The Murdaugh family.
Their names have been in news for months, wrapped in murder and mystery.
The Murdaughs are members of a prominent S.C. legal family that first made regional headlines after Paul Murdaugh was involved in a February 2019 boat crash in Beaufort County that resulted in the death of Mallory Beach, 19, of Hampton County.
In June 2021, Paul, 22, and his mother, Margaret "Maggie" Murdaugh, 52, were found dead of multiple gunshot wounds.
According to the obituary prepared by the family, Margaret “Maggie” Kennedy Branstetter Murdaugh graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1991, where she met her husband, Alex.
Paul was a junior at the University of South Carolina.
Here's a general look at dates connected to the past few months of news out of Hampton County:
Timeline surrounding the Murdaugh Family
►June 7, 2021: On the night of June 7, prominent Lowcountry attorney Richard Alexander "Alex"Murdaugh found his wife and son shot at 4147Moselle Road, near Islandton.
Colleton County Coroner Richard Harveyreportedthat both victims were shot multiple timesand were found on the ground in front of the family's dog kennels.
► June 10:Randolph Murdaugh III,longtime 14th Circuit Solicitor, a member of the prominent Murdaugh family of Hampton County, and partner in one of the largest law firms in the South Carolina Lowcountry, diedafter suffering from extended health problemsat the age of 81.
► June 22:SLED announces that ithas "opened aninvestigation into the death of Stephen Smith based upon information gathered during the course of the double murder investigation of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh."
Read More:SLED opens its own investigation into death of Stephen Smith; possible Murdaugh connection
Related:SLED debunks rumors of buried vehicles found on property related to Murdaugh killings
►June 25: Alex Murdaugh and his surviving son, Buster, offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest or arrests and convictions.
► July 7:New court documents filedallege a civil conspiracy possibly connecting law enforcement and members of the Murdaugh family following the fatal 2019 boat crash in Beaufort County.
►Aug. 15:Current 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone recused himself from the homicide case and passed it on to the S.C. Attorney General's Office.
►Sept 6:The Hampton County Guardianreceived the following statement fromPeters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth and Detrick PA (PMPED) law firm in Hampton:
"On Friday, September 3, 2021, Alex Murdaugh resigned from the Law Firm. He is no longer associated with PMPED in any manner. His resignation came after the discovery by PMPED that Alex misappropriated funds in violation of PMPED standards and policies.
►Sept. 4: According to SLED, on Saturday, Sept. 4,at 1:34 p.m., Hampton County Central Dispatch received a 911 call from Alex Murdaugh, who reported that he had been shot in the head on Old Salkehatchie Road, a rural road near Varnville,S.C., in Hampton County.
►Sept. 6:Alex Murdaugh announced he was resigning from the family’s storied law firm and entering rehab. In a statement, he said Paul and Maggie’s murders caused “an incredibly difficult time” in his life.
“I have made a lot of decisions that I truly regret,” the statement continues. “I’m resigning from my law firm and entering rehab after a long battle that has been exacerbated by these murders. I am immensely sorry to everyone I’ve hurt including my family, friends and colleagues. I ask for prayers as I rehabilitate myself and my relationships.”
►Sept. 8:The eldest brother, Randolph "Randy" Murdaugh, IV, in the prominent Murdaugh family of Hampton County issued a statement:
"I was shocked, just as the rest of my PMPED family, to learn of my brother, Alex’s, drug addiction and stealing of money. I love my law firm family and also love Alex as my brother. While I will support him in his recovery, I do not support, condone, or excuse his conduct in stealing by manipulating his most trusted relationships."
►Sept. 8: The S.C. Supreme Court published an order on Appellate Case No. 2021-000974, in the Matter of Richard Alexander Murdaugh, Respondent, which temporarily suspended Murdaugh's license to practice law following the allegations by the PMPED firm.
►Sept. 9:The family estate of a 19-year-old Hampton County woman who died in a 2019 boat crash has filed a new legal action involving Alex Murdaughand his surviving son, Richard Alexander "Buster" Murdaugh, Jr.
►Sept. 10:Alex Murdaugh's spokesperson issued a new statement with some more specific details on the Sept. 4 shooting, including that the gunshot wound was not self-inflicted.
More:SLED, HCSO release incident report on Alex Murdaugh shooting incident
►Sept. 13:SLED announced that it opened an investigation regarding Alex Murdaugh based upon allegations that he misappropriated funds in connection to his position as a former lawyer with the Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth, & Detrick (PMPED) law firm in Hampton, S.C.
►Sept. 14: State police sayAlex Murdaughtried to arrange his own death earlier this month so his son would get a $10 million life insurance payment, but the planned fatal shot only grazed his head
► Sept. 15:The death of Murdaugh's housekeeper Gloria Satterfield in 2018 has now sparked a criminal investigation and another civil suit against Murdaugh and other parties allegedly involved.
►Sept. 15:Friends remember homicide victim Maggie Murdaugh on her birthday
► Sept. 15:Alex Murdaugh is expected to turn himself into police Thursday, his attorney said.
► Sept. 16:Alex Murdaugh was arrested in Hampton County, according to S.C. State Police around noon on Thursday.
