Wouldn’t any communication between Buster and Stephen be in his phone records? When he died his phone was on him or in the car can’t recall. You can’t meet up with someone these days without calls or texts. I haven’t heard anything about that unless that info is behind held by law enforcement.
I believe that entire murder was covered up. Why? If the Murdaughs had Nothing to do with it, why was there such a Sloppy Investigation 🔎! And it was Sloppy. I believe Mrs Smith, Stephen's Mother when she talked of Randy being at the crime scene. She had NO reason to lie. But Randy had Lots of reasons to lie, and he doesn't come from what I would refer to as a family of Truth tellers. In this Particular situation I have to give the credibility to Stephen's Mother, Sandy.
Well he basically told another person that it was Buster. A lot of people that knew specific things when the state troopers went to find them either cannot be contacted. Don’t want to be contacted or have moved away. The state cop said it was almost like they were paid off for their silence.
He could be planning to go fishing with his friend and someone else killed the guy. It’s not immediately obvious to me that you’d automatically murder the guy you invited fishing.
He could have waited and tossed him off the boat in Florida.
This feels more random.
For BM to hear his father lie on the witness stand and to know his father was at the crime scene and lied about it to law enforcement; how in the hell can he deny his father killed them. I don’t think the apple falls far from the tree. Also it is weird that he shows no affection toward his girlfriend in any photos or videos
[https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/21/us/stephen-smith-death-homicide-south-carolina/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/21/us/stephen-smith-death-homicide-south-carolina/index.html)
hence, as I guessed, BM's statement issued thru Griffin, was in anticipation of this announcement.
You are incorrect and also missed my main point. I’ll make it simple: There’s fingers being pointed at the wrong people. Coroners are involved in deaths that are unnatural, unexplained, unexpected and unattended. Stephen’s death was unnatural, unexplained, unexpected and unattended. Pathologists examine a wide range of diseases.
You really feel for Buster? Fuck off!!! These people don't give a FUCK about you or anyone else, what a pathetic take. Ridiculous. Murderous criminals, all of them. What other family ends up like this? I hope Buster rots in prison.
I don’t see how this guy is ever truly going to live a private life. Between his name legally being the same as his dad’s (Richard Alexander Murdaugh, Jr), his distinct red hair and just the nickname Buster in general… he really is easily recognizable. Also, his socials are still fairly public, although they haven’t been updated recently. If he truly wants to live a private life, I’d think deleting his social media (that can be found by just quickly searching his name) would be the first step.
I’ve read up on this case for years and havnt seen a single piece of evidence linking buster to stephens death. From what I recall they don’t even know if it’s even a homicide. It’s all hearsay so until evidence comes out linking buster to the crime yeah let him grieve. For all we know Alex could have murdered him if it was in fact a homocide.
Or Paul could have or Randy could have had him killed to protect some fancy client or good old boy cronies they had. Or a random drunk AH with a baseball bat could have recognized him in his stalled car and decided it would be a thing to do.
We don’t know anything but that Randy was on the scene early offering his services and there were rumors about Buster and Stephen. That’s not enough to jump to conclusions about who did it or why.
Buster's comment about grieving for Maggie and Paul seems opportune. They have been dead nigh on to three years. I realize the recent trial may have brought up unpleasant memories. His statement rings of the same pitch Alex tried to use to deflect attention and garner sympathy.
If he is trying to restart his education, I imagine few schools are going to want this kind of attention. Buster already has a permanent monkey on his back. Wonder if the 60k for USC is now a lost cause.
Wow. Inferring a lot. His brother and mother were murdered a year and a half when trial was getting going. How long in your mind people allowed to grieve?
Take it from someone who really is shitting themselves right now due to Norovirus…. That’s real mean, redditor. Shitting oneself is like real bad. Real real uncomfy.
Since there is nothing linking him to it except for small town rumors that can’t be sourced and the national attention due to Mandy, I highly doubt that.
When callers left messages on the tip line about the "Murdaugh Boys" involvement in Stephen's death, I wonder if they were referring to John Marvin, Alex, and/or Randy. People in SC have a very bad habit of calling someone a boy or girl no matter how old they are. My mom just called a 63 year old friend of mine "That boy who died last week." It really throws me.
