Hello and Happy Holidays! I’m Beth Braden, researcher and journalist for Luna Shark Media and the True Sunlight Podcast. Welcome to the monthly recap for November 2023. From Mandy’s book release to Bowen Turner’s release from prison to Alex Murdaugh’s plea in the...
When you need information from the government, FOIA and your state’s open records laws are your most important tool. FOIA is short for Freedom of Information Act, a federal law that ensures citizens have access to government records. Each state also has its own laws...
Sandy Smith found herself mostly on her own as she tried to understand what happened to her son, Stephen Smith, in July 2015. With conflicting reports between the investigative agencies, apparent disagreement between officers and the medical examiner, and the...
When Mandy and Liz left Sandy Smith’s home in 2019, there was a massive amount of information that needed to be broken down, contextualized, and further expounded on. Sandy had been trying for more than four years at that point to find out what had happened to...
Transcript Recorded by Otter.Ai Hello, and welcome to the monthly recap for October 2023. I'm Luna Shark journalist and researcher Beth Braden. Much like September, October was popping as we kept tabs on Alex Murdaugh and his associates, got word of Bowen Turner's...
South Carolina Second Circuit Solicitor David Miller — the same solicitor who dropped the charges against Bowen Turner after one of his alleged victims, Dallas Stoller, died and couldn’t testify — is running for a circuit judge seat and time is running out for the...
Lifetime Network's Murdaugh Murders is a made-for-TV version of Alex Murdaugh's spiral from an elite South Carolina lawyer to a convicted murderer and accused thief. Billed as a two-night, four-hour movie event, the Lifetime...
Sandy Smith has established a scholarship fund as she waits for justice in her son’s 2015 murder. “It came to be through the generous people of the GoFundMe" Stephen Smith was discovered deceased in the early morning hours of July 8, 2015 on Sandy Run Road in...
What could have been the silver bullet for understanding what happened to 18-year-old Grant Solomon on July 20, 2020, doesn’t exist, according to a response from the Gallatin (Tennessee) Police Department. In late July 2023, Luna Shark Media filed an open...
Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh is expected to plead guilty to all 22 counts pending against him when he appears in federal court on Sept. 21. Those charges allege that Murdaugh stole millions of dollars from his clients and Palmetto State Bank starting as early as...