Alex Murdaugh’s rise and fall spotlighted in Hulu miniseries

(NewsNation) — It’s been two years since the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, and now the saga leading up to the verdict is getting the spotlight.

Hulu’s “Murdaugh: Death In the Family” takes viewers back in time to show the disbarred lawyer rise to become one of the most powerful legal figures in South Carolina before he was convicted for the murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul.

“It is one of the most out-there, devastating, wild cases about unchecked power and privilege that you’ve ever seen,” said series co-creator Erin Lee Carr. “And is incredibly significant as it relates today.”

According to court documents, Maggie Murdaugh was shot multiple times, including in the back of the head while she was facedown on the ground. Paul Murdaugh, 22, was killed with a shotgun. Both were killed on the family’s hunting estate in June 2021.

The Murdaugh family reportedly has ties to three other death investigations: a deadly boating accident in 2019, the mysterious 2018 death of their housekeeper and a 2015 fatal hit-and-run.

What is the timeline of events in Murdaugh family saga?

The show’s timeline chronicles the Mardaugh family saga, beginning in 2019 when Paul Murdaugh’s friend Mallory Beach was killed after he was driving a boat while intoxicated.

Paul Murdaugh slammed the boat into a bridge, launching Beach overboard while others — Morgan Doughty, Anthony Cook, Connor Cook and Miley Altman — were injured. He was charged months later with one count of boating under the influence causing death and two counts of boating under the influence causing great bodily injury.

While awaiting trial in his case, Paul Murdaugh and his mother were killed by Alex Murdaugh. Authorities reportedly thought Alex Murdaugh was a person of interest from the very beginning.

More than a year after his wife and son were killed, Alex Murdaugh was arrested and charged in their deaths.

What is fact vs. ficition in Murdaugh series?

The series does provide both real and fictionalized moments that occurred for Alex Murdaugh and his family.

The show documented Alex his father, Randolph Murdaugh III, going to the hospital to encourage the kids not to speak to authorities after the accident.

Despite Alex Murdaugh denying in a legal filing trying to influence Connor Cook, Cook said in a documentary two years ago that event did happen, mentioning Murdaugh whispered to him not to say anything, that he would take care of everything.

However, one part of the show that was dramatized was when the Murdaugh family vacationed to the Bahamas after the boat crash, where Paul gets into a drunken fight with a couple of British tourists.

The vacation never happened after the Murdaughs’ actions were heavily accounted for days after the crash.

Paul Murdaugh and then-girlfriend Morgan were in the Bahamas in 2017, according to two British tourists the couple befriended.

Another instance being fictionalized is when Paul is comforted by Gloria Satterfield, the Murdaughs’ housekeeper, after the crash.

Glorida Satterfield had been dead for a year when the accident occurred. She passed four weeks after being hospitalized for a fall at the Murdaughs’ home, according to Alex Murdaugh.

Alex Murdaugh told authorities that she tripped over the family dogs and fell down the outside steps.

What were the financial crimes committed by Alex Murdaugh?

Alex Murdaugh was involved in nearly 100 counts of financial criminal activity, totaling approximately $10 million over a period of about a decade.

He was also ordered to pay Nautilus Insurance $14.8 million for an insurance scheme involving the family of his former housekeeper.

In addition, Murdaugh was found guilty of stealing money from his law firm and clients in South Carolina state court and was sentenced to 27 years in prison.