Moselle, Alex Murdaugh's 1,772-acre estate in murder trial, has a dark history

Table Of Content

• Moselle’s dark history
• What happened to the Murdaugh home, 4147 Moselle Road?
• What happened in the double murder trial?
• What to know about Moselle, the scene of the killings in Alex Murdaugh’s trial
• Who is the Murdaugh family and what is their legal background?
• Murdaugh family home goes on sale for $1.95 million: Photos show Moselle Estate House
• How four generations of Murdaugh brought murder and misery

Murdaugh allegedly bought the entire property for just $5, FITS News reported – a move sometimes used so the seller can avoid paying capital gains taxes. And they might have even seen some of the estate’s wild hogs – whose existence has been an unusually common mention throughout the disgraced attorney’s murder trial. Crosby describes the listing as a "unique property" that could serve as a "a family residence or compound" or allow new buyers to engage in "equestrian pursuits, [a] hobby farm, or just a weekend retreat destination." A 4-bedroom home on Moselle, the South Carolina estate where the Murdaughs lived prior to the tragedy, has gone on sale for $1.95 million. The home, which served as the primary Murdaugh residence, the Moselle Estate House, is located on only 21 acres of land, according to listing agent Crosby Land Company. As the legal scion currently sits behind bars awaiting trial on more than 70 charges, including swindling millions from his own clients, the farm, which includes a custom-built home constructed in 2011, has already seen interest.

Moselle’s dark history

A hearing had been scheduled for June 10, 2021, but the charges were dropped after Paul Murdaugh’s death, WCBD in Charleston reported. On Feb. 2, 2018, Gloria Satterfield, the family’s longtime housekeeper, died at the home in an apparent slip-and-fall accident. But Satterfield’s death was not reported to the local coroner’s office and no autopsy was performed on the body after her death certificate indicated that she died of natural causes, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). Murdaugh is currently facing nine civil suits directly naming him, but there are other ongoing civil actions surrounding his alleged decade-long financial crime spree and a fatal 2019 boat crash involving his family, with new legal developments emerging almost weekly. Also last week, buyers from across the country descended upon an auction house in Georgia where personal property from Moselle was sold.

What happened to the Murdaugh home, 4147 Moselle Road?

As part of his 100 financial crimes charges, Murdaugh is now charged with stealing $4m in wrongful death settlement funds from Satterfield’s family as part of his decade-long multi-million-dollar fraud scheme. Lay said that an additional $600,000 will be distributed to the family of Mallory Beach, the 19-year-old who was killed in a 2019 boating collision in a boat driven by Paul Murdaugh. The younger Murdaugh was indicted by a grand jury on three felony charges, including boating under the influence causing death and boating under the influence causing injury.

What happened in the double murder trial?

The judge also advised them that some things have changed on the property in the aftermath of the murders. In particular, jurors heard a lot about the hunting of wild hogs – from the time of day to hunt to the type of guns used. However, Murdaugh's defense team petitioned for a new trial in September, alleging Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill of inappropriate communications with jurors, denying their client a fair trial. The lawyers contend Hill's communications may have helped remove jurors sympathetic Murdaugh and swayed others. Murdaugh was convicted of two counts of murder during a six-week trial in Walterboro, South Carolina. The trial concluded on March 3, 2023, with Judge Clifton Newman sentencing him to two life sentences.

SOLD: What are buyer's plans for country home of Alex Murdaugh? - Charleston Business - Charleston Regional Business

SOLD: What are buyer's plans for country home of Alex Murdaugh? - Charleston Business.

Posted: Fri, 16 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

What to know about Moselle, the scene of the killings in Alex Murdaugh’s trial

The proceeds of the sale will go to the Murdaugh family's surviving son, Buster, and victims of a 2019 boat crash involving Paul, the Greenville News reported, citing a settlement approved in January by a South Carolina judge. Connor Cook, yet another survivor of the boat crash, had previously sued Buster Murdaugh, Alex Murdaugh’s older son. His attorney Joseph McCulloch will be given $100,000 to release the wrongful death claim he filed on behalf of Cook against the convicted murderer‘s son, the paper reports. The Moselle estate includes a "well-appointed" 5,275-square foot house that was custom-built in 2011, which could be converted into a "weekend hunting lodge with the capability to sleep 15," according to the real estate listing. After Beach’s parents sued over their daughter’s death, Paul Murdaugh’s attorneys told them that he couldn’t afford a settlement. That’s when Beach’s family requested a court order for the younger Murdaugh to disclose his bank records.

Who is the Murdaugh family and what is their legal background?

South Carolina: Murdaugh home up for auction - WYFF4 Greenville

South Carolina: Murdaugh home up for auction.

Posted: Mon, 08 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Aside from being horrific, they likely gained even more media attention due to Paul Murdaugh's own ongoing trial, in which he was charged with a wrongful death suit for a fatal boat crash that occurred while he was boating under the influence. As Murdaugh is facing multiple personal injury suits, and one wrongful death suit, attorneys are seeking to make their alleged victims whole, which means that Murdaugh's assets are up for grabs — including his family's beach getaway. The 1,700 acres family estate was purchased by James A. Ayer and Jeffrey L. Godley in March, according to the Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY Network. The proceeds of the sale were divided between several parties including the Murdaugh family's surviving son, Buster, Murdaugh's younger brother John Marvin Murdaugh, and victims of a 2019 boat crash involving Paul, among others. Before the jury in the trial of Alex Murdaugh goes to deliberations, they will be leaving the courtroom and taking a field trip more than 20 miles away to Moselle. They will visit the rural, 1,772-acre hunting estate in Islandton, S.C., that’s been under contract to be sold for almost $4 million, to see the location where Murdaugh is accused of killing his wife and son.

