Have you watched Netflix's Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal? Did you want to know what happened to the Murdaugh family once the cameras stopped rolling? Did you want to know if the Murdaugh family's victims get justice in the court of law? You're not alone: the search term "Murdaugh" has topped Google's trending search terms for a couple of days. Unfortunately, we may never get some of the answers about what happened on those fateful nights and the Alex Murdaugh trial is still ongoing; however, since the Netflix special completed filming, Alex has been charged with a new misdemeanor charge.
On February 24, 2023, Murdaugh was arrested on a misdemeanor warrant issued by the Colleton County Sheriff's Office, according to ABC 4 News. The details of the new misdemeanor charge are still not known.
The new charge came a day after he testified in his own trial. Murdaugh took the stand on February 23, stepping down after nearly 14 hours of testimony and cross-examination, during which Alex confessed to lying about his alibi on the night of the murders of his wife and son, Maggie and Paul Murdaugh. On the stand, the disgraced lawyer also confessed to extensive financial crimes, but he continued to deny any part in the killings of his kin.
Murdaugh said in his testimony that he lied about being at the kennels, the location of the double homicide, because of "paranoid thinking" that was due to his addiction to opioids, which was triggered when the police detectives started asking him about his relationship with his wife and son.
Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal
The Netflix true crime special, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, is the story of the Murdaugh family, one of South Carolina's most prominent families. However, after the death of teenager Mallory Beach in a drunken boating accident, the family's dark secrets started to come out. When Paul – the alleged driver of the boat – and his mother, Maggie, are found brutally murdered, a century of corruption, power, and cover-ups in the Low Country is brought to light. The three-part series featured first-hand accounts from those on the boat that night, including: Paul's longtime girlfriend, Morgan Doughty; Mallory's childhood friends, Miley Altman and Connor Cook; and her boyfriend, Anthony Cook.
In the Netflix special, the families of the victims open up about wanting justice after all of these years – and it appears that speaking out may be working. On January 24, 2023, ABC 4 News reported that a South Carolina judge had approved a settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit following the Murdaugh boat crash. The outlet reported, "As part of the agreement, Alex and Maggie Murdaugh's surviving son, Buster Murdaugh, will receive a half-million dollar share of his mother Maggie's estate. The rest will be divided among the other boat crash survivors and other legal fees. The value of Maggie Murdaugh's estate has been estimated as worth several million dollars."
The Netflix special wasn't the only true crime documentary putting pressure on the notorious South Carolina family. HBOMax also put out a documentary in 2022, Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty.