son was in a boat wreck a few months back.

He's been getting threats. Most stuff's benign.

We didn't take serious, but he's been getting, like, punched.

You bring up the boat accident first thing.

-Not first thing, necessarily. -But almost the first thing,

which seems odd for a man who's just seen his wife

and son's bodies.

'Cause that's who I thought did it!

Someone who had threatened Paul had come for him.

Of course I'm going to say that.

[Dealey] Time's up, Prisoner.

It's been nice talking to you, but I think we're done...

for good.

Are you sure you don't wanna talk anymore?

[door beeps and shuts]

[banging]

You think you're getting away from me, but you're not,

you thieving bastard.

What the hell?

No matter where they send you, I'm going to get you.

[Dealey] Boggs, back off!

I'm just saying hello.

Now you can say good-bye or I'll put you in lockup.

Yes, sir.

You sure pissed him off.

Yeah, well, thanks for stopping him.

The neighborhood is noisy enough.

I hear you're moving to a new neighborhood soon.

What's that?

You're being shifted out of here sooner than expected.

Two more days and you're off to max security for processing.

Is that right?

If there's anybody that you want to talk to, you might want to

reach out now because you're not allowed to communicate

with the outside world for several weeks.

[music]

[music]

[music]

[screaming]

[heart rapidly beating]

[sniffing]

While I've been staying at home tending to my knitting,

it looks like you've been busy.

Well, while you've been playing hard to get,

I've been out making friends.

Well, this is a friendly town.

It is that. The people do love to chat.

Anyone in particular?

The help.

The help?

Paralegals, assistants, receptionists.

-Anyone I know? -They all seem to know you.

They told me a lot of things that I'd like to run by you.

Get your opinion on.

Well, you've been nice enough to listen to me.

I am glad to return the courtesy.

Now, this is just what I heard.

Yeah, and that is not gonna be a problem.

You said to bring Mr. Tinsley in even if you were busy.

Yeah, I'll have my bank send over that draft today.

All right, then.

Mr. Tinsley, it is an honor to see you.

Nice to see you too, Alex. Everything going all right?

Well, some days are better than others.

So how can I help you?

I take it you got the Friendergram pictures

my associate sent you?

Are you referring to the ones of Paul?

Yeah, I remember these.

These are copies that my assistant made before

they were wiped from your son's Friendergram page.

-I don't know what that has-- -Your wife liked them, which

means she's aware that your underage son was drinking, too.

Allegedly. Maggie's got nothing to do with this.

Look, let's just talk about what you want.

You're representing the family of Mallory Beach--

-And others. -For $10 million.

-Correct. -Which I don't have.

You've said that before and I don't believe it.

The most I can scrape together is maybe a million.

And then there's that $500,000 insurance policy

I told you about.

Come on.

The insurance company's probably not going to honor that.

You don't know that.

I know that it covers a commercial hunting lodge.

Which Moselle Road is.

And the insurance company will point out that you live there

and there's paid guests. What's more, the policy only

covers accidents that are part of the business operations.

Now, your son taking his friends for a joy ride--

Be that as it may, I don't have $10 million.

Your family has bought and sold most of three counties

for 100 years. I know you have the money hidden somewhere

and I'm going to find it.

Well, if you find it, could you let me know?

Because I sure could use it.

So you were drinking with Mark Tinsley?

No. Someone else, but it's not important.

Well, drinking or no, that is an interesting

version of the story.

-Well, is it true? -Is what true?

That Tinsley was coming after you for money you don't have?

And what money is that?

And that if he went after your finances,

it would be revealed that you were stealing millions from your

clients to pay off bad debts. And then, you were stealing

from your next clients to cover up the debt that you owed

your other clients that you had stolen before.

See, now you're just giving the prosecutor's theory.

You decided the only way out of the lawsuit

was to kill your wife and son.

-That is not-- -You'd get sympathy

and the insurance money from their deaths

you could use to cover the lawsuit and keep hiding that

you had been stealing to cover your losses,

like you did from Gloria Satterfield's family.

[music]

Why don't you tell me what you heard about that?

Well, the rumor is Gloria Satterfield

did not fall down the back stairs.

The story is that your wife killed her

by pushing her down the stairs and you covered it up.

And then you stole the insurance money from her family.

First of all, my late wife never murdered anyone.

Is that clear?

And secondly, little helpful advice.

You're gonna murder someone, pushing them down a couple of

steps doesn't seem like the most efficient method.

I suppose not.

And as for money I took or didn't take,

-why is that important? -Because once the boat lawsuit

happened and they dug into your finances,

they would see all the stealing you'd been doing

to cover up your losses.

See, I thought you were gonna listen to me

to learn what really happened.

Maggie and Paul's death were revenge killings.

And I'm doing my best, but I can't believe you

unless we go over everything the prosecution said happened

-that night and you explain. -I don't know.

I can't believe you unless you tell me

what this is on Paul's phone. You said you never

went back to the kennels after Maggie got home,

yet this sounds like your voice.

I already told them in court, I did lie about that.

It was paranoia from the drugs--

Mr. Murdaugh, you asked me to listen to you,

but I need you to listen to me.

[Paul] Come on. Quit.

[Maggie] Hey! He's got a bird in his mouth!

