{"id":899,"date":"2024-02-01T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T21:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/?p=899"},"modified":"2025-12-13T08:22:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T14:22:49","slug":"mandy-matney-murdaugh-murders-podcast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/mandy-matney-murdaugh-murders-podcast\/","title":{"rendered":"Murdaugh murders: Journalist Mandy Matney unravels mysteries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Around 2:20 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2019, a boat crashed into the Archers Creek Bridge in Beaufort County, South Carolina, causing the death of one of the six passengers, 19-year-old Mallory Beach. In the five years since the accident, the details surrounding it and the jaw-dropping chain of events that followed have been covered by every major U.S. news outlet, recounted for prime-time audiences in episodes of \u201c20\/20\u201d and \u201cDateline,\u201d and dissected in docuseries from Netflix, HBO and other merchants of mass entertainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But back in 2019, before goings-on in the South Carolina Lowcountry were a topic of widespread fascination, before the last name Murdaugh was among the most notorious in true crime, Mandy Matney was a local journalist with an inkling there was more to the story. Matney, j\u201912, was working at The Island Packet, a newspaper in Hilton Head Island, also in Beaufort County. She and her colleagues set about reporting on the fatal crash and learned that Paul Murdaugh, the 19-year-old son of well-connected attorney Alex Murdaugh, had been at the helm of the boat that morning. Three generations of Murdaugh men\u2014Alex\u2019s great-grandfather, grandfather and father\u2014had consecutively held the top prosecutor role in the region for 86 years, from 1920 to 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe stories we wrote that first week after the crash got hundreds of comments on social media, with people saying things like, \u2018The Murdaugh family gets away with everything,\u2019\u201d Matney remembers. \u201cI had this feeling that if even half of it was true, it was a huge story, and this was a chance to do something big that mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matney began researching the Murdaughs and steadily unearthed a tangle of suspicious deaths and dubious financial dealings linked to the family. When Paul Murdaugh and his mother, Maggie\u2014Alex\u2019s wife\u2014were found murdered on June 7, 2021, the shocking turn jolted the story into the national spotlight, and Matney\u2019s years of dogged investigative work provided critical context for a country suddenly riveted by the plight of the prominent family. Amid the booming interest, Matney decided the time was right to venture into a new medium, one she thought would allow for a clearer presentation of the full, complicated Murdaugh picture. From her kitchen table, she launched the \u201cMurdaugh Murders Podcast\u201d<\/a> two weeks after Paul and Maggie\u2019s deaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI started the podcast primarily because I wanted people to understand the story,\u201d Matney says. \u201cA lot of the national media were pointing at the boat crash victims as being suspects in Paul and Maggie\u2019s murders. They weren\u2019t understanding all the different layers of how corrupt this area is and the different power dynamics involved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matney\u2019s pivot to podcasting proved life-changing: The \u201cMurdaugh Murders Podcast\u201d hit No. 1 on Apple Podcasts in September 2021, and Matney has narrated for an audience of millions the dramatic, winding Murdaugh tale, continuing into the aftermath of Alex\u2019s March 2023 conviction for Paul and Maggie\u2019s murders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alex Murdaugh in a 2023 mug shot.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Throughout Matney\u2019s unexpected journey\u2014which has included releasing more than 120 podcast episodes; founding an independent news organization, Luna Shark Media; and writing a book, Blood on Their Hands: Murder, Corruption, and the Fall of the Murdaugh Dynasty<\/a><\/em>, published in November by William Morrow\u2014she has remained guided by her resolve to uncover the truth. \u201cWhat has always stuck with me from journalism school is the saying, \u2018Journalists run to the fire,\u2019\u201d Matney says. \u201cEverybody else runs away from the fire, but as a journalist, if you see smoke, you run to it. With the Murdaugh story, I learned that when things are scary, you don\u2019t run away; you don\u2019t ignore it. You go see what\u2019s going on and you figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Matney grew up in Shawnee, and early on showed an inclination toward her future profession. She pored over her parents\u2019 copies of The Kansas City Star and excelled in English classes. \u201cI remember in third grade, the first time I ever felt like a teacher thought I was good at something was when we were constructing complex sentences,\u201d Matney recalls. \u201cShe used mine as an example for the class, and I remember her saying, \u2018You\u2019re really good at this.