The only surviving son of convicted double murderer Alex Murdaugh has said he feels calling his father a psychopath is “a fair assessment”, but still doubts he killed his wife and other son, according to a new documentary series.
The Fall Of The House Of Murdaugh, which is airing on Fox Nation in the US, details Murdaugh shooting dead his wife, Margaret, and their younger son, Paul, at their home in South Carolina in June 2021. Prosecutors said Murdaugh, a since disbarred lawyer, feared authorities were about to prove he stole millions from his law firm and clients, and killed his wife and son in a desperate attempt to gain sympathy and delay investigation. He is now serving a life sentence without parole.
The double murder attracted particular attention in the US in part because Paul had reportedly been involved in a deadly boat crash in February 2019, and Murdaugh’s trial drew extensive media coverage before he was found guilty in March.
Speaking in the documentary, Richard Alexander “Buster” Murdaugh Jr, who wasn’t at home when the murders took place, said it was justifiable to call his father a psychopath.
“Certainly, I think there are characteristics where you look at the manipulation and the lies and the carrying out of that such, and I think that is a fair assessment,” he said.
However, he said he also believed his father didn’t receive a fair trial. “I think, unfortunately, a lot of the jurors felt that way prior to when they had to deliberate. It was predetermined in their minds prior to when they ever heard any shred of evidence that was given.”
He added that he did not think his father “could be affiliated with endangering” his mother or brother and that their real killer still walks free.
“I think I set myself up to be safe, but yes – when I go to bed at night, I have a fear that there is somebody [who] is still out there,” he said.
