Murdaugh hearing for bond change in fatal Beaufort Co. boat crash case set for today
READ MORE
Murdaugh murders in Colleton County
Two members of a powerhouse legal family were shot and killed June 7 in Colleton County, SC. Read more of our coverage.
Expand All
This story first published July 29, 2019.
Breaking: Just before noon Monday the judge ruled on Murdaugh’s request to loosen bond restrictions as well as the state’s request that Murdaugh be monitored for alcohol. Read here.
In a quick turn of events, Paul Murdaugh will go before a judge Monday to request changes in his bond conditions for the three felony charges he faces in the Beaufort-area boat crash that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach and injured others in February.
Officials with the S.C. Attorney General’s Office said Thursday the hearing, which could modify the only condition of the 20-year-old Hampton man man’s bond for the felony boating under the influence charges, would be scheduled by their office likely in the next few weeks.
Spokesman Robert Kittle told The Island Packet Friday evening that the hearing was scheduled in Beaufort County General Session’s court for 9:30 a.m. Monday. On Sunday he confirmed the hearing had been pushed back to 11 a.m. Monday.
Murdaugh’s attorneys, state Sen. Dick Harpootlian and James M. Griffin, filed the motion last week asking the court to allow Murdaugh to travel anywhere within South Carolina so that he may “attend college, work, live, consult with his attorneys and for any other lawful purpose,” according to court records.
Originally, Murdaugh, who pleaded not guilty in May, was ordered not to leave the 14th Judicial Circuit, comprising Beaufort, Hampton, Allendale, Colleton and Jasper counties, without permission of the court while he awaits trial. He was released on a $50,000 recognizance bond. Even though Murdaugh faces BUI charges, the state did not restrict him from drinking alcohol or driving a boat while out on bond.
In some DUI cases involving defendants under the drinking age, such as that of a S.C. 17-year-old accused of killing another teen while driving drunk the same week of Murdaugh’s hearing, a judge will require the defendant to wear an alcohol-detecting ankle monitor while awaiting trial.
At the May hearing, Harpootlian said Murdaugh is a sophomore at the University of South Carolina.
Because judges from the 14th Judicial Circuit recused themselves, 15th Circuit Court Judge Steven John of Horry County presided over the bond hearing in May.
The case has drawn widespread media attention, as well as outrage on social media. Commenters are quick to point out any perceived special treatment given to Murdaugh, a member of a politically powerful South Carolina family with three generations who served as the solicitor of the 14th Judicial Circuit.
At the bond hearing, Murdaugh was never handcuffed. His jail mugshot, taken with an iPhone 7 Plus in the hallway of the courthouse, shows he was wearing regular clothes. Other defendants typically are booked at the detention center wearing orange jumpsuits.
Beaufort County court records show Murdaugh received a citation for “purchase or possession of beer or wine by a minor” by a South Carolina Department of Natural Resources officer on May 29, 2017. The charges were dismissed on July 5, 2018, after Murdaugh was sentenced to an alcohol-diversion program. These charges were not mentioned at Murdaugh’s bond hearing in May when discussing his criminal background.
A Beaufort County grand jury directly indicted Murdaugh on April 18 — what would have been Beach’s 20th birthday — on one count of boating under the influence causing death and two counts of boating under the influence causing great bodily injury.
Beach, also of Hampton, was ejected from the 17-foot boat Murdaugh is accused of driving when it crashed into a bridge around 2:20 a.m. Feb. 24 in Archers Creek. Her body was found a week later in a marshy area about 5 miles from the crash.
The five surviving passengers in the boat, including Murdaugh, were injured, according to police reports. Law enforcement officers at the scene also noted that all five appeared to be “grossly intoxicated.”
The boat, owned by Paul’s father, Alexander Murdaugh, was traveling at a high rate of speed when it struck the bridge, according audio between emergency officials that night.
A sobriety test was not offered to any of the boaters at the scene the night of the accident, Robert McCullough of SCDNR previously told the Packet. It also was unknown to law enforcement investigators at the time who was driving the boat.
This story was originally published July 29, 2019 at 8:56 AM.
%20Cropped.jpg)
