Forbes True Crime

Death Penalty On Table & Defense's 'Alternative Theories': SC Journalist Talks Murdaugh Retrial

In a big win for Alex Murdaugh, South Carolina’s Supreme Court overturned his convictions for the murders of his wife and son, and granted him a retrial. The ruling found that Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill’s conduct denied “Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.” The opinion also argued that during the original double murder trial, the state went “far too long and far too deep into aspects of Murdaugh's financial crimes,” and that during the retrial, the focus on those crimes has to be much shorter and limited. In 2023, months after he was found guilty of killing Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, the disgraced attorney pleaded guilty to dozens of financial crimes over stealing millions from his most vulnerable clients when he practiced law as a personal injury attorney. He is currently serving state and federal sentences concurrently, which are 27 years and 40 years, respectively. In response to the news of a retrial, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said that the state is going “back to square one on this case,” and didn’t rule out the death penalty. Mandy Matney is a South Carolina-based journalist whose reporting broke multiple stories central to the Murdaugh saga. Matney, who served as executive producer of the series "Murdaugh: Death in the Family," joins "Forbes True Crime" to discuss this latest development. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

'The Nightmare Upstairs' EP Details 'Raw' Story Of Teens' 54-Day Barricade Amid Brutal Custody Fight

In 2023, years into an extremely contentious custody battle, two Utah siblings barricaded themselves in a bedroom— and livestreamed the experience on TikTok. Ty and Brynlee Larson were protesting a court order that would mandate they attend a “reunification camp” with their father— a man they both claim had abused them, which are allegations he strongly denied. A new docuseries, “The Nightmare Upstairs: What Happened to Ty and Bryn?” follows the bitter custody dispute, allegations of abuse and parental alienation, and the teenagers’ 54-day standoff. Caitlin Keating, the executive producer and director of the series, joins “Forbes True Crime” to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Inside Officers' Suit Against Affleck & Damon's Production Company Over Cops' Portrayal In 'The Rip'

Two Miami police officers are suing Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s production company, Artists Equity, over the 2026 movie ‘The Rip,’ an action thriller the actors also starred in. The lawsuit argues that the movie, which bills itself as being “inspired by true events,” uses “distinctive elements of a real law enforcement investigation” involving the two officers and ultimately portrays “those associated with that investigation as engaging in criminal misconduct.” Ryan Baker, partner at Waymaker, joined “Forbes True Crime” to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Should Alex Murdaugh Testify In Retrial After Murder Convictions Overturned? Defense Attorney Weighs In

South Carolina’s Supreme Court unanimously overturned Alex Murdaugh’s double murder convictions and consecutive life sentences, meaning the disgraced attorney will stand for a new trial in the 2021 killings of his wife Maggie and son Paul. The ruling said that the court clerk “placed her fingers on the scales of justice, thereby denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.” In December 2025, Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill pleaded guilty to perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct over showing sealed evidence to the media and then lying about it in court, as well as using her position in court to promote the book she wrote about the trial. The Murdaughs were a well-known legal dynasty in South Carolina’s low country — three generations served as the area’s chief prosecutor. Alex Murdaugh was an attorney at his family’s law firm before his shocking fall from grace. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that his office "will aggressively seek to retry Alex Murdaugh for the murders of Maggie and Paul as soon as possible." Separately, Murdaugh pleaded guilty in 2023 to a slew of financial crimes over stealing millions from his most vulnerable clients when he practiced law as a personal injury attorney and is serving state and federal sentences concurrently, which are 27 years and 40 years, respectively. Criminal defense attorney Danny Rubin joins “Forbes True Crime” to break down this most recent development. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Meet The FBI Agent Who Was 'Face To Face' With Whitey Bulger— And Got The Gangster's 'Last Words'

Whitey Bulger, the ruthless leader of Boston’s Winter Hill Gang, had a criminal career spanning decades. Cold-blooded murders, extortion and drug-dealing were all associated with the gangster who ruled South Boston’s underworld from the ‘70s to mid 90s. What was less known was the fact he was an informant, and was being protected by his FBI handler, agent John Connolly. In December of 1994, then-retired Connolly tipped off Bulger that he was about to be indicted in a sprawling RICO case, and by early 1995, Bulger and his girlfriend, Catherine Grieg, disappeared. Over a decade later, with Bulger still on the lam, Special Agent Richard Teahan became the head of the FBI’s Whitey Bulger Task Force, where for five years he “‘Lived, ate and breathed bulger.” A day after the bureau’s PSA targeting Greig hit the airwaves in 2011, a tip that cracked the case came in, and the criminal couple was arrested in Santa Monica, California. Now, Teahan was tasked with not only bringing Bulger back to Massachusetts where he would face justice, but debriefing the mobster over his sixteen years on the run. For six hours aboard the DOJ’s private jet with Bulger, Teahan learned how exactly he survived all those years on the lam — and evaded law enforcement in the process. Retired Supervisory Special Agent Richard Teahan and Bob Ward, a crime reporter with Boston 25, wrote about the investigation and that conversation in “Face to Face with Whitey Bulger” and join “Forbes True Crime” to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]