The Murdaugh family kennels

This is the Murdaugh family's former hunting estate.

It is called Moselle, and it is located at 4147 Moselle Road in Islandton, South Carolina.

On June 7th, 2021, the property became the scene of a double homicide when disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh murdered his wife, Maggie (52), and son, Paul (22).

At 10.06 p.m. on June 7th, 2021, Murdaugh called 911 and claimed that he had discovered the bodies near the dog kennels.

Both victims had been shot multiple times with different weapons. Paul was shot with a shotgun, while Maggie had been killed with a rifle.

For 20 months, Murdaugh told investigators that he had not been at the kennels that evening. He claimed that he napped in the house before leaving to visit his mother, who was suffering from dementia.

The investigation focused on a crucial Snapchat video that Paul recorded shortly before the shootings occurred. The video, which Paul filmed at the kennels, captured Murdaugh's voice calling for the family's dog, Bubba, in the background.

This evidence, combined with cellphone data, contradicted Murdaugh's alibi and proved that he was at the crime scene shortly before the murders.

Murdaugh and his wife had been going through a rough patch. She was living at the family's beach house on Edisto Island.

On the day of the killings, Murdaugh lured her to the estate by telling her that his father's health was failing and that she needed to see him before he passed away. Although Maggie said that she would go to the hospital, he insisted that they meet at Moselle first.

Maggie was suspicious of her husband's requests, calling them "fishy." That day, she texted a friend and remarked, "He's up to something."

Murdaugh's trial began on January 25th, 2023. Prosecutors argued that a "gathering storm" of financial crimes motivated the killings. They claimed that the lawyer stole millions from clients and colleagues and that he had committed the murders to gain sympathy and delay looming inquiries into his theft.

When Murdaugh took the stand to testify, he admitted he had repeatedly lied to investigators about being at the kennels on the night of the killings. However, he attributed his dishonesty to "paranoid thinking" stemming from his painkiller addiction.

During the trial, jurors visited the 1,772-acre estate to assess the crime scene.

On March 2nd, 2023, the jury found Murdaugh guilty of two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He was later sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole.

In March 2023, local businessmen James Ayer and Jeffrey Godley purchased the property for $3.9 million.

The new owners later carved up the land and sold the main house and 21 acres in a February 2024 auction. The buyer, Alex Blair, has since torn down the dog kennels where the murders occurred.