BEAUFORT, S.C. — A South Carolina man has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of boating under the influence stemming from a crash that killed a former USC student and injured several others.
News outlets report 20-year-old Paul Murdaugh entered his plea in a Beaufort County courtroom Monday. Judge Steven John ruled that he could be released on a $50,000 recognizance bond.
Murdaugh was indicted in a February crash of a boat into a bridge near Paris Island. A woman on the boat with Murdaugh, 19-year-old Mallory Beach, was killed and her body was found about a week later.
Murdaugh turned over his passport to prosecutors as a condition of his release. He is prohibited from leaving the five counties that make up the 14th Judicial Circuit without the judge's permission.
