Buster Murdaugh has damaged his silence to disclaim any involvement within the mysterious killing of homosexual teenager Stephen Smith – and demand that he nonetheless believes his father is harmless of the murders of his mom and brother.
Alex Murdaugh’s solely surviving son spoke out in his first TV interview since his household was propelled to nationwide consideration, for the brand new three-part FOX Nation documentary “The Fall of the Home of Murdaugh”.
Within the interview, Buster slammed rumours that he too may have been concerned in a heinous homicide – that of 19-year-old Smith in July 2015 – and provided an alibi for his whereabouts on the night time {the teenager} was killed.
“I by no means had something to do together with his homicide, and I by no means had something to do with him on a bodily degree in any regard,” he stated in a clip from the documentary, due for launch on 31 August.
Smith, a nursing pupil, was discovered useless on a street in Hampton County, South Carolina, within the early hours of 8 July 2015 – not removed from the outstanding Murdaugh household’s property the place Alex Murdaugh murdered Maggie and Paul six years later.
Regardless of Smith struggling blunt power trauma to the top and there being no skid marks or vehicular particles on the street, officers dominated his loss of life a hit-and-run on the time.
Smith’s mom lengthy questioned this official account and, for years, the Murdaugh identify continued to crop up in connection to the case.
Buster and Smith had been classmates and there have been unsubstantiated rumours that the 2 had been in some form of relationship across the time of his loss of life.
Smith’s mom Sandy Smith named Buster because the prime suspect in her son’s homicide in a letter begging the FBI to become involved within the case again in 2016.
In June 2021 – mere days after Maggie and Paul’s murders – SLED introduced that it was opening a brand new investigation into Smith’s loss of life.
Buster Murdaugh offers first TV interview
(Fox Nation)
This April, the company then lastly introduced that Smith’s loss of life was being investigated as a murder and his physique was exhumed for a personal post-mortem.
Nobody has ever been charged over Smith’s loss of life and legislation enforcement have by no means introduced something linking Buster to the killing.
Within the FOX Nation documentary, Buster for the primary time provided an alibi for the night time of Smith’s loss of life saying that he was at his household’s Edisto Seaside home together with his late mom and brother.
Hitting out on the rumours that proceed to swirl, he stated it was “a horrible factor” to be accused of.
“I don’t need to be impolite right here, however have you ever ever been accused of murdering someone?” he requested.
“Effectively, let me let you know, that is very, very, very, very, very, it’s a horrible factor to put on someone with completely no truth. I imply, it has harmed my status. I imply, folks understand me as a assassin.”
Within the interview, Buster additionally doubled down on his father’s innocence within the murders of Maggie and Paul – even after a jury of 12 friends convicted him again in March and he was sentenced to life in jail on the fees.
Maggie and Paul had been discovered shot useless on the household’s 1,700-acre Moselle property again on 7 June 2021. Alex Murdaugh had known as 911 claiming to have discovered their our bodies.
When requested if he ever thought it attainable that his father may need killed their family members, Buster insisted no.
“No, as a result of I believe that I maintain a really distinctive perspective that no person else in that courtroom ever held. And I do know the love that I’ve witnessed,” he stated.
Stephen Smith was discovered useless in a street again in 2015
(Sandy Smith/GoFundMe)
The 29-year-old went on to say that he thinks there are numerous questions that also have to be answered concerning the murders.
“My largest factor that I would like folks to understand, that there are all the time two sides of the story. Now, they’ll choose which one they need to consider,” he stated.
“However I believe there’s a heck of quite a bit that also must be answered about what occurred on June the seventh.”
He stated that prosecutors offered a “crappy motive” and that the case was not “honest”.
“I don’t consider it was honest,” he stated. “I used to be there for six weeks finding out it, and I believe it was a tilted desk from the start.
“And I believe, sadly, numerous the jurors felt that means previous to once they needed to deliberate. It was predetermined of their minds previous to once they ever heard any shred of proof that was given in that room.”
Buster stated that he believed the police had been beneath “an terrible lot of stress” to provide you with a suspect within the killings and so “the route that they determined to go along with” was to cost his father.
He additionally blamed the media protection of the case which he stated left jurors going into the method with their minds already made up.
“Due to all the things that they had the flexibility to learn previous to the trial,” he stated.
Alex Murdaugh as he’s sentenced to life in jail
(AP)
“I believe that individuals get overwhelmed, and I believe that they consider all the things that they learn. And I believe it took benefit of a jury pool in a really small city in a really small county.”
Now, together with his father behind bars, he stated he fears that the true killer continues to be strolling free.
“I believe I set myself as much as be protected however sure, once I go to mattress at night time, I’ve a worry that there’s someone that’s nonetheless on the market,” Buster added.
All through the high-profile homicide trial, Buster stood by his father, attending every day of the courtroom’s proceedings together with his relations.
Buster additionally testified in his father’s defence saying that Murdaugh had been “destroyed” and “heartbroken” within the aftermath of the deaths of his mom and brother.
However regardless of persevering with to insist his father’s innocence even now, Buster didn’t deny that his father could also be a psychopath.
“I’m not ready to sit down right here and say that it encompasses him as a complete, however I actually assume there are traits the place you have a look at the manipulation and the lies and the finishing up of that such, and I believe that’s a good evaluation,” he stated.
When requested if he worries he is likely to be like his father, Buster additionally had some harsh phrases for his father’s character.
Buster, Maggie, Paul and Alex Murdaugh
(Maggie Murdaugh/Fb)
“No, I don’t worry, as a result of I’m not a thief. I’m not a liar. I’m not a manipulator,” he stated.
“In these regards, I’m nothing like him, however, in different regards, I consider that I do maintain a few of his extra admirable traits, which I’m fairly happy with.”
Murdaugh, 54, was sentenced to life in jail for the murders and is serving his time within the most safety facility McCormick Correctional Establishment in South Carolina.
He’s additionally going through a slew of economic fraud expenses for stealing thousands and thousands of {dollars} from his legislation agency purchasers and his useless housekeeeper’s household and over a botched hitman plot the place he claims he paid an confederate to shoot him useless.
In addition to Smith’s loss of life, Murdaugh’s high-profile conviction additionally shone a highlight on another thriller deaths tied to the South Carolina authorized dynasty.
An investigation was additionally reopened into one other thriller loss of life linked to the Murdaugh household – that of their longtime housekeeper Gloria Satterfield.
She died in 2018 in a thriller journey and fall accident on the household dwelling. Murdaugh then allegedly stole round $4m in a wrongful loss of life settlement from her sons.
On the time of his homicide, Paul was additionally awaiting trial for the 2018 boat crash loss of life of Mallory Seaside.
