Maggie and Paul’s bodies were first discovered on June 7, 2021, at the Murdaugh family’s hunting residence in Islandton, S.C. A SLED press release stated at the time that the mother-and-son duo died of multiple gunshot wounds.
That September, Murdaugh was shot in the head—though suffering a superficial wound—while changing a flat tire, his legal team initially told NBC News. Murdaugh, however, later submitted a written statement to police admitting that he had orchestrated his assassination plot. A family attorney also told the story. Today that the patriarch was struggling with an opioid addiction and had set up the hit so his surviving son Richard “Buster” Murdaugh Jr. would receive $10 million from his life insurance policy.
Shortly after checking into a rehab facility in Florida, Murdaugh was arrested in October 2021 and charged with two felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses in connection to a wrongful death lawsuit involving his late housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.
Murdaugh has since been extradited back to South Carolina, where he remains in jail.
For a deep dive into the mystery surrounding the Murdaugh family, click here.