Judge rules SC podcaster Matney ‘disobeyed’ court order and can be held in contempt

South Carolina podcaster Mandy Matney “disobeyed” a subpoena and a court order, a state circuit judge ruled Thursday.

In his ruling, Judge R. Keith Kelly ordered Matney to appear in York County at the county courthouse May 15 to “show cause, if she can, as to why she should not be held in contempt of court for willfully failing to comply with the duly issued subpoena” and a court order to sit for a deposition.

Punishments for being held in contempt of court order can range from fines to paying opposing attorneys’ fees and even jail, although confinement in a case like this would be unlikely.

The State newspaper has reached out to Matney and her husband, David Moses. He indicated a response may be forthcoming.

Kelly’s ruling that Matney deliberately disobeyed a subpoena and a court order to give a deposition in a legal case comes a little more than three weeks after Matney testified under oath at an April 7 hearing in Gaffney at the Cherokee County courthouse.

At that hearing, the podcaster took the witness stand for nearly three hours — at times wiping tears away — and explained under oath why she did not comply with a subpoena and court order to be deposed in Bluffton on March 27. Matney testified she feared for her life because she was receiving threats and did not believe the location in which she was to be deposed was secure. She also said she had been willing to be deposed at a nearby, more secure location March 27.

Matney also testified that her podcast co-host, Liz Farrell had earlier given a deposition in the case and said it had been a traumatic experience. The deposition lasted more than eight hours and was “so hostile,” Matney testified.

Matney, 35, a self-described “investigative journalist,” had brought a bodyguard to the April 7 hearing. He kept scanning the interior and exterior of the courthouse during the time she was there. There were no threats while she was there; in fact, the courthouse was nearly empty.

How Matney got involved

Matney was under subpoena to give a deposition because she is a potential witness in a legal case in which Renee Beach of Hampton County sued Gregory Parker, a well-to-do owner of a chain of convenience stores, and others

Beach is the mother of Mallory Beach, who drowned in 2019 after being thrown from a boat allegedly driven by Paul Murdaugh, who had purchased alcohol at one of Parker’s stores before the boat crash.

Matney was a reporter for the Island Packet in Beaufort County at the time of the 2019 fatal crash that killed Mallory Beach. (The Island Packet is a sister paper to The State.) Since then, she has developed a podcast on which she and Farrell frequently discuss the crash and related events, with the Murdaugh family dynasty and convicted fraudster and killer Alex Murdaugh being a frequent focus.

In her podcasts, Matney often has portrayed Parker as a highly dubious character, according to her April 7 testimony. She testified that her podcasts took off in popularity in 2021 after Alex Murdaugh staged a suicide attempt. Murdaugh had just been fired from his prominent family law firm for stealing money from clients, thefts that would come to light.

Matney is one of a sprawling cottage industry of internet bloggers and podcasters who cover the Murdaugh crime saga in addition to numerous publications such as The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Charleston Post & Courier, the Hampton County Guardian and The State newspaper.

In her lawsuit, Renee Beach contends that Parker and others leaked confidential photos of Mallory Beach’s dead body to the public. Autopsy reports are not public in South Carolina. Matney was subpoenaed by Parker’s lawyers because they believe she may know something about the leaked photos of the dead body and wanted to question her under oath about what she knows.

After Matney refused to show up at the Bluffton location in March to give a deposition, Parker’s lawyers filed a motion for a rule to show cause as to why Matney should not be held in contempt for failing to comply with the subpoena and the court order to give a deposition.

Kelly held a hearing April 7 in which Matney testified in order to develop a factual record upon which the judge could use to decide if Matney deliberately disobeyed a subpoena and court order to testify. In his Thursday order, he ruled she did.

Contempt for the law?

At the April 7 hearing, a lawyer for Parker, Deborah Barbier, sought to show that Matney has a general disrespect for the rule of law — an attitude that extends beyond not showing up for a scheduled deposition to making slurs directed at presiding Judge Kelly, whom Matney has referred to in podcasts as “Judge R. Kelly.”

Matney has called the judge “R. Kelly” — which is the name of a well-known former singer-songwriter who is also a “convicted sex trafficker,” Barbier mentioned in one question to the podcaster.

Matney replied that the judge’s first name begins with an R, indicating she believes there is nothing wrong with referring to the judge as “R. Kelly.”

Barbier also sought to show that Matney plays fast and loose with facts, getting the podcaster to admit that she had called Parker’s lawyers “corrupt” and “dishonest.”

None of Parker’s lawyers have been charged with or convicted of corruption. In fact, two of Parker’s lawyers, Barbier and Mark Moore, are former federal prosecutors who have sent numerous criminals to prison.

Barbier also sought to show that Matney’s claims that she fears threats to her life may be unrealistic because just before Matney was to appear for a deposition, she posted photos of herself in a bathing suit online.

Matney’s lawyers, Rebecca Lindahl, objected to the question, saying to Kelly, “This is beyond the pale, your honor. Women are allowed to be in public in a bathing suit.”

Barbier told the judge, “Your honor, if she has security concerns, the last thing a female with security concerns should do is post a bathing suit shot of themselves for their stalker to see.”

In an April 10 filing with the court, Matney’s attorneys have asked that the judge strike from the record all testimony and information about Matney’s bathing suit.

“The questions from Ms. Barbier have been publicized in the media and on social media, including in The State, and send a troubling message that women who dress in a certain way should expect and be accountable for any harassment or threats they receive,” Matney’s filing said.

Kelly has not ruled in the bathing suit matter.

The Beach vs. Parker lawsuit is docketed in Hampton County, where Mallory Beach lived. Judge Kelly is based in the Upstate and has been holding hearings in that area.

The Beach lawyers include Mark Tinsley, Tabor Vaux and John Nichols.

Besides Barbier and Moore, Parker lawyers include Jim Bannister.

This is a breaking news story and may be updated.

This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 2:50 PM.