A wealthy teenager from a powerful South Carolina family was drunk and behind the wheel of a boat carrying five of his friends in the winter of 2019. The boat slammed into a bridge in the middle of the night, killing a 19-year-old woman who was on board.

Somehow, the saga of the Murdaugh family only gets more twisted and complex after that point.

By the time Erin Lee Carr and Michael D. Fuller met in October 2021 to discuss dramatizing the Murdaugh family's story, that teen who crashed the boat years earlier had been brutally murdered.

Paul Murdaugh and his mother, Maggie, were killed in June 2021 at their family home. The investigation into their murders, which led to the conviction of the family's patriarch, Alex, shed light on a host of mysteries surrounding the family.

The chilling saga was covered extensively through a flurry of daily news stories and eventually in documentaries and a Lifetime movie. There were also several podcasts made about the case, but none more prolific than the "Murdaugh Murders Podcast" from journalist Mandy Matney, which boasts more than 90 episodes and serves as the source material for Hulu's new miniseries, "Murdaugh: Death in the Family."

While many people know (or think they know) all the twists and turns of the case, Fuller, who co-created "Murdaugh" with Carr and is the showrunner, says the series aims to fill in the gaps of what we don't know about the Murdaughs — the "emotional truth" behind who they were and are.

The Murdaughs in the series — depicted by Jason Clarke (Alex) Patricia Arquette (Maggie), Johnny Berchtold (Paul) and Will Harrison (Buster) — will feel both "incredibly, intimately familiar," but also "completely foreign" to viewers, Fuller said.

"The heart of the show is that these are, were real people. They were a real family. They weren't black mustache-twirling evil villains. They weren't white knighted, incredibly heroic individuals," he continued. "They were people, and they made choices, good and bad, and in that way, there's something very relatable for everyone."

The first three episodes of "Murdaugh: Death in the Family" premiered Wednesday on Hulu and episodes will be released weekly through the finale on Nov. 19.

For those who are unfamiliar with the family's story, Carr says, "Welcome to the Murdaughs, man."

"It is one of the most out-there, devastating, wild cases about unchecked power and privilege that you've ever seen, and is incredibly significant as it relates today," she said.

To guide your viewing of the series, here are the key players you should know and a timeline of the crimes and events surrounding the Murdaugh family.

The Murdaugh family and other key people

Alex Murdaugh

Richard Alexander Murdaugh came up in a prominent family, both in the legal and social realms of Hampton County, South Carolina. He attended the University of South Carolina and graduated from its law school, just like his father. Three generations of Murdaugh men served as the circuit solicitor, the South Carolina equivalent of a district attorney, for a region spanning five counties in the state. Randolph Murdaugh Sr. was the first in the family to assume the role in 1920. The family held such power in the region that many locals called the district "Murdaugh Country."

Alex was a respected personal injury attorney before being convicted of the murders of his wife Maggie and youngest son Paul in 2023. He will spend the rest of his life in prison for the killings but maintains his innocence and is currently appealing his conviction. He also admitted to committing a slew of financial crimes, for which he was cumulatively sentenced to more than 60 additional years in prison.

The family law firm he previously worked for, Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick, was renamed the Parker Law Group. Alex's older brother, Randolph "Randy" Murdaugh IV, still works at the firm.

Maggie Murdaugh

Margaret Kennedy Branstetter Murdaugh, who went by Maggie, was mother to sons Paul and Buster. She met her husband Alex when she was a student at the University of South Carolina in 1991, and they married in 1993.

She was 52 when she and Paul were shot and killed in 2021 at the family's hunting property in Colleton County. Alex and Maggie were reportedly living separately at the time of her death.

Paul Murdaugh

Paul Terry Murdaugh was born on April 14, 1999, to Alex and Maggie. He grew up with a love of the outdoors and enjoyed hunting alongside his father and older brother. He was 22 and in his junior year at the University of South Carolina when he was killed.

Paul reportedly abused alcohol as a teenager and young adult, and his friends have said they called his intoxicated alter ego "Timmy" because his behavior changed significantly when he was drinking. In February 2019, Paul was accused of being behind the wheel of his family's boat while drunk, crashing the boat into a bridge in the early hours of the morning. There were five other people on board with Paul, and one passenger, 19-year-old Mallory Beach, was killed in the crash.

Paul, who was also 19 at the time, had a blood-alcohol level three times over the legal limit when he was hospitalized after the crash. He was charged with felony boating under the influence two months later. He was murdered alongside his mother in 2021 before the trial for the charges he faced in connection with the crash could begin.

Buster Murdaugh

Born Richard Alexander Murdaugh Jr., the eldest Murdaugh son went by "Buster." He attended Wofford College for his undergraduate studies and went on to study law at his parents' alma mater, the University of South Carolina. By the spring of 2021, Buster had been kicked out of law school, reportedly for low grades and plagiarism.

Following the deaths of his mother and brother, Buster surfaced in news reports after increased interest in the family unearthed a loose connection between him and a man named Stephen Smith, a former classmate who was killed in 2015. Rumors of an intimate relationship between Smith and Buster, and of the Murdaughs' involvement in his death, swirled, but Buster denied the allegations.

