Paul Murdaugh was indicted by a grand jury on April 18, 2019, which would have been Mallory’s 20th birthday. The three charges included one count of boating under the influence causing a death

At his hearing, he pled not guilty to all charges, was released on a $50,000 recognizance bond, agreed to turn over his passport, and agreed not to leave the counties in the 14th Judicial Circuit. Below is a short clip from the hearing where his attorney, Dick Harpootlian, argues on Paul’s behalf.

Last episode, we shared some of the articles surrounding Paul’s hearing including this one written by Mandy with Teresa Moss.

Megan Burchstead is a name that many True Sunlight listeners are familiar with. Not only was she the prosecutor in Paul’s BUI criminal case, she was also the prosecutor in Michael Colucci’s first murder trial, which ended in a hung jury just four months before Paul was charged in 2019.

Megan, who now works as a public defender in Chesterfield County, was not involved in the Colucci re-trial but she was called on to testify to her actions or lack thereof during her time prosecuting Michael Colucci in 2018. Below is a clip of her testimony.

As you can imagine, her actions during the Colucci hearing and her deference to Dick Harpootlian during Paul’s bond hearing gave Mandy and Liz reason to question her effectiveness as  a prosecutor.

Gloria’s family retained the Bland Ritcher law firm to help them navigate the legal fallout from Alex stealing the settlement in Gloria’s wrongful death suit. As a result, they recovered over $4.3 million for Gloria’s family.

Gloria’s family knew it wasn’t the end of her story. To honor Gloria’s memory, they started Gloria’s Gift, a non-profit that provides Christmas gifts to low income families.

The gift of giving was the perfect way to honor Gloria. The video below includes remarks from Ginger, Gloria’s sister, and Tony, Gloria’s son, that illustrate Gloria’s giving heart.

Liz, doing what Liz does best, highlights the hypocrisy of Paul’s treatment from indictment to hearing to getting “booked” into the system.

“Murdaugh’s experience getting processed “into the system” amounted to a gentleman’s agreement, hush-voiced and white-gloved.” – Liz Farrell

He was never cuffed. His mug shot was taken in the courthouse hallway on someone’s iPhone. Check out Liz’s article to read her full observations and analysis of Paul’s “gentleman’s treatment.”

Alex Murdaugh not only stole settlement money from some of his victims, he used at least one victim as fodder in an infomercial. Originally shared by attorney Justin Bamberg, who represented the Pinckney family, the following video shows a much younger Alex Murdaugh talking about the benefits of using a particular video company to demonstrate client hardships to juries during personal injury cases. One of the clients in this video is Hakeem Pinckney, a deaf teen who was rendered a quadriplegic following a serious car accident.

The State believed that the weight of Alex’s financial crimes played a key role in his motive to murder Maggie and Paul. During Alex’s double murder trial Tony Satterfield testified to his experience with Alex during his mother’s wrongful death suit.

It took a lot of courage to take the stand and tell his story. Check out Tony’s testimony below.

In Episode 3, the Murdaugh family is imagined on a trip to Bermuda, with the scenes shot at Chateau Elan, a winery and resort about an hour northeast of Atlanta. The 3,500-acre resort blends southern charm with European elegance, and served as the perfect place to recreate a Bahamian retreat.

Before Paul was even indicted for the boat crash that killed Mallory Beach, Mallory’s mother filed a civil suit on behalf of Mallory’s estate on March 29, 2019. The original complaint included not only members of the Murdaugh family, but also Parkers Corporation that owns Parker’s Kitchen where Paul illegally bought the alcohol he and the others were allegedly drinking the night of the crash.

After Gloria’s death, Alex had a proposition for her sons. He told them to hire attorney Cory Fleming (Alex’s best friend) and have Cory sue Alex so Alex’s homeowner’s insurance would settle. For Gloria’s sons, the settlement money would have been a much-needed lifeline. Instead, Alex stole the $500,000 due to Gloria’s sons.

In addition to the Murdaugh Murders Podcast, Mandy’s book Blood on Their Hands became a key resource for producers, writers, and cast on Hulu’s Murdaugh: Death in the Family. The book not only chronicled the events but also provided crucial context that helped bring the story to life on screen.

Below is an excerpt from Mandy’s book describing finding the wrongful death settlement for Gloria’s death.

Re-live the vibes with LUNASHARK’s Soundtrack Playlist, available on Spotify.