► Sept. 16:Alex Murdaugh was granted a $20,000 bond after being arrested in Hampton County.
► Oct. 4: Pending court approval, the sons of a former housekeeper to Alex Murdaugh will receive a multi-million dollar settlement they were initially entitled fromalawsuit filed after the woman's death in 2018, according to attorneys now representing the family.
► Oct. 6:Court documents allegeAlex Murdaugh was responsible for diverting more than $3.5million in wrongful death lawsuit settlement funds away from the heirs of hisdeceased housekeeper to fraudulent accounts he created.
► Oct. 14:Alex Murdaugh was arrested on felony charges tied to theinsurance proceeds from the death of his family's former housekeeper.
► Oct. 15:Medical notes from Memorial Health in Savannah, Georgia, sent to The Greenville News, show that Alex Murdaughsufferedgunshot wounds and a skull fracture in an alleged suicide-for-hire schemeon Sept. 4.
► Oct. 19:Alex Murdaugh was denied bondon two felony counts of obtaining property by false pretense and ordered to undergoa psychiatric evaluation before bond can be reconsidered.
► Oct. 22:The State Law Enforcement Division released audio recordings of the 911 calls from the Sept. 4 alleged botched suicide-for-hire-plot in which Alex Murdaugh and another man are facing criminalcharges.
► Oct. 25:The Murdaugh double homicideand subsequent saga has developed acultlike following on social media.
► Nov. 11:Multiple settlementsfrom numerous parties have been agreed upon for the heirs of Gloria Ann Satterfield, the Murdaugh housekeeper who died after an accident at the Murdaugh home in Colleton County, S.C.in 2018. In all, the family received more than $7 million in settlements from other parties - but not from Murdaugh.
► Nov. 17: Alex Murdaugh's attorneys are fighting to unfreeze his assets and to have his bond denial reconsidered.
► Nov. 18:Even as anothersettlement was announced, attorneys for AlexMurdaugh filed a motionto dismiss a lawsuit from the family of his late housekeeper, Gloria Ann Satterfield, whom he allegedly stole millions from ininsurance settlements.
► Nov. 19:S.C.Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that theState Grand Jury unsealed its first state-level indictments against Murdaugh. The five indictments totaled 27 criminal charges: four counts of breach of trust with fraudulent intent, seven counts of obtaining signature or property by false pretenses, seven counts of money laundering, eight counts of computer crimes and one count of forgery."This is Alex Murdaugh's version of Black Friday," Eric Bland, the vocal, high-energy attorney representing the Satterfields, told the press.
► Dec. 9:Wilson’s office announced that the State Grand Jury had issued seven more indictments consisting of 21 new charges against Murdaugh. These new indictments charged Murdaugh with nine counts of breach of trust with fraudulent Intent; seven counts of computer crimes; four counts of money laundering and one count of forgery.
► Dec. 13:During a virtual bondhearing, Murdaugh receiveda $7 million bond, and his attorneys read part of an apology to the Satterfield family, addingthat Murdaugh has agreed to sign a$4.3 million confession of judgment in their favor. For the first time, Murdaugh addressed the court at length:"I made a terrible decision that I regret, that I'm sorry for, and quite frankly I'm embarrassed about,"Murdaugh said, adding,"I want to repair as much of the damage as I can, and repair as many of the relationships as I can."
► Jan. 21, 2022:Wilson announced that the grand jury had issued four indictments consisting of 23 new charges: 19 more counts of breach of trust with fraudulent intent and four more counts of computer crimes. These allegations reflected much earlier criminal acts than before, going back to 2011.
► March 16:Other alleged conspirators began to go down with Murdaugh, as the State Grand Jury unsealed a new superseding indictment against Murdaugh and his best friend, fellow suspended Lowcountry attorney Cory Howerton Fleming. Both are charged with additional financial crimes in the Satterfield case.
► May4:More charges and more accomplices asState Grand Jury issued three more superseding indictments, which included financial crime charges against former Palmetto State Bank CEORussell Lucius,as well as more against Murdaugh and Fleming. The superseding indictments contained 21 charges against Laffitte, four new charges against Murdaugh, and five new charges against Fleming. Murdaugh is now accused of stealing more than $8.5 million.
► June 28:The first drug charges are levied in on Murdaugh, as theState Grand Jury unsealed indictments on Murdaugh and Curtis Edward Smith, charging them with criminal conspiracy and narcotics offenses. The joint indictments alleged that the two suspects used hundreds of illegaltransactions"to facilitate the acquisition and distribution of illegally obtained narcotics," Oxycodone, in amulti-county area.
►July 12: The S.C. Supreme Court issues an official order disbarring Murdaugh from the practice of law in South Carolina.
►July 12:John Marvin Murdaugh told The Greenville News that agents with SLED met with family members the morning of July 12 "as a courtesy" to inform them that they intended to charge Alex Murdaugh in connection with the double homicide ofMargaretBranstetter Murdaugh and Paul Terry Murdaugh.
►July 14:The Colleton County Grand Jury charged Alex Murdaugh with two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime in the deaths of his wife, Maggie, and his son, Paul.
