J.P. King
A buyer is scooping up the infamous South Carolina hunting lodge once owned by disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh, who is serving two life terms for executing his wife and son on the sprawling property.
A South Carolina businessperson submitted the winning bid on the auction for the Moselle Estate House, in rural Islandton, for $1 million. The four-bedroom, 4.5-bath home and 21 acres went under contract on Thursday. This was despite the price being under the minimum bid of $1.1 million set for the home.
The nearly 5,300-square-foot house is where the Murdaugh family’s housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, 57, died under mysterious circumstances in 2018 after purportedly falling down the stairs. Three years later, the bodies of Murdaugh’s wife, Maggie, 52, and his son Paul, 22, were found shot to death near the kennels on the property. This part of the property was not included in the sale.
The four-bedroom, 4.5-bath home and 21 acres went under contract on Thursday.
J.P. King
The new owners asked the auction house not to disclose their names. They plan to turn the property, about 70 miles southeast of Charleston and just over 70 miles north of Savannah, GA, into a horse farm.
“They’re a prominent South Carolina businessperson that has several offices throughout South Carolina,” says Craig King. He is the senior marketing consultant at J.P. King Auction Co., which held the auction. “Their plan is to relocate their current horse farm to this location.”
In March 2023, the original parcel of property—all 1,772 acres, including the house—was sold for $2,663,676, according to property records. That was a significant discount from the $3.9 million asking price.
The owners purchased the property for timber, hunting, and agribusiness, King previously told Realtor.com®. They then put the house and 21 acres of land up for sale for $1.95 million last year. When it didn’t sell, they turned to the auction company.
“We had over a couple dozen serious inquiries on the property,” says King. “We did have a lot of interest.”
An oak tree-lined driveway will greet the new owners of the home, which boasts front and back porches, a grand staircase with a mezzanine balcony, and vaulted ceilings. The primary bedroom features a walk-in closet and a bathroom with a spa tub.
Typically, homes where highly publicized murders happen sell at a discount as potential buyers might be uneasy about living in these properties. The discounts can range from 10% to 15% or even more, depending on the severity and exposure of the crimes.
The murders and other mysterious deaths connected to the family have been covered in a string of shows, including “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal,” which premiered on Netflix last year, and “Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty,” which aired on Max in 2022.
Murdaugh is serving two life sentences for killing his wife and son on June 7, 2021. A crime scene expert determined he ambushed Paul in the dog kennels and shot him twice. Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Deputy Kenny Kinsey said Murdaugh then shot his wife five times, delivering the final shots after she fell to her knees.
Prosecutors claimed his motive was to draw attention away from his fraud scheme and buy some time before it was exposed. Last year, Murdaugh pleaded guilty to 22 counts of financial fraud and money laundering for ripping off clients and the estate of his late housekeeper. The money was used to pay for his drug addiction.
He was also accused of hiring a hit man to kill him so his surviving son, Richard “Buster” Murdaugh, would receive his $10 million life insurance policy.
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