What to Watch Friday: ‘Dateline’ goes inside SC’s Murdaugh murder investigation

Brooke Cain
·2 min read
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Here’s what’s on TV tonight.

Dateline: The Murdaugh Murders: Inside the Investigation (9 p.m., NBC)

NBC News’s Craig Melvin, who has covered the Alex Murdaugh saga in South Carolina since the beginning, has a special report tonight featuring exclusive interviews with lead investigators in the murder.

Murdaugh, a former attorney from one of South Carolina’s most prominent families, was convicted in March 2022 of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul in June 2021. He is currently serving life in prison.

For the first time, says “Dateline,” South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) investigators Britt Dove and David Owen talk about the moment they discovered video evidence proving Alex Murdaugh was at the murder scene when the killing occurred, despite his insistence that he was not.

Dove tells NBC that he listened to the video multiple times and was in “disbelief.” That, Dove says, is when he knew the case against Murdaugh was made. Owen tells Melvin that after he interviewed Murdaugh and accused him of killing his wife and son, he shook his hand thanked him for doing his job.

Also interviewed for the special: former Murdaugh family housekeeper Blanca Turrubiate Simpson, who talks about her history with the Murdaughs; and Judge Clifton Newman, who presided over the murder trial.

To stream: You can stream “Dateline” on Peacock.

20/20: The One That Got Out (9 p.m., NBC)

ABC News correspondent John Quiñones examines the case of Texas Border Patrol agent Juan David Ortiz, who was found to be a serial killer preying on young women. Ortiz’s victims included Melissa Ramirez and Claudine Luera, who were murdered and abandoned on the outskirts of Laredo, Texas.

The program has exclusive interviews with Texas Ranger EJ Salinas, who helped crack the case, as well as Elva Enriquez, the mother of one of the victims, and Erika Quiroz, Melissa’s best friend. The episode also includes additional interviews with family members of the victims and District Attorney Isidro Alaniz and Capt. Federico Calderon of Webb County Sheriff’s Department.

To stream: This episode streams the next day on Hulu.

Some programming descriptions are provided by networks.