I know I can’t be the only one who’s had the new Netflix documentary about the Murdaugh family dominating my For You Page lately. Being a true crime lover, I decided to do some digging into who this Murdaugh family is and why their crimes were attracting so much attention. I did some research (which I would definitely recommend doing) and found that in summary, they were the “it” family of a small town in South Carolina. Their family came from a long line of lawyers and basically, they controlled everyone and everything in town. The investigation is ongoing, but as the Netflix documentary points out, the family is responsible for five deaths. With this basic info, I started the series with the hope of getting some answers to how one seemingly normal family committed and concealed so many terrible crimes.
The documentary split into three episodes. The first episode mainly focused on the youngest child of the family Paul, and the boating accident he caused that led to a young girl named Mallory being killed. Typical of other Netflix documentary series, many Snapchat videos, Instagram pictures, and interviews with the friends and family of Paul and Mallory were included in the episode. This episode was definitely a heavy watch. The inclusion of so many interviews made me feel like I knew Mallory, and being around her age, I could see her even being one of my friends.
As the episodes continue, the shift turns from the series primarily being focused on Paul Murdaugh to a focus on his father Alex Murdaugh. Throughout the whole series, Alex is referenced as a man who always makes his children’s mistakes “disappear.” We quickly see the Murdaugh family’s criminal profile growing as their involvement in nearly every crime in the small town of Hampton, SC is revealed.
I’m a huge lover of Netflix documentaries and “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal,” was no exception. The series did a great job interviewing and including footage of so many different people involved with the family. From lawyers and groundskeepers to engineers involved in the case, the producers crafted an image of who the family was and how the other people of the town viewed and feared them. Don’t be expected to be left with answers at the end of the series though. Since the investigation is ongoing, Netflix ended the series with a screen of updates, but not many definite charges have been made.
If you love true crime as much as I do, or are just looking for a short new series to watch “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal,” may be for you. The series was well-paced, engaging, and accompanied by so many witness accounts by the end of it you’ll feel like you live in the town yourself. I definitely recommend giving the series a shot and looking up the astonishing crimes of the Murdaugh family for yourself.