When his father was on trial for the murders of Paul and Maggie, Buster testified as a witness for the defense, saying that his father's behavior on the night of the killings and the following weeks was not abnormal. He also said Alex was "heartbroken" on the night they died.

Buster married his longtime girlfriend Brooklynn White in May 2025. His wife is an attorney, but Buster never returned to law school.

Randolph Murdaugh III

Randolph Murdaugh III was Alex's father and one of the men who established the Murdaugh family's legal prominence. Like his father and grandfather, Randolph served as the solicitor of the 14th judicial circuit in South Carolina, which serves Allendale, Colleton, Hampton, Beaufort and Jasper counties. In addition to Alex, Randolph had three other children with wife Elizabeth "Libby" Alexander Murdaugh: Lynn Goettee, Randolph Murdaugh IV and John Marvin Murdaugh. The couple had 10 grandchildren.

When Paul got into the boat crash in 2019, Randolph was his first call. A year earlier, Randolph was honored with the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor awarded by the governor of South Carolina. A testament to his influence, the award recognizes lifetime achievements and contributions to the state.

He died in June 2021 after a long period of health problems — three days after Paul and Maggie were murdered.

Mallory Beach and her family

Beach was a teenager from South Carolina who was described by friends and family as a loving young woman with dreams of becoming an interior designer. She and her boyfriend, Anthony Cook, were friends with Paul, and in February 2019 the couple boarded the Murdaugh family boat with a few other friends before it crashed into a bridge in Beaufort, South Carolina.

Beach's body was missing after the crash and was recovered about a week later. Her family brought a wrongful death lawsuit against the Murdaughs, which eventually cracked open inquiries into Alex's finances. The family later settled with Maggie's estate and Buster in 2023 for an undisclosed amount. They were brought into the case because Paul used Maggie's credit card and Buster's ID to buy alcohol. The Beach family also reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the convenience store chain where Paul purchased the alcohol, and in 2024, Alex's insurance company agreed to pay the family $500,000.

Gloria Satterfield

Satterfield was the Murdaugh's longtime housekeeper and nanny, who had a maternal-like relationship with Paul and Buster. She was the widow of David Michael Satterfield and had two sons, Michael "Tony" Satterfield and Brian Harriott.

In February 2018, Satterfield allegedly tripped and fell at the Murdaugh's home and was hospitalized for weeks before she died at 57. Alex and Maggie were mentioned by name in Satterfield's obituary as "those she loved as her family."

When the cause of Satterfield's death was being investigated, Murdaugh claimed Satterfield tripped over the family's dogs, causing her to fall and hit her head, and he encouraged her two sons to bring a wrongful death claim against him. Murdaugh introduced Satterfield's sons to Cory Fleming, a fellow lawyer, who represented them in the case and schemed with Murdaugh to collect on his homeowner's insurance policies. The settlement was reportedly more than $4 million, none of which Satterfield's sons saw.

Fleming was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for his involvement in the scheme and Murdaugh admitted to orchestrating the plot and intercepting the insurance payout meant for Satterfield's family, depositing the money directly into his personal account. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison for that crime, plus a slew of other financial crimes he pleaded guilty to in 2023.

Stephen Smith

Smith was born in Lexington County, South Carolina, and attended Wade Hampton High School, where he was classmates with Buster Murdaugh, graduating in 2014. He was found dead on a rural road in Hampton County in July 2015, and his death was initially ruled as a hit and run.

In 2021, South Carolina law enforcement reopened Smith's case based on leads uncovered in the Murdaugh double homicide investigation. The Murdaugh name was mentioned over 40 times throughout the course of the investigation, according to a report from FITSNews, a local outlet. Detectives reportedly looked at Buster as a possible person of interest in the case, who was rumored to have been romantically involved with Smith, but the connection was never proved and Buster was never named a suspect.

An abridged timeline of the real-life events

July 8, 2015 — Stephen Smith is killed

Smith's body was found in the middle of a road and had wounds consistent with blunt force trauma to the head. There was little physical evidence suggesting a car accident had been the cause of his death — neither skid marks, tire impressions, broken glass nor plastic fragments were found at the scene, and there was no damage to the lower half of Smith's body. Still, a medical examiner initially ruled Smith's death the result of a hit-and-run.

Feb. 26, 2018 — Gloria Satterfield dies

Satterfield died weeks after she allegedly tripped and fell at the Murdaugh's family home on Feb. 2. There were several conflicting reports about the details of the accident, but in 2023 Alex admitted to lying about his dogs causing Satterfield's fall as a part of his scheme to force his insurers to make a settlement payment.

Feb. 24, 2019 — Mallory Beach killed in boat accident

After a night of heavy drinking, Paul got behind the wheel of his family's boat with his girlfriend, Morgan Doughty, Beach, Anthony Cook, Connor Cook and Miley Altman. Around 2:20 a.m., the boat crashed into the Archers Creek Bridge. Beach was ejected from the boat and the other passengers were injured.

