The only remaining son of disgraced legal scion Alex Murdaugh has settled into a one-bedroom apartment in a “quiet” resort town in South Carolina.
Richard “Buster” Murdaugh, 26, now lives with his longtime girlfriend Brooklynn White, also 26, and their beloved golden retriever Miller in the modest $180,000 condo on Hilton Head Island, reports FOX News.
“They are a really nice couple,” said a neighbor who was unaware of Buster’s family tragedy. “They always smile and say hello.”‘
Buster has managed to stay out of the spotlight after his father, Alex Murdaugh, was accused of murdering his only sibling, 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh, and their 52-year-old mother, Maggie, at the sprawling Islandton family estate in June 2021 .
Alex, 54, also faces 80 separate federal charges for allegedly stealing millions of dollars from his own law firm and from the family of his late housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.
He has denied the allegations against him, claiming he believes his cousin Curtis Eddie Smith was responsible for the shooting of Maggie and Paul.
Buster has also continued to support his father, who is scheduled to stand trial on January 23 for double murder.
Richard “Buster” Murdaugh, 26, was spotted outside his new condo on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina last week
Buster is the only remaining son of once prominent attorney Alex Murdaugh. He’s managed to keep a low profile ahead of his father’s trial for the double murder of Buster’s brother, Paul, and their mother, Maggie
The one bedroom Hilton Head Island condo is located in a complex with a community pool, tennis court and gym in a “quiet” neighborhood
Paul (left) and Maggie (right) were found dead at their sprawling Islandton estate in June 2021
Buster was pictured getting into his GMC Yukon outside the condo last week.
His new home on Hilton Head Island featured blue marlin decoration on the porch and is in a complex with a community pool, tennis court and gym.
White, originally from Rocky Hill, South Carolina, originally bought the condo in July 2021, records show, after landing her first job outside of law school at Olivetti McCray and Withrow, where she specialized in estate and probate planning.
It’s unclear how long she and Buster have been together, but they likely met while they were both attending law school at the University of South Carolina.
Buster was reportedly expelled from school for plagiarism in his sophomore year, but his father paid a lawyer $60,000 to get him reinstated.
Sources close to the couple told FOX News that White accompanied him to Maggie and Paul’s joint funeral – and was seen comforting Buster as he cried during the service.
She also appeared to comfort the disgraced attorney at the service.
Buster’s longtime friend Brooklynn White (pictured) bought the property in July 2021 for $180,000 and they live there with their golden retriever, Miller
Alex Murdaugh, 54, is due to stand trial for the alleged murder of his wife and younger son in January. He is pictured here at a bond hearing
Murdaugh’s lawyers insist he is innocent of the double murder
Prosecutors say Alex shot and killed his wife and son as legal and financial troubles mounted; He was mired in debt thanks to a crippling addiction to painkillers and had turned to stealing from his own law firm to try to keep up.
They said in court last month that they have video evidence of Alex, who arrived at the property at 8:44 p.m. and was then filmed at 9:06 p.m. setting his car on fire and leaving.
It was another hour before he called 911 and reported her dead.
Prosecutors did not clarify at yesterday’s hearing whether Murdaugh returned to the property to make the call or whether video showed someone else arriving at the house between 9:06 p.m. and 10 p.m. when the call was made was made.
Murdaugh (pictured in his mugshot) waited an hour before calling 911 to report the deaths of his wife and son, prosecutors say
His lawyers insist he is not guilty of the murders and say police overlooked a lie detector test taken by his cousin Curtis Eddie Smith, where he was asked about the murders.
Smith told investigators he was “nowhere near” the Murdaugh family home on the night of the murders and was at his own home with friends.
But they say the test showed he lied when he made those remarks.
Smith is the same man who police say was hired by Murdaugh to shoot in the back of the head weeks after the murders of Paul and Maggie.
In the same polygraph test, Smith proposed another theory: that Maggie was having an affair with a groundsman, which her son Paul came home and discovered.
He suggested that the groundsman then murdered both Paul and Maggie in a panic. Smith didn’t name the groundsman, nor did he explain why he thought that was plausible.
His attorney told The State that he was not guilty of the murders of Paul and Maggie and that he had an “iron-iron” alibi to prove it.
“Eddie Smith continues to be a victim of Alex Murdaugh and his actions.
“If you look at this case since the murders, there has been a desire on the part of Alex Murdaugh to suggest that Eddie Smith is involved in some way.
“This is a sequel to that.”
And in court documents, federal prosecutors say the idea that Smith murdered the family is not only untrue but also “salacious” and “offensive” to the memory of his late wife.
They state that Alex killed his wife and son after cheating millions of dollars and nearly losing the family fortune.
Murdaugh has accused his cousin Curtis Eddie Smith, pictured in August, of committing the murders. Smith is currently in prison on an unrelated charge
Meanwhile, the federal trial is ongoing against a banker accused of helping Alex steal money from his personal injury settlements.
Russell Lafitte, the former CEO of Palmetto State Bank, is facing charges of bank fraud, wire fraud and misappropriation of bank funds for allegedly helping Murdaugh steal money from his clients’ settlements
Russell Lafitte, the former CEO of Palmetto State Bank, faces charges of bank fraud, wire fraud and misappropriation of bank funds.
Alex was not charged in the Lafitte trial but was separately indicted on more than 80 counts of financial crimes and in state court in connection with allegedly stealing $8.5 million from his clients.
Last week in court, prosecutors unveiled evidence showing Lafitte Murdaugh approved checks for $750,000 in July 2021, despite having overdrawn $300,000 from his account, according to Live 5 News.
They also revealed that Alex was first confronted with financial irregularities at the family’s personal injury law firm on the same day his wife and son were murdered.
The company – formerly known as Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth and Derrick PA – accused Alex of embezzling funds at the time and threw him out.
Just days later, Alex was shot in the head in what prosecutors say was a failed assisted suicide plan that would leave Buster with a $10 million life insurance policy.
The Murdaughs were once a prominent figure in South Carolina politics, having served as local prosecutors for five counties for four generations
Paul was accused in 2019 of drunk driving his father’s boat into a bridge, killing 19-year-old Mallory Beach (pictured).
The Murdaughs were once a prominent figure in South Carolina politics, having served as local prosecutors for five counties for four generations.
However, her notoriety began to wane in 2019 after Paul was accused of drunkenly slamming his father’s boat into a bridge, killing 19-year-old Mallory Beach and injuring four others.
The victims’ families subsequently sued the Murdaughs and shed light on Alex’s alleged financial crimes.
Buster was also named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Beach’s family for allegedly allowing Paul, who was a minor at the time, to use his ID to purchase alcohol.
The civil case is also scheduled to be heard in January.
At the same time, FOX News reports, South Carolina law enforcement is reopening its investigation into the death of Buster’s classmate Stephen Smith, with whom he allegedly had a secret affair.
And investigators have opened an inquiry into the 2018 death of Murdaugh’s longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.