A boat crash near Parris Island killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach, and three felony charges were filed against Paul Murdaugh of Hampton, who was 20 at the time and identified as the boat’s driver.
After the crash, the community watched for developments in the looming criminal trial and the lawsuit filed by Beach’s mother.
On June 7, Paul Murdaugh, 22, and his mother, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, were found shot to death outside their Colleton County home, returning national attention to the family and the boat crash.
What’s happened in the 2 1/2 years since Beach’s death?
Here is the timeline:
▪ Feb. 23, 2019, around 7 p.m.: Six friends between the ages of 18 and 20, including Murdaugh and Beach, launch a 17-foot Sea Hunt boat from the dock off property owned by the Murdaugh family known as “The Island” on Chechessee Creek. In the next few hours, the group makes multiple stops, including at an oyster roast on Paukie Island and at Beaufort’s Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park. Court documents say the friends drank alcohol through the night.
Feb. 24, 2019: The day of the crash
▪ Minutes before 2:30 a.m.: The speeding boat — driven by Murdaugh, according to charges filed nearly two months later — crashes into a piling by the bridge over Archers Creek near Parris Island. All six passengers are ejected. A horrific scene ensues. One friend calls 911 while screaming for Beach; another jumps back into the water to search for her as others sit nearby, crying in pain from their injuries.
▪ 2:40 a.m.: Police begin arriving at the crash scene after confusion with the 911 dispatcher about where the incident occurred. Thick fog makes it hard to see, even with flashlights. The search for Beach continues as an investigation into what caused the crash begins.
▪ 3:19 a.m.: An ambulance transports three patients, including Murdaugh, to the hospital. One police report says Murdaugh was acting uncooperative and “almost aggressive” toward EMS personnel. By the time an S.C. Department of Natural Resources officer arrives, Murdaugh’s father and grandfather have shown up, telling the officers they are lawyers, officials later tell a reporter from The State. The Murdaughs stop all interviews and prevent sobriety tests.
Pictured is R.C. Berkeley Bridge as seen on Friday, Feb. 21, 2020, that connects the mainland of Beaufort County to Parris Island, carrying vehicles over Archers Creek. According to police reports, a boat carrying a group of intoxicated young adults in the early morning hours of Jan. 24, 2019, with heavy fog, struck the pilings of the narrow opening that killed Mallory Beach, 19, after she was thrown from the boat. Drew Martin dmartin@islandpacket.com
▪ 4:50 a.m.: Confusion continues. Beach is still missing. “Can someone tell me when this accident actually occurred?” a man with Beaufort Water Search and Rescue asks Beaufort County Dispatch. “We are getting conflicted stories here. I would like to talk to whoever called in so we can see exactly where the boat hit and where she flew out so we can search the area better.”
▪ Around noon: The Island Packet publishes a story about the crash as more than 20 of Beach’s family members and friends sit on the causeway near the base of the R.C. Berkeley Bridge. Boats, divers and helicopters from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies continue searching.
▪ 6 p.m.: The first day of searching for Beach halts at nightfall.
Family members of Mallory Beach waited near Archers Creek as crews continued to search for the teen on Monday afternoon, who went missing following an early morning boat crash on Sunday. Ashley Jean Reese The Beaufort Gazette
▪ Feb. 25 to March 2: The search for Beach continues daily.
Mallory Beach, 19, died in a tragic boat accident in Beaufort. Hundreds attended her funeral in Hampton, S.C., on March 7, 2019. Cody Dulaney
The aftermath
▪ March 7, 2019: More than 500 people gather at the Open Arms Fellowship Church in Hampton for Beach’s funeral. “She went early; she went young; she loved her family; she loved her friends; she loved her rescued pets,” the Rev. Nelson Foster says. “I’m blown away by the legacy this teen woman leaves behind.”
▪ March 2019: Beach’s mother, Renee, files a wrongful death suit on her daughter’s behalf in Hampton County. Multiple defendants are named, including members of the Murdaugh family, but not Paul, and Parkers 55, a convenience store where Renee Beach alleges the minors obtained alcohol the night before the early-morning crash.
▪ April 18, 2019: On what would have been Beach’s 20th birthday, a Beaufort County grand jury directly indicts Paul Murdaugh on three felony criminal charges: one boating under the influence causing death and two counts of boating under the influence causing injury.
