S.C. Judge Finds Murdaugh Podcaster in Contempt of Court

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

by JENN WOOD

***

A South Carolina circuit court judge has found true crime podcaster Mandy Matney in civil contempt, concluding she willfully defied both a lawful subpoena and multiple court orders when she refused to appear for a scheduled deposition in a closely watched civil lawsuit tied to the saga of accused killer Alex Murdaugh.

In a sweeping 22-page order filed Monday (July 13, 2026), judge Keith Kelly granted a motion filed by attorneys representing convenience store magnate Greg Parker and several co-defendants, finding Matney deliberately chose not to attend her March 27, 2026 deposition despite repeated court rulings requiring her to do so.

Kelly’s order (.pdf) requires Matney to pay $171,500 in attorney’s fees and costs to the Parker defendants, along with a $5,000 fine – bringing the total amount of sanctions against her to $176,500.

The award represents a substantial reduction from the $310,533.39 originally requested by Parker’s legal team, but remains an unusually large financial sanction arising from a discovery-related contempt proceeding.

***

A LONG-RUNNING BATTLE

Although Matney is not a party to the underlying lawsuit, she became embroiled in the litigation after attorneys sought to depose her during discovery.

The Hampton County case is a spinoff of the wrongful death litigation that arose following a fatal February 2019 boat crash that claimed the life of 19-year-old Mallory Beach — a lawsuit widely viewed as the catalyst that ultimately exposed Murdaugh’s financial crimes.

The present litigation centers on allegations that confidential mediation materials from the Beach case — including graphic postmortem photographs of Mallory Beach — were improperly disclosed despite being subject to a confidentiality order.

Kelly previously ruled Matney’s testimony was relevant to the case and denied both her motion to quash the subpoena and a subsequent motion asking him to reconsider that decision. After those rulings, Parker’s attorneys noticed Matney’s deposition for March 27, 2026 at the same Bluffton, S.C. law office that had appeared on every subpoena served over the preceding five months.

Rather than appear there, Matney remained at her own attorney’s office in Bluffton, insisting she would only sit for questioning at a location she believed was safe.

That decision prompted Parker’s attorneys to seek contempt sanctions.

***

“A DELIBERATE DECISION”

Kelly concluded the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrated Matney knowingly chose not to comply with the subpoena.

“Attending the deposition at the noticed location was not impossible,” Kelly wrote. “Ms. Matney had a true choice.”

The judge found there was “clear and convincing evidence” that her 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 prior orders.

According to the order, Matney never objected to the deposition location during the five months the subpoenas were pending. Instead, Kelly noted, she first raised safety concerns less than a week before the scheduled deposition.

Even then, Parker’s attorneys offered alternative locations — including the Columbia offices of Maynard Nexsen, located inside a secured bank building, and a Bluffton hotel conference room — but Kelly noted Matney rejected both proposals, insisting the deposition occur only at her attorney’s office.

***

RELATED | Contempt Hearing Set for Murdaugh Podcaster

***

COURT REJECTS SAFETY CLAIMS

Throughout the proceedings, Matney maintained she refused to attend because she believed the noticed location presented an unacceptable security risk.

Kelly devoted a substantial portion of his order to evaluating those claims — and ultimately rejected them.

The court found Matney’s fears centered largely on online criticism from one individual whom she described as a stalker. However, Kelly noted the evidence presented contained no physical threats, no restraining order, no criminal prosecution stemming from the alleged harassment and no persuasive evidence linking Parker’s attorneys to the individual.

The judge further concluded Matney could have addressed any legitimate security concerns simply by bringing the private security guard she had already hired for the deposition.

“Nothing prevented her from taking these security measures at the noticed location,” Kelly wrote.

Kelly ultimately found Matney’s testimony “not credible.”

“Ms. Matney’s stated reason for failing to comply—that the noticed location was not sufficiently safe for her—is not supported by the evidence or any credible testimony,” the order states.

The order also references Matney’s own social media activity following the failed deposition.

Kelly noted posts in which Matney celebrated standing her ground, declared she would rather go to jail than sit in the same room as Parker’s attorneys and criticized the court’s earlier rulings.

While emphasizing Matney retains a First Amendment right to criticize the courts and discuss the litigation publicly, Kelly said those statements were relevant in evaluating her credibility and determining whether her claimed fears were genuine.

“The First Amendment does not preclude the Court from considering these posts… when assessing Ms. Matney’s credibility,” Kelly wrote.

***

THE PRICE OF CONTEMPT

Having found Matney in civil contempt, Kelly ordered her to reimburse Parker’s attorneys for the costs they incurred enforcing both the subpoena and the court’s prior orders, concluding that many of her subsequent filings — including her motion for reconsideration and emergency motion regarding the deposition location — lacked merit and unnecessarily prolonged the litigation.

The judge awarded $171,500 in attorney’s fees and costs—a reduction from the more than $310,000 originally sought — allocating $39,900 to Bannister, Wyatt & Stalvey, $45,950 to attorney Deborah Barbier, and $85,650 to Maynard Nexsen. Kelly also imposed a separate $5,000 fine, payable within 60 days, bringing Matney’s total financial sanction to $176,500. He further retained jurisdiction to impose additional sanctions if necessary to ensure compliance with his order.

In a separate order (.pdf) issued the same day, Kelly approved a confidentiality agreement covering the attorney billing records and fee affidavits submitted in support of the sanctions request. While those records will remain shielded from public disclosure absent further court action, the order allows any party to challenge the confidentiality designations at a later date.

For now, however, Kelly’s ruling brings to a close months of contentious litigation over Matney’s refusal to attend a court-ordered deposition — and leaves the former FITSNews reporter facing a six-figure contempt sanction rarely seen in South Carolina civil litigation.

***

THE ORDER…

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

As a private investigator turned journalist, Jenn Wood brings a unique skill set to FITSNews as its research director. Known for her meticulous sourcing and victim-centered approach, she helps shape the newsroom’s most complex investigative stories while producing the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts. Jenn lives in South Carolina with her family, where her work continues to spotlight truth, accountability, and justice.

***

SOUND OFF…

Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.