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Murdaugh Murders, Part 4
37 Plays10 days ago
On today's episode, we walk through Paul, Maggie, and Alex's movements on the days and minutes leading up to the deaths of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.
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Transcript
Introduction and Hosts' Background
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to Fixate Today Gone Tomorrow. I am Nikki and I'm here with my Aunt Joy. We are two neurodivergent ladies who obsess about various topics. Joy is autistic and I have ADHD and we are letting our hyper fixations fly.
Murdoch Family Murders Overview
00:00:16
Speaker
Today we are fixating on the Murdoch murders. Music
00:00:30
Speaker
Welcome back, everybody. we are continuing our series about the Murdoch family murders. Today, we're going to talk about the things that happened in the weeks and days and even minutes before Paul and Maggie were murdered.
Research Sources and Methodology
00:00:44
Speaker
The sources we used are the Murdoch Murders, a Southern Scandal on Netflix, the Murdoch Murders podcast, WJCL News, and ABC News, People Magazine, Inside Edition, AP News, Wikipedia, and the books Swamp Kings and the Devil at His Elbow.
Legal Troubles and Alex's Financial Issues
00:01:06
Speaker
all right. So, yeah, last episode, we kind of wrapped up with the boat crash and, yeah, Mallory Beach and losing her life and and what happened after that as far as legal proceedings and lawsuits.
00:01:22
Speaker
Yep. And at the time of the murders, this was still going on in their world. There was a hearing scheduled in a couple of days after Paul and Maggie were killed. So this was still very much looming over their world. The boat crash was, but there's also lots of other things in Alex life that were swirling around and could fall at any time.
00:01:45
Speaker
So that's kind of the context I think of what we're going to see play out. And we have to remember this hearing coming up is a big deal because that's where they're going to get into Alex finances.
Marital Struggles and Substance Abuse
00:01:57
Speaker
And we know he he has a lot to hide. So there's a lot of stress at this point in him. h We are in the year 2021. Yeah. In April of that year, Maggie actually met with a divorce attorney. Now, I think I have a little bit to say here. it. She'd been going back and forth. I don't think that was an easy decision for her. No. She'd spent a lot of time talking with Blanca, who was their...
00:02:26
Speaker
housekeeper slash assistant as well as her sister i believe alec had gone to rehab i think maggie or blanca had come across a bag of his pills and i am not sure where in that time frame that alec had gone to rehab But I think Maggie was under the impression that um that it had worked, that he was not taking the pills and found out again that he was.
00:02:58
Speaker
According to one of the the Hulu movie, and I did not independently research this, but they said Alec, they had kind of made a deal, Maggie and Alec, that while all this boat crash ah stuff, hearings, legal stuff was going on, that she would allow him to have like two pills a day and she would be in control of those. And then, you know, and then after the, after they were done with all the legal proceedings at at that point, he would wean off of them together.
Family Dynamics and Communication
00:03:33
Speaker
As a team, she would support him in it. Yeah. He didn't have to keep it a secret.
00:03:38
Speaker
But we, I think, find out that he he was taking more than that. I will say, i do i i do think Maggie and Alec loved each other. Yeah.
00:03:50
Speaker
I mean, I think they had a lot lot of marital issues. And I believe in that time, Alec had even had some type of affair. So there was a lot of reasons for her to move forward with with a divorce. But i I still, even at that, think it was a bit of a struggle for her to make that decision. Yeah, absolutely. Because not only is it, you know, she, I do believe she really loved him. It's also, she wasn't working. Like, it's the thing of like your whole life is financial life.
00:04:19
Speaker
Where you live, all of these things are wrapped up in them being married. And that's really scary. And family was a big component. to I mean, they were very they were a close family. and No matter what, divorce is going to change that dynamic. Yeah.
00:04:33
Speaker
Yeah. So on June 7th, 2021, Alex had asked Maggie and Paul to meet at the family's hunting lodge. Which they called Moselle. Yes.
00:04:45
Speaker
The family housekeeper Blanca, Turubayet Simpson... texted Maggie around 328 that day that she had left dinner on the stove for them at the hunting lodge. Maggie texted her at 340 thanking her.
00:04:59
Speaker
So one of the things as I'm walking through this timeline I'm going to mention is when authorities know that a call or a text had been deleted after the fact.
