SC - Paul Murdaugh, 22 and mom Margaret, 52, found shot to death, Islandton, 7 June 2021

[*LD*]

The Murdaugh family will be on GMA tomorrow. What??

Exclusive interview with Murdaugh family on Good Morning America Thursday
#scnews https://t.co/pEQpHh2ENW

 

[Snoopster]

RSBM: I would have to agree with that assessment. I went to a private school for my high school years & my parents worked their butts off to keep me in school & the bills paid. I went to school with many wealthy kids that were, by 8th grade, alcoholics & drug addicts. Their parents would host parties where alcohol & weed were supplied by the parents to the kids. It was common knowledge & people acted like it was normal for young kids to be getting drunk with their parents. I don't live in SC, but I feel a lot of really wealthy parents who come from money do this & don't think twice about the consequences.

I'm curious. Did you go to school in the US?
I live in Canada, and the public school system is widely attended. Private school is rare. Of course the super wealthy send the kids to private schools, but it's a tiny number.

 

[cujenn81]

BBM
Here, where I live, the penalties for drunk driving a boat or any watercraft now have the same rules, sentencing and fines as being picked up for drunk driving a vehicle. You get a breathalyzer and taken into jail on the spot.
Noted** also same with driving golf carts around here while drunk. You get hauled into jail for that too.

Not sure what the laws are in SC though. Might be different there.

In South Carolina, you can refuse a breathalyzer but it’s an automatic six-month license suspension and a free trip down to the county jail. Defense attorneys almost always advise their clients to refuse them. If the officer can’t measure your level of intoxication at the time of your arrest, it can be hard to quantify later. You will almost certainly go to jail and be given a blood test anyway — but all that takes time and works to your advantage.

 

[lisaNYC]

The Murdaugh family will be on GMA tomorrow. What??

Exclusive interview with Murdaugh family on Good Morning America Thursday
#scnews https://t.co/pEQpHh2ENW

 

[stmarysmead]

This is the exact reporting now on the events of that evening. They started drinking on Murdaugh property.

7 P.M. FEB. 23, 2019 — SEVEN HOURS EARLIER
About an hour after dark, six friends, ages 18 to 20 — Beach; Cook; his cousin, Connor; Paul Murdaugh; and two others — prepare to launch a 17-foot Sea Hunt boat from the dock of property owned by Murdaugh’s family.

They have brought more than $45 worth of alcohol aboard, purchased earlier by Murdaugh using his older brother’s ID at a Parker’s convenience store in Ridgeland, a lawsuit filed by Beach’s mother alleges. The stash includes a 15-pack of Natural Light beer bought on special, the suit says.

Before leaving, the group drinks at “The Island,” a $1.45 million property owned by Murdaugh’s grandfather on Chechessee Creek, less than 2 miles from Parkers. And then the boat takes off..

The first destination is an oyster roast at Kristy and James Wood’s waterfront home on Paukie Island, about 20 nautical miles away and 7 miles from U.S. Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort.

James and Kristy Wood, principal of Brunson Elementary in the Hampton District One Schools, allow the boaters to drink at their house “despite (the minors’) growing intoxication” and knowing they would be driving the boat later that night, the civil suit says.

It’s unclear how long the group stays at the Woods’, but once they leave, intending to return to the Murdaugh property, they stop first at Beaufort’s Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, Anthony Cook, then 20, previously told The Island Packet.

2 A.M. FEB. 24
The group docks the boat downtown, and two of the boaters continue to drink, records show. They stop at Luther’s Rare & Well Done, described as “Beaufort’s best bar for nightlife and live entertainment” in the city’s 2019 Water Festival poster.

The boaters at the bar, already intoxicated, are served more alcohol, according to the lawsuit.

Meanwhile, Beach and Cook sit on a large wooden swing facing the Broad River, waiting for the rest of the group, Cook told the newspaper.

The boaters, he recalled, leave downtown Beaufort about 2 a.m.


Murdaugh is driving, Cook told police. The two of them argue, Cook said, because Murdaugh is too intoxicated to drive.

They are 5.6 nautical miles from the R.C. Berkeley Bridge.


Read more here: https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/article240444896.html#storylink=cpy


Read more here: https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/article240444896.html#storylink=cpy

 

[grillzgirl]

The Murdaugh family will be on GMA tomorrow. What??

