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

Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson never imagined that Alex Murdaugh — the man she worked for and trusted for years — could be responsible for the brutal murders of his wife, Maggie, and their son, Paul, on June 7, 2021, at the family’s hunting estate in Islandton, South Carolina.

She had known Alex since 2002, initially assisting him with Spanish-speaking clients before becoming the family’s housekeeper in 2007. On the day of the murders, she saw him leave for work without a hint that anything was amiss.

For years, Alex was someone she viewed with loyalty and gratitude — a boss who had treated her kindly. So when he suggested early on that a vigilante targeted Paul as revenge for the 2019 boat crash that killed Mallory Beach, she believed him. “There was no universe in which Alex could have committed these crimes,” she writes in her memoir, Within the House of Murdaugh: Amid a Unique Friendship — Blanca and Maggie, co-authored with Mary Frances Weaver.

But as time went on, troubling details began to fracture that belief.

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Signs That Something Was Wrong

The morning after the murders, Simpson returned to Moselle and immediately sensed inconsistencies. Maggie’s SUV was parked in an unusual location — something she never did. Pajamas were placed oddly on the laundry room floor, staged in a way Maggie herself would never have left them. These details made her question whether someone had manipulated the scene.

Months later, in August 2021, Alex made a point of telling her what shirt he claimed to have been wearing the night of the murders — a Vineyard Vines shirt. That comment stopped her cold. She vividly remembered straightening the collar of a completely different shirt for him earlier that same day.

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

Even as Alex faced mounting charges for financial crimes and, eventually, murder, Simpson continued hoping for answers that would clear him. But those hopes faded once evidence at trial told a different story.

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A Towel That Changed Everything

During the January 2023 murder trial, Simpson watched police body camera footage recorded at Moselle shortly after Alex called 911. In the video, she spotted a beach towel inside his vehicle — the same towel she had washed and placed on a high shelf earlier that day.

Seeing it there triggered a chilling realization:

“Oh my God. He did it,” she recalls thinking.

She believes Alex used the towel to clean himself after the shootings, possibly near the kennels, and then removed evidence, including the shirt she saw him wear earlier. Both items vanished after that night.

“What happened to that towel?” she asks in the book — still deeply disturbed by its disappearance.

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The Video That Exposed a Lie

The turning point came with cellphone footage Paul recorded at 8:44 p.m., minutes before he and Maggie were killed. In the background, Alex’s voice was unmistakable, calling to their dog: “Come here, Bubba.”

This undisputedly placed him at the kennels — contradicting his repeated claim that he had been inside the main house and later left to visit his parents.

Alex eventually admitted he lied about his location, blaming paranoia fueled by opioid addiction. But the jury was not persuaded.

After a swift deliberation in March 2023, he was found guilty on all murder charges and sentenced to two consecutive life terms without parole. He was later convicted of multiple financial crimes and continues to appeal the murder verdict.

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A Legacy of Pain and Gratitude

Simpson writes with great affection for Maggie and Paul, both of whom she considered family. Their loss still weighs heavily on her:

“I have a lot of good memories of Maggie,” she says.
“And Paul was my heart.”

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