\u2019 The more I had to do any type of writing, the more I realized that I had a talent at it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Matney was just 7, her family endured the devastating loss of her brother, Michael, her only sibling, who died at age 9 of complications from the flu. \u201cIt changed my whole life in a lot of ways, but it made me want to help other people who were in similar situations of losing a loved one however I could,\u201d Matney says. Out of her grief grew a deep empathy, a trait that touches several aspects of her work today, such as interviewing family members of crime victims. \u201cMaking people feel like they aren\u2019t alone, that they can get through it, that they have someone there\u2014all those things really matter to me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matney honed her writing skills as a reporter and columnist for her high school newspaper, and by the time she arrived at KU in fall 2008, her heart was set on becoming a journalist. As a sophomore, she began writing opinion pieces for The University Daily Kansan. Her column, \u201cText and the City,\u201d explored the changing norms of dating, relationships and communication amid increasing social media use and evolving digital culture. \u201cI thought having my column in the UDK was the coolest thing,\u201d Matney says. \u201cIt was really great for me to gain confidence in my writing\u2014just having that practice of getting your words and your name out there and getting used to people seeing your work.\u201d The newspaper became a cornerstone of her education, and she held various roles on its staff throughout the rest of her time at KU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matney also found new, transformative perspective in studying sociology. She took her first course as a freshman and decided to minor in the subject. \u201cSociology gave me an understanding of why I was so self-conscious about so many things,\u201d Matney says. \u201cI realized how I was so programmed by mainstream media to focus on my looks and to think that my worth was 100% what I looked like. I remember having so many moments of enlightenment and clarity. It was awesome to have those tools, to be able to take a step back. It makes you see the world differently, and it helped me develop into who I am as a journalist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mandy Matney during a visit to KU in 2023.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As graduation approached in May 2012, Matney admits she was nervous and uncertain about her next steps. \u201cEveryone was telling me at the time, \u2018There\u2019s no future in journalism,\u2019\u201d Matney says. \u201cBut I just couldn\u2019t leave it. Journalism was one thing I was good at.\u201d Determined, she landed her first job at the Waynesville Daily Guide in Waynesville, Missouri, and in 2014 joined the Danville Commercial-News in Danville, Illinois. At both papers, budget constraints meant she often shouldered an outsized workload for meager pay, and as burnout crept in, so too did persistent doubts about her career choice. \u201cI constantly had to figure out if continuing to pursue it was worth it,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd the stories I got to tell and people I got to meet are what made it worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of those people was Dick Van Dyke, whom Matney interviewed in 2015 when the entertainment icon reached out to the Commercial-News on social media upon learning the city of Danville had condemned his childhood home. \u201cHe had the most amazing, vivid memories of growing up in Danville. He could remember the color of the wallpaper,\u201d Matney says. \u201cWe put him in contact with the owners of the home, and he was eventually able to buy it. He really cared about his hometown, and he gave a local reporter his time. It was one of those things that makes you excited to get up and do your job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During one of her commutes to the newsroom in Danville, Matney began listening to \u201cSerial,\u201d the 2014 podcast that examined in depth the 1999 murder of 18-year-old Hae Min Lee in Baltimore and the subsequent trial and conviction of Lee\u2019s ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, for the crime. Hosted by journalist Sarah Koenig, \u201cSerial\u201d racked up an estimated 40 million downloads in 2014, and its success highlighted podcasts as a platform for compelling storytelling and propelled the medium into the mainstream. Matney was hooked. \u201cIt was so beyond surface level,\u201d she says. \u201cThe host took you into the process and into how she was coming up with her conclusions instead of just, \u2018This person\u2019s guilty.\u2019 I thought, \u2018Wow, this is journalism and storytelling in a different form, and people are listening to it and paying attention, and it\u2019s making change.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2016, weary of Illinois winters, Matney moved to Bluffton, South Carolina, and signed on at The Island Packet. She dove into learning all about her new community, where dangerous storms and rogue alligators regularly led the news, and she kept an eye out for a story that might present a change-making opportunity of her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As Matney continued investigating the Murdaughs following the boat crash that killed Mallory Beach, an image emerged of a family with a formidable presence in the Lowcountry, a legacy of unchecked legal influence, and ties to more than one mysterious death. Her findings lit a fire in her to do the tough work of piecing together the mountain of seemingly unrelated bits of information into a coherent record of the family\u2019s affairs. She often spent her free time tracking down and interviewing sources and sifting