April 18, 2019 — Paul charged in boat crash case

Paul was charged with three felony counts: one count of boating under the influence causing death and two counts of boating under the influence causing great bodily injury. Surveillance cameras captured Paul buying alcohol at a local convenience store on the day of the crash, using Buster's ID and Maggie's credit card for the transaction before getting behind the wheel of his father's boat.

Paul pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were ultimately dropped after his death.

June 7, 2021 — Paul and Maggie Murdaugh are killed

Around 10 p.m., Alex called 911 and said his wife and son had been shot at the family's isolated hunting property in Islandton off of Moselle Road. Paul was shot twice and Maggie was shot five times, and two different guns were used in the killings. Authorities later placed the time of Paul and Maggie's deaths between 9 and 9:30 p.m.

June 22, 2021 — Law enforcement reopen Smith's case

Based on information state officials gathered during investigations into the Murdaughs' murders, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division announced it would be reopening the investigation into Smith's death, which went cold within a year after his 2015 death. The case remains unsolved.

Sept. 3, 2021 — Alex resigns from family law firm

Alex resigned after pressure from his firm once they uncovered his financial misdeeds. Days later, on Sept. 6, Alex said in a statement that he "made a lot of decisions that I truly regret" and that he was entering a drug rehabilitation facility to fight an addiction that he had been dealing with for a long time, which had been exacerbated by the murders. "I am immensely sorry to everyone I've hurt, including my family, friends and colleagues," he wrote.

The same day Alex released his statement, his former law firm said he resigned after they discovered he had been misappropriating money.

Sept. 4, 2021 — Alex says he was shot in the head

Alex called 911 and reported he was shot on a road in Hampton County while he was pulled over with a flat tire. He was hospitalized with a "superficial" head wound, according to local authorities, and was expected to make a full recovery.

Less than two weeks later, Alex admitted he had paid a man, who was reportedly a former client and allegedly his drug dealer, in a failed suicide-for-hire plot. Alex had hoped his surviving son, Buster, could benefit from a $10 million life insurance payout. Curtis Edward "Eddie" Smith was arrested and charged with assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.

Sept. 16, 2021 — Alex surrenders to authorities for financial crimes

Alex turned himself in to be arrested and charged in relation to the insurance fraud plot. He was granted bond but ordered to surrender his passport before he entered a drug rehabilitation facility.

Oct. 14, 2021 — Alex is arrested after rehab release

Law enforcement arrested Alex at a rehab facility in Florida for charges related to alleged misappropriated settlement funds in Satterfield's case. He was denied bond.

July 14, 2022 — Alex is indicted on double murder charges

A grand jury indicted Alex on murder charges for the deaths of Maggie and Paul. He pleaded not guilty at a hearing days later.

Jan. 23, 2023 — Alex's trial begins

Jury selection kicked off for Alex's trial on the homicide charges, which took place at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina. The trial was televised, drawing a wide audience to the case that had already captured national and international attention.

March 2, 2023 — Alex is convicted of murders of Paul and Maggie

The jury reached a verdict after just three hours of deliberation. He was found guilty of murdering his wife and son, and he was also found guilty of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

The next day, a judge sentenced him to serve two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. Alex's attorneys filed a notice of appeal for his convictions and sentences a week after he received the guilty verdicts.

Sept. 5, 2023 — Alex's lawyers file motion for a new trial

In their request for a new trial in the murder charges against Alex, his legal team alleged a court clerk "tampered with the jury," advising them "not to believe Murdaugh's testimony and other evidence presented by the defense," and had other questionable behaviors.

Nov. 28, 2023 — Alex gets state prison sentence for financial crimes

Alex was sentenced to 27 years in prison in a plea deal in which he admitted to committing financial crimes. Victims of Alex's crimes addressed him before the sentencing, and Alex apologized to his family and his victims.

Jan. 29, 2024 — Judge denies Alex's bid for new trial

The court clerk Alex's legal team claimed had tampered with the jury denied that she had ever spoken about Murdaugh or the case with jurors. The judge presiding over the case said she didn't necessarily believe the clerk, but said all 12 jurors who testified said any comments she made did not directly influence their decision to find Alex guilty.

The clerk resigned two months later, but her attorney said it was unrelated to the Murdaugh case.

April 1, 2024 — Alex gets additional sentence for federal financial crimes

After pleading guilty to 22 federal financial crimes (including bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering) in September 2023, Alex was sentenced to an additional 40 years in prison. These crimes included his scheme to profit off of the insurance settlement in relation to Satterfield's death. This sentence is being served concurrently with the sentence for the murders of Maggie and Paul.

Dec. 10, 2024 — Alex's lawyers officially appeal murder conviction

Alex's team filed the long-anticipated appeal of his convictions, arguing there were errors during his trial that prejudiced the jury in his case.

Aug. 8, 2025 — State responds to Alex's appeal, says he's 'obviously guilty'

After requesting more time to review the appeal, which reached the South Carolina Supreme Court, the state attorney general's office responded by arguing that the jury found Murdaugh guilty based on the "overwhelming" evidence, not because of potential jury tampering.

Alex's legal team responded to the state's filing about a month later by maintaining their arguments and saying Alex was denied "any semblance" of a fair trial.

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