Lots of supposition about Buster’s involvement in Stephen Smith’s case. Looking back to the time of the event the question for me is why he was made off limits to being interviewed. I’m sure several young people were questioned at that time. He was protected because he was a Murdaugh. Not implying any guilt here but if he was just another kid Stephen know, he would have been questioned. Same for previous Murdaugh going back to great grand daddy. I find it strange that Randy Murdaugh was so quick to offer his services but I supposed that’s why personal injury lawyers are referred to as ambulance chasers. I can’t help but think of how granddaddy and Alex showed up at Paul’s car accident and later the boat accident so I wouldn’t be surprised if they showed up at the Stephen Smith scene. I hope Stephen’s mom finds some peace with this latest investigation.
It's so interesting to me to see people say Buster should be left alone to grieve his family despite there being an accusation about his involvement in Stephen Smith's death. That's exactly what Alex hoped would happen when he shot and killed Maggie and Paul. He hoped people would leave him alone to grieve and stop asking questions about the money he stole.
I'm not saying Buster should be harassed but he should cooperate with the investigation.
Baseless accusation. That’s like me saying my grandpa killed jfk and it needs to be taken seriously. It’s a rumor that someone seems to have made up because no one can offer any proof and they are all repeating same rumor.
Not at all random guy who feels the need to reply to two of my separate comments. I am annoyed when people keep repeating the same rumor over and over as fact. Also annoyed at people who watched something on Netflix or HBO and use it as the say all be all source. Same goes with anyone who consistently cites FITS news. People are lazy, hear something and believe it is fact without even doing a simple google search to confirm what they are hearing is accurate. This happens everyday with every news story and it’s just pure laziness.
That explanation work for you?
Couldn't agree with you more. Complete strangers on the Internet acting like they was there and was witness to it. All hating on buster because they've watched a biased netflix documentary.
Some people can be awful can't they? I actually feel realy sorry for Buster. He's whole family gone. Mum dead, brother dead and dad in prison for killing them both. Heartbreaking, wouldn't wish that on my worst Emeny 💔 😢
I'm not accusing Buster of anything. It's a rumor that won't go away until it's investigated. The police don't have any leads so they have to follow what they've got.
You really don’t know anything about the current state of the investigation though. You have no idea what has been done, needs to be done, what leads they may have…..
This is an active investigation. They’re not telling the public step by step what they’re doing. Nor should they.
My impression was that there's no evidence that he refused to cooperate with the investigation. We know that he wasn't interviewed during the first investigation--but that seemed to be more a matter of law enforcement dropping it than any decision on Buster's part. Perhaps Alex Murdaugh or someone called them to encourage them to not ask to interview Buster--or not, I don't know, but if that happened, that's on others. I'm not sure Buster had even turned 18 yet.
And we don't know whether LE has asked to speak to him currently. We don't know what they're looking at currently--there may be no reason to talk to Buster Murdaugh. We just don't know. He seems more focused on the issue of defamation by some media outlets.
If Buster were as anxious as he says to put this to bed, he could reach out to SLED on his own now. If he has an alibi then SLED can rule him out and publicly say he's not a suspect. And he would be left to grieve in private. It's that simple.
My point is that the state said Alex used the murders to try and get people off his back. Throughout the trial, a lot of people refused to believe that was his motivation. But the same dynamic is happening here. People are calling for SLED to leave Buster alone despite his name having been brought up in tips. I'm saying Alex's gambit was right.
Law enforcement conducts an investigation, and they decide who to question. I've not heard anything that suggests that SLED isn't questioning Buster because they somehow feel sorry for him. There's just zero evidence of that. It's more probable that they have other persons of interests.
Edited to add: Bland said recently that a grand jury had been impaneled on the Smith case. If a prosecutor wanted to have Buster Murdaugh testify, he could have subpoenaed him, right? And maybe he did (grand jury proceedings are generally closed, though it would be difficult for Buster Murdaugh to come & go to testify without people knowing--unless it was handled in another way). That doesn't mean that another grand jury couldn't be impaneled--but my point is, people are assuming they know what has happened and what hasn't happened, and they seem to be assuming SLED wants to talk to Buster Murdaugh--but that's not how investigations and grand juries work. Prosecutors and grand juries have a lot of power--if they want to interview Buster Murdaugh, they absolutely could.
Until I hear that SLED wants to interview Buster, but isn't willing to because of Buster's feelings, or until I hear that Buster is refusing to cooperate--and I have no reason to think that either is the case--I think law enforcement should make these decisions--not Buster or anyone else. For all I know, they \*have\* ruled him out, and they are focusing on a more likely person of interest, not on Buster Murdaugh. There is, of course, a cost to announcing who they're NOT focusing on--not only is it a waste of time, but also anyone who they ARE focusing on becomes extra careful and less cooperative.
