Buster Murdaugh grew up in a privileged life, the son of a long line of powerful Lowcountry lawyers and prosecutors.
He had a wealthy upbringing, living on a massive 1,700-acre estate in Islandton, South Carolina, with his mother Maggie, father Alex, and younger brother Paul.
They spent weekends and holidays at their second home in Edisto Beach and took trips on the family boat.
But later family life broke up.
On June 7, 2021, she lost her mother, Maggie, and brother, Paul, when they were brutally murdered at their estate in the Moselle.
Less than two years later, he also lost his father when he was convicted of the murders and sentenced to life in prison.
Here’s what we know about Buster Murdaugh:
Buster Murdaugh is the eldest and currently only surviving son of Maggie and Alex Murdaugh.
The 29-year-old actor has stood by his father throughout the mounting number of allegations against him, even after he was arrested for the murders of his brother and mother.
Buster stood by his father even during his high-profile murder trial and attended every day of the court hearings along with family members.
Buster also took the stand and testified in his father’s defense, saying he was “devastated” and “heartbroken” following the deaths of Murdaugh’s mother and brother.
But Buster’s apparent bad behavior came to light in the courtroom.
During one day of the hearing, Buster appeared to “flip the bird” at attorney Mark Tinsley, who took the witness stand in his boating accident case against his father.
Judge Clifton Newman reportedly warned several members of the Murdaugh family more than once about their behavior in court, and they were moved to the back of the courtroom.
Sources told News WARNING Buster allegedly kicked a water bottle in anger when asked to move to the back of the courtroom. The judge warned that he and other family members could be removed from court altogether.
Buster showed no emotion in the courtroom when the guilty verdict was read.
He has given only one interview to the media since his father’s conviction.
In an interview for the three-part FOX Nation documentary The Fall of House MurdaughBuster insisted that he still believes his father is innocent of the murders.
“No, because I think I have a very unique perspective that no one else in that courtroom has. “And I know the love I witnessed,” he said.
But even now, despite continuing to insist that his father was innocent, Buster did not deny that his father may have been a psychopath.
“I’m not ready to sit here and say that covers it as a whole, but I think there are definitely some characteristics when you look at the manipulation and the lies and the execution of those things, and I think that’s a fair assessment,” he said.
When asked if he was worried he might resemble his father, Buster also had harsh words for his father’s character.
“No, I’m not worried because I’m not a thief. I’m not a liar. “I am not a manipulator,” he said.
“In these respects I am nothing like him, but in other respects I believe I have some of his admirable qualities of which I am quite proud.”
Buster himself was the source of rumors that he may have been involved in the gruesome murder of 19-year-old Stephen Smith in July 2015.
Smith, an openly gay nursing student, was found dead on a road in Hampton County in the early hours of July 8, 2015, not far from the mansion of the prominent Murdaugh family.
Although Smith suffered blunt force trauma to the head and there were no skid marks or vehicle debris on the road, authorities concluded at the time that his death was a hit-and-run.
Smith’s mother long questioned this official statement, and over the years Murdaugh’s name continued to come up in connection with the case.
Buster and Smith were classmates, and there were unfounded rumors that the two were in some sort of relationship at the time of his death.
Smith’s mother, Sandy Smith, named Buster as the prime suspect in her son’s murder in a 2016 letter imploring the FBI to get involved in the case.
In June 2021 — just days after the murders of Maggie and Paul — SLED announced it was opening a new investigation into Smith’s death.
In April 2023, the agency finally announced that Smith’s death was being investigated as a homicide and his body was exhumed for a private autopsy.
No one was ever charged in Smith’s death, and law enforcement never accused Buster of any involvement in the death.
Buster lashed out at the rampant speculation in an interview with FOX Nation and also offered an alibi for his whereabouts the night the teen was killed.
“I had nothing to do with his murder and in no way had anything to do with him on a physical level,” he said.
He added that being accused was “a terrible thing.”
“I don’t mean to be rude, but have you ever been accused of murdering anyone?” He asked.
“Well, let me tell you, it’s a very, very, very, very, very terrible thing to put on someone who has no facts. I mean, it damaged my reputation. So people perceive me as a murderer.”