The story of Alex Murdaugh and his family reads like a Southern Gothic novel, filled with immense power, shocking violence, and profound tragedy. For nearly a century, the Murdaugh name was synonymous with legal authority in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, where three successive generations served as the top prosecutor for a five-county region known locally as “Murdaugh Country.”
This long-held influence makes the family’s dramatic fall from grace, culminating in Alex’s conviction for the murder of his own wife and son, all the more staggering. The saga has since become a national fascination, inspiring documentaries, podcasts, and a recent Hulu series, pulling back the curtain on a world of privilege, crime, and deadly secrets.
At the center of this storm is Richard Alexander “Alex” Murdaugh, a man who was born into privilege and seemed destined to uphold the family’s powerful legacy. Born on May 27, 1968, Alex was the son of Randolph Murdaugh III, who, along with his father and grandfather, served as the 14th Circuit Solicitor, effectively making the family the law in that part of South Carolina for 87 years.
Alex followed the expected path, attending the University of South Carolina for both his undergraduate and law degrees before joining the family’s prestigious personal injury law firm, Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick (PMPED). He even worked part-time as a volunteer prosecutor in his father’s office, solidifying his role as a legal scion in the community he called home.
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A Family Man with a Dark Secret Life
Alex Murdaugh married Margaret “Maggie” Kennedy Branstetter in August 1993 after the two met while she was a student at the University of South Carolina. Described as a dedicated mother and a full-time homemaker, Maggie became a socialite in South Carolina circles. Together, they had two sons, creating a picture of a successful, close-knit family.
Their eldest son, Richard Alexander “Buster” Murdaugh Jr., was born on April 11, 1996. He followed the family tradition by attending Wofford College and later enrolling in the University of South Carolina School of Law, though he was eventually expelled for plagiarism and has not returned to his legal studies. Their younger son, Paul Terry Murdaugh, was born on April 14, 1999. He was an undergraduate student at the University of South Carolina who loved hunting and the outdoors, but friends also said he had an aggressive, alcohol-fueled alter ego they nicknamed “Timmy.”
Behind this facade of a perfect life, Alex was secretly leading a life of crime. For nearly two decades, he battled an addiction to opioids and financed it by stealing millions of dollars from his law firm and clients through elaborate fraud schemes. This double life set the stage for unimaginable violence. On the night of June 7, 2021, Alex called 911 from the family’s hunting estate in Islandton, claiming he had discovered the bodies of Maggie and Paul near the dog kennels. Both had been shot multiple times at close range with different guns.
Just three days later, Alex’s father, Randolph Murdaugh III, died of natural causes, adding another layer of sorrow to the family’s story. The investigation into the murders eventually zeroed in on Alex himself, with prosecutors arguing he took the lives of his wife and son to generate sympathy and distract from his financial crimes, which were on the verge of being exposed.
A Family Shattered and a Son Left Behind
In March 2023, Alex Murdaugh was convicted of the murders of his wife and son and was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole. He is also serving additional decades in prison after pleading guilty to numerous state and federal financial crimes. Behind bars, he spends his time playing chess and working as a wardkeeper’s assistant in a protective custody unit of a maximum-security prison.
The convictions shattered the Murdaugh family and left Buster as the only surviving direct member of his immediate household. He testified in his father’s defense during the trial, stating that Alex Murdaugh was “heartbroken” and “destroyed” by the deaths. In the years since the trial, Buster has worked to build a new life away from the intense media spotlight. In 2025, he married his longtime girlfriend, Brooklynn White, who is an attorney and was a steady presence by his side throughout his father’s trial.
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Buster has also been forced to publicly deny any involvement in the unsolved 2015 death of his former classmate, Stephen Smith, calling the persistent rumors “baseless” and “false.” The once-powerful Murdaugh dynasty, built over generations, was ultimately destroyed from within, leaving a legacy of tragedy and crime that continues to unfold.
