Murdaugh similarities threaten Murder Mystery Ball as Hampton council opposes show

Though Hampton’s mayor and council voted this week to pass a formal resolution opposing an Oct. 29 Murder Mystery Masquerade Ball that they say has “themes that echo the real world allegations and issues” of the ongoing Alex Murdaugh crime saga, the show will go on, arts officials say.

While organizers say their planned Halloween weekend event, a Murder Mystery Masquerade Ball, is not based on nor depicts any of the real-life events surrounding disbarred and disgraced Hampton attorney Richard “Alex” Murdaugh, members of the community continue to lash out in protest. They reacted first on social media and then in the chambers of Town Hall.

Murdaugh’s alleged crimes — murder, theft, drug distribution — have rocked the town of Hampton and rural Hampton County and continue to do so, making international headlines almost weekly.

The Hampton mayor and town council approved this resolution of opposition during its Sept. 20 regular meeting. Though this governing body has no authority over the hosts of this event, the Hampton County Arts Council and the Hampton Friends of the Arts, and it doesn't operate the venue to play host to the ball, the Stanley Arts Center, the center is located within municipal limits.

Unlike an ordinance, which is a law, though, a resolution generally states only an opinion or position of a city or town.

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Resolution recalls tragic Murdaugh murders, strife, community divided

Murdaugh — who is facing more than 90 finance and drug-related criminal charges from a state grand jury while acting as a personal-injury lawyer over a decade-long period — is also connected in some way to five deaths in the Lowcountry, say investigators.

Murdaugh has pleaded not guilty to the murders, and he's not entered a formal plea in other charges.

Despite the fact that arts officials have repeatedly said their Murder Mystery Masquerade Party is not related in any way, the town’s resolution refers specifically to the “local tragedy” of June 7, 2021, when Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were shot and killed at their Colleton County home, leaving Alex Murdaugh charged.

The resolution states that Murdaugh’s crimes thrust the community into the national spotlight in an unfavorable way, “sparking division and mistrust throughout the community.”

The resolution further states that the Masquerade Ball, in its current format and theme, has served as a “further source of strife and division.”

Hampton resolution by USA TODAY Network on Scribd

Within two days of posting a story about this event, The Hampton County Guardian’s Facebook page received more than a hundred negative comments, which is well above average for a weekly newspaper posting, including calls for arts officials to be fired or “cancelled."

The town’s document also requests that the county arts groups change the theme and format of the event to something that doesn’t reflect negatively on the town and is “less hurtful to members of the community.”

The Town Council intends to send a copy of this resolution to FOTA, the county administrator, the county council and the arts council.

Was this resolution necessary? One councilman says no

The town of Hampton is led by Mayor Robert Brown along with town councilmembers Pete Mixon, Beth Chafin, Marvin Love and Kevin Brown. The resolution was approved with four votes, with Love abstaining, said Love.

When contacted by The Guardian, Love said that the resolution was put forth by Councilman Brown, who said he had received numerous concerned calls about the upcoming event.

Brown, an attorney with an office in Hampton, is serving his first four-year term on council.

Love said that he abstained because he did not have time to review the resolution, and he felt it wasn’t necessary.

“I’m not saying that I am in support of the event or not,” Love said, “but if the town has no authority over this, what was the need for this resolution?”

Mayor Brown declined to comment on the resolution.

Councilman Brown did not return calls or emails seeking comment.

County Administrator Rose Dobson-Elliott and members of the county council did not return emails seeking comment.

Hampton County arts officials respond

Heather Bruemmer, FOTA executive director, told The Guardian earlier this week that the twin arts groups had discussed people’s concerns and issued a statement saying that people were misinterpreting the nature of the event and it would continue as planned.

As of the afternoon of Sept. 22, Bruemmer had not received a copy of the resolution, she said.

Prior to the passage of the resolution, arts council member Cortney Gibbons, who attended the town council meeting attempting to alleviate concerns, issued the following written statement:

“I’m very proud of the work that the Hampton County Arts Program has done. The amount of entertainment productions it has provided, and the free public community programs it offers are fantastic and more diverse than anywhere near us.  Our Director Heather Bruemmer has taken a defunct, nonexistent program to a regionally and nationally recognized organization. It is unfortunate that a few sensational headlines could potentially sully the reputation of an individual or organization that has worked tirelessly to provide recreation, entertainment and enriching programs to the community and its youth.”

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Gibbons claimed that headlines were the only thing linking this event to the Murdaugh saga, and added, “No one on the Hampton County Arts Council would ever celebrate the tragic loss of life of one of our neighbors or community members. The script was purchased more than a decade ago and not one character is modeled after anyone closely related to the Murdaughs.  It truly is a wonderfully exciting interactive way to introduce theater to a rapidly developing arts program. I hope to see you there!”

John Wright, FOTA chairman and vice chair of the arts council, addressed the matter at the Sept. 20 Town Council meeting as well as the Sept. 19 County Council meeting.

During passionate and sometimes loud remarks, Wright told County Council that he found it insulting and offensive “that anyone in this community would assume that I would authorize anyone making light of this tragic situation.”

“We are not going to replicate any event that has anything to do with the Murdaugh situation!” he said.

What will it take to heal Hampton?

Murdaugh’s alleged crimes have impacted scores of victims throughout the Lowcountry and the Hampton community as a whole.

The Murdaugh family traces its roots here in Hampton County for more than a century, and many people here mourn the deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh while also grieving other losses of life and financial harm allegedly connected to the tragic events centered around Alex Murdaugh.

Murdaugh may stand trial for the double murders in Colleton County as early as January 2023.

Another case, the wrongful death suit involving the late Mallory Beach, who died in a crash involving Murdaugh’s son Paul in February 2019, may also be heard that month in Hampton County.

And then there are the scores of financial-crime charges and other lawsuits facing the former Hampton attorney that are yet to play out in court.

Until these matters are resolved, Murdaugh remains jailed in Richland County’s Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center on a $7 million bond he has been unable to meet, and the community he and his family called home for more than a century continues to suffer and remains divided.

This article originally appeared on Bluffton Today: Murdaugh saga threatens Murder Mystery Ball as Hampton opposes show