What’s Fact and What’s Fiction?

The rise and fall of the Murdaugh family has become one of the most tragic true crime sagas of the last decade.

What began as a boat crash spiraled into a series of shocking revelations: a housekeeper’s unexplained death, insurance fraud allegations, a double homicide and ultimately, the unraveling of a century-old legal dynasty in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.

Inspired by journalist Mandy Matney’s Murdaugh Murders Podcast, Hulu’s Murdaugh: Death in the Family revisits the sprawling case with a mix of documentary elements and dramatization. During an October 2025 episode of the show’s companion podcast, co-creator Michael D. Fuller explained that the series combines “truth truth” — events depicted exactly as they occurred — with “emotional truth,” a storytelling approach that uses recreated or condensed scenes to reflect the emotional experience of those involved.

“These are human beings. They’re complex. They’re complicated. It’s our version of them, obviously, but hopefully, there’s some truth illuminated about how they interacted with each other,” he said. “It’s that human drama that’s at the heart of [the series] that I would really love for people to take away.”

Here’s everything to know about what is fact and what is fiction in Murdaugh: Death in the Family.

Warning: Murdaugh: Death in the Family spoilers ahead!

Did Alex Murdaugh really use the governor to get out of legal trouble?

In the first episode of Murdaugh: Death in the Family, viewers watch Alex Murdaugh (Jason Clarke) hustle to launch a jellyfish harvesting and processing business — until the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) abruptly shuts it down over a missing permit.

Later in the episode, Alex introduces SCDHEC official Doug Brailsford (Chris Greene) to the South Carolina governor at a Murdaugh family party, hinting at a shady deal: He’ll fund Brailsford’s environmental studies in exchange for a permit.

But that storyline is largely fictionalized. In reality, Alex’s jellyfish venture was shut down by the SCDHEC due to permitting issues and environmental concerns in 2014, years before the timeframe depicted in the series, per the South Carolina-based news outlet FITSNews. There is no evidence he enlisted the governor’s help to revive it.

Fuller told MovieWeb in October 2025 that he included the jellyfish subplot not for factual accuracy but because it “felt like a very Southern business endeavor,” serving as a symbolic stand-in for the land deals and side ventures Alex pursued at the time.

Did Alex Murdaugh really attempt to influence witnesses of Paul Murdaugh’s boat crash?

There is credible reporting that Alex, along with his father Randolph Murdaugh III (Gerald McRaney), went to the hospital in the early hours following the 2019 boat crash involving Paul Murdaugh (Johnny Berchtold) that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach (Madeline Popovich).

According to The New Yorker, multiple witnesses said Alex moved from room to room where the injured survivors were being treated, appearing to interfere with the investigation by trying to influence their statements. Surveillance footage featured in the 2022 documentary Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty also shows Alex entering treatment areas without authorization and speaking with patients.

Did the Murdaughs really try to frame Connor Cook?

Court records include claims which indicate that Alex and his associates tried to influence the investigation of the 2019 boat crash, including the testimony of Connor Cook (Nicholas Cirillo).

Immediately after the crash, Alex allegedly approached Cook in the hospital and urged him to remain silent about who was driving. He later reportedly recommended that the Cook family retain Cory Fleming (Ben Begley) — Alex’s college roommate and Paul’s godfather — as Cook’s attorney for the criminal investigation, a 2021 lawsuit claimed. Cook later claimed that Fleming advised him not to speak with the police, a move that may have shifted suspicion away from Paul.

In September 2021, Cook filed a civil lawsuit against Alex and his son Buster, claiming that he and several others conspired to hold him criminally and civilly responsible for the boat accident, per News19. The case was resolved in October 2024 when a judge approved a settlement between Alex and the crash victims, according to The State.

Did Gloria Satterfield really comfort Paul Murdaugh after the boat wreck?

No, Gloria Satterfield (Kathleen Wilhoite) did not comfort Paul after the 2019 boat crash. Satterfield, the Murdaugh family’s longtime housekeeper, tragically died in February 2018 following a fall at the Murdaugh estate.

“We chose to keep Gloria,” Fuller shared on the official Murdaugh: Death in the Family podcast. “We decided that in order to show her relationship with the family, with Paul in particular, it made story truth sense to have her be alive and see how that plays out in the current timeline of our show.”

In reality, Alex secretly arranged an insurance settlement worth over $4 million without notifying Gloria’s surviving sons, Michael and Brian, according to ABC7 Chicago. The scheme came to light in 2021 when Satterfield’s sons discovered the settlement through media reports and hired attorneys to investigate.

Alex eventually admitted to stealing the funds with the help of Fleming, leading to his disbarment, per the United States Attorney’s Office. Through settlements with insurance companies and his law firm, Satterfield’s sons have since recovered over $7.5 million, according to WJCL.

Did Alex Murdaugh and Mandy Matney really come face-to-face?

In episode 2, journalist Mandy Matney (Brittany Snow) is shown engaging in a tense stare-off with Alex at the boat crash site. In reality, Matney told TV Insider in October 2025 that she did have a stare-down with Alex on two occasions, but both took place at the courthouse.

“I did do a face-off with Alex Murdaugh in federal court a couple years ago. I was trying to leave the building, and for some reason, he was leaving at the same time, in cuffs and everything,” she told the outlet.

She continued, “Before that, I did a stare-off with him in Paul Murdaugh’s court hearing in 2019. I saw him for the first time, and we did a stare-off, and he looked like he was about to approach me. And then court started.”

Did the Murdaughs really go on vacation after Paul Murdaugh’s boat wreck?

Episode 3 depicts the Murdaugh family as they take a lavish trip to the Bahamas following Paul’s boat crash.

While the family did vacation in the Bahamas, that trip actually occurred in 2017, two years before the fatal boat accident, per Fox News. Contrary to the series’ dramatization, there is no evidence that Paul was involved in any physical altercation with anyone during the vacation.

Did Alex Murdaugh really steal the settlement of a client?

While there isn’t a client named “Alvarez” specifically mentioned in public records, Alex was convicted of stealing settlement funds from multiple clients, including those who suffered serious injuries or death. He diverted these funds into a fictitious account he controlled, known as “Forge,” which he used to conceal the thefts, according to court documents.

In total, Alex was found to have embezzled more than $6 million from at least two dozen clients, inflating fees or expenses and diverting settlement money into his own accounts, per PBS.

In September 2023, he pleaded guilty to 22 federal charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering, per ABC30.