Murdaugh Housekeeper Reveals the Thing She Saw That Convinced Her Alex Was the Killer

Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson never imagined Alex Murdaugh could be responsible for the brutal murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul at the family’s hunting lodge in Islandton, South Carolina, on June 7, 2021.

She had worked for Alex since 2002, initially assisting with Spanish-speaking clients, and became the Murdaugh family’s housekeeper in 2007. She saw Alex the day the killings occurred as he headed out for work and, like many, believed his early claim that a vengeful stranger targeted the family in retaliation for the 2019 boat crash that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach.

“There was no universe in which Alex could have committed these crimes,” Simpson writes in her memoir, Within the House of Murdaugh: Amid a Unique Friendship — Blanca and Maggie, co-authored by Mary Frances Weaver.

But as time passed, unsettling details began to surface. A U.S. Navy veteran and former corrections officer, Simpson soon noticed discrepancies that cast suspicion on her once-trusted employer.

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Early Clues of a Cover-Up

The day after the murders, Simpson arrived at the family property, known as Moselle, and noticed things that immediately felt wrong. Maggie’s Mercedes SUV was parked where she never left it. Her pajamas were placed on the laundry room floor — something Simpson knew Maggie wouldn’t have done.

She believed someone staged the scene to suggest Maggie planned to stay the night at Moselle, even though she hadn’t intended to.

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A Shirt That Didn’t Match His Story

In August 2021, Alex pulled Simpson aside and insisted she remembered the clothes he wore on the night of the murders.

“You remember what I was wearing that day,” she recalls him saying. “You know, the Vinny Vines (Vineyard Vines) shirt.”

Simpson was stunned. She distinctly remembered straightening the collar on a different shirt before he left for work.

“One thing was for sure,” she writes. “He was lying.”

Still, even after Alex was arrested later that year for financial crimes — and eventually charged with the murders in July 2022 — she clung to hope that he was somehow innocent.

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The Moment Everything Shifted

Her certainty shattered during Alex’s murder trial, when she saw police body camera footage from the night of the killings. On the front seat of Alex’s vehicle was a beach towel she had washed and stored in the laundry room earlier that day.

“I looked at the towel and I said, ‘Oh my God. He did it.’”

Simpson believes he used the towel and possibly a freshly washed T-shirt from the laundry room to clean up after the murders — and then disposed of them. Both items disappeared after June 7.

“What happened to that towel?” she asks in the book.

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Video Evidence Placed Alex at the Scene

At trial, prosecutors revealed a cellphone video that Paul recorded at 8:44 p.m. on the night of the murders. In the background, Alex could be heard calling to the family’s dog: “Come here, Bubba.”

This directly contradicted his claim that he was at his parents’ home at the time.

Eventually, Alex admitted he was at the kennels but said fear caused by opioid addiction made him lie. The jury wasn’t convinced. In March 2023, he was convicted of murdering Maggie and Paul and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. He was also convicted of multiple financial crimes and is currently appealing the murder verdict.

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Her Final Conclusion

Simpson treasures her memories of Maggie, who became a close friend, and recalls the bond she formed with Paul.

“And Paul was my heart,” she says.

Within the House of Murdaugh: Amid a Unique Friendship — Blanca and Maggie is available for preorder now.