through public records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though she wouldn\u2019t know its significance until later, Matney made a breakthrough in June 2019, when she discovered a wrongful death settlement in a lawsuit brought against Alex Murdaugh by the family of 57-year-old Gloria Satterfield, the Murdaughs\u2019 longtime housekeeper. Satterfield had died in February 2018 after a curious trip-and-fall accident at the Murdaugh home. Matney was the first journalist to report on the settlement, and her coverage became the initial tug on a lengthy thread that, in its unraveling, would reveal Alex Murdaugh\u2019s heap of appalling financial crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Matney and her husband, David Moses, with their dog Luna\u2014the namesake for their news organization, Luna Shark Media\u2014in their home recording studio in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The couple also has a corgi, Joe Pesky.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Eric Bland, an attorney who represents Gloria Satterfield\u2019s sons, credits Matney with bringing Alex Murdaugh\u2019s financial crimes to light. \u201cIn an age of clicks and sound bites, Mandy is the principled, hardworking journalist who does it the old-fashioned way,\u201d Bland says. \u201cAt tremendous risk to her, she educated the public on the full Alex Murdaugh\u2014the nuts and bolts of how he treated and financially manipulated clients.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Gloria Satterfield\u2019s death, Alex suggested to her two sons that they sue him. Through an elaborate scheme, Alex then pocketed over $3.5 million in insurance settlement money. Bland says Satterfield\u2019s sons never knew of any settlement money until they read Matney\u2019s article. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of what opened the floodgates for Alex\u2019s clients to come forward and say there were questionable things that happened in their cases regarding finances,\u201d Bland says. (In 2023, Alex pleaded guilty to 22 counts of financial fraud and money laundering.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through her sleuthing, Matney also discovered that Buster Murdaugh, the eldest of Alex and Maggie\u2019s two sons, had been mentioned in tips to law enforcement regarding the death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith, whose body was found in July 2015 on a rural road not far from one of the Murdaugh properties. Smith\u2019s death was initially ruled a hit-and-run accident. In reviewing recorded interviews and the South Carolina Highway Patrol\u2019s case file, Matney learned of rumors that Smith and Buster had been romantically involved. (The investigation was reopened in 2021, and Smith\u2019s death was ruled a homicide in 2023. Buster has denied any romantic relationship with Smith and any involvement in his death. No one has been charged with the crime.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2020, Matney took a job at an independent South Carolina news website, where she could devote more time to covering the Murdaughs. Throughout her odyssey, Matney and her boyfriend, David Moses, casually entertained the idea of creating a Murdaugh-focused podcast. The couple even recorded a mock episode about the boat crash to pass the time during COVID-19 lockdowns. With both working full time, however, the endeavor never progressed beyond aspirational. \u201cWe wanted to do a podcast, but it was never the right time,\u201d Matney says. \u201cThen when Paul and Maggie\u2019s murders happened, David looked at me and said, \u2018You need to do this now.\u2019 I was terrified, but I wanted to do it.\u201d Some humble preparation got the ball rolling. \u201cDavid just Googled, \u2018how to start a podcast,\u2019 and that\u2019s literally how we learned,\u201d Matney says. \u201cAnd our first episode came out two weeks after the murders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Episode No. 1 of the \u201cMurdaugh Murders Podcast\u201d<\/a> discussed the double homicide of Paul and Maggie through the lens of Matney\u2019s more than two years of research. She laid out for listeners the integral backstory regarding the family\u2019s intimidating reputation, enmeshment with law enforcement, and connections to the deaths of Mallory Beach, Gloria Satterfield and Stephen Smith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it took 60 hours to put our first episode together, and it was only 12 minutes,\u201d Matney says. \u201cI was so bad at it. I couldn\u2019t say full sentences. It doesn\u2019t sound great at all, but I\u2019m so proud of that episode because it\u2019s now gotten millions of listens. And I think it shows people that you can start somewhere. You can improve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the summer of 2021, Matney, with Moses as producer, published seven installments of the \u201cMurdaugh Murders Podcast.\u201d More and more listeners tuned in with each episode. The leap from print to audio wasn\u2019t entirely painless, though. \u201cI immediately got criticism,\u201d Matney says. \u201cNot criticism about my journalism, but about how my voice sounded.\u201d She pressed on, a sharp finish line in her mind: \u201cI originally thought that we would do 10 episodes, tops.\u201d But the Murdaugh saga, it would turn out, had even more bombshells in store: On Sept. 4, 2021, Alex Murdaugh claimed he sustained a gunshot wound to the head. \u201cAnd then our numbers just skyrocketed,\u201d Matney says. (Alex later admitted to orchestrating the shooting himself; it happened the day after the law firm he worked for confronted him about missing money.