Family of teen who died on Alex Murdaugh’s boat awarded $20M settlement

globalnews.ca:

The family of Mallory Beach have won a multi-million-dollar settlement after their 19-year-old daughter was killed in a crash aboard a boat owned by Alex Murdaugh, who is currently serving a life sentence for killing his own wife and son.

Authorities believe that Murdaugh’s slain son, Paul Murdaugh, was driving the boat under the influence of alcohol when he steered into a bridge piling in 2019. He was 19 at the time, and thus under the legal drinking age in the U.S.

Paul was charged with three criminal counts for the crash, including boating under the influence causing death, to which he pleaded not guilty. He was awaiting trial when his father killed him in 2022.

There were six people aboard the boat the night of the accident, all underage: Paul and his girlfriend Morgan Doughty, Beach and her boyfriend Anthony Cook, and Anthony’s cousin Connor Cook and Connor’s girlfriend Miley Altman. Beach died in the crash and the five others were all hospitalized.

All the survivors except Paul testified that he was behind the wheel that night. When authorities conducted a blood test shortly after the crash, Paul registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.24, three times over the legal limit. There was also a beer-filled cooler onboard his father’s boat.

The US$15 million ($20 million) settlement slated for Beach’s family won’t be paid by the Murdaugh family, however, but by the store chain that sold Paul alcohol.

Paul allegedly used the ID of his older brother, Buster Murdaugh, to buy beer that night from Parker’s Kitchen, a convenience store. An attorney for Beach’s family said the settlement serves as a warning for other alcohol retailers that they are liable when minors purchase their products illegally.

“The Beach family believes