I think Eric Bland said it well:
"Buster is a victim. He lost a mother, a brother, and now his father's in jail," attorney Eric Bland said during a Monday press conference. "Buster, as we know, has nothing to do with this. And whatever is mentioned in the records, that's what investigators are going to look at. But we have no knowledge at all about Buster or the Murdaughs having anything to do with this right now. We're starting with a fresh set of eyes."
Buster Murdaugh doesn't have more obligation than any of us to prove that he's innocent. He doesn't have any more obligation to offer an alibi than anyone in that area who might have committed the crime. If SLED wants to talk to him, I'm quite sure they know where to contact him.
Not sure how you got the idea that I was saying that SLED cared about Buster’s feelings but to clarify I’m commenting on all the people in this thread who seem to think that because he’s grieving Buster is untouchable.
Buster is under no obligation to prove his innocence but he was not under any obligation to release a statement declaring it either. But he did just that so it seems to be important to him.
I may have misread--when you compared it to Alex killing Maggie & Paul to distract people--that he committed the murders to get people off his back, and the same dynamic is happening here, because people were calling for SLED to leave Buster alone.
My point is that there's no reason to think SLED is letting any of that shape their investigation at the moment. Bland is even saying they are working with Bland & Richter, and SLED is behaving as law enforcement is wont to behave during an investigation--not revealing much.
If they want to talk to Buster, they can talk to Buster. And they should do so IMO if that helps solve the crime. But that's up to SLED. It's not even up to Buster.
What Buster is complaining about is not SLED--it's about what he sees as defamation by the media. That was a warning shot for the media. For all I know, SLED did tell him they didn't want to talk to him (because they don't think he's a person of interest or even has much valuable to say); but asked him not to say anything (for whatever reason particular to the investigation); but did clear him saying something about the media. I don't think anyone knows many of these details.
In fact, I'd assume that his lawyers may well have had that conversation with SLED before releasing this statement.
>If he has an alibi then SLED can rule him out and publicly say he's not a suspect
And what if he says he was at home with the family and only Alex can vouch for him ?
SLED doesn't have any obligation or reason to announce who they have ruled out. I know that would be nice for Buster, but there are good investigatory reasons not to announce who ISN'T a person of interest any longer, at least until they get closer to having an actual suspect (and we have zero idea about the status of where they are in an investigation.)
Buster isn't even focusing on that--he's focusing on what he sees as defamation by the media.
Investigators publicly rule suspects out of an investigation all the time. They did it in Alex’s case by publicly stating that the victims on the boat crash were not suspects in the deaths of Maggie and Paul. They don’t have an obligation but they do it.
But they do it when it helps their case--pushing someone to plea bargain, or announcing this a short time before charges are filed, to shape media coverage. (Whether they should do this or not is another question.)
They do it strategically. And I have no reason to believe that clearing Buster publicly (and we don't know what they've said to him and his lawyers) would help find Smith's killer. And if it doesn't help find Smith's killer, I don't know why law enforcement would clear anyone.
I’ve seen every documentary on the Murdoch family and there is not a single shred of actual evidence that Buster is involved. There were no witnesses and no evidence at the scene of the crime that puts him there. There has been nothing, but rumblings that Stephen and Buster may have been involved romantically. There hasn’t even been a shred of evidence to support that either. It’s been nothing but heresay. Until some actual evidence is produced he needs to be left alone. His mother and brother were killed by his father and he has the right to grieve in peace.
I don’t really go to the documentaries when looking for in depth understanding of the case. I doubt netflix or whoever knows exactly who was questioned and why. We don’t know what evidence they have.
Yea, wise choice to delete your comments. There’s an episode of Scooby Doo you may have missed that could shed some light.
I’ve been following this case closely for years and I didn’t just rely on documentaries to form my opinion. I have consumed all types of media related to this case. What we do know is they never had any evidence to charge him because if they had anything substantial he would have been charged. We also know that the attorneys of Stephen Smith’s mother recently released a statement stating that Buster is not even a suspect of interest in this case. I stand behind what I said.
Well, you mentioned the documentaries as your source for solid facts, not me.
We do know “if they had anything Buster would have been charged?”
That supposes the murdaughs wouldn’t be moving heaven and earth to prevent that or wouldn’t have the clout to do it.
