Rumors Surrounding The Murdaugh Family We Couldn't Ignore

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

If there's one thing that America loves more than a family dynasty, it's a murder mystery. The story of the Murdaugh family has both. It's a story with so much tragedy, so much family drama, and so many twists that it makes William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" look pretty chill by comparison. However, the Murdaugh's story is all true. As they say, sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. With that in mind, here's how it all played out.

The story centers on Alex Murdaugh, a lawyer who seemingly had it all: the house, the family, the country estate. But in 2021, his wife and son were found dead in mysterious circumstances. Over a year later, Murdaugh was arrested and charged with their murder. Murdaugh denied the charge. Cue what was dubbed the "trial of the century" in South Carolina (as per The Independent).

The trial exposed Murdaugh as anything but the man who had it all. Instead, it painted the picture of a broken man, someone who hired a hitman on himself, someone who'd defrauded millions of dollars, and someone who murdered his own family. He was subsequently given two life sentences for the murders and an additional 67 years for his financial crimes. But that's just the tip of the iceberg; here are 11 rumors about the Murdaughs we still can't ignore.

Gloria Satterfield was a de facto Murdaugh. She'd been the family's housekeeper for over twenty years and even helped raise their children. She was far more than her job title. As Gloria's biological son, Tony Satterfield, put it when speaking to People, "She loved Maggie and Alex and Paul and Buster just awfully. She loved what she did, her job. She took pride in it. She talked highly of them."

So, it was a shock when Gloria was found collapsed unconscious at the family's 1,700-acre estate in early 2018 after falling down the stairs. The fall proved to be fatal. Although her cause of death was ruled to be "natural," as per The Independent, many think that it was anything but. "My guess is [Alex Murdaugh] claimed she tripped over the dogs to make sure his liability insurance would cover the injury," said one user on Reddit. "If she merely tripped, there would be likely be no payout."

Indeed, that's exactly what happened. Alex took home over $4 million in insurance payments by lying about how dogs caused Gloria's death (as per The Independent), something he later admitted to in court. However, some still allege that the Murdaughs were responsible for her death, and not just the lies. "I'd say [Alex] and/or they (family) are responsible," said another Redditor. "That whole family seems suspect..." Unfortunately, things only get more sus from there.

Picture the scene: a dark road in the witching hour, you're driving to work, and suddenly, you see a body lying lifeless in the center of the road, surrounded by a pool of blood. Tragically, that's exactly what happened to a South Carolina local on July 8, 2015. The body was that of Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old, whose autopsy revealed he had suffered fatal blunt head trauma. But how? And, perhaps more importantly, why? Well, some familiar names have been the subject of rumors surrounding Stephen's death.

"Anything happens [in Hampton], the Murdaugh name comes up," Sandy Smith, Stephen's mother, told "48 Hours" (via CBS). Hampton, after all, is a small place with a population of just under 3,000 people (as per Data USA). Rumors, understandably, spread quickly. Enter Buster Murdaugh, Alex Murdaugh's eldest son and a former high school classmate of Stephen's. It was rumored that Buster and some friends had struck Stephen with an object while driving and left him for dead. However, there is no record of investigators ever speaking to Buster, and no killer was ever found. 

Moreover, Buster stated his innocence after the death of his mother and younger brother. "I haven't spoken up until now because I want to live in private while I cope with their deaths and my father's incarceration," said Buster in a statement published by his attorney on X. "This has gone on far too long. These baseless rumors of my involvement with Stephen and his death are false." Despite protesting his innocence, the Murdaugh's name is inexplicably connected to the case. As one Redditor put it, ten years after Stephen's death, "I will always believe a [M]urdaugh was involved."

Buster's alleged (and we emphasize alleged) ties to the Stephen Smith case just keep coming back to haunt him. This time, via television's streaming giants. For example, Netflix's "Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal" shows a red-headed man (read: Buster) with a baseball bat during a dramatic reenactment of Smith's death (as per NBC News). So, in June 2024, Buster filed a lawsuit against Netflix, HBO Max, and Discovery+ in Hampton County, citing defamation. He claimed their documentaries had falsely claimed, one way or another, that he murdered Smith.