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of a sudden, it seemed like the whole world was watching the Murdaugh case, and we were the go-to podcast for it,\u201d Matney says. \u201cBecause I had been working on the case for so long and had a lot of sources on the ground who knew what was going on, the episode we put out after the shooting incident was questioning it\u2014was saying, \u2018This is why this is suspicious.\u2019 It was way different from what the rest of the world was reporting. I was leading my audience in the correct direction, and because of that, I think people realized how good our sources were and that we were a voice they could trust in this, and they got really immersed in the story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Matney recalls mid-September 2021\u2014when the \u201cMurdaugh Murders Podcast\u201d topped the Apple Podcasts chart, a feat especially impressive for an independent production\u2014as a blur. She stayed in constant reporter mode, always ready to write about any new activity in the case, which trickled out around the clock. Deciphering all the developments\u2014assessing them beyond face value\u2014required diligence and additional time. \u201cEvery single thing that happened in this case, you had to look at the strategy behind it, where it came from, all the context around it,\u201d Matney says. \u201cAnd I think that was the hardest part. There was no rule book for a story like this that stretched on for so long with so much consistent news.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On top of reporting at her day job and recording the podcast in her free time, Matney soon found herself inundated with requests to participate in TV shows and documentary projects about the Murdaugh case. What might seem a podcaster\u2019s dream didn\u2019t appeal to Matney, however. \u201cSome people think I\u2019m crazy for not wanting to be on Netflix,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was a hard thing to say no to\u2014they were offering more than my salary at the time. They really come at you with the idea that everyone wants to be on TV and everyone wants to be famous. But at the time, I was getting a ton of bullying and harassment online, so I already saw the downside of doing something like that. It ultimately wasn\u2019t worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advice from friend and fellow journalist Liz Farrell, whom Matney had worked with at The Island Packet, steadied her during the otherwise dizzying chapter: \u201cLiz was like, \u2018The podcast is your documentary. You should focus on that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matney heeded the guidance, and since August 2022 has worked full time on the podcast alongside Moses, now her husband. They formed Luna Shark Media<\/a>\u2014the name is a nod to their dog Luna\u2014and brought on Farrell as a writer and co-host. With each episode, the podcast methodically unpacked the multiple Murdaugh-related mysteries, put a spotlight on Alex\u2019s financial misdeeds, and gave listeners nuanced insight into the case\u2019s many unfolding storylines. On July 14, 2022, Alex Murdaugh was charged with Paul and Maggie\u2019s slayings, and on March 2, 2023, after a six-week trial, a jury found him guilty of their murders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was speechless and shaken, but full of positivity,\u201d Matney says of her reaction to Alex\u2019s conviction. The outcome also kindled a sense of validation for her yearslong quest for answers and accountability. \u201cI just couldn\u2019t believe all the blood, sweat and tears that had gone into exposing this man, and for a jury to find him guilty\u2014I felt elated,\u201d she says. In another uplifting turn, musician Sheryl Crow, a fan of the podcast, mentioned Matney on social media during the trial. \u201cYour podcast has been an incredible example of amazing reporting & shining a light on the injustices in the legal system for those (who) have money & power,\u201d Crow tweeted on Feb. 23, 2023. \u201cIt reminded me how big the moment was,\u201d Matney says of the shoutout, \u201cand that the whole world was watching this case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the heart of the Murdaugh story, beneath its spectacle of bizarre twists and turns, lies a familiar scenario, Matney says, to which she attributes the enormous interest the case garnered: \u201cI think a lot of people in towns across America know families like the Murdaughs that have run things for years without people questioning them. I think we, early on, caught on to the corruption aspect of the story and the major problems with our justice system. We\u2019ve been proud we\u2019ve been able to highlight and educate people on so many different things within the justice system through this case. It\u2019s important to show people this corruption does happen and is very real.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Outside media have largely left the Lowcountry, but Matney still keeps tabs on the Murdaugh case, albeit with some adjustments. The \u201cMurdaugh Murders Podcast\u201d is now \u201cTrue Sunlight,\u201d<\/a> and although the podcast still covers Murdaugh news\u2014in late January, a judge denied Alex\u2019s request for a new trial\u2014Matney has branched out, digging into different cases and partnering with other journalists to investigate them. Ten people currently contribute to Luna Shark Media projects, and the organization offers a membership platform, Luna Shark Premium<\/a>, with enhanced content, in-depth articles and educational materials. \u201cWe have a very clear mission to give a voice to the voiceless, to expose the truth wherever it leads, and to get the story straight,\u201d Matney says of \u201cTrue Sunlight.