Insurance carriers representing the convenience store chain that sold Paul Murdaugh alcohol when he was underage will pay the family of Mallory Beach $15 million. Murdaugh crashed a boat after an alleged drunken, reckless night on the water in February 2019, killing the 19-year-old young woman.
Beach was thrown into the water after Murdaugh slammed into a bridge. Beach’s body was not located for several days.
A boat owned by Alex Murdaugh and allegedly operated by Paul Murdaugh was covered in police tape after it crashed into a bridge pier on Feb. 23, 2019. (Image obtained from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request by Law&Crime.)
The insurance carries for the convenience store, Parker’s Kitchen, will not only pay Beach’s family, but other plaintiffs in the lawsuit will also receive payouts, according to Mark Tinsley, the attorney representing Beach’s family. The amount of those payouts in unclear.
A lawyer for Alex Murdaugh, Paul Murdaugh’s father, who is serving two life sentences for Paul Murdaugh’s murder and the murder of his mother, Maggie Murdaugh, has also settled his portion of the lawsuit. Alex Murdaugh’s assets are currently held in a receivership.
“$15 million is a number that shows people who are in charge of the sale of alcohol should take their job seriously.” Mark Tinsley said.
Paul Murdaugh was captured by a security camera leaving a Parker’s convenience store carrying several cases of alcohol prior to the boat crash which killed Mallory Beach. (Image obtained from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request by Law&Crime.)
Surveillance footage from hours before the crash recorded Paul Murdaugh buying alcohol from Parker’s Kitchen. Paul Murdaugh used his older brother’s driver’s license to buy the alcohol. Surveillance cameras also recorded Paul Murdaugh pulling into the convenience store parking lot pulling his father’s boat.
Beach’s distraught boyfriend, Connor Cook, discussed holding on to her as Paul Murdaugh drove the boat that night. Cook recalled in at least two documentaries how Beach flew out of his arms when the boat crashed.
Paul Murdaugh was captured by a security camera at a Parker’s convenience store purchasing several packs of alcohol. He allegedly presented his older brother’s license to the cashier. (Image obtained from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request by Law&Crime.)
Alex Murdaugh testified at his murder trial earlier this year that he did not believe his son was driving the boat that night. But, others on board said that Paul Murdaugh was indeed at the helm. Paul Murdaugh was indicted on several charges related to the crash and faced the possibility of spending years in prison at the time of his murder.
Many believe that the boat crash set in motion a chain of events that led to Alex Murdaugh murdering his wife and son on June 7, 2021. The boat crash civil case was contentious. Tinsley testified during Alex Murdaugh’s trial that he was pressing the convicted killer to turn over documents that detailed his finances. Prosecutors contended that if he did so, he would have exposed Alex Murdaugh’s admitted theft of millions of dollars from clients and his law firm.
This image taken by a South Carolina coroner shows what appear to be blood stains inside a boat owned by Alex Murdaugh and allegedly operated by Paul Murdaugh after it crashed into a bridge pier on Feb. 23, 2019. (Image obtained from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request by Law&Crime.)
The trial in the Beach civil case was scheduled to begin August 14 in Hampton County.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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