A South Carolina judge has ordered crime reporter and podcaster Mandy Matney to pay over $176,000 in attorneys' fees and a fine for civil contempt. Circuit Judge R. Keith Kelly ruled Monday that Matney willfully refused to comply with a subpoena and a court order requiring her to attend a deposition in litigation stemming from the 2019 boat crash that killed Mallory Beach.
Matney, who covers the Murdaugh family's legal entanglements, was subpoenaed as a non-party witness in a civil lawsuit. The suit names Parker's convenience stores as defendants, alleging they sold alcohol to Paul Murdaugh before the fatal crash. Beach, 19, died in the February 2019 incident. Paul Murdaugh was later charged with boating under the influence, but those charges were dismissed following his and his mother Maggie's deaths in June 2021.
Judge Kelly's 22-page order stated that Matney acknowledged the court had denied her attempts to quash the subpoena and ordered the deposition to proceed. Despite this, she did not appear at the Bluffton deposition site on March 27, instead remaining at another law office in the same town while opposing counsel waited. She appeared remotely via Zoom from a separate law office.
"Based upon the foregoing, there is clear and convincing evidence that Ms. Matney’s failure to appear was not the result of confusion, mistake, or inability, but rather was a deliberate decision to disregard the subpoena and the Court’s March 16, 2026 Order requiring that she be deposed within 14 days," Kelly wrote.
The judge also dismissed Matney's claims of safety concerns, finding no credible evidence that Parker's attorneys intended to harass her or put her in danger. Kelly pointed to Matney's social media posts after the scheduled deposition, which included photos of her dining in Savannah, as evidence of her intent to defy the court order. The judge noted that if Matney had appeared for her deposition or accepted alternative locations offered, the contempt proceedings would not have been necessary.
Parker's attorneys had sought over $310,000 in fees and costs. Judge Kelly reduced the award to $171,500 in attorneys' fees and costs, along with a $5,000 fine, totaling $176,500.
Matney criticized the ruling on social media, calling the South Carolina justice system corrupt and her punishment for speaking out. She stated, "I’m angry that he’s ordering me to pay an unprecedented amount of legal fees ($171,000 + $5,000 in fines)."
The litigation surrounding the boat crash has been a key factor in exposing Alex Murdaugh's financial crimes, which came to light during the investigation into the deaths of his wife and son.