Mallory Beach was a 19-year-old South Carolina student who died in a boating crash on February 24, 2019, after a night out on the water with friends. Reports say the boat was allegedly driven by Paul Murdaugh while he was intoxicated, and the boat struck a bridge, throwing Beach overboard; her body was found more than a week later.

What happened

  • The crash happened near Archer’s Creek Bridge in Beaufort County, South Carolina.
  • Beach was the only person killed in the accident.
  • Her death became part of the wider Murdaugh family case and later civil litigation.

Later developments

  • Beach’s family pursued a wrongful death case tied to the crash.
  • In 2024, reports said the civil case was settled, including a $500,000 payment from Progressive to Beach’s family.

Quick note

If you want, I can also give you a plain-English timeline of the Mallory Beach case and how it connects to the Murdaugh scandal.