EXCLUSIVE: Richard “Buster” Murdaugh Jr.— the lone surviving son of disgraced South Carolina lawyer and accused killer Alex Murdaugh — is living a quiet life with his longtime girlfriend in a resort town ahead of his father’s hotly anticipated murder trial, Fox News Digital has learned.
“They’re a really nice couple,” said a neighbor, who wasn’t aware of Buster’s identity or tragic family circumstances. “They smile and say hi every time.”
Buster, and Brooklynn White, both 26, live with their beloved golden retriever, Miller, in a modest one-bedroom Hilton Head Island condominium — a far cry from the sprawling 1,700-acre hunting farm, known as Moselle, where he grew up in Islandton, South Carolina.
Alex, aged 54, is accused Several fatally shot Buster’s only sibling, 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh, and their 52-year-old mother, Maggie Murdaugh, June 7, 2021, near the estate’s dog kennels.
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Photo of Richard “Buster” Murdaugh Jr. walking Miller outside his Hilton Head apartment in Georgia.
(Mark Sims, Fox News DIgital).
Jan. 23 will see the shocking trial of the patriarch who was murdered. double homicide.Buster continues to support his jailed and disbarred father.
Buster, with a downcast expression, pulled up to the curb in his gray GMC Yukon on Tuesday morning. Georgia apartmentThen, she carried a basket full of laundry inside and left.
The home has a blue Marlin design on its front porch. It is part of a complex that includes a pool, a tennis court, and a gym.
Brooklynn White’s and Buster Murdaugh’s homes on Hilton Head Island, Georgia.
(Marks Sims at Fox News Digital
It’s unclear when Buster and White began dating — but she accompanied him to the joint funeral of Paul and Maggie, according to a source.
According to the source, she was seen comforting her beau while he cried at service.
More than 17 months after the murders, the slain mother and son’s graves in Hampton Cemetery still don’t have headstones and are marked by small plastic plaques.
Brooklynn White, Buster Murdaugh’s girlfriend, works as a lawyer at Olivetti, McCray and Withrow, based on Hilton Head Island, Georgia.
(Mark Sims at Fox News Digital/ Facebook
White, who’s from Rock Hill, South Carolina, bought the Hilton Head condo for $180,000 in July 2021 after landing her first job out ofLaw school at Olivetti McCray & Withrow, where she specializes in probate and estate planning, according to the firm’s website.
She declined to answer questions Wednesday morning on her boyfriend’s state or the case against his father, politely responding to several requests for comment with a simple, “No, ma’am.”
About 70 miles away from Buster’s childhood home is the Hilton Head apartment.
Buster Murdaugh is 26, his mother Maggie Murdaugh is 52, and his brother Paul Murdaugh is 22. Alex is accused in the fatal shooting of Maggie Murdaugh (52), and their son Paul (22), June 7, 2021.
(Facebook)
White studied at the University of South Carolina Law School with Buster. Buster was reported to have been expelled in his second semester due to plagiarism, according the Wall Street Journal.
According to FitsNews. Alex paid $60,000 for an attorney in order to have Buster readmitted.
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Also, the news site reported that Buster was accompanied by Randolph Murdaugh IV (an attorney) to the South Carolina Association for Justice annual convention at Hilton Head in August.
Buster Murdaugh was the only surviving child of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh.
(Facebook)
Buster has been quiet since October 2021 when he caused a stir by being photographed in public with John Marvin Murdaugh. He was seen drinking and gambling at The Venetian Las Vegas.
Buster sightings in the latest week coincide with the federal trial of banker Russell Laffitte kicked off — the first criminal case stemming from the spectacular unraveling of the Murdaugh dynasty to go before a jury.
Laffitte: The former Palmetto State Bank CEOMurdaugh is facing charges of wire fraud, bank fraud, and other offenses for allegedly helping his clients with personal injury to get their settlement money.
In November 2022, temporary plastic plaques were placed at the graves of Maggie Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh in Hampton Cemetery in South Carolina. This was 17 months after their bodies had been laid to rest.
(Mark Sims, Fox News Digital).
Alex, though a key figure in the federal case, has not been charged. He was charged with more than 80 charges. financial crimes in state court in connection to the alleged theft of $8.5 million from his clients’ settlements.
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Tuesday’s announcement by the Prosecutors Laffitte’s trial that Alex was first confronted about financial irregularities at the family’s once illustrious personal injury law firm the same day his wife and son were murdered.
The firm, formerly known as Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Derrick, P.A., accused Alex of misappropriating funds and forced him out.
A temporary plaque was placed at Maggie Murdaugh’s grave at Hampton Cemetery in South Carolina 17 months after Alex Murdaugh allegedly shot her and her 22-year old son Paul to death.
(Marks Sims at Fox News Digital
Alex was shot in his head days after losing his job. The plot was allegedly to make Buster an $10 million life insurance policy.
The Murdaughs are a prominent family. Democratic familyOver a century, he had held immense judicial and political power. The solicitor oversees the five southern counties and was the local prosecutor for four generations.
But their dominance began to wane in 2019 after Paul was accused of drunkenly slamming his father’s boat into the pilings of a bridge in Beaufort, killing 19-year-old Mallory Beach, injuring four others and triggering a series of lawsuits that shone a spotlight on Alex’s alleged crooked financial dealings.
From left, Anthony Cook, Connor Cook and Miley Altman are clockwise. Beach, 19, died after her boat crashed into a bridge. Paul Murdaugh was also drunk.
(Facebook)
Buster was also named as defendant in the Beach suit. He was accused of letting Paul, an underage man, use his ID for alcohol purchases for the doomed trip. The civil case is set to proceed to trial in January.
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Since the double slaying, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) reopened investigations into the mysterious 2015 death of Buster’s classmate Stephen Smith, with whom he was rumored to be having a secret affair.
Authorities also launched a fresh probe into the 2018 death of the Murdaugh’s long time housekeeper.
Alex Murdaugh’s 54-year-old booking photo is embedded in an image at the Colleton County Courthouse. Alex Murdaugh will be tried on murder charges against Maggie Murdaugh and her son Paul.
(Mark Sims, Fox News Digital/ Colleton County Detention Center).
A new HBO documentary, “Low Country: Murdaugh Dynasty”, aired earlier in the month. It depicts a series of jail visits between Alex and his son. They were recorded at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.
Alex asks Buster in one recording if Brooklynn received his letter. Alex spoke with White on several calls. The series didn’t air. White addresses Alex directly and addresses him as “sir”.
Alex calls Buster and encourages him to return to Murdaugh Estate, where his mother and brother were killed.
Buster Murdaugh (26), his mother Maggie (52), his brother Paul (22), and his father Alex Murdaugh (54). Alex Murdaugh has been charged with shooting Maggie and Paul to death on the sprawling estate in South Carolina.
(Fox News)
Alex said that he believed the Moselle dam feeders were full. “If you felt like going back there, I bet with nothing going on, I bet there’s deer all over them things.”
Buster, who sounds unsettled by the proposition, replies, “I’m not going hunting out there.”
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Dick Harpootlian (Alex’s attorney) and Amanda Loveday (family’s spokeswoman) didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Haley Chiu-Sing contributed to the report.
