One other thing: if Murdaugh wasn't a bigwig in his locality you probably wouldn't have heard of the case. Have you heard of the Degnan murder in Bear Lake County? How about killing of John Owens up in Sandpoint?

Also, the proximity to large cities where the media congregate has a lot to do with coverage. That is, a California murder, especially around LA, is more likely to be covered than one in Arimo, Idaho or Lorraine, Illinois.