THE NIGHT THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
Nineteen-year-old Mallory Beach’s life was cut short in a 2019 boating crash that shook South Carolina. Investigators said Paul Murdaugh, son of a powerful local family, was behind the wheel when the boat hit a bridge at over 30 mph after a night of heavy drinking.
The wreck exposed a hidden world of privilege, influence, and unanswered secrets, as the Murdaugh name loomed over every twist of the investigation. Years later, the shadows of that night still hang over the Lowcountry.
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What Really Happened to Mallory Beach? Inside the 19-Year-Old’s Brutal Death (and Its Connection to the Murdaugh Family)
Mallory Beach died as a result of a boating accident in which Paul Murdaugh was allegedly driving drunk.
NEED TO KNOW
Mallory Beach died on Feb. 24, 2019, when she was 19 years old
The student, who had hopes of becoming an interior designer, died after a boating accident in which Paul Murdaugh allegedly drunkenly crashed the vessel
Mallory’s family has remembered “how full of life she was” before her tragic death
Mallory Beach was a 19-year-old student who tragically died in a boating accident.
On Feb. 23, 2019, Mallory embarked on a boat ride with some of her friends — including Paul Murdaugh — in Beaufort, S.C. The group used the boat to travel to an oyster roast house party across town, where they all consumed alcohol for several hours, authorities claimed.
A little after 1 a.m. on Feb. 24, the friends began making their way back to the boat. Some of the group later told law enforcement officials that Paul was intoxicated and was asked not to drive, but he did so anyway, per The Wall Street Journal.
Despite his intoxication, Paul allegedly continued driving the boat and crashed it into the Archer’s Creek Bridge. Mallory was ejected from the boat into the water and died. Her body was found over a week later in a marsh five miles from the crash, according to CBS News.
Paul’s blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit, and he was subsequently charged with three felony counts, including boating under the influence, causing death. He pleaded not guilty.
However, while Paul was awaiting trial for the charges in connection with Mallory’s death, he and his mother, Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, were fatally shot on their property in June 2021. His dad and prominent local attorney, Alex Murdaugh, was later convicted of the double homicide.
The Murdaugh family crimes and trials were adapted for the Hulu limited series, Murdaugh: Death in the Family, which premiered on Oct. 15.
Here’s everything to know about what really happened to Mallory Beach and how her family sought justice from the Murdaugh family.
Who was Mallory Beach?
Mallory Madison Beach/Facebook
Mallory Beach pictured in November 2018.
Mallory was a 19-year-old graduate of Wade Hampton High School in Greenville, S.C., who was attending college and living with her mother, Renee Beach, at the time of her death. She was working at a clothing store, Retail Therapy, and had hopes of becoming an interior designer, according to her family.
“That was her passion, just clothes and shoes,” Renee told PEOPLE in February 2024. “I could go to bed, wake up the next day, and she would have painted her room a different color. There were so many layers of paint on her wall.”
Renee also shared that both she and her daughter bonded over watching home improvement shows.
“We would sit there and watch, and that’s kind of what she was talking about, real estate, so she could purchase something, fix it up and I guess flip it,” she said. “That was something that she had started talking about.”
In addition to her professional ambitions, Mallory also had a thriving social life and was dating Anthony Cook. Mallory’s aunt, Lynn Reavis, told 48 Hours in July 2023 that her niece was popular and added that “everybody loved her.”
What happened to Mallory Beach?
Netflix Mallory Beach and Morgan Doughty together.
On Feb. 23, 2019, Mallory and her boyfriend, Anthony, decided to go to a house party and oyster roast on Paukie Island with some of their friends. They were joined by Anthony’s cousin, Connor Cook, Connor’s girlfriend Miley Altman, friend Paul Murdaugh and Paul’s then-girlfriend, Morgan Doughty.
The group of friends initially met up at a property dubbed “Murdaugh Island,” which was owned by the Murdaugh family. They boarded the boat and brought along alcohol that Paul illegally purchased from a local convenience store with his older brother’s ID, according to the store’s surveillance footage video obtained by 48 Hours.
Mallory, Anthony, Paul, Morgan, Connor and Miley all left for the party on Paul’s family’s boat around 7 p.m. They later told authorities that they attended the party for a few hours before leaving for the boat around midnight. However, Paul drove to a bar and took shots with Connor, according to surveillance video from the bar obtained by Greenville News.
