Beaufort, S.C. - A wrongful death case that played a prominent role in Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial has been settled for $15 million dollars.
Mallory Beach was killed in a Beaufort boat crash in 2019 in which Murdaugh’s son Paul allegedly drove drunk, slamming into a bridge piling. Her family sued the Murdaughs and the convenience store chain that sold then underage Paul alcohol.
“These settlements won’t bring Mallory back, but we hope they do save someone else’s son or daughter,” said Beach family attorney Mark Tinsley.
Both cases against Murdaugh and Parker’s Kitchen were scheduled to be tried together next month in Hampton County, not far from where Alex Murdaugh was convicted of killing Paul and his wife Maggie.
But just days after a judge denied a request to separate the cases or change venue, Parker’s Kitchen agreed to pay $15 million dollars. South Carolina Public Radio reached out to an attorney for the convenience store chain for comment but did not hear back.
Prosecutors argued during Murdaugh’s six-week trial earlier this year, the former prominent attorney killed his wife and son to create a distraction from the fatal boat case in which Paul was about to be tried. Murdaugh is now serving two consecutive life sentences for the 2021 murders of his wife and son.
