SC’s ‘Murdaugh saga’ will be featured in 2-hour Dateline NBC special. How to tune in
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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.
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For months, social media users have been asking when Dateline would be doing an episode on the disgraced suspended lawyer Alex Murdaugh and the multiple investigations surrounding him and his family.
The wait is almost over.
A two-hour Dateline NBC special scheduled for 9 p.m. Friday “will go beyond the headlines in the Murdaugh family saga,” a Thursday news release said.
The episode is scheduled ahead of another Murdaugh-related special to air Saturday night on CBS’s 48 Hours.
In addition to the Dateline show promising “in-depth reporting” on the June killings of Paul Murdaugh and his mother, Maggie, at the family’s estate in Colleton County, prerecorded interviews will air with people tied to several investigations linked to the Murdaugh family.
Those interviewed include family members of Gloria Satterfield, the Murdaughs’ housekeeper who died after a fall in the Murdaugh home. Although the family attended Alex Murdaugh’s recent bond hearing in Richland County, this is the first time family members have spoken publicly since Satterfield’s death in 2018.
Alex Murdaugh was arrested Oct. 16 on felony charges of misappropriating insurance money meant for her family.
In a preview for the special, Gloria’s brother says, “it ain’t about the money. It’s like [Gloria] was a nobody, as much as she’s done for him.”
Gloria’s sister adds: “Did (Alex) have that going through his mind that day when we buried Gloria, and thinking ‘Oh, how much money am I going to get? How can I get this?”
Curtis “Eddie” Smith, who was arrested and charged in the Sept. 4 shooting that allegedly left Alex Murdaugh with a head injury, was also interviewed for the show, and he denied all charges. Alex Murdaugh previously told the S.C. Law Enforcement Division that he asked Smith to kill him so his surviving son, Buster, could get a $10 million insurance payout.
Dateline NBC also promises to reveal new details about the death of Stephen Smith, whose 2015 death investigation was reopened two weeks after the murders of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh. Smith’s body was found in the middle of a Hampton County road and, despite disagreements over cause of death, his death was ruled a hit and run. His mother, Sandy Smith, and twin sister will appear on the show.
The interviews were conducted by NBC News’ Craig Melvin, who is from Columbia and graduated from Wofford College.
In its 30th season, Dateline reaches more than 17 million people every week through its broadcast, and millions more through its social media platforms and podcasts.
CBS’s 48 Hours episode on the Murdaugh family is scheduled for 10 p.m. Saturday. It will feature interviews with people close to the 2019 fatal boat crash investigation. The crash left 19-year-old Mallory Beach dead and Paul Murdaugh facing three felony boating under the influence charges.
Beach’s aunt and a former Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputy who responded to the crash scene will appear on the broadcast.
This story was originally published October 28, 2021 at 2:56 PM.
