Crime & Justice

Buster Murdaugh Opens Up on ‘Odd’ Thing During Dad’s Trial

‘CONFUSING’

The surviving son of murderer Alex Murdaugh also broke his silence on suggestions he was involved in the killing of a classmate, denying they were ever romantically involved.

Buster Murdaugh, the son of Alex Murdaugh
The State

The surviving son of murderer Alex Murdaugh is finally speaking out—and doubling down on his belief that his father is not a murderer.

In his first television interview, Buster Murdaugh reiterated his belief that his father did not fatally shoot his mother, Maggie, and younger brother, Paul near the dog kennels of their family estate in June 2021. Murdaugh was convicted in February and is serving two life sentences in South Carolina in connection with the murders that garnered international interest and revealed the disgraced former lawyer’s trail of other alleged criminal activity.

“I do not think that he could be affiliated with endangering my mother and brother,” Buster said in a clip of the upcoming three-part documentary with FOX Nation host Martha MacCallum. “We have been here for a while now and that’s been my stance.”

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The 26-year-old, however, also admitted he was confused by several pieces of crucial evidence that were revealed during his father’s South Carolina murder trial in February, including his father’s stunning revelation on the stand that he had lied about being at the dog kennels shortly before the June 7, 2021 murder. During the trial, prosecutors also revealed a video Paul Murdaugh had taken just before the murders, where Murdaugh can be heard in the background.

“I thought it was very odd,” Buster said, adding that he would still like an explanation from his father about why he lied. “I was very confused.”

Still, Buster has steadfastly defended his father’s innocence and even testified on his behalf during the trial. The Aug. 31 documentary, The Fall of the House of Murdaugh, promised to provide a behind-the-scenes look at Murdaugh’s case, interviews with his defense team, and “prison revelations from Alex himself,” a Fox Nation press release states.

In clips of the documentary, Buster also slams rumors about his involvement in the mysterious July 2015 death of gay 19-year-old Stephen Smith, whose body was found just miles from the Murdaugh family estate.

“I never had anything to do with his murder, and I never had anything to do with him on a physical level in any regard,” Buster said.

While Smith’s death was deemed suspicious, a medical examiner ultimately concluded that he died from a hit-and-run and no one was ever charged in the case. In June 2021, state authorities announced a new investigation into the death “based upon information gathered during the course of the double-murder investigation of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.”

After Murdaugh’s conviction, Smith’s mother and lawyers called for a new, independent investigation and exhumed the teenager’s body for a second autopsy. Dispelling rumors about his involvement in the case, Buster said in a documentary clip that on the night of Smith’s death, he was at his family’s Edisto Beach home with his mother and brother.

“I don’t want to be rude here, but have you ever been accused of murdering somebody?” Buster asks in the clip. “Well, let me tell you, this is very, very, very, very, very, it’s a terrible thing to place on somebody with absolutely no fact. I mean, it has harmed my reputation. I mean, people perceive me as a murderer.”

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