Judge gives timeline for Beach family’s lawsuit against convenience store

LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - A Lexington County judge announced today that he will spend the next several weeks deciding if a lawsuit regarding the death of Mallory Beach will go before a jury.

The case relates to the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach, who was killed in a 2019 boat crash in Beaufort County where Alex Murdaugh’s youngest son, Paul Murdaugh, was reportedly intoxicated and underaged when he allegedly crashed the boat.

Following the crash, Beach’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against multiple parties, including members of the Murdaugh family. However, their involvement ended earlier this year when a judge approved a settlement.

Paul Murdaugh was also charged with felony boating under the influence after the crash. He was awaiting trial when Maggie Murdaugh and him were killed by Alex Murdaugh in June 2021.

Today’s hearing involved the Beach family’s lawsuit against a convenience store that allegedly sold Paul Murdaugh alcohol on the night of the crash.

Paul Murdaugh, who was also 19 at the time of the crash, was reportedly seen on security cameras purchasing alcohol at Parker’s Convenience store hours before the deadly boat crash.

The Beach family’s lawsuit names Parker’s Convenience Store, alleging they knew Paul Murdaugh was underaged when they sold him the alcohol. However, Parker’s Convenience store denies the claims, arguing that Paul was using a valid ID that belonged to his older brother, Buster Murdaugh. They added that their cashier performed their duty by scanning the ID before completing the sale.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the judge ruled that he will have a decision by May 26 about whether the case will go before a jury.

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