But despite Buster's legal bullishness in refuting the claims, some rumors online still claim that he had something to do with it. "I live here in the Lowcountry," said one Reddit user on a post about the lawsuit. "Most people I know believe Buster was involved with Stephen Smith's death." Well, the jury's still out, literally, as of this publication.

The Murdaughs have a long and storied history in the Lowcountry, but it's a history with some extremely tragic details. This rumor about Randolph Murdaugh Sr., AKA the man who started the three-generation-spanning Murdaugh law dynasty, certainly attests to that.

When Murdaugh Sr., passed away, his death was ruled an accident. However, like many of the stories concerning the Murdaughs, there's much more to it than that. That's because Randolph Sr. died in suspicious circumstances when his car mysteriously stopped on a train track and was hit by a freight train in 1940. The impact was at such velocity that his body ended up 150 feet away from the vehicle (as per the Daily Mail). Thus, many locals speculated that his death was alcohol-induced or even a suicide. But regardless of the rumors, it's a tragic death for a 59-year-old.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org

Like the Trump family, the Murdaughs are also fond of using the names of their forefathers for their newborns. There are more Jr.'s and Sr.'s in this family than in the average high school. So, when we talk about Buster here, we're talking about Alex Murdaugh's grandfather, Randolph 'Buster' Murdaugh Jr. Not Alex's only surviving son, also named Buster.

One dark rumor about Buster alleges that he hired a hitman to take out a married woman he got pregnant. However, this hitman was anything but a professional. While the contract killer was hiding out, he's said to have fallen asleep on the job. Buster, an elected solicitor (i.e. district attorney), was never questioned by police about the rumor, but that doesn't mean there's no legitimacy to it. That's because, in Buster's era, the Murdaughs were essentially above the law. "There are two types of laws in South Carolina," writes Jason Ryan, quoting a local attorney in his book "Swamp Kings" (via the New York Post). "The laws on the books, and Buster's laws."

Is Alex Murdaugh, and only Alex Murdaugh, responsible for the murder of his wife and son? The official line is yes, Alex acted alone. However, many, including those who are extremely close to the case, believe he may have had a helping hand or two. Anthony Cook, a long-term family friend, and Morgan Doughty, Alex's deceased son's ex-girlfriend, have both suggested that Alex was not a solo killer (as per Greenville News).

The restless internet sleuths covering the case also aren't convinced Alex didn't have help. "I think he hired someone to carry out the killings because he couldn't do it," said one commentator on the case's dedicated Reddit page. Others across social media have questioned whether other family members were involved, "So John Marvin," wrote one user on X. "Can you please explain why you and Buster were seen on drone footage taking guns and a tote out of Moselle on the Netflix documentary?"

Indeed, John Marvin Murdaugh is a name often cited as a potential accomplice. The speculation comes from the fact that Marvin took it upon himself to clean his own nephew's remains. "It felt like it was the right thing to do," John said while speaking to jurors in court (via People). "I felt like I owed him, and I just started cleaning, and I promise you, no mother, father, aunt, or uncle should ever have to see and do what I did that day." But the admission didn't stop speculation about John's involvement, as another X user wrote, "Not buying that he wanted to clean up the scene for his brother and nephew ... I think the brothers know what really happened."

"They f*** you up, your mum and dad," wrote Phillip Larkin in his poem "This be the Verse," as per the Poetry Foundation. "They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had and add some extra, just for you." Or, to employ a Gen-Z-friendly reference: the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as Charli XCX once sang. Indeed, both artists' observations on parental influence are true in the Murdaugh family, should rumors be believed. So, having covered Alex Murdaugh, it's only right that we look at the gossip around his old man. 

It's said that Randolph Murdaugh III frequently cheated on his wife, Elizabeth "Libby" Alexander Murdaugh, and one day, she threatened divorce. In response, Randolph didn't fool around. He supposedly called in her obituary to the state's largest paper, hinting at her demise should she leave him. This is not the type of sacrifice we were referring to when we said sacrifices are needed for a healthy relationship. Thankfully, this one wasn't a rumor that became reality as Libby outlived Randolph by three years. But the fact that this rumor has been reported in major news outlets and can't be dismissed as total fabrication is a huge red flag.

