Alex Murdaugh, a former attorney and now convicted murderer, is soon to be questioned in the wrongful death case of Mallory Beach, a 19-year-old woman who was friends with his son, Paul Murdaugh, who died while aboard the family’s boat in 2019. Paul was operating the vehicle at the time.
According to Fox News, a judge issued an order for the South Carolina Department of Corrections “to make Defendant Alex Murdaugh available for a deposition” concerning the Beach case.
“A trial date in the family’s wrongful death lawsuit against the Murdaughs, a once prominent and influential legal dynasty, is set for Aug. 14, about four years after Beach’s family filed the case against the Murdaugh family in 2019,” the report added.
The basis for the lawsuit is from an incident that occurred on Feb. 23, 2019, when Alex’s son, Paul, along with five of his close friends, decided to take the family boat for a ride along the South Carolina coast. Prior to the excursion, Paul procured an ID from his old brother, Buster, and used it buy alcohol from a local convenience store, Parker’s Kitchen, which is also named in the lawsuit.
During the trip, Paul Murdaugh’s friends begged him to stop driving the boat, but the visibly drunk Paul refused to relinquish control of the vehicle. The teenagers eventually crashed into Archers Creek Bridge in Beaufort, which resulted in several of the passengers sustaining injuries.
Mallory Beach, who was located at the rear of the boat, was tossed into the water and went missing. Some boaters discovered her body near the crash site more than a week after she disappeared.
The convenience store named in the suit filed a motion earlier in the month, requesting that a summary judgment be granted that would toss the case out, making the argument that the “evidence shows that Mallory Beach, an adult, knowingly exposed herself to the risk of riding in a boat with the visibly drunk Paul Murdaugh on a dark, foggy night.”
“Even setting aside anyone’s intoxication, repeatedly getting back on the boat was plainly dangerous, given the dense fog, lack of flashlights or other boating lights, and the absence of life jackets,” the legal team explained. “Adding alcohol to this equation only amplified those obvious dangers. The Boaters, including Mallory Beach, chose to put their lives at risk by repeatedly getting on the boat that evening …”
Attorney Mark Tinsley, who is representing the Beach family in the lawsuit, spoke with Fox News Digital saying there’s “still a long way to go.”
“We’re hopeful that the attorney general’s office will continue to investigate the investigators involved in … the boat crash. We think that there were a number of things that happened there that are worthy of prosecution,” he stated.
Tinsley himself offered up testimony during the trial of Alex Murdaugh for the double murder of his wife and son, stating that Paul made use of his family’s power and influence in the South Carolina Lowcountry in order to get special treatment after the crash that took Mallory Beach’s life.
“The Beach family stood on a causeway for eight days while their daughter’s body was in the water,” Tinsley said in his testimony. “I don’t think there’s any amount of money someone would be willing to take to go through what they’ve gone through.”
The Beach family attorney then revealed that Alex Murdaugh came up to him in a bar while he was working as the legal representation for the Beach family and attempted to push him into backing off the case.
“There’s a lot of grumbling and shock that I’m actually going to hold Alex personally responsible,” Tinsley remarked.
“Prosecutors said the Beach lawsuit was a catalyst in Alex’s decision to murder his wife, Maggie, and Paul as it threatened to expose his other numerous financial crimes. The disgraced attorney is accused of embezzling millions from his family’s personal injury law firm and its clients,” Fox reported.
Tinsley has still not been granted access to Murdaugh’s financial records, including the family trust.
On March 2, Alex was found guilty of the double homicide of his wife and son. He was given a life sentence.
Featured image: Alex Murdaugh, via Facebook
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