Alex Murdaugh’s story is more than a trial. NC reporter’s new book details the dynasty

The Alex Murdaugh trial captivated Americans. Viewers tuned into the livestream and watched docuseries on HBO and Netflix. Broadcasters commented on the case throughout its six-week duration.

But while many were taking in the drama from their living rooms, Raleigh-based reporter Valerie Bauerlein was witnessing it in person. (Viewers of the Netflix series “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal” would have seen Bauerlein on their screens, too.)

Bauerlein — whose bylines have appeared in The State , The News & Observer and, for the past 19 years, The Wall Street Journal — sat in the courtroom each day the murder trial for the now infamous South Carolina lawyer was in session.

In total, the Duke University alumna spent about 130 days in South Carolina, collecting information not just for news stories but also for a book, “ The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty ,” publishing Tuesday, Aug. 20.

Ahead of Bauerlein’s appearance at Raleigh’s Quail Ridge Books ( 7 p.m. Aug. 21 ), she spoke with The N&O about her experiences reporting from South Carolina and writing her first book.

How Bauerlein began covering the Murdaughs

Before she worked at The N&O, Bauerlein covered politics in Columbia, South Carolina, for The State for four years.

“I had in my mind the goal to have a dateline from all 46 counties,” she said. “I didn’t quite make it — but I was close, and I’d been to Hampton County.”

By the time Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were killed, Bauerlein was working as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, covering the South.

One of her editors emailed her to ask if she was following the story. She was. So they began discussing how the Journal would cover the murders.

“He’s like, well, sometimes a good story, is just, you know, a good story ,” she said.

A few weeks after the Murdaugh mother and son were killed, Bauerlein was in South Carolina to begin reporting.

“What was clear to me really early on is Hampton County, the place where this happened, was a major character in what was happening,” Bauerlein said. “There were reasons why there were no suspects named. There were reasons why it was so hard to figure out what was going on.”

Over time, details about Alex Murdaugh emerged. He tried to fake his death. He had been stealing millions from clients for years.

“It became clear that it was a much bigger story about money and power and privilege and race and class and the way that things still work in parts of the rural South ,” Bauerlein said.

How the Murdaugh story became a book

Bauerlein always knew she wanted to write a book, she said. She just needed a good story to tell.

The Journal published a page-one story about the case in September 2021, and readers devoured it.

Agents had been asking Bauerlein to write a proposal, and she decided to do it, beginning her book that fall.

“I could have spent three more years reporting this book,” she said.

What didn’t make it in the book?

Bauerlein wanted every anecdote she gave to help readers understand who Alex Murdaugh is and how he — or anyone — could kill their wife and child.

The author dedicates some chapters in the book to the Murdaugh men, specifically Alex’s father, grandfather and great grandfather. But each of them could have been subjects of separate books .

Plus, there are still questions about the case yet to be answered , Bauerlein said. Where are the guns? What happened to the money? What happened to Stephen Smith?

Bauerlein writes about a few families Alex Murdaugh took advantage of, but there were many others whose stories didn’t get mentioned in the book, the author said.

“Just the scope of his depravity made it a challenge to even choose which evil act are you going to describe,” she said.

Dispatch from Hampton County

Bauerlein rented an Airbnb near the courthouse. She had covered courts before, but this was different, being in a small, 200-year-old courtroom, so close to the action.

She could watch the jury’s reactions in real time. She saw Alex Murdaugh take the stand. She saw members of the Murdaugh family in the hallways.

“It was just moments of high drama constantly ,” Bauerlein said.

The details she observed — which may not have been reported in a daily news story — were incorporated into her book. Bauerlein wanted to know the side comments lawyers were making to each other, what the security guards outside the courthouse were discussing, what Alex Murdaugh was eating for lunch, even.

“What is the context of what I’m seeing, and how can I use that, the privilege of being in this courtroom, to make the book richer for the reader, to make them feel like they’re in the courtroom?” Bauerlein said.

But she didn’t spend all of her time in court. Bauerlein also tried to form relationships with the residents of Hampton County and speak with anyone who knew the Murdaugh family.

“People like the Murdaughs, but they were scared of the Murdaughs,” she said.

She has kept in touch with a few members of the community, who have told her that Hampton County is still “reeling.” There’s pain. People are left with a power vacuum, after the fall of a family who had held prominent positions for generations. And there are some who still don’t believe Alex Murdaugh is guilty of the crime.

Inspiration for the true-crime book

Bauerlein took inspiration from several sources as she worked on this project:

• “ Fatal Vision ,” written by Joe McGinniss, was the first true crime book Bauerlein read, as a teenager. She reviewed the book and even got to know Raleigh lawyer Wade Smith, who was counsel to Jeffrey MacDonald. MacDonald was a Green Beret doctor convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and two young daughters at Fort Bragg in 1970.
• “ Hidden Valley Road ” by Robert Kolker. Bauerlein studied this book because, like the Murdaugh case, it’s about a family . The Galvin family in Colorado became one of the first families studied by the National Institute of Mental Health when six of 12 children were diagnosed with schizophrenia.
• “ Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty ” by Patrick Radden Keefe tells the story of an immigrant family that accumulated wealth through pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma and played a part in America’s opioid crisis.

What readers should take away

“I want them to not be able to put it down,” Bauerlein said. “I want them to see that it’s a story — beginning, middle to end .”

Readers may know the ending, but the author wants them to understand the privilege and history that helps illuminate how the events happened.

“It’s a story about Alex Murdaugh. It’s a story about power. It’s a story about a place, and I hope it’s also just a good story,” she said. “But it just pulls you through the whole and makes sense of what we all saw in the trial, but makes sense of how we got here and why it happened.”

What’s next for the author

Bauerlein, who’s been a journalist for nearly 30 years, is still reporting for the Journal, and she intends to continue.

“If another story presents itself, I’ll jump in, but I mean, this is just an incredible tale,” she said. “It is the tale of a lifetime.”

Upcoming event with Valerie Bauerlein & Walter magazine

The author will sit down with Walter magazine founding editor Liza Roberts to discuss “the roots of Alex Murdaugh’s lawlessness and entitlement.”

There will also be a book reading and signing opportunity, and guests will be provided beer, wine and hors d’oeuvres.

The event is scheduled for 5:30-8 p.m. Sept. 18 at Theatre in the Park , 107 Pullen Road in Raleigh. Tickets are available at ticketmetriangle.com/events .

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