Buster Murdaugh, the surviving son of convicted killer Alex Murdaugh, has named his newborn son after his father. The decision marks a striking familial tribute as Alex Murdaugh prepares for a new trial following the overturning of his convictions in the 2021 murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. Buster Murdaugh, 30, and his wife, Brooklynn, welcomed their first child recently. It is not yet clear if the child shares the exact same full name as Alex Murdaugh – Richard Alexander Murdaugh – or a variation.
Murdaugh's attorneys have stated that Buster Murdaugh continues to support his father and speaks with him regularly. However, Buster was absent from the court hearing on Monday in Lexington County, which was the first appearance for his father since his murder convictions were vacated. During this status conference, Judge Debra McCaslin scheduled the second murder trial to begin on April 5, 2027. Alex Murdaugh's legal team also raised concerns about untested DNA evidence found on Maggie Murdaugh's body.
Alex Murdaugh, 58, a former attorney, appeared in court and was observed interacting with his legal team. Buster Murdaugh has not publicly commented on his father's upcoming retrial. When approached by the Daily Mail at J Parker Ltd, the high-end clothing store where he works in Bluffton, South Carolina, Buster declined to answer questions regarding his father's case or his continued support.
During Alex Murdaugh's initial murder trial in February 2023, the family presented a united front. Buster, his wife Brooklynn, and Murdaugh's siblings, John Marvin, Randy, and Lynn, attended court proceedings almost daily. Buster also testified in his father's defense, describing him as heartbroken and destroyed by the murders. He had also stated in a Fox Nation documentary in the fall of 2023 that he believed in his father's innocence and expressed fear of an unknown perpetrator. However, he also acknowledged that his father could be described as a psychopath, citing his manipulation and lies.
Following the murders and his father's subsequent conviction, Buster Murdaugh has maintained a lower public profile. He and Brooklynn married in May 2025 at Coosaw Point and have since had their child. Buster has also been involved in legal matters stemming from the scandals surrounding his father. In 2024, he filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros Discovery and other media companies for allegedly falsely implicating him in the unsolved 2015 murder of Stephen Smith. A settlement was reached in February for an undisclosed amount. Buster has never been named a suspect in Smith's death, which was reopened by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and officially classified as a homicide.
Alex Murdaugh's 2023 conviction was the culmination of a downfall for a scion of a powerful legal family that had influence in South Carolina's 14th Judicial Circuit for nearly a century. Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were found murdered on June 7, 2021, at the family's Moselle estate. The investigation into their deaths exposed a range of alleged crimes, including financial fraud, a supposed murder-for-hire plot, and connections to other suspicious deaths. Paul Murdaugh was facing charges for a fatal boat crash in 2019 that killed Mallory Beach, and Alex Murdaugh was facing a significant civil lawsuit. The family's housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, also died in a fall at the Moselle estate in 2018.
Murdaugh was convicted of the murders and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. He later pleaded guilty to state and federal financial crimes, receiving additional sentences. While admitting to financial misconduct, Murdaugh has consistently maintained his innocence regarding the murders of Maggie and Paul.
In May, the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned his murder convictions, citing jury tampering by the court clerk as a violation of his right to a fair trial, and ordered a new trial. The upcoming proceedings are anticipated to draw significant media attention.
During Monday's hearing, prosecutors and the defense debated issues including DNA evidence, the location for the second trial, and Murdaugh's court attire. The defense intends to have untested DNA found under Maggie Murdaugh's fingernails, which does not belong to Alex Murdaugh, analyzed at a genetic genealogy lab. Prosecutors called this DNA evidence a 'red herring.' The defense also requested that Murdaugh be allowed to appear in civilian clothing and unshackled, which prosecutors opposed, citing policy for convicted inmates. Murdaugh's legal team also seeks to move the trial out of Colleton County and the surrounding judicial circuit.
Alex Murdaugh is currently serving sentences for his financial crimes. His next pre-trial hearing is scheduled for August 14.