Victims of 2019 Boat Crash Involving Paul Murdaugh Seek $65M from Late Murdaughs' Estates

The attorney for the mother of Mallory Beach, who was killed when Paul Murdaugh allegedly crashed his boat while driving drunk, and two survivors filed the staggering claims on Monday

mallory-beach
Mallory Beach. Photo: National Center For Missing and Endangered

The mother of 19-year-old Mallory Beach, who was killed in a 2019 South Carolina boat crash, as well as two survivors of the accident are seeking a combined $65 million in claims against the estates of Maggie Murdaugh and her son, Paul, who was allegedly driving the boat drunk when he struck a bridge pylon.

On Monday, Mark Tinsley, the attorney for Renee Beach, filed two $25 million creditor's claims in Colleton County Probate Court against the estates of Maggie Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh, who were shot and killed on their property in Islandton on June 7, 2021, online court records show.

Tinsley filed the claims to make sure his clients are in line to get money they believe is owed to them before any beneficiaries, he told the Island Packet.

The claim he filed for Beach is "litigation arising out of wrongful death claim arising out of boat crash on Feb. 24, 2019," the documents state.

murdaugh family
Maggie, Paul and Alex Murdaugh.

Tinsley filed personal injury claims for Morgan Doughty and Miley Altman, two of the teens who survived the crash, against the two estates from the boat crash, the documents state.

Doughty, Paul's girlfriend at the time of the accident, filed two $5 million creditor's claims against the estates, online court records show.

Altman, who was dating Paul's friend Connor Cook, filed two $2.5 million creditor's claims against the estates.

Paul was awaiting trial after being charged with several felonies in connection to the deadly crash — boating under the influence resulting in Beach's death and serious bodily injuries to two passengers — when he and Maggie Murdaugh were mysteriously shot and killed on their property.

Paul had pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were dropped after he died. Police are still investigating the double homicide of Paul and Maggie.

Before the murders, Beach's family and survivors Connor Cook and Anthony Cook had filed civil lawsuits against Murdaugh in connection with the boat crash. Murdaugh owes millions to others he allegedly defrauded.

The claims were filed as a place-holding mechanism to ensure that money from the estates is not distributed to beneficiaries before creditors, like his clients, Tinsley told the Island Packet.

"When you file a claim against an estate, you have to specify an amount," Tinsley told the Island Packet about the figures he used. "So in essence, the (creditors) claims are just a placeholder."

Tinsley told the Island Packet that he believes Murdaugh and his brother, John Marvin Murdaugh, who is the personal representative of Maggie's estate, are taking preemptive legal measures to protect properties including the family's 1,770-acre estate, Moselle, from creditors.

In 2021, a judge placed lis pendens on properties owned by Murdaugh — and later froze his assets — to prevent him from liquidating assets, given the number of lawsuits he faces, ABC News 4 and the Island Packet report.

A lis pendens is a notice to the public that a claim has been filed on a property that it is involved in litigation, which could slow or halt purchases of those properties.

Last week, John Marvin had asked the courts to remove the lis pendens on the properties in Maggie's estate, which are supposed to go to Alex.

His attorneys argued that the Beach family has no legal claim to continue them, ABC News4 reports.

An attorney for John Marvin Murdaugh told the Island Packet his client is not trying to shield assets to protect his brother, saying John Marvin "will not make distributions of any sales proceeds to Alex or anyone else, until the court directs him who to pay."

Murdaugh is supposed to inherit the proceeds of the estates of Paul, and his wife, Maggie.

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Her estate includes Moselle, where Maggie and Paul were killed and their home in Edisto Beach.

Since their deaths, Murdaugh has been charged with money laundering and fraud for allegedly stealing $8.4 million from clients and his own firm.

He remains held in the Richland County jail on a $7 million bond as he awaits trial on more than 70 charges.

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