Is Murdaugh: Death in the Family based on true events? Explained

Hulu’s newly released crime-drama Murdaugh: Death in the Family is making waves with its chilling crime story, where a father kills his wife and his son. The series is entirely based on true events that occurred in Hampton County, South Carolina.

The show’s creator, Michael D. Fuller, said (via Los Angeles Times),

“The heart of the show is that these are, were real people. They were a real family. They weren’t black mustache-twirling evil villains. They weren’t white knighted, incredibly heroic individuals. They were people, and they made choices, good and bad, and in that way, there’s something very relatable for everyone.”

Alex Murdaugh’s influence was evident in society and law, as he was himself a circuit solicitor, which began with Alex’s great-grandfather, Randolph Murdaugh Sr., in 1920. This powerful family, whose three generations of men have served as circuit solicitors in South Carolina, has created a lasting influence, with many locals referring to their area as “Murdaugh Country.”

However, he was convicted of killing his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, in 2021. This series follows the events that happened years before Alex’s conviction, how things started to fall apart for the well-respected and wealthy family in Carolina. 

What serves as the secondary source for Hulu’s series is Mandy Matney’s podcast ‘’Murdaugh Murders Podcast,’’ in which she reported and blogged a detailed version of the entire case. It has been one of the major inspirations for the show’s creators, Michael D. Fuller and Erin Lee Carr, with Matney also serving as an executive producer.

Know the major events that happened in a true-crime story of Hulu’s Murdaugh: Death in the Family

The fallout of the family began when Paul, who was drunk, accidentally crashed the family boat while driving, which led to the death of one of his friends, Mallory Beach. But before his trial could ever happen, he was killed at the hands of his father, Alex.

With Murdaugh’s family power and influence, Alex initially tried to blame Connor (Alex’s friend), who was also on the boat at the time Mallory died. As per the Time, both in the show as well as in real life, Alex blamed Connor for the accidental death to protect his son.

With Paul’s mistake, their family became a media sensation, which ultimately led to the revelation of Alex’s wrongdoings. It was revealed that Alex was a drug addict, and he even used to steal money from his family’s law firm. 

With three episodes of the show already released on October 15, it is seen in the show that Alex has been ‘’taking drugs,’’ ‘’hiding pills under his bed,’’ and ‘’passing out drunk,’’ on the couch.

The journalist, Matney said (via Times) that “he was using a lot of drugs and drinking too much, which made his problems worse and made him lose control of his mind.”

Funnell even agreed and believes that he ‘’lost all sense of logic,’’ and with no options left to get out of the money-stealing and insurance scams, he planned to make himself a victim by killing his own wife and son.

He killed both of them at Moselle Road in Islandton, where Maggie had been shot five times and Paul was shot three times. He killed both of them with different guns, and as per the reports, it's likely that the investigators never found the actual weapons, as the family owned many guns because they liked hunting.

According to the Netflix documentary "Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal," the investigators discovered Alex’s involvement when they accessed Paul’s phone, which contained recordings of the events that occurred at the crime scene.

In the video, Alex’s voice was clear and loud, which ruled out his initial alibi where he said that he was at his mother’s place when they were killed. Along with that, his car’s GPS tracker even proved that his location was at the crime scene when the murder happened.