‘Booking it.’ New docs show Paul Murdaugh caught driving 23 mph over limit while on bond

This story first published Aug. 11, 2021.

Paul Murdaugh, the Hampton man charged in the 2019 boat crash that killed a young woman, received a ticket in Charleston County for driving 23 mph over the speed limit while out on bond, according to records obtained by The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.

Murdaugh, who was facing three felony counts of boating under the influence, was pulled over by a S.C. State Transport Police officer on May 26, 2020, in the unincorporated community of Adams Run — more than 50 miles away from his hometown of Hampton.

He received a ticket for driving 78 mph in a 55 mph zone. The video from the officer’s dash camera shows Murdaugh was towing a white center console boat behind his mother’s 2014 Ford truck.

The dash camera video and speeding ticket, released to The Island Packet by the S.C. Department of Public Safety, offer new details about Murdaugh’s actions in the months leading up to his death. In the video, Murdaugh tells the officer he knew he was speeding. He said he was headed home from the beach on Edisto Island.

“The reason I pulled you over, you were booking it, OK,” the officer says in the video. “I got you at 78.”

The May 2020 traffic ticket was among two brushes Murdaugh had with law enforcement while facing trial for the boat crash that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach in 2019. He also was fined $105 for a minor boating violation in March.

The boating ticket was tied to a 2008 Scout boat owned by Murdaugh’s father, Alex Murdaugh. This was a different boat from the 2006 Sea Hunt, also owned by Alex Murdaugh, involved in the 2019 boat crash.

Although minor violations, the two incidents show that Murdaugh traveled, boated and continued to rack up charges throughout the state while facing felony charges.

In July 2019, three months after he was directly indicted in the crash, a judge removed the only condition of his release, allowing Murdaugh to travel outside the 14th Judicial Circuit — Beaufort, Hampton, Allendale, Colleton and Jasper counties — while awaiting trial.

The judge’s order said the condition was removed to allow Murdaugh to “attend college, work, live, consult with his attorneys and for any other lawful purpose.”

Two months ago, Murdaugh and his mother, Maggie, were found shot to death outside their sprawling estate in Colleton County. In the wake of his death, the boat crash has received renewed scrutiny.

Many criticized the way police and the courts handled the boat crash case and said Murdaugh received special treatment because of his prominent family, three generations of whom have been state prosecutors. He was never handcuffed at his bond hearing. His jail mugshot, taken in the courthouse hallway with an iPhone 7 Plus, depicted Murdaugh in a collared shirt, not an orange jumpsuit as is typical.

And even though he faced BUI charges, the state did not restrict him from drinking alcohol or driving a boat. Prosecutors did not ask the court to consider as evidence in his bond hearing the 2017 citation Murdaugh received for possession of alcohol by a minor, according to previous reporting.

The May 2020 traffic ticket shows Murdaugh was fined $180 and would have received four points on his license. He was scheduled to appear in Ravenal Magistrate Court on June 25, 2020. However, court records do not show the result of that hearing — or whether it occurred. The charge no longer shows up in court filings.

The dash cam video shows that he did not have proof of insurance in his car, but the officer was able to confirm he was insured.

“Just come to court. We’ll probably be able to work out something. You didn’t give me any issues, you know, so I’ll try to help you out as much as I can,” the officer told Murdaugh in the video. “You’re good to go. Just back it down a little bit.”

Murdaugh was found shot to death just over a year later.

This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 3:35 PM.

Kacen Bayless

The Island Packet

(843) 560-9167

A reporter for The Island Packet covering projects and investigations, Kacen Bayless is a native of St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Missouri with an emphasis in investigative reporting. In the past, he’s worked for St. Louis Magazine, the Columbia Missourian, KBIA and the Columbia Business Times. His work has garnered Missouri and South Carolina Press Association awards for investigative, enterprise, in-depth, health, growth and government reporting. He was awarded South Carolina’s top honor for assertive journalism in 2020.