SC judge delays Mallory Beach wrongful death trial set for Jan. 9 against Murdaugh, Parker

A South Carolina judge has agreed to delay the trial start date in the wrongful death lawsuit of 19-year-old Mallory Beach, who died in a 2019 boating accident, according to a court order filed Tuesday in Hampton County.

The trial over the lawsuit — filed by Beach’s mother, Renee, against disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh and Greg Parker of Parker’s Kitchen, a popular gas station chain — was originally set to begin Jan. 9. The trial will decide who is at fault in Beach’s death and how much in damages are due to her family.

Lawyers in the case cited scheduling conflicts for a Jan. 9 trial. In one case, Murdaugh faces a Jan. 23 trial in the murders of his wife and son.

The order signed by Judge Daniel Hall did not say when the wrongful death trial would begin but said a new trial date will be determined after consultation with attorneys.

“The Beach family is looking forward to trying their case as soon as possible,” Mark Tinsley, the Beach family’s attorney, said in a statement. “While they would prefer the matter be tried in January, they understand some of the practical obstacles and concerns that Judge Hall likely considered in his decision.”

“More importantly,” Tinsley added, “the family does not want the trial of their case immediately before the murder trial to serve as a basis for an appeal in either case.”

Murdaugh’s attorney Dick Harpootlian declined to comment.

P.K. Shere, Parker’s attorney, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Beach died in February 2019 after a boat she was riding in with her boyfriend and friends crashed into a bridge near Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island. Murdaugh’s son, Paul, was allegedly drunk and driving the boat, owned by Murdaugh.

Beach’s body was found a week later near the Broad River Boat Landing in Beaufort. All six onboard had been drinking that night, according to previous reporting.

Beach’s family has sued several members of the Murdaugh family, including the father, Alex Murdaugh and his son, Buster Murdaugh, whose ID was allegedly used by Paul to buy alcohol from a Parker’s convenience store the night of the accident.

Tajeeha Cohen, the store clerk who sold beer to Paul, is not named as a defendant in the case but is expected to testify.

Alex Murdaugh faces murder charges in the double slayings of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, who were found shot to death at the family’s Colleton County rural estate in June 2021.

He also faces various financial crimes, all of which have garnered national media attention from outlets that include a recent three-part docuseries on HBO Max.

Parkers’ attorneys previously argued to get his case separated from Murdaugh’s, saying that the negative publicity against the disgraced attorney and his family could impact a jury’s decision in regards to Parker. Judge Hall did initially agree to that request but later reversed his decision after the Beach family’s attorney filed a motion that argued separating the defendants would go against legal precedents.

In court on Nov. 11, Parker’s attorney Shere told Hall that he has trials from September until November that could possibly conflict with the Beach lawsuit. Murdaugh’s attorneys asked for a second mediation in an attempt to resolve the case ahead of the murder trial.

Tinsley pleaded to set a date, claiming that the defendants’ attorneys were trying to get the case delayed “indefinitely.”

The State Senior Editor Maayan Schechter and Myrtle Beach Sun News reporter David Weissman contributed to this report.