Murdaugh used “plan of deceit” to buy beer before boat crash, Parker’s says in documents

This story first published Feb. 27, 2020.

The suspected driver of the boat that crashed in Archer’s Creek a year ago, killing 19-year-old Mallory Beach, used a “plan of deceit” — a borrowed ID — that “hoodwinked” a Parker’s clerk and other establishments into selling alcohol to the underage driver, according to a response filed in court this week by a defendant in the wrongful death lawsuit.

The filing by Parker’s 55 convenience store, made public Thursday, said “Paul Murdaugh then gathered his friends to embark on an evening boat ride despite the thick fog, low visibility and the lack of minimal safety equipment utilized on the boat. All passengers completely disregarded the obvious dangers and proceeded with it anyway.”

Parker’s, arguing that it has provided all available and requested evidence in the civil case filed by Beach’s mother, asked a judge to dismiss claims by Beach’s attorney that it hasn’t done so.

Parker’s attorneys, Griffith, Freeman & Liipfert, said they did not know that Beach’s attorney wanted some documents, including a hard copy receipt and the Feb. 23, 2019, video footage of a sale of alcohol allegedly made to a female boat passenger using fake identification.

Court documents say the female boater bought alcohol before Murdaugh, then 19, used his brother’s driver’s license and mother’s credit card to purchase more than $48 of alcohol, including a 15-pack of Natural Light beer. After the purchase, he head to a river house owned by his family trust, court document allege.

Murdaugh, of Hampton County, is not listed as a defendant in the civil suit but awaits trial on three charges of felony boating under the influence.

Mark Tinsley of Gooding & Gooding, Beach’s mother’s attorney, said his client’s response to Parker’s filing would be provided to the court Friday.

Civil lawsuit

Tinsley’s January motion demanded a variety of documents and information. It is Tinley’s second motion asking for information, with the first filed in July.

Parker’s responds that it believed it had complied because the company hadn’t heard from Tinsley in more than six months.

For instance, Parker’s says the company provided Tinsley with video footage from the sale of alcohol to Murdaugh. It says the company was unaware, for the entire year, that another boater had also purchased alcohol.

The response says Tinsley learned during an earlier deposition that another boater had used fake identification purchased off ID GOD online.

“It was learned.....she obtained it while she was in college and obtained another ID for another passenger on the boat,” the suit says.

Parker’s is in the process of reviewing videotape and sales receipts for the alleged sale, the company says.

Tinsley’s motion also asked for the hard-copy receipt for the sale to Murdaugh. It claimed the receipt would show the clerk violated a policy by not signing it — a step needed to show a clerk matched identification to credit cards used during a sale.

“There is no actual receipt that can be generated from Parker’s,” the response says. “The policy was not in effect at the time and is not in effect anymore.”

The suit goes on to explain that credit card companies do not require identification be checked since the “advent of the chip.”

Murdaugh used his mother’s card, which had a chip, the suit says.

Parker’s also claims that Tinsley has the full personnel file for the clerk who sold Murdaugh the alcohol.

Tinsley previously said the clerk testified that she was warned for using her cell phone at work, but the warning is not in her personnel file. The motion says the cashier is seen checking social media on her phone during the sale of alcohol.

The clerk was “apparently” warned, but verbally, Parker’s says in its response. There is nothing written about the warning in the personnel file.

The clerk, according to the response, is seen glancing at her phone while Murdaugh places the credit card into the credit card slot. It claims the “transaction” had already taken place.

Tinsley has asked for financial documents, such as gross and net sales of alcohol beverages, but Parker’s has argued the documents aren’t likely to lead to relevant information during discovery.

Parker’s also claims it has provided Tinsley with all training records, and that the plaintiff signed a confidentiality agreement upon receiving the documents.

In an emailed statement Thursday, Parker’s reiterated its “longstanding policy” of checking identification for all customers who purchase alcohol. “As stated in our recent filing, Parker’s has some of the strictest policies in the industry regarding the sale of alcohol,” the statement said.

The legal response claims this includes all customer service representatives undergoing alcohol training, including a third-party online program and the use of mystery shoppers.

“The sale of alcohol was to an individual who had fraudulent ID [his brothers] and tried to take advantage of Parker’s clerk and was successful in this attempt,” the response says.

Hampton v. Beaufort County

Where the civil case will be tried is another battle between the Beach family attorney and Parker’s.

Parker’s requested the case be moved from Hampton County in January because of the travel time for Beaufort County Memorial Hospital workers who will testify in the trial.

Tinsley filed a response late last week claiming the family wants the case in Hampton County, and that traveling to Beaufort County would be “nearly emotionally unbearable.”

Murdaugh’s grandfather, Randolph Murdaugh III, and father, R. Alexander Murdaugh, are partners in the prominent Hampton County law firm Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick. The law firm was founded by Paul Murdaugh’s great-great grandfather.

Three generations of Murdaughs have held the elected position of solicitor for the 14th Judicial Circuit, which serves Beaufort, Hampton, Jasper, Allendale and Colleton counties, since 1920. Randolph Murdaugh, who succeeded his father in the post, served from 1986 to 2006. He continues to work as a contractor prosecuting criminal cases for the office. His son, Richard Alexander Murdaugh, voluntarily assists.

The affidavits did not mention the Murdaughs’ possible conflicts of interest in Hampton County as a reason to change the trial’s location.

This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 5:40 PM.