Living Arrangements and Speculations
00:05:12
Speaker
It's weird. And it could point to two things. It could point to somebody who has plotted the murders of these two people, or it could point to somebody who knows he's going to be accused of plotting these murders and a foolish attempt to try to hide evidence of that, which just makes him look Guiltier, in my opinion.
00:05:36
Speaker
So at 3.41 p.m., Alex FaceTimed Maggie. She didn't answer. And that call is later manually deleted. No, I think it's important ah to remember at this point that Maggie, they have a second house um that they refer to.
00:05:53
Speaker
It's at Estow. It's on a beach or a town called Estow. And ah Maggie was out there at that location. It was said that she preferred being out at that house and she was working on some remodeling and such.
00:06:09
Speaker
Yeah, it seems like they weren't separated, but they were certainly living apart more. And i I think under the gut, I think they could convince themselves almost that it was just like, well, I'm just here.
00:06:20
Speaker
like I like this house more. There's nothing wrong with the marriage. Almost like kind of putting their heads in the sand about it. but on paper would look like they were separated. Yeah. I personally don't think they were as much um legally or officially separated as just their lives were kind of had marital problems. And hey, after that many years of marriage, partially you just need a bit of a break. and space I'm to stay at this house for a little bit. We got a remodel. So I'll just oversee it over here and stay here. It's fine.
00:06:51
Speaker
So just before 4pm, Roger Dale Davis arrived at Moselle to take care of the dogs. So the dogs are in a separate, I don't even know what you would call it.
00:07:04
Speaker
think a kennel. A kennel, yeah, but it's its own space separate from the house. They're hunting dogs. There's a number of them. But at that time, Roger reported that no one else was at the property
Concerns About Alex's Health
00:07:15
Speaker
yet. Now, can you... So who is Roger Dale Davis? We haven't really heard about this guy, have we, up to this but think he just... I believe he just works for them. Okay. Okay.
00:07:25
Speaker
in some way like i think he was he was caregiving for the dogs likely was hot i don't know if that was his only role but because this is a home that they're not at all the time probably is just is caring for the animals a bit of a caretaker likely likely the the the property as well if they're not there that's my thought that's what i if i remembered correctly that's i don't know if i don't know if there's more however this family has a lot of help this family has a lot of help yeah Between 3.55pm and 4.06pm, Maggie is texting Blanca that she's at a doctor's appointment and that Alex's dad is back in the hospital.
00:08:05
Speaker
Maggie expressed concern for Alex's health as well as the pressure he was taking on for caring for his elderly parents. Blanca encouraged Maggie and Alex to try to relax and get some sleep to stay healthy. I think she knew the pressure they were both under and just was, and she just seems like such, just a sweet lady.
00:08:25
Speaker
And I think she was very close to Alec's parents. Yeah. And I think there was a little bit of, you know, that thing you do when you're Alec is doing more work to help care for his parents than, than his brothers were. I think there was some kind of implications in there.
00:08:44
Speaker
but But I do really think she cared. And I really do believe that's why she came home. There had been some, you know, actually at the trial, you know, some talk about Alec lured her home. And i I, I believe she really did go home because because of her concern. yeah so I think so too. I think she was in So I have a lot of feelings about Maggie in that I think she did a lot of things to cover bad behavior of her sons and her husband that she shouldn't obviously shouldn't have done. But I think in terms of the marriage, she was in a really difficult spot
00:09:19
Speaker
of you know there's there's got to be the fear that if she leaves him he's gonna die he's gonna his addiction's gonna spiral and i i don't think she was worried about illegal things happening around him things like that i don't know how much of that she knew i think her concern was like but who's going to who's going to keep him alive is he going to spiral more into his addiction if i'm not there like she i think she took so much of that on So if he said, you know, come to the lodge, let's just sit down and and have dinner or do whatever. She's like, yeah, I'm going to do that and keep an eye on him and make sure he knows I'm still here. And, you know, I think she had a good heart.
00:09:59
Speaker
What I don't know is how, um how much she knew about their financial situation at that point.
