On Thursday, Buster Murdaugh, the 30-year-old son of Alex Murdaugh, was seen by Fox News Digital on the porch of his residence in Bluffton, South Carolina. This sighting came just a day after the South Carolina Supreme Court decided that misconduct by a court official had compromised the integrity of the 2023 trial that resulted in his father’s life sentence.
Alex Murdaugh, once a prominent legal figure in South Carolina, was convicted of murdering his wife and son. However, the state’s highest court has overturned these convictions following allegations of jury tampering by Rebecca “Becky” Hill, the former Clerk of Court for Colleton County.
Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson, the Murdaugh family’s longtime housekeeper, shared her thoughts with Fox News Digital in her first statement since this dramatic reversal. While she felt the guilty verdict served justice for Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, she expressed respect for the judicial process.
“The decision today has stirred a mix of emotions within me. Since Maggie and Paul’s tragic deaths, I’ve strived to handle everything with honesty, dignity, and respect for those we’ve lost. In my book, ‘Within the House of Murdaugh, Amid a Unique Friendship, Blanca & Maggie,’ I candidly expressed my concerns about the prospect of a retrial,” she revealed.
In her writing, Turrubiate-Simpson maintained her belief that the guilty verdict for Murdaugh was “justice for them” and felt it “should stand.”
She added, “Simultaneously, I respect the legal process and recognize the court’s duty to uphold fairness under the law. My hope is that moving forward, Maggie and Paul remain at the forefront, not overshadowed by headlines, speculation, or the noise surrounding this case. They were cherished individuals whose lives held significance far beyond the tragedy that captured national attention.”
At the center of the stunning reversal is Hill, who oversaw the blockbuster proceedings and was later accused of improperly influencing jurors. According to the court, Hill made comments that could have swayed how jurors viewed the evidence and pushed them toward a guilty verdict.
According to testimony reviewed by the court, jurors said Hill told them to “watch him closely,” “watch his actions,” and not be “fooled” by the defense.
One juror recalled “that Hill told the jurors not to be fooled by the evidence Murdaugh’s defense presented,” according to the document, saying, “They’re going to say things that will try to confuse you. Don’t let them confuse you or convince you or throw you off.”
The documents say Hill tried to “insert herself into the jury’s deliberations through these comments, which was in line with her stated desire for a guilty verdict to sell more copies of the book she planned to write.”
The ruling references the post-trial court’s finding that, “Hill was attracted by the siren call of celebrity” and “allowed her desire for the public attention of the moment to overcome her duty to her oath of office.”
“Accordingly, we hold Murdaugh’s right to a fair trial by an impartial jury was violated, and the post-trial court erred in denying his motion for a new trial,” the ruling says.
Because Hill was a top court official, her words carried unusual weight and raised serious concerns that the jury’s decision may not have been based solely on the evidence presented at trial.
In December 2025, Hill pleaded guilty to four charges — obstruction of justice and perjury for showing a reporter photographs that were sealed court exhibits and then lying about it, plus two counts of misconduct in office for taking bonuses and promoting a book she wrote on the trial through her public office.
“There is no excuse for the mistakes I made. I’m ashamed of them and will carry that shame the rest of my life,” Hill said in a statement read to the court.
She was sentenced to three years of probation.
In 2023, Murdaugh was convicted of gunning down his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, at the family’s hunting estate in 2021.
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The case exposed a web of lies, including Murdaugh’s opioid addiction and millions in stolen client funds.
Despite the legal win on Wednesday, Murdaugh will not be walking free. He remains behind bars serving lengthy sentences for a string of financial crimes that cemented his fall from power.
For his financial crimes, Murdaugh was sentenced in state court to 27 years in prison after pleading guilty to 22 counts, including money laundering and breach of trust. In federal court, he received a 40-year sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, which he is serving concurrently with his state time.
Though his murder convictions and subsequent life sentences were overturned by the South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday, he remains in prison to serve the financial sentences.
Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.