Paul Terry Murdaugh prepares to leave the Beaufort County Courthouse in July 2019 after having his bond modified for the three felony charges he faces for the Feb. 24 boat crash which killed Mallory Beach. Murdaugh’s defense attorney Jim Griffin asked judge Michael G. Nettles to allow Murdaugh to travel within the state. Nettles ruled that Murdaugh may travel within the state with no other modifications. The state had asked for GPS monitoring as well as alcohol monitoring which was not a condition set by Nettles. Drew Martin Island Packet file photo
▪ July 29, 2019: Murdaugh’s bond is modified to allow him to travel more freely throughout the state. A trial date was never set.
▪ Sept. 30, 2019:Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance files suit in federal court, asking the court to relieve the company of financial responsibilities for any claims by Paul Murdaugh’s father and brother. Renee Beach also is named in the suit.
▪ Feb. 24, 2020: On the first anniversary of the fatal crash, family and friends at Beach’s grave in Hampton leave fresh flowers, balloons, memorial stones and photos, among other things. A large patch of grass beside the R.C. Berkeley Bridge is still matted where the boat was pulled ashore.
Pictured is a framed photo of Mallory Beach with her boyfriend, Anthony Cook, memorial stones and red roses set out for Valentines Day as seen at her gravesite on Friday, Feb. 21, 2020, in Sandy Run Cemetery near Varnville in Hampton County, South Carolina. Beach, 19, was killed in a boat accident in Archers Creek in Beaufort County on Feb. 24, 2020, when the boat she was in struck a bridge piling. Drew Martin dmartin@islandpacket.com
▪ Sept. 22, 2020: Mediation failed in the wrongful death lawsuit, according to Beach lawyer Mark Tinsley. A court document states mediation lasted 8 1/2 hours before reaching an impasse among lawyers for Beach, the Murdaughs, and Parkers 55. The case appears headed for trial.
▪ Jan. 8, 2021: New documents filed in the insurance lawsuit: Alex Murdaugh argues that Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance should cover costs beyond the $500,000 limit for the boat insurance taken out before the fatal crash. Murdaugh contends the “Umbrella Policy” should cover damages that come out of the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Renee Beach.
▪ June 4, 2021: More documents added to Renee Beach’s lawsuit. Hearings were scheduled for June 10, according to Tinsley, to address several motions: one by Parker’s to move the location of the civil trial from Hampton County to Beaufort County, two others by Parker’s to argue against deposing its CEO and to apply maritime law, and two from Tinsley to require Parker’s to produce evidence. Those hearings didn’t happen.
Murdaugh deaths
▪ June 7, 2021: Paul Murdaugh and his mother, Maggie, are shot to death outside their Colleton County home between 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., according to the coroner. Alex Murdaugh, Paul’s father and Maggie’s husband, called 911, saying he discovered the bodies.
▪ June 8, 2021:News of the shocking deaths in the prominent legal family spreads throughout South Carolina and the nation. Questions and conspiracies abound. As for the criminal charges against Paul Murdaugh, an S.C. Attorney General spokesperson said, “We obviously cannot proceed with the prosecution, so once we have a death certificate or other acceptable proof, we’ll officially dismiss the charges.”
The latest:
▪ June 15, 2021: The Island Packet reports that Paul Murdaugh had two brushes with the law while he was out on bond. Both incidents were near Charleston. In May 2020, he received a ticket for driving more than 15 mph over the speed limit. Less than a year later in March 2021, he was ticketed for boating with an expired fire extinguisher.
▪ June 18, 2021: Days after the Beach family’s attorney, Mark Tinsley, said police improperly investigated the crash, the state Attorney General’s Office tells The Island Packet that it openws an investigation earlier this year into how police handled the boat crash investigation. A state grand jury, which operates under the authority of the AG’s office, is now looking into the investigation, a source with knowledge of the situation has said. The source also said the state grand jury is specifically examining whether there was obstruction of justice.
▪ July 7, 2021: Hundreds of pages of new documents stemming from the 2019 boat crash are filed in Richland County. They reveal discrepancies in testimony, arguments among boat passengers and failure to collect evidence that could be critical in understanding what happened that night and who was responsible.
Lana Ferguson typically covers stories in northern Beaufort County, Jasper County and Hampton County. She joined The Island Packet & Beaufort Gazette in 2018 as a crime/breaking news reporter. Before coming to the Lowcountry, she worked for publications in her home state of Virginia and graduated from the University of Mississippi, where she was editor-in-chief of the daily student newspaper. Lana was also a fellow at the University of South Carolina’s Media Law School in 2019.Support my work with a digital subscription