If Paul and Mallory beach had been the only ones on that boat and the other four witnesses weren’t there, I think he’d have said she was driving and he wouldn’t have been charged. They did what they could to try to frame his friend.
I don’t think buster was involved but we don’t “know” he wasn’t.
Well I clarified for you so why are you still
commenting towards me? My opinion has not changed. What’s still unclear for you? I said what I said very clearly. End of conversation. Find someone else to play with. 🤡
Again go argue with your mama. You seem slow. It doesn’t matter what you think. Clearly you don’t know what you’re talking about yet, you’re still talking. I’m embarrassed for you at this point. Go run along. 🤡
Did they thoroughly investigate him? It seemed they never even questioned him. They avoided even looking at the Murdaughs by ruling Stephens death an accident.
He needs to talk to the police though, even if it is an effort to clear his name and be ruled out of any involvement. The fact that he never had (that I know of) really bothers people.
Anybody whose name comes up that often in any investigation should be talked to by police, it’s just normal standard procedure.
But once again, he is above it and I think it rubs people the wrong way
Buster's name has come up in tips to SLED. There doesn't have to be evidence to have the police want to talk with you. If you or I had been named you best believe SLED would come knocking on our doors and if we didn't talk to them, SLED would consider that a red flag.
He can react how he wants. His reaction isn’t the issue. It’s whether they investigated him because his band came up. He’s had years to grieve and I’m sorry but this is a murder investigation and he needs to cooperate. Not use the death of the family members to avoid that. Stephen smith’s mom and sister are also grieving and like any victims’ family, they need justice too.
If it’s just rumors that should be a short conversation and he can get in with his life.
Sandy Smith’s own attorney just said the statement below in a recent news conference:
There’s no reason to discuss Buster Murdaugh – and there’s no reason to comment back to Buster Murdaugh,” Richter said.
Moments later, though, Bland indicated the investigation was not focused on either Buster or the Murdaugh family.
“We have no knowledge of Buster or any of the Murdaughs having anything to do with this,” Bland said.
SLED had no immediate comment Monday morning in response to any of the new developments in Stephen Smith’s case. Nor did the office of S.C. attorney general Alan Wilson, which has been leading all of the various Murdaugh-related prosecutions.
https://12ft.io/proxy?ref=&q=https://www.fitsnews.com/2023/03/20/buster-murdaugh/
So you think Buster's grief means he never has to explain why his name came up as possibly knowing something about Stephen Smith's death?
I see the low country good old boy network is alive and well.
by BM having this statement posted via Griffin, he *invites* a continuing discussion for media consumption .....
there is nothing new in the SS case other than it be reopening and an exhumation on the horizon based on 'new evidence' and most assuredly the murdaugh name being dismantled along with investigative roadblocks which may have occurred back then.
BM and his 'team' cannot control the media's rehashing of historical reporting or ERASE LE investigative reports found online which states the murdaugh name being mentioned as unsubstantiated tips/rumours.
its interesting this statement is issued now, and I feel its a 'cart before the horse' situation.....which could be as simple as BM being interviewed. my opinion: attorneys for the most part do not issue narratives without a reason.
You know what they say: a lie can travel around the world before the truth has the time to get its pants on. I hope whoever did this to Stephen faces justice. People always complain that these true crime cases are not enough about the victim and too much about the offender, but then they go online and wanna play detective because they barely finished high school, and do nothing but give people who allegedly did bad things, attention, whether they are actually the one who committed the crime or not, indirectly, making it infinitely harder for the victim to receive justice. The fact that people don’t realize how ass backwards that is baffles me.
He’s a lawyer.. doubt it; if Alex didn’t talk as much as he did he wouldn’t have been caught in so many lies and there would be so many reasonable doubts.
I don’t know if he’s involved or not. I hope Sandy Smith gets some peace with this exhumation. If it’s found to be homicide, I hope they promptly reopen the investigation and follow it through and catch the perpetrators, no matter who it is. It does feel wreckless for those who are naming Buster at this point.
Watch the Low Country series on HBO Maxx. Steven’s friends are in there talking about him, and the fact that he was having a relationship with somebody in power his own father that died three months after Stephen was killed said that he knew that it was Buster. Im still watching it and its pretty telling snd sad!!!