Financial Scrutiny and Stress
00:10:06
Speaker
Yeah. My guess is yeah not much. My guess is he kept that kind of kept that away from her, yeah,
00:10:14
Speaker
it's never i don't I've never really heard specifics about how informed she was and how much she knew the pressure that Alec was... Well, I mean, I guess, of course, she didn't know fully because she didn't know about all the illegal stuff he had been doing with their finances. but Yeah, and my guess is... um There's a bit of kind of burying your head in the sand and being like, you know, the bills are paid. i can i can live this lifestyle. I'm not going to ask too many questions. 100%. I agree with that 100%. And I think Maggie was a little bit of a partier too. um
00:10:53
Speaker
right Yep. Yep. I think that. And I also think she is very, she was very much a boy mom, a very stereotypical boy mom. And I think had she been around for her boys to get married, I don't think she would have been the easiest mother-in-law. Very well could be.
00:11:11
Speaker
yeah At 3.57 p.m., Alec texted Maggie to ask about her doctor's appointment. She told him that she was still waiting. Between 4.10 6.25 p.m., Alex phone placed him at his law firm.
00:11:28
Speaker
So he was presumably working, but who knows what we're doing there. But something very important was happening that day. And that was at the CFO of the firm.
00:11:39
Speaker
it It was the first time she realized there were some questions about financial things that seemed problematic. And I don't think she was able to get too far into it because While she was confronting him, that's when he got the call that his dad was back in the hospital. So that conversation was halted.
00:12:01
Speaker
This wasn't the big conversation, but it was just the start of something. Something seems off. So we can assume Alex having a bad day. He's very he's very stressed. A lot of anxiety at this point over multiple things. Yeah.
00:12:16
Speaker
Yeah. And there's a hearing the next day or the next couple days. So between 425 and 705 p.m., Maggie's phone places her near Charleston. And I think it's traveling toward Moselle.
00:12:31
Speaker
At 430 p.m., the caretaker, Roger Dale Davis, left the home. And at 435 p.m., Alex FaceTimed Maggie again and the call went unanswered. And this is another call that was manually deleted.
00:12:44
Speaker
I think somewhere in there she went and had a pedicure too. so maybe Maybe that's what she was doing. i think Yes. I think maybe it stopped get some nails done. yes But she was not really keeping in contact during this time with her husband.
00:12:59
Speaker
Between 5.30 and 6.09 p.m., Paul's phone placed him in Ocatee. It's Ocatee? Okatee? Maybe. Oh, Katie. And that was one of the towns in the area. Yeah, I think, again, it's kind of on the way. He's heading in the direction of the of the hunting lodge.
Suspicious Phone Activity
00:13:19
Speaker
At 6 of 4 p.m., Paul called Will Loving. Will missed the call, but called him right back. I don't know that we know what that conversation was But it's it was short because at 6.08 p.m., Paul called.
00:13:32
Speaker
I put it in quotes because it's listing out the contact name. The contact name is Dad. But there was no record of this call on Alex's phone. Is there meaning to that? I think it's just another another one of the... it's It's another odd one that I think that...
00:13:47
Speaker
Alex probably deleted the call again. It's another manual of delete. or there's another contact that Paul considered a fatherly figure that he actually called and it wasn't his own father. i think those are the two implications, but I don't know what either of those mean. At 6.08 p.m., Maggie texted Paul that she was getting a foot massage. I think we're also establishing um this pattern of Paul's always on the phone.
00:14:12
Speaker
Yeah, Paul's always on the phone. So at 6.20 p.m., Maggie's sister, Marianne, calls her. Maggie doesn't answer, but texts back that she can't talk. I guess at that time she's presumably getting the foot massage.
00:14:28
Speaker
Or drive. Yes. Yeah. At 6.23 p.m., Paul texted Maggie to find to find out what Blanca made for dinner, which is like the most... young man, son thing to do ah Maggie responds, mac and cheese and chicken fried steak. I believe I am.
00:14:47
Speaker
During Blanca's testimony, she also said that one of the reasons that Paul came home that night was because Blanca did his laundry and he liked the way She did his laundry and she seemed to be a little proud because she said, yeah what ah like her trick was to put fabric softener in with the soap too.
00:15:08
Speaker
Like with the detergent. And truth be told, ever since I heard that, I've been doing it too. pretty I'm pretty sure my mom has done that for a long time. Blanca just seems like a really good person.
00:15:20
Speaker
At 6.24 p.m., Alex left the law firm. Between 6.17 p.m. and 6.53 p.m., Paul is traveling home. His phone kind of pings on the route to Moselle.
