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Where is Buster Murdaugh Now? 2025 Update & Background

by · October 30, 2025

Richard Alexander “Buster” Murdaugh Jr. is the surviving son of Alex and Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, and the older brother of the late Paul Murdaugh. Born into a legacy of power, Buster was raised in Hampton County, South Carolina, in the shadow of one of the state’s most influential legal families. The Murdaughs held the solicitor’s office for the 14th Judicial Circuit for nearly a century, and their name carried immense authority across the Lowcountry.

Buster attended the University of South Carolina and enrolled in the law school with the intention of joining the family firm. However, his legal education was derailed in 2019 after he was expelled for plagiarism. Still, his family maintained efforts to help him regain standing, reportedly including a $60,000 payment to secure his readmittance. Throughout these years, Buster remained largely in the background, far from the media spotlight that would soon engulf his family.

In the Wake of Tragedy

The murders of Maggie and Paul on June 7, 2021, marked a turning point in Buster’s life. His father, Alex Murdaugh, called 911 claiming to have discovered their bodies at the family’s Moselle hunting estate. What followed was a cascade of criminal investigations that revealed financial fraud, drug abuse, and eventually, murder charges against Alex.

Buster was thrust into the public eye, not as a suspect, but as a son left behind. He stood by his father during the trial, attending court proceedings and eventually taking the stand in his defense. In February 2023, Buster testified that his father had a loving relationship with his mother and brother, and that he never suspected Alex could be capable of such violence.

Life After the Trial

Following his father’s conviction in March 2023 for the murders of Maggie and Paul, Buster became the sole surviving immediate member of the Murdaugh family. He has continued to maintain his father’s innocence publicly. In a Fox Nation docuseries, The Fall of the House of Murdaugh, Buster stated he believes the trial was unfair and that his father did not receive due process. He has expressed fear that the real killer may still be free.

Despite this public stance, Buster has also acknowledged that Alex shows traits of a manipulator. In interviews, he admitted that his father exhibits characteristics associated with psychopathy, including lying and control. These comments illustrate the complexity of Buster’s relationship with a father he still supports but views with a degree of emotional distance.

Involvement in Ongoing Investigations

Although Buster has not been charged with any crimes, his name has come up in other investigations connected to the Murdaugh family. In particular, renewed interest has focused on the 2015 death of Stephen Smith, a former classmate of Buster’s whose body was found on a rural road under mysterious circumstances. Rumors about a possible connection between the two circulated for years, prompting law enforcement to reopen the case in 2021.

As of late 2025, authorities have not charged Buster or named him a suspect in Smith’s death. However, media attention around the case has persisted, and his public silence about the matter has only deepened speculation. Buster has largely avoided the press since the peak of the Murdaugh legal proceedings.

Present Day

Buster Murdaugh now lives a quieter life, reportedly residing with his girlfriend in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. His father remains incarcerated at a maximum-security facility, serving two life sentences plus additional decades for financial crimes. Buster continues to support his father’s legal team, which is pursuing an appeal based on alleged jury tampering.

Once considered the heir to a legacy of Southern legal tradition, Buster now carries the weight of a family name that has become synonymous with scandal and tragedy. He remains a figure of intense public interest—part witness, part survivor—at the center of a true crime saga that continues to unfold.

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Ryan Gill

Ryan is a passionate follower of true crime television programs, reporting on and providing in-depth investigations on mysteries in the criminal world.

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