Paul Murdaugh

The family is descended from Lazurus Brown Murdaugh, who was born in Nansemond County in the British Colony of Virginia in 1774 and later moved to South Carolina.

Randolph Murdaugh Sr. was born in Varnville in 1887, the youngest son of Josiah Putnam Murdaugh II, a wealthy Lowcountry businessman, and Annie Marvin Murdaugh (Davis).

His maternal grandfather, Joseph W. Davis, was a cousin of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

In 1910, Randolph Murdaugh Sr. founded the civil litigation firm that is now The Parker Law Group in Hampton, South Carolina, which now specializes in personal injury litigation.

Richard "Alex" Murdaugh and other members of the Murdaugh family have been the subject of investigations involving murder, wrongful death, corruption, fraud, witness intimidation, theft and drug and alcohol-related charges.

Randolph Sr. attended the United States Naval Academy and graduated from the University of South Carolina (USC) law school in 1910.

After graduation, he founded a one-man law firm in Hampton, South Carolina, 78 miles west of Charleston, and ran a local daily newspaper called The Hampton County Herald.

He married Etta Causey Harvey in 1914 and they had two sons together, Randolph “Buster” Murdaugh Jr. and John Glen “Johnny” Murdaugh.

Three generations named Randolph Murdaugh served consecutively as circuit solicitor (the elected prosecuting attorney) for the state's 14th judicial district between 1920 and 2006; the family's status led locals to call the five-county district "Murdaugh Country".

From 1920 to 2006, three members of the Murdaugh family served as the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th circuit solicitors for the five-county area of South Carolina's Lowcountry region within the 14th Judicial district; the Murdaugh's influence in the area led to it being colloquially known as "Murdaugh Country."

In South Carolina, the solicitor, analogous to the district attorney in other U.S. jurisdictions, is in charge of prosecuting all criminal cases in the jurisdiction.

In 1920 Randolph Sr. became solicitor in the 14th judicial circuit.

The Murdaugh family was one of South Carolina's most prominent legal families for nearly a century and were featured in the cover story for a 1989 issue of Carolina Lawyer magazine.

Because of the family's decades-long control of the office of solicitor, they wielded enormous judicial and political power for almost a century.

PMPED built its success in the early 2000s due to a state law that made it easier for plaintiffs to forum shop.

The law permitted South Carolina residents "to file a suit in any county in which an out-of-state company own[ed] property and conduct[ed] business—regardless of where an accident took place."

In Hampton County, trial judges generally avoided transferring cases, and plaintiffs' attorneys had a reputation for abusing subpoena power.

Reforms enacted in 2005 by both the state supreme court and state legislature changed South Carolina's corporate venue law, ending plaintiffs' ability to easily forum shop in Hampton County.

PMPED changed its name to The Parker Law Group in 2022 shortly before Alex Murdaugh's murder trial.

The Murdaugh family hunting estate was called Moselle.

It was the location where Alex Murdaugh murdered his wife and son.

After the convictions of Alex Murdaugh, it was partitioned into two sections: the house and about 20 acres of land; and the rest of the property which consisted primarily of woodland.

The woodland section was sold in 2023 for about $4 million.

The house and 20 acres was sold in 2024 for $1 million to a buyer who planned to run a horse farm.

The house includes a cottage with a game room, and dog kennels.

The 14th circuit district oversees Allendale, Colleton, Hampton, Beaufort, and Jasper counties.

It is the only judicial circuit in the state to cover five counties.

According to columnist Kathleen Parker, jurisdiction of the 14th circuit district was known as "Murdaugh Country", where the justice system of the 14th circuit district was regarded as rigged and local attorneys would make a motion to settle a case rather than go to trial there.

This legal climate led to the 14th circuit district being named the third worst "judicial hellhole for defendants" by the American Tort Reform Association.

Because of PMPED's success in suing CSX Transportation, the county was known as a "site of pilgrimage" for those with personal injury lawsuits against railroads; PMPED's offices became known locally as "the house that CSX built".

Due to the firm's activities, doing business in Hampton County became a legal liability, resulting in the county losing potential employers.

The Murdaugh family was an affluent American family that has lived in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina since the 18th century.

In 2019 Alex's son, Paul Murdaugh, was charged with three felony counts relating to a fatal boating accident, with later allegations of special treatment.

In June 2021, Paul and Alex's wife Maggie were shot and killed on the grounds of "Moselle," the Murdaugh hunting estate.

Alex was subsequently charged with their murders.

He was also accused of embezzlement from his law firm and resigned in September 2021.

After being incarcerated since October 2021, Alex Murdaugh's murder trial began in January 2023 and ended in March 2023, with Alex being found guilty of murdering his wife and son and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole.

The case generated extensive media coverage, including the Netflix series Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal.

After several Murdaugh family members were implicated in a fatal boating accident in 2019, and after two family members were murdered in a double homicide in 2021, the family's influence on the local judicial system was scrutinized.

The Murdaugh family law firm, formerly known as Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick (PMPED), specialized in personal injury litigation.