The rumors about Randolph Murdaugh III threatening his wife with death over divorce, thankfully, didn't become reality. However, as many speculate, it was at least a case of dark foreshadowing. It's said Maggie Murdaugh, Alex Murdaugh's wife and murder victim, was considering divorce proceedings just over a month before her death. She even allegedly met with divorce lawyers to determine the state of their marital assets. "[Maggie] didn't pay close attention to the family money or where it came from," a source told People. "But now she was starting to look into it."

Thus, many have pointed their online fingers at her husband, who is said to have an unquenchable thirst for money. "I think [Alex] murdered Maggie due to greed," said one speculator on Reddit. "She had an estate worth over 4 million dollars, primarily from real estate." Other posters on the forum agreed, "Maggie had to go because the divorce would cost him half his assets plus expose his financial crimes. I believe Maggie was talking about divorce before most of his fraud was discovered." Although the rumored divorce was not cited as a reason for Alex's double-murder conviction, it makes too much sense to ignore.

As with any much-analyzed and well-publicized story, the rumors surrounding it can get a little outrageous. Just take a look at the many conspiracies surrounding Princess Diana's death, this Starbucks theory, or YouTuber Trisha Paytas' apparent connection to the Royal Family. Yes, you did read that last one right. So it's little surprise that the furor surrounding the Murdaugh family case has led to some harebrained theories. One such theory asks whether Alex Murdaugh was a closeted homosexual.

The evidence, or lack thereof, stems from a rumor regarding Alex's past. "Just wondering if there has been any evidence at all to show that [Alex] might be gay/bi or if it is just a wildly speculative rumor. I saw a YouTube video discussing it where a seemingly questionable picture from [Alex's] high school yearbook was shared," wrote one curious Reddit user. "In it, another male student was hugging [Alex] around his waist, with his other hand on his upper thigh/crotch area. Most straight teen boys I know would freak if a friend did this to them." However, as is the tenuousness of this rumor, many disagreed. "I don't read anything into this picture other than typical male peacocking," said one comment under the post. This is certainly a rumor we couldn't ignore, but it's also one that's not really worth looking into.

Curtis 'Cousin Eddie' Smith. No, it's not the name of a Guy Ritchie character, but actually a distant relation of the Murdaugh clan. Smith was an odd-jobsman for the family. A Curtis of all trades, if you will. These jobs ranged from being a handyman to being Alex Murdaugh's personal drug dealer. However, Smith's oddest job came when Alex asked him to meet him at the side of the road and shoot him in the head three months after his wife and son's murder. We guess it's not the type of thing you'd find on Craigslist. So one September Saturday, on a rural Road, Smith shot Alex. But, somehow, Alex survived and was airlifted to a hospital. And lo, the rumor mill went into overdrive.

Let's start with what's known to be true: both men admitted to making the almost-fatal shot look like murder so Alex's surviving son, Buster Murdaugh, could collect money from his father's life insurance. That hasn't stopped speculation, though. Some suggest that it was actually Eddie who was meant to be at the wrong end of the gun. "I believe [Alex's] intent was to kill Eddie and blame [Maggie Murdaugh] and [Paul Murdaugh's] deaths on him," said one dissenting voice on Reddit. "[S]uicide does not fit [Alex's] personality at all, in any way," said another Reddit user. "And neither does leaving that insurance money for Buster. Nope nope nope. There is no truth to this." One thing's for sure, it's a botched crime straight out of a Guy Ritchie film.

Perhaps this is the crazy rumor to end all the crazy rumors about the Murdaugh family... what if... and bear with us here... Alex Murdaugh didn't murder his wife and son? Yes, he's been charged with two counts of murder and is serving two life sentences. But... what if?

Well, Alex Murdaugh is the first person to protest his innocence. "I never manufactured any alibi in any way shape or form because I did not, and would not, hurt my wife and my child," Alex said while on the stand during his trial (via CNN). "So I know for a fact that I never, ever, ever created an alibi." The jury, however, wasn't convinced. 

It all seemed like an open and shut case. But one Redditor decided to play devil's advocate. This internet theorist cited rumors that Alex was linked to some dangerous people, as a result of his drug addiction, and his family's murders were a kind of horse's-head-in-a-bed-type message not to mess with them. Well, it's certainly a hyper-hypothetical theory. That's probably enough internet for today.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).