Honoring Victims Through Film – The Murdaugh Story Reimagined
Happy Sunday!
As we finished filming near 5am on Saturday morning some stark realizations came swiftly to those I was near.
We started filming on February 24th and concluded on June 7th. Those two dates should be jarringly significant to anyone who has followed my reporting and the original MMP episodes from the beginning.
On February 24th, 2019, Mallory Beach lost her life in a boat crash near Parris Island. Mallory Beach was a special person with a kind and loving heart. She was loved by everyone fortunate enough to know her. The ensuing criminal investigation, civil lawsuits and pressure would culminate in horrific events years later, and shine light on treachery that had happened years before.
On June 7th, 2021, Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were brutally murdered by Alex Murdaugh leaving behind a surviving son Buster. Maggie and Paul were loved by people that knew them. Paul was charged with causing the death of Mallory Beach years earlier and represented by lawyers that would soon defend his father for killing him.
These events prompted our investigation into other suspicious deaths and financial victims of Alex Murdaugh…
Gloria Satterfield: the Murdaugh’s caretaker who died suspiciously at the Moselle property and whose death settlement, rightfully due to her sons Tony and Brian, was stolen by Alex Murdaugh, co-conspirator Cory Fleming and convicted ‘bankster’ Russell Laffitte.
Stephen Smith, a 19-year old nursing student rumored to have connections to the Murdaugh family and whose unsolved homicide was publicly linked to the Murdaugh homicide investigation. His homicide remains unsolved, but his mom Sandy is relentless in her pursuit of answers.
Hakeem Pinckney, a star athlete who’s car accident and subsequent wrongful death settlements were stolen by Alex Murdaugh and co-conspirator Cory Fleming.
Jordan Jinks, a Hampton businessman, and elected official who was among at least 10 other client-victims who’s personal injury settlements were stolen by Alex Murdaugh.
We sat in awe as a yet-unannounced (superbly-cast) actor playing Creighton Waters called Jason Clarke as Alex Murdaugh to the stand. We sat eyes wide and mouth agape as Jason’s flawless depiction of Alex took us straight back to the actual trials, guilty plea hearings and sentencings for the countless crimes and victims associated with this saga. At the heart of each memory was a yearning for justice… for Alex Murdaugh, his co-conspirators and those complicit parties who have yet to be named.
But more so than anything we saw or experienced on set over the last three months… we are taking from set a notion that our scripted production of the Murdaugh series will have victims and respect for their trauma at the top of the call sheet.
Patricia Arquette (Maggie), Johnny Berchtold (Paul), Will Harrison (Buster), Kathleen Wilhoite (Gloria), Madeline Popovich (Mallory), and the yet-unannounced actors playing Brian Harriott, Tony Satterfield, Stephen and Sandy Smith, all have a dedication for bringing audiences closer to the victims depicted in this story.
All the headlines and sensationalism, the existing scripted features from Lifetime and Tubi, the 20/20’s and Datelines, have all focused on answering what happened and how it happened. Our project will focus on who it happened to… with such care and delicateness where it matters… and a heavy hand of theatrical justice where it counts.
Due to budget constraints and other limitations, not all victims could be portrayed and not all key players will make an appearance. But the wildly talented production team did their best to recreate this story with elements they believe are necessary to tell the story their way – and we respect those decisions.
As mentioned, Saturday marked the four year anniversary of Maggie and Paul’s deaths at the hand of their husband and father. The gravity of that date does not escape us, and we hope all those that knew them can grieve in the way that helps them cope. Our project will honor them as it does the other victims and the other very real people our show brings to life.
July 8th will mark 10 years since Stephen Smith’s unsolved homicide and we hope you’ll consider joining us in Hampton on July 12th to remember him and support his family. Visit WalkingWithStephen.com to learn more.
Mal’s Palz is also prominently featured in the TV series and we hope you’ll consider honoring Mallory Beach’s life by exploring its goal of creating an animal shelter for Hampton County.
As we get closer to the show’s release date, we will start talking more about our Companion Podcast planned to accompany each episode on Hulu, our plan to re-release Murdaugh Murders Podcast episodes this fall, and host amazing guests related to the series on Cup of Justice. There is so much coming and we want y’all to be with us every step of the way.
But in the mean-time, we will continue our quest for answers in the Gilley and Spivey matters while preparing for the Colucci re-trial set to begin with jury selection next week.
As always, your support is immensely appreciated and keeps us motivated to expose the truth wherever it leads, give voice to victims and get the story straight.
Stay Tuned, Stay Pesky and Stay In The Sunlight…
– Mandy
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