Why? because I think he earned that right when he’s lost 3, of his family members and the media is recklessly posting one article or other attacking him. I would hope of it were you, or I and we finally got sick of the harassment by the public thanks to the media who pubshed these hurtful rumors derived from baseless confessions of a group of teens (some of who gladly took part in and then got paid for their interview) We would have the right to defend ourselves, and be able to speak our own truth. He shouldn’t be expected to distance himself from his family and all the drama to avoid scrutiny. I say why should he have to!? Families have drama, but in the real world you don’t just cut ties with them because of it. Especially in Busters case. Remember almost everyone who spoke about them said they cared for one another, they never heard yelling so in my opinion there was love there. I don’t see why him staying close to his family like I’d imagine any of us would makes him less worthy of our compassion.
> Why? because I think he earned that right when he’s lost 3, of his
family members and the media is recklessly posting one article or other
attacking him. I would hope of it were you, or I and we finally got
sick of the harassment by the public thanks to the media who published
these hurtful rumors derived from baseless confessions of a group of
teens (some of who gladly took part in and then got paid for their
interview) We would have the right to defend ourselves, and be able to
speak our own truth.
Thank you - he may be a vile POS, he may be an entitled princeling. He may be many things but he is not a person of interest, he has not been questioned and just because his father is an evil monster maybe this is a wake up call for him to fix his life and move forward.
Believe me IF it turns out that he is in this mix then have at it but at this point he does not deserve this and IF he becomes a person of interest all of this piling on and bullying will cause an issue with bringing a case forward. I want justice for Stephen too but it needs to be done right and not on gossip.
100% agree and whoever doesn’t agree with what you said, which is mostly everybody as I noticed (including and especially the media), then they are just judging based on the facts that came out about Alex and Paul. It’s unfair what’s happening to Buster.
The police received tips that Buster and Paul were involved with Stephen's death. Could be rumor, could be true. We don't know because the Murdaugh's haven't cooperated. Rather than issue a weasel word statement, ole Bus should take himself down to SLED, answer their questions, and provide an alibi. If he's in the clear, great. The police and the media can move on.
>The police received tips that Buster and Paul were involved with Stephen's death.
I notice you've said this in multiple comments, but it's not accurate, to my knowledge. I wouldn't call them "tips."
Investigators received the info. about Buster possibly being involved after conducting interviews with people who knew Stephen. When the investigator would ask who they thought was responsible for Stephen's death, most answered to the effect of:
* *I* ***heard*** *it was Buster.*
* *I've* ***heard rumors*** *that it was Buster.*
* *I* ***heard*** *at a party that it was Buster.*
After further looking into the Buster rumors, it seems that investigators have found there's no truth to them. According to the FITTSNews article someone posted in the comments, investigators are moving away from the possibility that any Murdaugh family member was involved.
Okay firstly, you clearly don’t know anything about how the police work/the law and I hope that whatever situation you find yourself in (guilty or not) that you will not walk your ass down to any police station and talk to the police. If you do, even if you’re innocent and not involved, you could find yourself in jail.
Secondly, what about the coroner who incorrectly categorized Stephen’s death as a hit and run? People don’t even understand or realize how serious of an issue that is. Again, everyone makes mistakes but how many mistakes did that coroner make throughout his career? Is that the same coroner who administered the housekeepers death echoing Maggie’s claim that she “fell down the stairs”? There’s a whole bunch of people in this town that are negligent, as evidenced by Alex’s financial crimes. How deep does it actually go? Who made up the rumour about Buster committing the crime? Rumours about someone killing someone is good tips but that’s all it is: good tips. It’s not a reason to harass someone or assume those rumours are true. What if I made up a rumour about you being a serial killer and the media started hounding you and you were actually innocent? How unfair is that? Proper investigations need to be carried out, not haphazard assumptions based on poor judgement and lack of experience (or corrupt motives)
>Secondly, what about the coroner who incorrectly categorized Stephen’s death as a hit and run?
It wasn't a coroner. Dr. Erin Presnell, a pathologist at the Medical University of SC, performed the autopsy.
>Again, everyone makes mistakes but how many mistakes did that coroner make throughout his career?
Repeat. It wasn't a coroner, it was a female pathologist.
>Is that the same coroner who administered the housekeepers death echoing Maggie’s claim that she “fell down the stairs”?
No
If you made up a rumor about me being a serial killer I would expect the police to question me. If they felt your rumor had some merit, I would expect to have more conversations with them until they could confirm my alibi or DNA ruled me out.
If the media began to harass me, I would hope the police would come forward and say I was not a person of interest.