\u201d \u201cWe don\u2019t want to compete with the big media. We want to stick to our mission and what we\u2019re good at, which is cases where crime meets corruption.\u201d In selecting subject matter, Matney says she prioritizes lesser-known cases that have yet to be sufficiently scrutinized by an investigative journalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Alex Murdaugh\u2019s murder trial began, Luna Shark Media launched a second podcast, \u201cCup of Justice,\u201d<\/a> which features legal analysis and commentary from Matney, journalist Liz Farrell and attorney Eric Bland. \u201cCup of Justice\u201d reached No. 1 on Apple Podcasts shortly after it debuted in January 2023. New episodes of \u201cTrue Sunlight\u201d and \u201cCup of Justice\u201d come out every week. Together, the two podcasts average over 2 million listeners monthly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The \u201cMurdaugh Murders Podcast\u201d became \u201cTrue Sunlight\u201d in May 2023. The new name reflects Matney and her team applying their investigative chops to other crimes beyond just those with a Murdaugh connection. Luna Shark Media\u2019s second podcast, \u201cCup of Justice,\u201d launched in January 2023. New episodes of \u201cCup of Justice\u201d and \u201cTrue Sunlight\u201d come out every Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In writing Blood on Their Hands<\/em>, Matney says she wanted not only to take readers inside her work on the Murdaugh case, but also to share her personal story of carving her path in the industry, handling disappointment and setbacks, and finding the courage to hold the powerful to account. The result is a book she hopes can inspire readers, particularly women and young journalists who may feel downplayed or discouraged in their careers, as she once did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matney values the experience she gained at small-town publications, and she stresses that, in many high-profile true crime stories, the foundational fact-finding is done by boots-on-the-ground local journalists long before bigger media outlets swoop in. \u201cThe hard part was connecting the dots,\u201d Matney says of covering the Murdaughs. \u201cIt was months of running into brick walls. We spent two years connecting all the dots before the murders even happened, and then we were able to lay it out for everyone and for the national press to pick up and run with. And I think we also made it easier for sources to speak out against the Murdaugh family. I think a story like Alex Murdaugh really shows how important local journalism is and how much good it can do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Matney\u2019s view, Alex Murdaugh may not have faced consequences for his host of other crimes without the efforts of local journalists that drew attention to the victims. \u201cI don\u2019t think authorities or the media would have cared nearly enough about the financial victims without knowing those very personal stories and just how horrible Alex Murdaugh was to these extremely vulnerable people,\u201d Matney says. \u201cBeing able to tell those stories and show people the really personal side of financial crimes\u2014I\u2019m very proud of that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Matney is also proud of her Jayhawk roots and holds fast to the principles of good reporting instilled in her at KU. \u201cThe way we tell stories will change, but you still have to learn how to captivate an audience and get the information accurate, and those are skills that I absolutely took with me from KU and that provided a great foundation for my career,\u201d she says. She looks back fondly, too, on the budding of lasting friendships and an environment that nurtured self-discovery. \u201cI had the best memories at Anschutz with my girlfriends at like 3 in the morning,\u201d she laughs. \u201cI\u2019m still a chronic procrastinator. I\u2019ve learned to embrace it.\u201d She is often up into the wee hours of the morning finishing podcast episodes, though she has traded her kitchen table setup for a professional recording booth in her home studio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A particularly rewarding aspect of her work, Matney says, is the loyal, engaged audience she has cultivated. \u201cIt\u2019s people collectively who believe in doing the right thing and who want to see justice for victims, and they\u2019ve made \u2018Murdaugh Murders Podcast\u2019 and \u2018True Sunlight\u2019 more of a movement than a podcast,\u201d Matney says. Several listeners have told her the podcast galvanized them to get involved in grassroots advocacy or local government. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to do work for an audience like that. They motivate me to do better,\u201d Matney says. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted my work as a journalist to create positive change, so that has been the best thing in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Megan Hirt, c\u201908, j\u201908, is managing editor of Crimson & Blue.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photos courtesy of Luna Shark Media
Photo of Mandy Matney at KU by Steve Puppe<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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