Murdaugh boat crash victim Mallory Beach's family seeks 'accountability' in summer trial
Trial date set about 4 years after Beach's family filed wrongful death suit against Murdaughs in 2019
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The family of deceased 19-year-old Mallory Beach, who died in a 2019 crash on the Murdaugh family's boat, is seeking "accountability" in their upcoming trial in Hampton County, South Carolina.
A trial date in the family's wrongful death lawsuit against the Murdaughs, a once prominent and influential legal dynasty, is set for Aug. 14 — about four years after Beach's family filed the case against the Murdaugh family in 2019.
"There's still a long way to go. There's still accountability to be had," Mark Tinsley, an attorney representing the Beach family in their wrongful death lawsuit, told Fox News Digital. "… We're hopeful that the attorney general's office will continue to investigate the investigators involved in… the boat crash. We think that there were a number of things that happened there that are worthy of prosecution. And we hope that those people are dealt with as well."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Eldest son Buster Murdaugh could potentially be called as a witness in the trial, but Tinsley said it is unlikely that his father, Alex, will be called as a witness after he was sentenced to life in prison last week for the murders of his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, in June 2021.
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Mallory Beach died in a crash on the Murdaugh family's boat in 2019. (Facebook / Mallory Beach)
Tinsley added that "accountability" is mainly what the Beach family is "hoping to get in this trial."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DEATH OF MURDAUGH BOAT CRASH VICTIM MALLORY BEACH IN SPOTLIGHT AT DOUBLE-MURDER TRIAL
Paul Murdaugh had taken five of his friends out on his family's boat on the evening of Feb. 23, 2019. He used his older brother Buster's ID to purchase alcohol for the group before they went on the excursion that ultimately turned deadly. Despite his friend's pleas to stop driving, the visibly inebriated Paul continued, eventually crashing into Archers Creek Bridge in Beaufort on the South Carolina coast.
After the collision, it took more than a week to recover Mallory Beach's body about five miles from the crash site. (Beaufort County Sheriff's Office)
The crash left passengers injured. Beach, who was in the rear of the boat, was thrown into the water in the crash and went missing. Boaters found her lifeless body near the crash scene more than a week later.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tinsley testified during Alex's double-murder trial that Paul used his family's legal prestige in the South Carolina Lowcountry to get preferential treatment after the crash.
Mallory Beach's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Murdaughs in 2019 after she died aboard their boat. (Facebook / Mallory Beach and Colleton County Jail)
"The Beach family stood on a causeway for eight days while their daughter’s body was in the water," Tinsley testified. "I don’t think there’s any amount of money someone would be willing to take to go through what they’ve gone through."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tinsley also said that Alex Murdaugh approached him at a bar while he was representing the Beach family and tried to bully him "into backing off" the case.
In 2019, Paul Murdaugh took friends on a nighttime boat ride along the South Carolina coast while drinking and crashed the boat, resulting in multiple injuries and Mallory Beach's death. (Beaufort County Sheriff's Office)
"There’s a lot of grumbling and shock that I’m actually going to hold Alex personally responsible," Tinsley said of his experience at the time.
Prosecutors said the Beach lawsuit was a catalyst in Alex's decision to murder his wife and younger son as it threatened to expose his other numerous financial crimes. The disgraced attorney is accused of embezzling millions from his family's personal injury law firm and its clients.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A general view of Archers Creek Bridge in Beaufort, South Carolina. Paul Murdaugh was charged with the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach after crashing his family's boat in 2019. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)
The Beach family attorney filed a motion to force Alex to disclose his books and prove his dire financial straits. Three days before the murders, a hearing was scheduled to determine whether Alex would be compelled to share the sensitive information. Tinsley says he still does not have access to all of Alex's financial records, including the Murdaugh family's trust.
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"There was a sense of relief that there was some measure of justice," Tinsley said of the Murdaugh trial and verdict, but "the fact that… things that happened in the civil case are even associated with" Alex's motive in the double murder is "not a pleasant feeling" for the Beach family.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A photo of the Murdaugh family taken days before Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were shot to death. From left, Buster, Paul, Maggie and Alex Murdaugh. (Defense exhibit)
"They've taken a lot of comfort in the fact that there's been good that's happened as a result," he added.
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The Beaches reached a settlement with Maggie's estate and Buster, Alex's sole surviving son, in January. The two remaining defendants in the case are Alex and Parker's Kitchen, a convenience store where Paul, who was then underage, is believed to have purchased alcohol for the excursion.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Rebecca Rosenberg contributed to this report.