Why did Mallory Beach’s family just receive a $15 million settlement?

The Murdaugh family was a prominent South Carolina family, known as wealthy and successful legal powerhouses, they were well-respected in their community. Yet seemingly overnight, the family’s legal empire, good name, and spotless reputation began to crumble around them. By all outward appearances, the Murdaughs were the perfect family, yet it was soon revealed that behind their polished public image, there were lies, betrayal, and entitlement, that resulted in a trail of bodies in the family’s wake.

Mallory Beach was one of the Murdaugh family’s victims. At age 19 she had a bright future ahead of her, she had recently graduated high school and was attending the University of South Carolina. She had just started dating her high school friend Anthony Cook, who was with her the night of the crash. She was a beautiful young girl whose friends and family described her as a “people person” who loved hunting and fishing. Yet in just one night, Mallory’s bright future was taken away. On the night of Feb. 23, 2019, Paul Murdaugh, the son of prominent local attorney Alex Murdaugh had gathered some friends for a local oyster roast that as was customary in their town, they commuted to by boat. As the party wound down the group decided they wanted to head back, yet two of the boys wanted to make a pit stop. Paul and his cousin Conner despite both being underage, continued drinking at a local bar. After a few more drinks, Paul then made a fatal decision, despite being intoxicated, he decided to drive the boat home.

How did Mallory Beach die?

Shortly after the boat journey began, Paul’s behavior reportedly became more erratic as he and his girlfriend of the time Morgan Doughty got into an argument. Angry and intoxicated, Paul refused to step aside to let anyone else drive and the ride ended in Paul reportedly gunning the engine and slamming the boat and its passengers into Archer’s Creek Bridge, near Parris Island, South Carolina. While some of the passengers remained injured in the boat, others were thrown from it entirely and suddenly Mallory Beach was nowhere to be found. A search and rescue attempt quickly followed, but Mallory’s body was found several days later. She reportedly died from blunt force trauma to the head, resulting in drowning. Paul was eventually charged, although many felt his treatment during the case was affected by his family’s social standing in the community. Paul never ended up facing the charges, as he himself along with his mother, were murdered before the trial could begin.

The Murdaugh family murders

His own father, Alex Murdaugh was convicted in March of the killings, and sentenced to two life terms in prison. The motive behind the murders was believed to be Alex’s attempt to cause a distraction from his son’s upcoming trial and his own involvement in a money embezzlement scheme through his law firm. It was revealed Murdaugh had been stealing his client’s settlement money. This even included an insurance payout on his former long-time housekeeper, who was also mysteriously and critically injured at the Murdaugh home. Alex was meant to be collecting the insurance payout on behalf of her two sons, yet although Murdaugh did collect the sum, he kept it for himself, never giving the sons a cent. Yes, the Murdaugh family story is a tangled web indeed, and the details were captured in the Netflix special Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal. Yet the scandal and its many layers left the Beach family with little closure and no real sense of justice.

Heartbroken over their loss and frustrated that their daughter’s alleged murderer would never see court over the charges, her family refused to give up their search for justice. The Beach family went after both Alex Murdaugh (the owner of the boat) and the local store, named Parker’s that sold the alcohol to the underage Paul Murdaugh, who reportedly used his older brother Buster’s identification.

The Beach family settlement

Mark Tinsley, attorney for the Beach family said of the suit according to ABC, “The Beach family believes this settlement will serve as a warning to all the Parker’s of the world who might make an illegal sale of alcohol to a minor.” As Paul was captured on the store’s video camera buying the alcohol, there was little debate over where the alcohol was obtained from. Paul himself also tested with a blood alcohol level at 0.24 shortly after the crash, three times over the legal limit. There is also little question that Paul’s intoxicated state contributed to the crash. Based on these facts, the store reportedly asked to settle which the Beach’s accepted, with the settlement total being $15 million.

While it is a hefty sum, it is little solace to the family whose pain from the loss of their daughter’s life is something that can never be repaid. Yet the Beach family makes it clear they want to send a message, the selling of alcohol to minors is unacceptable, as is the Murdaugh family’s role in the death of their daughter.