‘Homicide and fraud’: Every shocking Murdaugh Murders update since Netflix’s series aired

When Netflix released Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal back in February, thousands of us were captivated by the story of the wealthy South Carolina family who had been linked to multiple deaths in Lowcountry, including the shooting of the Murdaugh’s matriarch Maggie and her son Paul in 2021.

And, although Murdaugh Murders briefly covers the trial of Alex Murdaugh, Maggie’s husband and Paul’s dad, who was charged with their murders, so much more has happened (both in and out of court) since the series ended. So, in case you still have questions, here are all the updates we have so far:

Stephen Smith’s body has been exhumed

In the second episode of Murdaugh Murders, the documentary details how the body of 19-year-old Stephen Smith was found in the middle of the road in South Carolina in July, 2015 – only 24 kilometres away from the Murdaugh’s house.

Although initially treated as a hit-and-run death, rumours in Lowcountry claimed Alex’s eldest son Buster Murdaugh had been involved in Stephen’s killing after they’d had an intimate relationship together – allegations he denied in a statement that claimed the rumours had “gone on far too long”.

This month, Stephen’s body was exhumed for a second time for an independent autopsy and the case is now being treated as a homicide. The autopsy results are yet to be released.

Buster Murdaugh is living with his lawyer girlfriend

Since the Netflix show about his family aired, Buster has been living in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina with his lawyer girlfriend Brooklynn White.

In February, Buster testified in his father’s trial as first witness (on his dad’s behalf) and, according to Law & Crime, hid his face while the judge described the gruesome details of Paul and Maggie’s shooting, which Buster’s father was found guilty of and received two consecutive life sentences.

Alec Murdaugh is in prison – and getting love letters

Alex Murdaugh was convicted of shooting his wife Maggie and youngest son Paul on their family estate in February. Paul was shot in the head twice, with the second hit almost entirely obliterating his brain. Meanwhile, Maggie was shot five times as she tried to run from her husband. Despite his crimes, prison documents have reported Alex has been receiving numerous love letters from fans in jail.

It was claimed in court that Alex killed Maggie and Paul in an attempt to cover up the fact he’d allegedly stolen more than $8m (£6.6m) from unsuspecting clients through the family law firm. Alex is still facing trial for 100 charges over the multi-million-dollar fraud scheme but will spend the rest of his life behind bars anyway because of the life sentences for killing his wife and son.

Cousin Eddie has been released on bond

Remember halfway through Murdaugh Murders when Alex randomly got shot in the head while driving home one night? Well, the guy behind the bizarre botched hitman job, Curtis ‘Cousin Eddie’ Smith, was released from prison and into house arrest this month on a $250,000 bond.

The judge basically said that Curtis had cooperated well with the authorities and, significantly, he agreed to testify against Alex during his murder trial for shooting Maggie and Paul. But that testimony, for some unknown reason, was never actually given in court.

Curtis was also released from jail because of the effect imprisonment was having on his health. The hitman told a judge before his release his “sugar’s off the charts” and it was noted he’d gained almost four stone (55 pounds) since being incarcerated.

There could be another Murdaugh Netflix series

Obviously, with all these huge developments in the Murdaugh case, Netflix already been looking into whether they can produce a second series of Murdaugh Murders. According to a message log obtained by fitnews.com, producer Mike Gasparro wrote to Alex: “We feel at this point it’s very important to have your voice in the (remainder) of our series.”

Selling the idea of a Murdaugh Murders follow-up to Alex, Mike added: “Our first three episodes [were] viewed by 40 million households and also 75 million hours [were] watched in just ten days. Those numbers will continue to rise. We believe you can have the largest platform on TV if you are willing to speak to us.”

Netflix is yet to confirm whether a second series of Murdaugh Murders is coming but, if it does, Alex Murdaugh could be giving his side of the story on a very public platform.

Murdaugh Murders is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. Featured image credit via Sky. 

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