Every so often, Netflix, a streaming media service, will release a true crime documentary series that spreads like wildfire. On February 22, 2023, the latest in Netflix’s collection of hit docuseries was released: Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal. Filled with murder, missing people, a plethora of financial crimes, and even an assisted suicide scheme, the three-part series quickly caught the attention of viewers.

A month prior to the show’s release, the trial of Alex Murdaugh began. State v. Murdaugh commenced on January 25, 2023, in which the South Carolinian lawyer was charged with two counts of murder, along with two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime – all of which he was found guilty of in the court of law, which had once been his own playing ground.

The docuseries takes the viewers to the very beginning of the story—2015 in South Carolina when nineteen-year-old Stephen Smith was found in the middle of the highway, dead. Investigators were quick to rule the death as a hit and run, though later evidence can attest that his death likely was not due to a vehicular accident. The case would not be reinvestigated until June 2021, however. From this reopening, the question was raised: why?

Well, evidence found in the deaths of Murdaugh’s wife and son led investigators to believe that Smith’s death may not have been as simple as a hit and run. In fact, it may have been so complicated as to connect to Murdaugh’s crafted web of double homicides and failed suicides. But for now, that is up to investigators to discover, as they continue to investigate the death of Smith as a homicide.

On June 7, 2021, Maggie Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh, Alex Murdaugh’s wife and son, respectively, were found shot on the family’s property. In fact, they were supposedly found by Alex Murdaugh himself, who called 911 thereafter. That being said, investigators were quick to raise questions when a video was discovered on Paul’s phone. Said video had been taken merely five minutes before their deaths, and placed Alex Murdaugh at the scene of the crime. To the prosecutors, this blatantly contradicted Murdaugh’s story claiming that he had arrived to find his wife and son already dead.

A few months after the death of his wife and son, partners at the Murdaugh Law Firm revealed that Murdaugh had been illegally misappropriating millions of dollars from the firm. They forced him into resignation on September 3, 2021, and the day after, Murdaugh made his second call to 911 in the span of only a few short months. On this phone call, Murdaugh claimed that he had been shot in the head as he inspected a flat tire. It was quickly discovered that this shooting was planned, with Murdaugh using the assistance of Curtis Edward Smith, a former client. If Smith had been successful in shooting Murdaugh, then a ten-million-dollar insurance claim would have been left to Murdaugh’s other son, Buster. But of course, this plan backfired, and Smith was left with a multitude of charges, including assisted suicide and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. After the discovery of this attempted insurance scheme, Murdaugh was not only hit by lawsuit after lawsuit but was also arrested for insurance fraud.

On July 12, 2022, Murdaugh was disbarred from practicing law in South Carolina, as fraud claims committed by Murdaugh were continuously unveiled. Only eight days later, Murdaugh was indicted by a grand jury for a total of 71 defrauding charges, and on January 23, 2023, the trials against Murdaugh for the death of his wife and son commenced. As new evidence continued to file in and viewers of the Netflix series began to raise awareness about Murdaugh’s nefarious schemes and murders, it drew closer to the day of decision for the jury. On March 2, 2023, the jury deliberated for just three hours, finding Murdaugh guilty on all four counts involved with the double homicide.