Murdaugh podcaster testifies she did not leak photos in court contempt hearing
A South Carolina podcaster known for her journalism work on the Alex Murdaugh case testified Friday in a civil proceeding in York County court that she did not leak any photos of the dead body of a girl who died after a 2019 boat crash involving Murdaugh’s late son, Paul.
Mandy Matney also testified that she was “terrified” after threats against her online that went on for years, and that’s why she did not attend a deposition in the case in March at a location she said she did not believe was safe.
Matney had the “Murdaugh Murders Podcast” that is now known as “True Sunlight Podcast.” The podcast has a large following that stems from years of coverage of Murdaugh, who was convicted in 2023 of killing Paul and his wife in 2021. Those convictions were overturned by the S.C. Supreme Court this week. The Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Alex Murdaugh in the homicide cases.
Dozens of Matney’s supporters attended Friday’s hearing held in open court at the Moss Justice Center.
Matney testified Friday at length that threats escalated after her podcast gained popularity and continued through the day she was supposed to be deposed in March. She was deposed last month, on April 8, after missing the original date.
Matney is not a named party in the civil suit from Hampton County in the Beach versus Parker legal case. Gregory Parker owns convenience stores, and he and others are named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by Renee Beach. Beach is the mother of Mallory Beach, who drowned in 2019 after being thrown from a boat allegedly driven by Paul Murdaugh, who had purchased alcohol at one of Parker’s stores before the boat crash, The State previously reported.
In her lawsuit, Renee Beach alleges that Parker and others leaked confidential photos of Mallory Beach’s dead body, according to previous State newspaper reporting and court documents.
Parker’s legal team wanted the deposition to see what information Matney has about the photos, testimony and previous reporting shows.
The hearing was in York County court Friday because visiting South Carolina Circuit Judge R. Keith Kelly of Spartanburg is the judge assigned to the civil case and he was holding court in York this week. Kelly ordered Matney to appear Friday after ruling two weeks ago she had disobeyed a court-ordered subpoena to sit for a March deposition. The hearing was about whether Kelly will rule if Matney will be held in contempt.
Matney testified Friday, under questions from her own lawyer, that she wanted to be deposed in March but did not believe the location was safe after threats against her.
Friday’s hearing started around 10 a.m. and ended around 3 p.m. without lawyers for the Parker defendants having the chance to cross-examine her.
Kelly told the court he continued the hearing to about three weeks from now, and it will be held virtually. Matney remains under oath until that hearing, Kelly told her.
It remains unclear when, after the hearing resumes, Kelly will rule on whether Matney will be held in contempt for missing the original deposition.
This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Murdaugh podcaster testifies she did not leak photos in court contempt hearing."
