Former Housekeeper Says Callous Detail About the Murdaugh Murders Haunts Her the Most

When Alex Murdaugh called Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson at 6 a.m. on June 8, 2021, she dropped the phone in shock. Murdaugh told her that his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and their son Paul, 22, were gone.

“They’re gone, B! They’re gone!” he said, according to her new memoir, Within the House of Murdaugh: Amid a Unique Friendship — Blanca and Maggie, co-authored with Mary Frances Weaver.

Simpson, 58, had worked for the prominent Murdaugh family since 2007, caring for their homes in Hampton, Moselle in Islandton and on Edisto Island. Over time, she became close to them — especially Maggie.

She explains that some community members looked down on her because she is Mexican-American, but the Murdaughs were always welcoming. “They always treated me like family,” she says.

Her bond with Maggie deepened further after Paul was involved in a 2019 boat crash that killed Mallory Beach, 19. Paul was charged with boating under the influence resulting in death and was awaiting trial at the time of his own killing. Many in the community believed he received special treatment due to the Murdaughs’ long-standing legal influence in the area.

The details of the murders left Simpson devastated. Paul’s body was found partially inside the kennel’s feed room at the Moselle property. He had been shot at close range in the chest and head with a shotgun.

More than two hours after calling 911, Murdaugh was recorded by police describing what he saw when he arrived at the kennels and found his family’s bodies. “I knew it was really bad,” he sobbed. “I could see his brain.”

During Murdaugh’s 2023 trial, his defense attorney detailed the graphic scene further, telling jurors that Paul was “laying in his own blood with his brain lying at his feet.”

After checking Paul, Murdaugh said he ran to Maggie. She had been shot five times with a rifle. A crime scene expert testified that she was first struck while upright or running, then fell to her knees before a fatal shot to the head.

Even with her background as a U.S. Navy veteran and former corrections officer, Simpson says hearing such details was agonizing.

In March 2023, Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murdering Maggie and Paul and received two consecutive life sentences without parole. He was later convicted of multiple financial crimes and is appealing the murder ruling.

Accepting that someone she trusted killed Maggie and Paul has been extremely painful for Simpson. She says what hurts most is knowing they were left “out in the dark and the cold,” vulnerable to wildlife on the property. Maggie, she notes, was terrified of going outside at night — making the circumstances of her death even more tragic.

Weaver, the book’s co-author, says it was “unusual” for Maggie to go to the kennels that evening, given her fear of the area.

Simpson struggles with the fact that Murdaugh did not cover the bodies. She also questioned his demeanor when officers first arrived — noting that he greeted one by saying, “Hey, how you doin?’” despite the horrific scene.

“The way he appeared in the video does not match the love and nurturing I saw him show his family over the years,” Weaver says.

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