The lingering shadow of a white pickup truck continues to haunt Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson, the Murdaugh family’s long-serving housekeeper, years after the chilling Lowcountry murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh. Her haunting memory of that night is woven into the narrative of her newly released book, “Within the House of Murdaugh: Amid a Unique Friendship,” co-authored with Mary Frances Weaver. The book not only delves into her close bond with Maggie Murdaugh but also recounts the harrowing events surrounding the tragic deaths of Maggie and her son Paul.
In a conversation with Fox News Digital, Turrubiate-Simpson shared her enduring unease, which stems from a white pickup truck she spotted near the Murdaugh family’s Moselle estate in Colleton County, South Carolina, on that fateful night. The estate, simply known as “Moselle,” is where the unsettling events unfolded.
“The part that really haunts me,” she confessed, “was not looking into that white truck that was parked out there by the hangar.” Turrubiate-Simpson’s voice still carries the weight of that decision, more than four years after the murders.
During Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse on February 10, 2023, Turrubiate-Simpson provided testimony, answering questions posed by prosecutor John Meadors. Her insights painted a vivid picture of that night, adding layers of complexity to the ongoing narrative.
Reflecting on her initial assumptions, she recounted how she thought the truck belonged to Paul, which led her to dismiss any reason to investigate further. This decision remains a poignant memory, a detail that seems to linger in the shadows of that tragic night.
She recalled that she initially assumed it belonged to Paul and felt no reason to check it.
“When I heard testimony during the trial where they specified that Paul’s phone was dinging in Okatie, I said, well, who was driving that truck? Who was driving the white truck? The white F-150? That’s one of the main ones that bothers me.”
Disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh arrives in court in Beaufort, S.C. Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/James Pollard)
Turrubiate-Simpson said she has often replayed that moment in her mind, wondering why she felt compelled to leave the property through a different gate rather than drive past the kennels.
Maggie and Paul were found dead near dog kennels at the family’s home, police said. The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office said both victims suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
“Perhaps it was like a divine intervention or something that said, ‘No, you need to go out the other gate,’” she said. “I wasn’t worried because the truck looked just like Paul’s truck, so it wasn’t a red flag then.”
A side view of the house at the Murdaugh Moselle property on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, in Islandton, South Carolina. (Andrew J. Whitaker/Pool via USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn)
In the book, Turrubiate-Simpson shares several small inconsistencies on the property the morning after the murders that only a longtime confidant would catch.
She told Fox News Digital that Maggie’s car was parked in a spot she had never seen her use.
“Maggie used to always pull up to the left of Paul,” she explained. “But that morning, Maggie’s car was to the right, and it was not close up to the house. It was a little bit further to the right, kind of where the hunting room entrance is. I knew she didn’t put it there.”
The placement didn’t make sense, she said: “There was no need for her to park there when there were no other vehicles really there.”
Bullet holes are seen in the glass at the Murdaugh Moselle property on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, in Islandton. (Andrew J. Whitaker/Pool via USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn)
‘Oh my God. He did it.’
Turrubiate-Simpson said that she had her doubts about Alex Murdaugh’s responsibility in the double murders until body-camera video was played in court.
During the trial, prosecutors played video from Deputy Daniel Greene, the first officer to arrive at the crime scene. Turrubiate-Simpson said her husband encouraged her to watch the video, even though she initially said she had no interest in seeing the crime scene.
“He said, ‘I think you need to watch at least a little bit of it,’” she said.
When the camera briefly passed the family’s black Suburban, she immediately recognized a towel.
“I saw one of the towels that I had washed, that was going to be going back to Edisto [Murdaugh family’s island getaway],” she said. “In a glimpse, something caught my eye.”
Alex Murdaugh talks with his defense attorney Jim Griffin during a jury-tampering hearing at the Richland County Judicial Center, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool)
She said she immediately asked her husband to rewind.
“And I told my husband, ‘Go back, go back, go back.’ He’s like, ‘What’s going on?’ I said, ‘Go back to the truck, go back to the truck.’ So he’s steady going back, and I’m thinking, ‘Oh my God.’ I said, ‘He did it.’ And at that point my husband said, ‘What are you talking about?’ I said, ‘He did it. That was him.’ I said, ‘That towel was going back to Edisto. I had just washed it and set it on top of the shelf.’ I said, ‘He… he… he did it.’”
“To me, that towel being there made no sense unless he grabbed it,” she added, suggesting she believed Alex used the towel during a frantic cleanup as he moved between the house and the kennels.
“His demeanor didn’t match up with the nurturing, loving father that I saw within the home,” she said.
A view from the path towards the house of the kennels at the Murdaugh Moselle property on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, in Islandton. (Andrew J. Whitaker/Pool via USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn)
In her book, Turrubiate-Simpson floats a theory where she believes Alex may not have acted alone that night, not in the murders themselves, but in the aftermath.
“My theory in the book is that he had help to clean, possibly setting up,” she told Fox News Digital.
The distance between the main house and the kennels, she said, plays a critical role.
“It takes a good few minutes to get back and forth. In the time that they said it was done, there’s just not enough time.”
Turrubiate-Simpson said her theories are rooted in her intimate knowledge of the family’s routines, noting that “there’s no evidence” that she’s aware of suggesting that Alex had help.
“Within the House of Murdaugh: Amid a Unique Friendship, Blanca and Maggie” is a 2024 book by Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson that offers a personal account of her experiences with the Murdaugh family. (Palmetto Publishing)
‘Because of Paul and Maggie’
In her memoir, Turrubiate-Simpson said that her purpose was not to fuel speculation, but to remind the world of Paul and Maggie’s lives.
“I wrote this book because of Paul and Maggie,” she said. “I don’t want her forgotten. When they hear his name, I’m tired of hearing just his name. The two victims have been forgotten in all of this.”
A possible new trial
The South Carolina Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Murdaugh’s appeal on Feb. 11.
Murdaugh’s team requested a new trial, arguing he did not receive a fair trial because of alleged jury tampering by Colleton County Court Clerk Becky Hill.
Alex Murdaugh, right, is shown here with his family. (Fox News)
“I think we all deserve a fair trial,” Turrubiate-Simpson said. “If they determine that he did not receive one, then we just must follow through. It’s the law.”
Maggie and Paul Murdaugh’s headstones mark their final resting places in Hampton. (Michael M. DeWitt Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn)
Turrubiate-Simpson said she doesn’t plan to watch Hulu’s recent dramatization of the Murdaugh saga.
“I’ve watched some documentaries,” she said. “But I don’t feel the need to watch the Hulu series because I lived it. There’s no point in watching something that I already lived.”