Exclusive interview with Murdaugh family on Good Morning America Thursday
#scnews https://t.co/pEQpHh2ENW

Wow!! I'm going to get up early to watch. This case has me glued to my laptop.
I believe GMA starts at 7am ET?

 

[*LD*]

Wow!! I'm going to get up early to watch. This case has me glued to my laptop.
I believe GMA starts at 7am ET?

I am just shocked. Are there many cases where the families very first statement to the media is through a national outlet on a Morning show?

Seems like a PR campaign rather than an effort to connect with locals and get the truth. Not normal. Can't wait to watch this.

Shades of Justin Barber....

 

[stmarysmead]

In South Carolina, you can refuse a breathalyzer but it’s an automatic six-month license suspension and a free trip down to the county jail. Defense attorneys almost always advise their clients to refuse them. If the officer can’t measure your level of intoxication at the time of your arrest, it can be hard to quantify later. You will almost certainly go to jail and be given a blood test anyway — but all that takes time and works to your advantage.

I don’t understand though…they were all drunk at the scene of an accident. Why weren’t they arrested?

I quoted this before…SC has implied consent.

‘You also need to understand that the concept of “implied consent” applies to boating as well as driving. Implied consent means that by operating a watercraft of any sort, you are implicitly consenting to chemical tests of breath, blood, or urine to determine the presence of drugs or alcohol should you be arrested. You can read the full text of the law here, but these are the highlights:

 

[grillzgirl]

I am just shocked. Are there many cases where the families very first statement to the media is through a national outlet on a Morning show?

Seems like a PR campaign rather than an effort to connect with locals and get the truth. Not normal. Can't wait to watch this.

Shades of Justin Barber....

And the Ramseys...........

 

[branmuffin]

More speculation on my part but if PM was the target, it is possible that he was bad-mouthing Mallory Beach after the crash and someone got wind of it. Going on just what I've read about him, he might've gotten drunk and said some stuff that made some folks real angry. I would love to know if he went to Mallory's funeral or displayed any sort of sincere remorse to the Beach family.

JMO

When I was on MM's FB page there was activity up to the date MB died and afterward there wasn't one mention of her death. Nothing. Just the usual pics of the family at the lodge, weddings, etc.

What is BUI in South Carolina?
<snipped>

To get a conviction for a BUI, the officer must prove that the driver was under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or both so that his or her faculties to operate the boat were “materially and appreciably impaired.”

Boating Under the Influence 1st – BUI 1st is a misdemeanor, and the judge can sentence a convicted person to imprisonment of 48 hours up to 30 days or a fine or community service. The person will also lose his privilege to operate a watercraft (aka boat) for 6 months. The person will have to complete the Alcohol and Drug Safety Action Program (ADSAP) as well, which usually costs about $500. Finally, he or she will have to complete a boating safety course. If the intoxicated boater causes property damage or bodily injury that is something less than “great bodily injury” as defined below, the person’s boating privileges will be suspended for one year.

BUI 2nd – The judge can sentence the person to imprisonment of 48 hours up to one year and a fine of up to $5,000. Heavy community service could come into play in lieu of the jail sentence. The person’s boating privileges will be suspended for one year, and the person must complete ADSAP and a boating safety course.

BUI 3rd – The judge can sentence the person to imprisonment of 60 days up to 3 years and a fine of $3,500 up to $6,000. The person’s boating privileges will be suspended for 2 years, and the person must complete ADSAP and a boating safety course.

Only violations that occurred within 10 years can cause later convictions to BUI 2nd, BUI 3rd, or greater.

What is Felony BUI in South Carolina?
Great Bodily Injury – If the intoxicated boater causes great bodily injury to someone else, then the boater is guilty of a felony, and the judge will sentence the boater to up to 15 years in jail and fine the person between $5,000 and $10,000. “Great bodily injury” is defined as “bodily injury which creates substantial risk of death or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.”

Death – If the intoxicated boater causes someone’s death, the jail sentence for a conviction is between 1 and 25 years, and the fine will be between $10,000 and $20,000. In either case, the person’s boating privileges will be suspended for 3 years starting after the person is released from jail.

Boating Under the Influence (BUI) in South Carolina

AM refused to allow his son to be breathalized, IIRC

 

[MoeInVA]

I don’t understand though…they were all drunk at the scene of an accident. Why weren’t they arrested?