[Alex] Bubba!

[Maggie] It's a guinea.

-[Paul] It's a chicken. -[Alex] Come on, Bubba. Come on.

-Where did you get that? -It's on the internet.

They used it as evidence.

You told the police, the court and everyone

that you were napping after dinner and you never went

down to the kennels before you drove to your parents' house.

You lied.

Just because I lied doesn't mean--

Doesn't mean what?

I loved my family.

But since you apparently know more about it than I do,

why don't you tell me what happened there?

You really want that?

You're the writer.

You tell me the story.

After dinner, when you said you were taking a nap,

you were getting ready to go see your wife and son

for the last time.

[music]

You told the jury you were napping

and that you didn't go down to the kennels.

Come here. Come here. You're such a good boy, aren't you?

[Alicia] But you didn't know that Paul was shooting a video.

[Maggie] Hey! He's got a bird in his mouth!

[Alicia] And that it had your voice on it.

[Maggie] It's a guinea.

It's a chicken.

That's when you got your weapons.

[music]

Dad! What-- [gun fires]

[gun fires]

[dog barking]

[Maggie] Alex! Did someone fire a gun?

[gun firing]

[dog barking]

[Alex] Paul!

Paul.

[Alicia] You took the clothes and the guns.

And only you know what you did with them.

[music]

Hey Maggie, I'm just heading up to Mama's.

I'll be back in a while.

[Alicia] Nobody knows what happened to the guns.

But Maggie's phone was found by the side of the road

in-between your home at Moselle and your parents' house.

And according to the car's computer system,

you drove past the spot, slowing down where the phone was found,

and speeding up as you went past it.

After throwing your wife's phone away,

you texted that phone.

You got to your parents' house at 9:22 PM, then you went in.

[music]

Hey, Mama.

You and me don't talk much anymore.

But I'm gonna stay here just a little longer and then I'll--

I'll be back to visit tomorrow.

[breathing heavy]

How long were you there?

-What? At my mother's? -Yes.

I don't remember.

Long enough to establish an alibi?

I listened to your version, which I already heard

from prosecutors, so you gonna let me tell the story?

I spent the night at home with Maggie and Paul.

And yes, I did lie about going down to the kennel.

Because I was scared and paranoid from my drug use.

A man doesn't think straight when he's got

all that poison in him.

Now, you gonna let me finish?

I went to visit my mother. And I called Maggie and Paul

from my parents' house, but when they didn't get back,

I started to get worried.

[music]

Maggie! Paul!

Where the hell are you?

Paul! Paul!

[crying]

This is Alex Murdaugh, 4147 Moselle Road.

I need the police and an ambulance immediately!

My child and my wife have been shot badly.

[Alicia] So you got back to the Moselle Road house

-at approximately-- -Excuse me.

-[Alicia] 10:05. -Excuse me!

Oh, I'm sorry, but--

I don't wanna go through this again.

I'm leaving in the morning.

But I need to ask you why you did this.

Did what?

Lied, cheated, stole, killed.

All I'm trying to do is find the people who killed my family.

If I'm a liar, why are you even listening to me?

Because liars tell the best stories.

You've been in town less than a week.

-And already you know more-- -[Alicia] I think I know a lot.

And I think I know why.

Why what?

It's you. You were never anybody in this town,

except the son or a grandson, or a great-grandson.

You were never the big man. You were just in the shadow

of your daddy and your daddy's daddy.

And when you lost all that money,

you started stealing to hide it.

And you got away with it for a long time,

but not because you're smart. But because of who your daddy

and your granddaddy were. No one would ever think

a Murdaugh was broke enough to steal.

And all that talk about protecting your family

and taking care of them, all you cared about

was what people thought of you.

You were willing to kill your family...

Just so no one would think you let down the Murdaugh name.

I'd like to say I'm looking forward to your article, but...

I have better things to do.

I'm sorry to hear that.

[handcuffs clicking]

[door buzzes and shuts]

Mom, how're feeling?

I just wanted you to know I'll be home in a day or two.

I'm working on a project and I was thinking I could

work on it there, maybe help you out a little more.

Okay.

I'll see you soon.

I can't say I've enjoyed my stay here,

but I do thank you for your hospitality.

You're welcome, I guess.

I got you now!

You okay?

Thank you for that.

That's quite a surprise going-away party.

You sure you're not gonna miss this place?

Well, you just tell Boggs if he needs a lawyer,

to give me a call.

[music]

[cart rattling]

[knocking]

Here you go. More fan mail today.

I just hope all this celebrity doesn't go to my head.

"Mr. Murdaugh, I want to thank you again

for your time and help.

I thought a lot about what you said.

And I hope you find the story I wrote about you to be fair."

[Alicia] I quit the magazine and decided to stop writing

other people's stories. I now have a contract to write a book

about my own family back in my hometown where I'm living now.

Thank you again for your time.

And I hope you find peace.

Fancy magazine story on you, Murdaugh.

Do you want it?

You're not gonna read it?

Nah. It's always the same old story.

Thank you.

I ever tell you about the dog I once had?

Lots of times.

Well...

time is what I got a lot of.

You're a good storyteller, Mr. Murdaugh.

Because liars tell the best stories.

[music]

[music]

[music]

[music]

[music]