Paul and Connor joined the group outside around 1 a.m. on Feb. 24, and they were last captured on a surveillance camera boarding the boat 15 minutes later. According to the friends, some of them argued with Paul over his ability to drive, but he allegedly kept driving at heightened speeds.
Around 2:20 a.m., the boat crashed into the pilings of the Archer’s Creek Bridge. At the time of the crash, Mallory was ejected from the boat and couldn’t be found. Paul denied being the driver and claimed Connor was the one in the driver’s seat, but this allegation was proven false during the investigation, per Law & Crime.
Connor called 911 for help, and authorities tried to locate Mallory while also talking to the rest of the friends about what happened. While the group was taken to a local hospital, Mallory was still nowhere to be found. During his stay at the hospital, Paul’s blood alcohol content was three times over the legal limit.
On March 3, 2019, Mallory’s body was found by search and rescue volunteers. She was discovered around five miles from the site of the crash. The coroner’s office later determined that Mallory died from drowning and blunt force trauma, WTOC reported in 2021.
What was Paul Murdaugh charged with?
Maggie Murdaugh/Facebook Buster Murdaugh, Maggie Murdaugh, Paul Murdaugh and Alex Murdaugh pictured in November 2019.
Less than two months after Mallory’s death, Paul was charged with three felony counts on April 18, 2019. He was officially charged with boating under the influence, including causing the death of Mallory and seriously injuring two other passengers.
Paul pleaded not guilty to all the charges and alleged that Connor was driving the boat at the time. However, evidence from Connor’s injuries — which included him fracturing his jaw after slamming into the side of the boat — aligned with passenger injuries, per a lawsuit he filed, which was obtained by The Island Packet.
Several of the other friends also pointed to Paul driving, so Connor was not charged. Paul was released on a $50,000 bond and had a trial date set for July 10, 2021.
What happened to Paul Murdaugh?
Alex Murdaugh and son Paul Murdaugh.
Just a few weeks before Paul was set to stand trial for Mallory’s murder, he and his mother, Maggie, were murdered on June 7, 2021. Paul and Maggie were found fatally shot near the dog kennels of the Murdaugh family property in Colleton County, S.C. The charges against Paul were subsequently dropped.
“I just broke down and started crying,” Renee recalled to PEOPLE of hearing about Paul’s murder. “I wanted him to own up to what he had done, and I never wanted anything like this to happen to him or Maggie. That was the last thing ever that I would want. I was hoping that he would change, just admit that he had done wrong and change his life, and it upset me a lot.”
At the time of the double homicide, Alex called 911 and alleged that he had found their bodies after returning home from a trip to see his mom. He also denied being at the dog kennels that night, but a video later showed him at the scene of the crime within the estimated time of Paul and Maggie’s deaths.
Alex was charged with the murders of his wife and son in July 2022 and was found guilty in March 2023. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms for the murders and received an additional 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to 22 financial crimes. During the trial, prosecutors alleged that Alex killed Maggie and Paul to both cover up his financial crimes and to stop them from coming up in Paul’s pending trial.
Renee described her daughter’s death getting wrapped up in the Murdaugh family crimes as her “worst nightmare come true.”
“I guess over time I got used to it, but it isn’t easier,” she said. “I miss Mallory, and I want her back.”
Did the Beach family sue the Murdaughs?
Joshua Boucher/Pool/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty
Alex Murdaugh at the Colleton County Courthouse on March 3, 2023 in South Carolina.
Mallory’s family filed a wrongful death suit against several members of the Murdaugh family in March 2019. The suit named Alex for owning the boat, Maggie for allegedly letting Paul use the boat and Paul’s brother Buster for allegedly giving him his driver’s license to buy the alcohol on the day Mallory was killed, according to The State.
After Alex was convicted of killing Maggie and Paul, he settled the wrongful death lawsuit, and the boat’s insurer agreed to pay the Beach family $500,000, CBS News reported in October 2024.
The Beach family also sued Parker’s, the convenience store where Paul bought the alcohol. The store owner agreed to settle the suit for $15 million in July 2023, attorneys told PEOPLE at the time.
Five years after Mallory’s death, Renee reflected on her daughter’s death and the subsequent lawsuits. She said that it was never about the money, but instead “hoping that this would not happen to someone else.” Renee also shared that they planned to donate part of the settlement funds to an animal shelter.
“This is something Mallory would love. It would make her so proud,” she said. “She was like a mother to strays. She was forever finding animals that were just abandoned.”
