by Buster Murdaugh grew up in a privileged life, the son of a long line of powerful attorneys and prosecutors in the Lowcountry.
He enjoyed a wealthy upbringing, living on a massive 1,700 acre estate with his mother Maggie, father Alex and younger brother Paul in Islandton, South Carolina.
They spent weekends and holidays at their second home in Edisto Beach and took trips out on the family boat.
But then, his family life fell apart.
On 7 June 2021, he lost his mother Maggie and brother Paul when they were brutally murdered on the Moselle estate.
Less than two years later, he also lost his father when he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life.
Here’s what we know about Buster Murdaugh:
Buster Murdaugh is the oldest – and now the only remaining – son of Maggie and Alex Murdaugh.
The 29-year-old stood by his father throughout the growing number of allegations against him – even after he was arrested for the murders of his brother and mother.
Even during the high-profile murder trial, Buster stood by his father, attending every day of court proceedings with family members.
Buster also took the stand and testified in his father’s defense saying that Murdaugh was “devastated” and “heartbroken” after the deaths of his mother and brother.
But Buster’s very bad behavior became apparent in the courtroom.
During one day of the trial, Buster appeared to “flip the bird” on lawyer Mark Tinsley as he took the witness stand in the boating accident lawsuit he brought against his father.
Judge Clifton Newman reportedly issued multiple warnings to several members of the Murdaugh family about their behavior in court and moved them to the back of the courtroom.
Sources said FITS News when Buster was asked to move to the back of the courtroom, he allegedly kicked over a water bottle in anger. The judge warned that he and other members of the family could be expelled from the court altogether.
When the guilty verdict was read out, Buster showed no emotion inside the courtroom.
Since his father’s conviction, he has only given one interview to the media.
In an interview for the documentary via FOX Nation The fall of Murchadha HouseBuster insisted that he still believed his father was innocent of the murders.
“No, because I think I have a unique perspective that no one else in that courtroom has ever had. And I know the love I’ve seen,” he said.
But despite still insisting on his father’s innocence, Buster did not deny that his father might have been a psychopath.
“I’m not willing to sit here and say it encompasses it all, but there are definitely characteristics when you look at the manipulation and the lies and the execution of that, and I think that’s a fair assessment . ,” he said.
When asked if he worries that he might be like his father, Buster also had some harsh words for his father’s character.
“I don’t care, because I’m not a thief. I’m not a liar. I’m not a manipulator,” he said.
“In that respect, I am not like him, but, in other ways, I believe I have some of his most admirable qualities, of which I am proud.”
Buster himself has been the cause of rumors that he himself may be involved in a gruesome murder – that of 19-year-old Stephen Smith in July 2015.
Smith, an openly gay nursing student, was found dead on a road in Hampton County in the early hours of July 8, 2015 – not far from the Murdaugh family’s prestigious estate.
Despite the fact that Smith suffered blunt force trauma to the head and there were no skid marks or vehicular debris on the road, officials ruled his death a hit and run at the time.
Smith’s mother has long questioned this official account and, for years, Murdaugh’s name continued to rise in connection with the case.
Buster and Smith were classmates and there were unfounded rumors that the two had some kind of relationship around the time of his death.
Smith’s mother Sandy Smith named Buster as the prime suspect in her son’s murder in a letter urging the FBI to get involved in the case back in 2016.
In June 2021 – just days after the murders of Maggie and Paul – SLED announced that they were opening a new investigation into Smith’s death.
In April 2023, the agency finally announced that Smith’s death was being investigated as a homicide and that his body had been exhumed for a private autopsy.
No one was ever charged in Smith’s death and Buster was never charged by law enforcement for having anything to do with the death.
Buster hit out at the rampant speculation in the interview with FOX Nation and also offered an alibi for his whereabouts on the night the teenager was killed.
“I never had anything to do with his murder, and I had nothing to do with him on a physical level at all,” he said.
He added that it was a “terrible thing” to be accused of.
“I don’t mean to be rude here, but have you ever been accused of murdering someone?” he asked.
“Well, let me tell you, this is a very, very, very, very, very, terrible thing to put on somebody who has absolutely nothing. I mean, it hurt my reputation. I mean, people see me as a murderer.”