I quoted this before…SC has implied consent.

‘You also need to understand that the concept of “implied consent” applies to boating as well as driving. Implied consent means that by operating a watercraft of any sort, you are implicitly consenting to chemical tests of breath, blood, or urine to determine the presence of drugs or alcohol should you be arrested. You can read the full text of the law here, but these are the highlights:

Here is what I have seen in MSM on this.
Beach death investigation: Why was no one breathalyzed after SC crash?

..
A Port Royal police report states an officer observed all five were “grossly intoxicated.” Beaufort County deputies, who were first on the scene, eventually determined one of two boys was driving– Paul Murdaugh or Connor Cook– both only 20 years old.

Neither were breathalyzed on the scene.

“Same thing as if everybody standing around a car, you don’t know who drove it. It’s not against the law to be standing around a car intoxicated, it’s against the law to drive it,” McCullough explained. “Until you can prove who was driving it, you have probable cause to test them if they were driving under the influence.

“I can’t just go test somebody on the street because I think they’re drunk.”


Beach death investigation: Why was no one breathalyzed after SC crash?
———

I just want to note that:
- none of the other boat passengers said that CC was driving in depositions
- when I googled CC’s address it appeared to be a very humble 1 bed 1 bath tiny home
- CC was seriously injured
- was Cc the poor friend thrown into the mix to save PM?
Jmo

 

[clearskies1]

I don’t understand though…they were all drunk at the scene of an accident. Why weren’t they arrested?

I quoted this before…SC has implied consent.

‘You also need to understand that the concept of “implied consent” applies to boating as well as driving. Implied consent means that by operating a watercraft of any sort, you are implicitly consenting to chemical tests of breath, blood, or urine to determine the presence of drugs or alcohol should you be arrested. You can read the full text of the law here, but these are the highlights:

I haven't read the law yet, but I think Paul may have been claiming that he wasn't operating the boat when it crashed. That may not matter under the alcohol testing law, but just putting his apparent defense out there. JMO.

 

[bestill]

https://twitter.com/ABCNews4/status/1405340360428118017?s=20

Murdaugh family to be on ABC Good Morning America Thursday!

I bet someone has hired a PR company to help navigate this.

 

[cujenn81]

I don’t understand though…they were all drunk at the scene of an accident. Why weren’t they arrested?

I quoted this before…SC has implied consent.

‘You also need to understand that the concept of “implied consent” applies to boating as well as driving. Implied consent means that by operating a watercraft of any sort, you are implicitly consenting to chemical tests of breath, blood, or urine to determine the presence of drugs or alcohol should you be arrested. You can read the full text of the law here, but these are the highlights:

Oh they should have definitely been arrested — breathalyzer or no.

 

[clearskies1]

https://twitter.com/ABCNews4/status/1405340360428118017?s=20

Murdaugh family to be on ABC Good Morning America Thursday!

I bet someone has hired a PR company to help navigate this.

I assume they'll say that they can't discuss the facts of the crime because of the ongoing investigation...but will they be asked where they were at the time of the killings? JMO.

 

[MoeInVA]

https://twitter.com/ABCNews4/status/1405340360428118017?s=20

Murdaugh family to be on ABC Good Morning America Thursday!

I bet someone has hired a PR company to help navigate this.

Well now we know why they set up a dedicated tip line today. (After saying there was no active search for suspects and no danger to the community).

 

[MoeInVA]

I assume they'll say that they can't discuss the facts of the crime because of the ongoing investigation...but will they be asked where they were at the time of the killings? JMO.

Good call. GMA better be asking for timelines and alibis. I’m afraid they won’t.

 

[bestill]

I bet it will be an extended family member being interviewed, someone that has no idea of what actually happened through the years, jmo.

 

[clearskies1]

https://twitter.com/ABCNews4/status/1405340360428118017?s=20

Murdaugh family to be on ABC Good Morning America Thursday!

I bet someone has hired a PR company to help navigate this.

I assume they'll say that they can't discuss the facts of the crime because of the ongoing investigation...but will they be asked where they were at the time of the killings? JMO.

Good call. GMA better be asking for timelines and alibis. I’m afraid they won’t.

If they don't ask then it would seem that the interview was only granted with restrictions. JMO.

 

[scmom]

Maybe GMA will rehash the boating accident the whole time instead of trying to find out what happened to Paul and Maggie.