Anthony Cook is the young man who survived the February 2019 boat crash near Parris Island, South Carolina, that killed his girlfriend, 19-year-old Mallory Beach, and whose account placed Paul Murdaugh at the helm and drunk. In the years that followed, Anthony Cook became a recurring figure in the Murdaugh scandal: an eyewitness who told deputies at the scene that Paul was driving, a plaintiff who sued Alex Murdaugh and the convenience store that sold Paul the alcohol, and one of the survivors featured in Netflix’s Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal.1
The Night of the Crash
On February 23, 2019, Cook joined Paul Murdaugh, Mallory Beach, his own first cousin Connor Cook, Connor’s girlfriend Miley Altman, and Paul’s then-girlfriend Morgan Doughty at Paul’s home. The group traveled by boat to an oyster roast and then to downtown Beaufort, where Paul ordered Jäger Bombs at Luther’s Rare & Well Done. Earlier that day, Paul had bought alcohol at a Parker’s Kitchen in Ridgeland using his older brother Buster’s driver’s license and his mother Maggie Murdaugh’s credit card.
They left for home around 1:17 a.m. Paul, 19, was at the helm and, according to multiple passengers, refused to let anyone else drive. At about 2:21 a.m., the boat slammed into the pilings of the Archers Creek Bridge. Paul, Anthony, and Mallory were thrown into the water. Paul and Anthony reached shore. Mallory did not.
Cook later described what happened in the water in a Facebook post: “I have to live the rest of my life with the memory of getting thrown into the freezing pitch black water with the love of my life in my arms… I had to swim against that current for 15 minutes in a panic screaming her name begging her to answer me. I had to swim to shore without her to save my own life and live in regret of that forever.”
An eight-day search followed before a boater found Mallory Beach’s body at the Broad River Boat Landing, about five miles from the crash site. The coroner ruled that she died from drowning and blunt force trauma. A blood test taken from Paul Murdaugh around 4:00 a.m. showed a blood alcohol concentration of .286, more than three times the legal limit.
What He Told Investigators
Cook was among the first to speak to authorities. First responders described him as “almost inconsolable” and “distressed and pacing” at the scene. On dashcam video, he identified Paul Murdaugh as the driver to Beaufort County Sheriff’s Deputy Stephen Domino and made a remark that would be quoted repeatedly in the years afterward: “Do y’all know Alex Murdaugh? That’s his son, good luck.” Deputy Domino later read the comment as Cook’s way of signaling that Paul “couldn’t be touched.”
Video from the scene also captured Cook confronting Paul directly: “Bro, you’re f****** smiling like it’s f****** funny. My f****** girlfriend’s gone.”
Cook told investigators that the Murdaugh family had been “able to get away with things in the past” and that his cousin Connor was “scared” because “the Murdaughs are out to pin it on him.” Connor Cook was never charged.
His Appearance in the Netflix Documentary
Cook was one of the survivors who spoke on camera for Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal. He said Paul was “out of his mind drunk” that night and that the group had begged Paul to let someone else steer. He also spoke tearfully about searching for Mallory in the dark water.
The documentary interviews were not limited to the crash. Cook also described the closeness between Paul and the Murdaugh family’s longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, saying he did not believe Paul would ever have harmed her.
His Lawsuit Against Alex Murdaugh and Parker’s
In December 2021, Cook filed his own lawsuit against Alex Murdaugh, Parker’s Kitchen, and the store clerk. The suit alleged that Alex Murdaugh knew Paul was using Buster’s ID to buy alcohol and knew Paul was intoxicated before letting him take the boat. It was one of several civil actions arising out of the crash, alongside the Beach family’s wrongful death case and a separate suit filed by Connor Cook.
Connor’s suit, filed in the 14th Judicial Circuit, went further into the alleged aftermath at Beaufort Memorial Hospital. He claimed Alex Murdaugh told him in a hallway that “everything was going to be alright” and that he “just needed to keep [his] mouth shut and tell them [he] didn’t know who was driving.” Connor also alleged that Murdaugh steered him to attorney Corey Fleming, Paul’s godfather, without disclosing the conflict, and that Fleming told him to decline law enforcement interviews. Hospital staff separately reported that Alex Murdaugh had tried to intercept survivors, told Connor “not to say anything and that he would take care of it,” and, with his father Randolph, “forbade police from obtaining any statements” from Paul.
Paul Murdaugh had been indicted on April 18, 2019, on three felony counts, including boating under the influence resulting in death, which carried up to 25 years. He was awaiting trial when he and his mother were shot and killed at the family’s Colleton County estate on June 7, 2021. The charges against him were formally dropped on August 6, 2021.
The Parker’s Global Settlement
On July 16, 2023, the boat crash cases were resolved in a global settlement totaling $18.5 million. Parker’s Kitchen and its owner Greg Parker paid $18 million; an insurance policy held by Alex Murdaugh contributed $500,000. Anthony Cook received $1 million. The full allocation:
- Beach family: $15 million
- Morgan Doughty: $1.1 million
- Connor Cook: $1 million
- Anthony Cook: $1 million
- Miley Altman: $400,000
Parker’s attorney P.K. Shere said the settlement marked “the conclusion of all the boat crash cases.” Parker’s insurers resolved the suits to avoid exposure under South Carolina’s joint and several liability rules, which could have left the company on the hook for the entirety of a verdict if it was found even partially at fault alongside Alex Murdaugh. Judge Daniel Hall approved the Beach family’s share on July 27, 2023.
An earlier settlement in January 2023 had dropped Buster Murdaugh and Maggie Murdaugh’s estate from the litigation for $517,892 plus a 2021 Mercedes SUV valued at $85,000, with proceeds from the vehicle’s sale directed to the charity “Mal’s Palz.” In October 2024, Alex Murdaugh separately settled the Beach family’s wrongful death claim through a $500,000 Progressive policy on the boat, conditioned on his being dropped as a defendant.
Where Anthony Cook Is Now
Cook has kept a relatively low profile since the settlement. He has reportedly worked as an electrical lineman in the Southern United States. According to reporting on his post-crash life, he experienced symptoms associated with PTSD and went through what was described as a “party phase” before settling into a quieter existence. His willingness to speak on the record at the scene, in a lawsuit, and on camera made him one of the most recognizable survivors in the broader Murdaugh story.