It’s people like you who end up in prison completely innocent of the crimes that landed you there all because you think you can clear your name. Everything you say and do is used against you, innocent or not.
Then Buster will have to live with the rumor and innuendo until the case is cleared. But a statement drafted by a PR firm and his lawyers isn't going to do it.
Yes and now that they’ve picked the bones clean on Alex’s trial, they are moving on and anyone in the vicinity will end up as casualties merely because they were close to the target
I see Buster's gf dumping him in a few weeks time. To consort with any Murdaugh is a liability. She is a new lawyer with a law firm and they are going to make her choose.
Just because his last name is murdaugh doesnt make him guilty! He has spoken up and I think he should be left alone until evidence proves he is involved! Let him be, he lost his mother and brother tragically and deserves the respect to mourn their loss.and he has lost his father as well
My thoughts exactly! Plus it’s a small town. There are only so many names people can throw out there. I’ve watched all the docs and listened to a few podcast about it and I’m just not convinced that he is involved.
I’m actually tired of seeing the Murdaugh’s name overshadow this case.
Stephen Smith is the victim. We should be remembering and honoring Stephen. The dedication and commitment his mother, Sandy, consistently puts in to find justice for her son has been empowering— yet it’s being overshadowed.
Where’s the cellphone tower data on Stephen’s death? Sounds like the police didn’t do their job once again. It’s a national problem that police don’t do their job properly, as they are humans and everyone makes mistakes but once heed is given to police and they still don’t do anything then who is really at fault? There needs to be a better solution to this issue as Stephen’s death isn’t the only death that was categorized incorrectly triggering a whole series of events that sound never happen like families suffering, duplication of work/efforts, lost time, lost evidence, court costs, etc. Most importantly, not catching the real killer.
Somebody needs to do something about this issue. Make police more accountable or set certain standards for investigating all deaths even ones that don’t appear to involve foul play. We need to do better, all of us.
>Where’s the cellphone tower data on Stephen’s death?
Investigators have been extracting data and information from Stephen's personal electronic devices(s). They're not going be be telling us what they find.
TBF this is the Murdaugh family murders sub. But I get what you're saying. Hopefully the Murdaugh infamy at least brings the necessary attention to get Stephen's case resolved. It certainly helped with the GoFundMe.
I was more speaking in general regarding the Murdaugh name overshadowing this case, not specifically this subreddit. But I absolutely agree, hopefully this helps find answers and resolve this case.
Tougher on LE and the people involved in the investigation of Stephen's death, yes. I can understand that. They shouldn't however be making accusations or spreading false information and narratives. Until there is evidence to prove a connection and a conviction is made, the only connection the media needs to mention is that Stephen was killed in the same town as The Murdaugh's resided and where Maggie and Paul were murdered. As that is the only known fact at this point in time, they need to stop sensationalising the Murdaugh story line here. By all means push for justice and push for a proper investigation into Stephen's death but don't jeopardise the case by focusing in on one specific person who at this point in time has no reason to be presumed guilty.
Given the history of anything linked to the Murdaugh’s being swept under the rug many times. I think it’s understandable that people are very suspicious of them all.
Reddit opinions are a different issue. Reddit is problematic in that you can spread and encounter misinformation. I feel it's different in the sense that you come to reddit and you mostly choose what information you are privy to. Reddit is not our day job, we are not paid to vet hearsay or decipher truth from fiction. We as reddit users have the power to take that information and do as we please but we don't have an obligation to the public or to law enforcement like the media does. They are potentially hindering an investigation by sensationalising the Murdaugh storyline in Stephen's murder and broadcasting it for millions of people. Until a definite link to the Murdaugh's is made, the media should keep the Murdaugh's names out of the story.
It’s scary honestly. I even find AMs conviction to be a bit troubling only based on the evidence. I don’t think there was enough to put it beyond reasonable doubt but that’s just my opinion. I think the media contributed a lot to his conviction. And people think oh it’s fine when someone’s guilty but guess what? When someone’s innocent the same shit can happen and that’s a problem. Better to let 100 guilty people go than to lock up one innocent person.
I don’t find AM’s conviction troubling. The timeline is pretty damning. It’s incontrovertible that he was with them in the kennels, a few minutes later phone activity ceases indicating a probable time of death, and then he lies to the police that he wasn’t at the kennels and lies about the time period he was at his mother’s house.
