Alex Murdaugh’s son, Buster, says ‘dad destroyed, heartbroken’ after murders

Alex Murdaugh’s only living son, Buster Murdaugh, testified Tuesday that his dad was ‘broken’ after his wife and son were shot to death.

“He was destroyed, heartbroken,” Buster told jurors at his father’s double murder trial in Walterboro, South Carolina. “I walked in the door, saw him, gave him a hug, [he was] just broken down.”

Murdaugh, 54, is accused of blowing off the head of his youngest son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, with a shotgun and executing his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, with a rifle in June 2021.

Buster, 26, said his father called him June 7 after finding his wife and son’s bodies near the dog kennels of the family’s hunting estate. 

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Alex Murdaugh watches his son, Buster, testify Feb. 21, 2023, at his murder trial. (Fox News )

“He asked me if I was sitting down, and I was like, yeah, then he sounded odd, then he told me that my mom and brother had been shot,” Buster testified in the Colleton County Courthouse. “I was in shock.”

He and his girlfriend, Brooklynn White, rushed to the family’s 1,700-acre estate, known as Moselle, in Islandton, South Carolina, arriving early the next morning.

Buster, wearing a white button-down shirt and a black blazer, showed little emotion as he testified, while his dad smiled at him affectionately from the defense table.

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The morning after the murders, Buster said and he and his father showered at Moselle, possibly explaining the puddle of water and the damp towel found in the master bathroom.

Defense lawyer Jim Griffin elicited in his questioning that the family had a very tight-knit relationship. 

Buster, Alex and Maggie Murdaugh on Memorial Day weekend during his father’s birthday celebration about a week before his brother, Paul, and mom, were murdered June 7, 2021.  (Defense exhibit)

“I spoke to my mom every day, multiple times a day, and the like for my dad and for my brother, too, and I know they’re all talking to each other too,” Buster testified, adding that the flurry of phone calls on the day of the murders wasn’t unusual. 

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He said he knew his dad struggled with a narcotics addiction and had checked into a detox facility in 2018 – but portrayed him as a loving father and a devoted husband.

Buster told jurors that his dad “coached every little league team I played on,” and it was unusual for either of his parents to miss his games.

Buster Murdaugh listens to his father Alex Murdaugh’s recorded interview, where he describes a suicide attempt he planned, during Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, in Walterboro, S.C. (Joshua Boucher/The State via AP, Pool)

About a week before the slayings, the family celebrated Murdaugh’s birthday in Edisto Beach, and Griffin displayed a photo of Buster posing with his parents. 

Challenging testimony elicited during the prosecution’s case, Buster said guns were frequently left all over the property by his slain brother.

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“Sometimes he would use my gun, and he would leave it, and then I would have to track it down,” he said of his .300 Blackout rifle. 

The gun used to kill Paul was loaded with buckshot and birdshot rounds, which Buster said he’d never seen done at Moselle.

A photo of the Murdaugh family taken days before Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were shot to death. From left, Buster, Paul, Maggie and Alex Murdaugh. (Defense exhibit)

He also said that the family usually used the main entrance to the Moselle residence, not the side entrance that passes the kennels.

Last week, a prosecution witness testified that Murdaugh parked near the wood line of his mother’s property, rather than the front door, when he visited Almeda shortly after his wife and son were killed. 

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Prosecutors have implied that Murdaugh disposed of evidence on the property. But Buster testified Tuesday that they often parked in that spot when visiting Almeda because it was near the entrance to the home’s sunroom. 

From left, Buster Murdaugh, 26, his mother Maggie Murdaugh, his brother Paul Murdaugh and his father Alex Murdaugh. Alex is accused of fatally shooting Maggie, 52, and their son, Paul, 22, June 7, 2021. (Facebook)

On cross-examination by John Meadors, Buster conceded that he didn’t know the family was in financial straits until his father’s botched suicide scheme Sept. 4, 2021. 

Murdaugh asked his drug dealer, Curtis “Cousin Eddie” Smith, to shoot him in the head, so Buster could collect a $10 million life insurance payout – but the shot only grazed his scalp. 

Buster Murdaugh and his girlfriend Brooklynn White watch a video clip from Buster’s brother Paul’s phone in the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, Wednesday, February 1, 2023.  (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post and Courier/Pool)

Buster has been a constant presence in the courthouse since his father’s trial kicked off Jan. 25 with opening statements.

He has supported his father since the disbarred attorney’s arrest for allegedly killing his only brother and his mother.

Buster and other relatives were forced to move to rows further back in the courtroom after altercations with court staff. After one witness testified, Buster allegedly flipped him off. 

Buster Murdaugh, Brooklynn White, and Lynn Murdaugh return to the Colleton County courthouse after lunch, Walterboro, S.C., Tuesday, February 7, 2023. Buster’s father, Alex Murdaugh is facing trial for double murder. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)

Buster, White, his uncle, John Marvin Murdaugh, and his aunt, Lynn Murdaugh Goette, have been in court every day.

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Tuesday marked the fifth week of Murdaugh’s trial and the second day of the defense’s case. 

Before Buster was called to the stand, Judge Newman admonished Griffin for retweeting an article about the case. 

“You should not post or repost anything,” the judge told him.

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Rebecca Rosenberg is a veteran journalist and book author with a focus on crime and criminal justice. Email tips to rebecca.rosenberg@fox.com and @ReRosenberg.