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- [00:03]
A
This is Australian True Crime International with Michelle Laurie. Our guest today is Kayla Brantley. She's a crime correspondent with the Daily Mail, based in New York City. For the last couple of years, though, Kayla and her team have been focused on South Carolina and the scandalous case of the Murdoch murders. With a guilty verdict recently overturned. Kayla joins us to talk about all the shocking details. But we begin with life as a New York City crime reporter. This is Australian True Crime. We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which this podcast is created, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung People of the Kulin Nation and a warning. This episode of the podcast contains graphic descriptions of violence.
- [00:50]
B
So I host a weekly podcast called the Trial usa. This is the US branch of our wider trial podcast where we tackle trials per season. So last year we did the Trial of Diddy. That was the first season of our U.S. version of the trial. And this case has really gripped the nation. There have been documentaries on it since it's happened and this just happened in 2021. So within five years there's been multiple documentaries. There was even a TV show with Patricia Arquette playing Alex Murdoch's wife Maggie,
- [01:30]
A
which I love, by the way. I love that show. Do you love it?
- [01:34]
B
Oh, yeah. I'm Patricia Arquent. She's incredible. I love anything she's done.
- [01:37]
A
Same. How would you describe it sort of in a nutshell, because a lot of our listeners will be like me and you, fascinated by it, have been following every moment, have watched all the TV shows, but some others may not be really sure what we're talking about. So it's so complicated. But how would you describe this story in a nutshell?
- [01:58]
B
Okay, I will try my best. But essentially, Alex Murdoch, he is a South Carolina attorney. He was born into this prominent legal family and he honestly appeared to have it all. He had a family, a booming business, you know, sons and a beautiful wife and very wealthy family. Then back on June 7, 2021, about, you know, a little over five years ago, everything just imploded when his wife Maggie and his 22 year old son Paul were shot dead at the dog kennels on the family's estate. That's their Moselle estate in South Carolina. This double murder, it then sparked a chain reaction that ultimately exposed and uncovered Alex Murdaugh's scandal plagued double life. Essentially after the murders, we find out that he allegedly orchestrates a bizarre botched murder for hire plot on himself. Then we uncover that there were all these mysterious deaths tied to the family that included a death of the family's maid and another teen girl who was killed in a boating accident. And then this all culminates when Alex Murdoch was convicted for the murders of his wife and son back in 2023. And just when we thought things were over back in May, that ruling was completely overturned. That conviction was overturned and he will be granted a retrial, thanks to the court clerk who was found to have influenced the jury. So this is where we are at now.
- [03:41]
A
Unbelievable. Just where do you start? I suppose we can start with the other element which some people call a motive, which is that Alec Murdoch had been. Apparently had stolen about $19 million from his clients. And of course, that would come to light if a divorce case was brought against him, which apparently Maggie was seriously considering at the time of her death.
- [04:06]
B
Yeah. So the motive that the authorities have put forward was that he did this murder to tried to cover up and distract from his mounting financial crimes that were about to be exposed. And that, you know, he is also, while he did get convicted of murder, that's now overturned, he will never get out of prison. He has so many other cases and so many other financial crimes, and there's so much still mounted against him that no matter what, whether this conviction is overturned and then goes to trial, and if he's found to be not guilty, he will never get out of prison.
- [04:46]
A
Which brings us to why attempt to have his murder convictions overturned? Because doesn't he stand to get the death penalty? Possibly. If they go to trial again and they have a different judge and a different jury and it comes out differently, he's never gonna get out of jail, but he might end up with the death penalty. Is that true?
- [05:06]
B
Yes. Yes, that is exactly right. That Alex Murdaugh does face the death penalty. That. That is on the table. And that is something that happens in South Carolina. And the death penalty, you have to be convicted of that and another crime along with murder. So in this case, prosecutors have said that they would seek the death penalty.
- [05:30]
A
So why are we having a retrial? We have one woman in particular who is. Has been the focus of this part of the case, hasn't she? That is Collerton County Clerk of Court Mary Becky Hill. Tell us about Mary Becky.
- [05:45]
B
Rebecca Hill is a very interesting character. She was the court clerk, which meant that her responsibilities were to, you know, shuffle the jury in and out, to really just oversee them. But with those duties, you are not meant to speak about the case to the jury, influence them in any way. And she completely went against everything that she was meant to do her position as a court clerk was, she was actually elected into that role and the jury alleged that. She basically was saying, you know, this guy is guilty, really pushing them to find him guilty. And then once he was convicted, she published a book. She published a tell all that. What they allege, what prosecutors allege, is that she wanted a guilty verdict because that would sell books, definitely better for her. And that book had, yeah, I mean, it is a better storyline. But, you know, she has since pulled that book from the shelves.
- [06:50]
A
It's interesting because of his position in the legal system, I mean, they, they were known to each other. Alec Murdoch knew Rebecca. They'd known each other for years. They'd worked in and around each other. So in some ways it's a very sort of small town story, isn't it? Even though it's internationally fascinating.
- [07:07]
B
Oh, yeah. Everyone seems to know everyone in the low country. It's not some, you know, you're not in New York City where, even though it is a big city, you're very, it seems very small sometimes. But, yeah, like I said, and even though it was a small town, everyone knew the Murdaughs. They were renowned in, in the community. So for Becky Hill to, you know, go so hard and so blatantly against him, you know, it was quite shocking. And the fact that it was so severe that the South Carolina Supreme Court said, yeah, we are going to overturn this conviction. Her actions had to be very, very serious. There have been many insights into, you know, who Alex Murdaugh was. You know, is he a narcissist? Is he mentally ill? Yes. He claims he was addicted to drugs. But to go that far, there truly has to be something off. And you can just only imagine the horror of Paul, who would never expect that from his father, Maggie, who, you know, according to evidence, had to witness her son get killed by his father and then he turns the gun on her. It's just unimaginable. For now, Alex Murdaugh has a little less than a year to prepare with his team and for his sake, hopefully bring new evidence that will exonerate him.
- [08:40]
A
Thank you to our guest, Kayla Brantley, and you can keep up with Kayla's work by subscribing to the Daily Mail's podcast, the Trial usa. If you need support after listening to this podcast, you can call Lifeline on 131114 or contact 1-800-Respect on 1-800-737-732 or 1-800-Respect. Org au Indigenous Australians can contact 13Yarn on 139276 or 13yarn.org au.