Alex Murdaugh.Photo:Grace Beahm Alford/The Post And Courier via AP
Grace Beahm Alford/The Post And Courier via AP
Almost half of convicted murdererAlex Murdaugh’s remaining assets will be disbursed to the victims of the deadly 2019 boat accident that killedMallory Beach.
A court order issued on Feb. 5 allocated 29 percent of the funds to go to Mallory’s family in particular, according to thePost and Courier. Mallory was killed when the boat she was riding in crashed into a bridge piling. Murdaugh’s son, Paul, was allegedly driving the boat under the influence when it crashed and was later charged.
“From the Beach’s perspective, it really was never about the money,” says Beach family attorney Mark Tinsley. “It was all about accountability and precedent, and making an example in the hopes that before someone allows their kid to live dangerously and drink and drive, and enables them to engage in this unlawful conduct, that somebody will take stock of what happened and that you can lose everything."
Tinsley added, “You can lose everything that you’ve got, all of your assets, because bad things happen when kids are allowed to drink and drive. And so, that’s the comfort that they find in this, not in the percentage that was awarded to them.”
Paul’s then-girlfriend, Morgan Doughty, who was also on the boat, will receive 11 percent, according to the court order. Miley Altman, another boat survivor, will receive 5 percent. In total, victims of the boat crash and their loved ones will receive 45 percent.
Mallory Beach.Mallory Madison Beach/Facebook
Mallory Madison Beach/Facebook
The money was garnered from the sale of some of Murdaugh’s properties and farm equipment as well as from a 401 (k) plan and totaled just under $1.8 million, per thePost and Courier.
Tinsley says Murdaugh’s assets were seized in Nov. 2021.
A well-known attorney in the South Carolina Lowcountry region, Murdaugh came into the national spotlight after he claimed to have come home on the night of June 7, 2021, to find his wife, Maggie, 52, and youngest son,Paul, 22, shot to death on the grounds of their hunting lodge.
Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.Maggie Murdaugh/ Facebook
Maggie Murdaugh/ Facebook
Paul was awaiting trial for the charges he was facing in connection with the deadly crash when he and his mother were killed.
In July 14, 2022, more than a year after Paul and Maggie’s deaths, Murdaugh was indicted for the murders.
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He was found guilty of the murders in March 2023 and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
In November,the disgraced lawyer pleaded guilty to 22 financial crimes, including wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud and other crimes, the South Carolina Attorney General’s office previously confirmed to PEOPLE.
source: people.com