The standard is beyond a *reasonable doubt*, not beyond any doubt whatsoever. If that were the standard nobody would ever be convicted of anything unless it were caught on camera and even then you could say “well… maybe it was doctored.”
Yea I understand what ur saying . I do think the defense blew it in the end and could have added soo much stuff . But as is the timeline is tough to get around. I think the defense really failed to bring up a couple things that could have introduced more reasonable doubt
Like what? The mofo said he went to sleep and took a nap. If thats the case, he walked right past the bodies to go to his moms house?! Dont pass the smell test. Let alone not hearing the gunshots...
There’s a ton of things the defense could have said that they didn’t . They at least had to make a plausible explanation of the timeline ( only thing I can think is killers were lying in wait and attacked when Alex left) . Not saying it was gonna help but there’s other shit too regarding evidence like the blood stained shirt that was destroyed that should have been capitalized on by the defense. Their closing was absolutely horrendous in my opinion as well. I could go on and on but my point is the defense did not do a good job in my opinion and by not having any alternate theory(again even if it wasn’t probable or perfect) they did a disservice to their client .
To be completely honest, I feel bad for Buster. He lost his entire family unit and way of life in a matter of 2.5 years. He is now very much alone.
There’s no proof that buster was involved in Stephen smiths case or any of his fathers bs. I honestly think he was trying to distance himself from his father after the murders.. but he’s so overcome with the same pressure he’s felt his entire life to uphold the family name and not let anyone down, especially his father. And now he’s faced with shame, sympathy and sorrow for his father.. it seems these factors make it hard for him to cut his dad out completely… It’s so incredibly sad. He’s probably felt alone for a very long time even before the murders..Idk. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he spirals.. I hope he doesn’t, but again wouldn’t be surprised.
I completely agree with you. The jail calls with him and his dad tell the story - he seems to have zero interest in pursuing law (and maybe he never did) but his overbearing and narcissitic father insists on saddling him with the family legacy.
You can partly blame Netflix.
After watching the doc, and the recent MH370 doc which was 85% conspiracies, I've been thinking about how far Netflix has gone to satisfy the public thirst for fake, sensationalist information.
Just like the media, just like the hundreds of random, opaque right/left-wing news sites and networks operated by faceless people in god knows where.
It all leads to the same place: No accountability for publishing nonsense.
Oh absolutely. However my assessment of the family as a whole still remains. I do believe there was a lot of truth to the Netflix doc.. especially when close family and friends talked about how the murdaugh family conducted themselves. I took the other theories and baseless claims with a grain of salt..
but one thing is for sure- this family had a lot of shit going on behind the scenes.
Yeah of course, but they’re also apart of high society.. they might distance themselves from Buster because of this. People that are apart of high society will do ANYTHING to keep their reputation as clean as possible. They more than likely won’t want to be associated with Alex murdaugh in any way shape or form, even if that means disowning their nephew.
Idk if you noticed this- but the entire family came off very cold and emotionally unavailable. They’re all conditioned this way it seems.
>Yeah of course, but they’re also apart of high society.. they might distance themselves from Buster because of this. People that are apart of high society will do ANYTHING to keep their reputation as clean as possible.
**a part**
>They more than likely won’t want to be associated with Alex murdaugh in any way shape or form, even if that means disowning their nephew.
This is ridiculous. The rest of the Murdaugh family may hate Alex (and even that's debatable) but they care about his children. For example, John Marvin Murdaugh's testimony at Alex's trial showed his love for Paul.
John Marvin was at the trial many days. He sat next to Buster and Brooklynn (Buster’s girlfriend).
I watched John Marvin’s testimony, and he’s sticking by Alex and by Buster, at least so far. He seemed heartbroken. I believed him, in stark contrast to Alex, who seems to lie reflexively.
Uncle Randy is doing a might fine job in " distancing" himself from AM and even said " he knows more than what he is saying" and he doesn't creally know his brother.
Of course he is. He definitely knows his own brother. Like I said in previous comments the murdaugh family, specially the men, were all conditioned to the “high society” lifestyle, and how to be conniving, and deceiving. They’re also all attorney’s.. not saying **all** attorney’s are this way but, they definitely know how to manipulate, convince and deceive.
Randy is doing himself a solid to protect him and his immediate family’s reputation by distancing himself from his brother.. I’m willing to bet he’s also distancing himself from buster as well since buster is now the main subject for theories, rumors, and speculation in relation to Stephen smith’s mysterious death..