The jury’s scheduled trip to Moselle comes as Murdaugh’s defense rested its case after calling 14 witnesses during roughly two weeks of testimony. An expert in crime-scene reconstruction and blood-spatter analysis who was called by Murdaugh’s defense team testified that evidence from Moselle suggests that the killings of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were carried out by two shooters. Moselle, the 1,770-acre site of the Murdaugh family murders was sold last week for $3.9 million, according to reports and records.

They were both shot multiple times with different weapons at the dog kennels on the property sometime after they all had dinner together at the main house. Known as Moselle Farm, the property is located at 4147 Moselle Road in Islandton, South Carolina. Along with the infamous hunting lodge, the sprawling estate features a farm, two miles of river frontage for freshwater fishing and kayaking, dog kennels, plenty of turkey and deer for on-site hunting, and a custom-built home constructed in 2011. Fast forwarding many years later to June 7, 2021, Alex called 911 to report the shooting of his wife, Maggie, and their son, Paul.

The 1,700-acre South Carolina hunting lodge where Alex Murdaugh, once a prominent lawyer in the state, killed his wife and younger son has sold for $3.9 million, according to a sale deed. Bordering the banks of the Salkehatchie River, 4147 Moselle Road consists of over 1,700 acres of land including a 5,275-square-foot house, a farm, a two-mile stretch of river – and of course the dog kennels. The property remains in contention as the parents of Mallory Beach — the teen who was killed aboard a boat allegedly helmed by Paul, Alex and Maggie’s youngest son, in 2019 — filed a lawsuit against the estate this January, a month before the farm went up for sale.

Moselle was publicly posted for sale by the Crosby Land Co. of Colleton County on Feb. 14, 2022 — roughly four months before Murdaugh was indicted by a grand jury on murder charges. Alex also faces a plethora of other charges—99 to be exact—related to money laundering, embezzlement, tax evasion, and beyond that were not part of the murder trial (though some related information was allowed to be entered into evidence). The estate comes with a 1,140-square foot guest cottage, as well as 2.5 miles of river frontage that provides freshwater fishing, kayaking and other sports, it noted. "Complete with commercial-grade appliances and a large game room, [the house] is perfectly suited for entertaining large groups," the real estate listing noted. "That money is going to help the victims of these people who went through a very dark time in their life and were wronged," the buyer, Phillip Jennings of Soperton, Georgia, told the publication.

Alex Murdaugh was convicted in March of killing his wife Maggie Murdaugh and son Paul near the family dog kennels, about a quarter mile from the house on June 7, 2021. The listing comes less than five months after Alex Murdaugh, 53 — the father of the family — allegedly conspired to hire a hit man to kill him so that he could leave his only surviving son, Richard, known as Buster, a $10 million life insurance policy, The Post reported. On April 26, those attorneys filed a motion in Hampton County Court of Common Pleas asking the court to consider and approve the sale of one of Murdaugh's real estate properties, his family vacation home in Edisto. In addition to cellphone data, one of the strongest pieces of evidence against Alex (more on the trial ahead!) was a Snapchat video captured by Paul that put his father at the kennels—the scene of the crime—minutes prior to the murders. Alex had previously claimed to be napping at the main home on the property during that time frame, and the video reveals his duplicity. When on the stand, Alex admitted to lying about this, referencing an 1808 quote from Sir Walter Scott, "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."

Murdaugh bought the property in 2013 from Jeannine Morris Boulware, wife of Barrett T. Boulware, a suspected drug smuggler whom Murdaugh represented and worked with as a business partner, property records show. Bart Daniel and Matt Austin, of Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough LLP, added, "Any further comment would be inappropriate due to the confidential nature of the government’s investigation into Alex Murdaugh." Murdaugh allegedly stole in excess of $800,000 from the Pinckneys, according to the lis pendens and indictments from the state Attorney General's Office. The court filing states that a civil suit will be filed within 20 days in Hampton County and the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. After a market analysis and appraisal, and with the consent of the estate, managed by Murdaugh's brother, John Marvin Murdaugh, the Murdaugh Edisto home was listed for sale for $920,000.

The family also had a home in Hampton, South Carolina, as well as a beach home in Edisto Beach. He and his father were arrested on drug smuggling charges in 1980 when investigators seized 15 tons of marijuana from a shrimp boat in the Bahamas. It was the home of Barrett Boulware – a fisherman, suspected drug smuggler and Alex Murdaugh’s longtime friend and business partner who died in 2018. Before the Murdaughs called Moselle home, the property was tied to another controversial family. Before returning their guilty verdict on 2 March, jurors went back to the place where it all began. The Moselle house, which stands out in its surrounding with a white outlook, is characterized by front and back porches.

Alex Murdaugh (sometimes referred to as "Alec") is a former lawyer whose family built a legal dynasty in South Carolina. To give you a sense of just how far back their power goes, Alex's great-great-grandfather Randolph Murdaugh Sr. founded a law firm and was elected solicitor for the 14th Judicial Circuit (which includes a staggering five counties) in 1920. According to a pool report from The Wall Street Journal’s Valerie Bauerlein, the jury visit lasted around 1 hour 20 minutes in total including travel time. The media was also banned from accompanying jurors on the trip, though a small media pool visited the site once the jury left.

Last week, the property, which was held in Maggie Murdaugh’s name at the time she was killed, was sold by The Crosby Land Company, according to a listing. The buyers are reportedly “two men,” according to Savannah, Georgia-based ABC affiliate WJCL. An estimated 3,000 people showed up for an auction of items from the Moselle estate on Thursday — three times the normal crowd, Emily McGarry, who works for the auction house, told CBS News. Throughout the trial, jurors heard how the property’s 1,700 acres were a hunter’s paradise with dove fields, deer stands and duck ponds all over the estate.