00:15:32
Speaker
At 6.40 paul calls a contact that says pa which i think is like pa which is a call to alex phone that call lasted two minutes and 29 seconds okay and maybe this is nothing but interesting that because before the when he called it was to dad a contact call dad and then this time it's in the contact pa i don't know right i know but there is no log of this phone call on alex phone At 6.42 p.m., Alec arrived at Moselle.
00:16:06
Speaker
A minute later, he called Maggie, and the call lasted 104 seconds. But again, there is no call logged on Alec's phone.
Family Dynamics and Staff Roles
00:16:17
Speaker
At 6.53 p.m., Alec called his brother John. And at 7 p.m., Alec texts the groundskeeper, C.B. Rowe, to find out if he'll be at the property the next day.
00:16:30
Speaker
Another, another employee. Another groundskeeper. feel like we've got a caretaker and we've got a groundskeeper. and And we've got a housekeeper. i will say that if I were the groundskeeper and that my job was maintaining the grounds and then the family was like, also take care of the dogs, I'd be like, not interested. I like, this is my job. You draw a line there.
00:16:54
Speaker
like i'd be like, don't throw that. Like, don't add that to my job. Okay, fair enough. I'm not a dog person. I don't i don't think I would do that. hey See, I'm a dog person, but I'm like, my job are the grounds. yeah You got to hire someone for the dogs yeah or hire me for the dogs and hire someone else for the grounds.
00:17:12
Speaker
And it's said that that CB Rowe had kind of made a mistake with one of that with the planting of, i don't know, some sunflower seeds that were part of like a dove field. And that was part of the reason that Paul was coming home that day.
Timeline and Events Leading to Murders
00:17:30
Speaker
God forbid. Not planting the wrong seeds. The doves aren't going to. i was hoping for doves.
00:17:39
Speaker
ah At 7.04, Paul arrived home. And at 7.05, Alec texted Maggie, ah quote, Paul says you're getting a petty! Exclamation point, exclamation point. Call when you get done. This family is like 100% in contact, none I know. it really, like when I was writing this out, I really felt better about, I'm like, okay, I'm not like too much of a helicopter, not even parent, like family member. ah Like, I want to know where my family is at all times, but I'm also not like, okay, tell me when you're done at work and you're driving home. and This is like minute by minute.
00:18:18
Speaker
Yeah. Between 7.07 p.m. and 7.50 p.m., Maggie's phone placed her traveling from Charleston. At 7.09 p.m., Maggie called someone named Courtney Shelbourne.
00:18:33
Speaker
The call only lasted three seconds. I don't think anybody has ever said what that was. Probably, like, could it just been checking in with a friend? Could it have been nothing, you know? Yeah, I don't think so. At 7.09 p.m., Maggie calls a contact labeled Mom. And because the call lasted eight minutes, I do believe it was her mother.
00:18:52
Speaker
and again, she was very close to her mom and as and her sister, I believe Yes. You know, I also think, like, to me, it felt like Maggie did not want to be alone.
00:19:03
Speaker
Like, during the strife, she wants to be chatting to someone. Yeah, I agree. She wanted support. Yeah. Or even just to someone have the drive with her. Like it's more than a 30 minute drive or something. I just wanted to chat with someone during while she's on the road. And if I do know the geography, which I'm not saying I hundred percent do, i believe Edisto to Charleston is a fairly long drive. And she must've gone out there because I, that's kind of the big city where I assume the doctor was. And then it's back like to get to Hampstead.
00:19:39
Speaker
an area or Moselle it's back toward Edisto so I mean I think this was a it was a a fair amount of driving during this time yeah yeah and she could have just been bored and I have made this drive it's a pretty boring drive yeah and especially if you've done it a lot It's like, I'm just bored. I want to talk to my mom. I'm going to call my friend, see what she's doing.
00:20:00
Speaker
So now we're going to get into like phones actually tracking steps. So I think we should stop there. The next like three to four hours of activity, actually like not even that, but there's a lot of activity that happens in the next like hour and a half. And we get to the point that we go from like them calling each other to like footsteps being tracked.
00:20:23
Speaker
And I think- You have a lot to say. i have a lot to say here. I think there's i think this it that there's things within this that maybe haven't been talked about maybe some little things that seem insignificant but i personally believe i'm more meaningful so this part yeah will actually take me a while to put all my commentary in all right perfect well let's stop there and we will pick back up at the events before the murders and we're talking now like minutes before hours before so yeah come back next week and uh we will talk again soon bye guys bye