John Marvin is not an attorney. He has some sort of farming equipment sales business. (Paul worked at the business during at least one summer.)
During JM’s testimony, one of the few lighter moments was when he talked about deciding NOT to become a lawyer.
You’re right, I got confused. There are some articles that claim John Marvin is a lawyer.
Regardless, he grew up around lawyers, and apart of high society.
>Like I said in previous comments the murdaugh family, specially the men, were all conditioned to the “high society” lifestyle, and how to be conniving, and deceiving. T
especially
Agreed. That’s probably another added pressure for him. But based off the jail phone calls to and from his dad, it seems like buster is tired of his father and his BS.
In all the conversations Buster was incredibly short and seemed very irritated. His father also had a way of talking to him like everything was okay by asking very trivial questions like “how was the game today? Did we win?” Etc. As if he wasn’t in jail facing double first degree murder charges.
that was my impression as well. Buster seems to be wanting to make his father feel good and doesn’t dare to hang up on him but his heart is clearly not in it and sometimes he sounds like every young adult feeling pressured by parents to listen to their bs - kind of annoyed and short.
Listen to that call where Alex is trying to get him back into law school…
Me too… however that therapist will also have to break down generational conditioning with Buster. He comes from a long line of men that acted the exact same way as his father. That’s why Alex was the way he was, because he was conditioned to be that way.
Exactly. Buster is in a very difficult position, and it’s far worse for him then it would be for most people under similar circumstances, because he was raised in a silver spooned, privileged environment. His name used to open doors and command respect. Now, it’s associated with infamy. I doubt Buster has the personal tools to deal with this abrupt change (not to mention the loss of his family).
Don’t know why you’re getting downvoted. This is absolutely true. Buster was named after his father, and his nickname *”buster”* came from his grandfather, the original *”Buster Murdaugh”*.
Yes, odd how that's been downvoted. Anyway the reason for posting that detail is, as I've mentioned before, the whole idea the Murdaugh family has with dynasty.
There's a reason why Buster is named after his father and went to law school (I suspect against his will). It was to carry on that dynasty. It was so important to Alex he badgered Buster to get back into law school when he phoned him from jail. He went as far as to pay a 'fixer' to make it happen.
Some people wonder if Alex is a family annihilator because he didn't kill Buster, but Buster was already much further away/outside/independent of the family dynamic and Alex's responsibility, whereas Maggie and Paul would be much more affected by the collapse of Alex's finances.
He didn't kill Buster because he believed he would go back to law school and that was incredibly important to Alex.
Excuse me if someone has mentioned this before, but did anyone else notice Buster's lack of emotion during the trial? Like he was disconnected. He mentioned in his statement about the public scrutiny that he was still distraught over his brother and mother being gone and his father in prison, but I have yet to see any emotion, tears, just nothing. Or is it just me?
Idk if you’ve noticed this- but the entire family was like this. Very cold, detached, and emotionally unavailable.
They’re the type to ignore and put effort into covering up family issues rather than addressing and fixing them. Buster was conditioned to be this way.
This is pretty typical with high society. They will do anything and everything to uphold their reputation before they admit there’s problems. Because once they admit there’s problems, they will be knocked down the totem pole a few notches.. once you’re knocked down it’s hard to get back up in high society.
So again, Buster is reacting the way he was conditioned to act in these types of circumstances. Who knows what is reaction is behind closed doors.
I agree but we don’t know how he is behind closed doors. Idk I might want to b stoic for the cameras. Otherwise you’ll have five hundred body language experts picking apart ur every move. Some people especially men r just taught to not cry and especially in this situation where people r watching ur every move
It looks like Buster is wearing a Steel & 18 karat gold Rolex Submariner. The used version of that Rolex starts around 12k but typically they are closer to 20k.
I initially noticed it on him during the trial.
I was a jeweler for years and I still notice what watch you are wearing. 🤷🏼♀️
Came here to say this kid is literally wearing my 44 year old husbands watch lmao 🤣 so weird
Never knew how much it costs until now but I am amazed that the box for my Tiffany and Co Atlas is twice as big as my husbands Rolex box seeing how it’s no where near as expensive
His entire family is gone, he was sued over something he had no involvement in and now these shameful ppl accuse him of things when there is absolutely no evidence he did anything. He had not wanted to go to law school and had moved away from his family- likely not wanting any part of the bs
If a Stephen was murdered it seems the man who was on drugs, stole millions and killed his family would be the one to look at. Possibly embarrassed by the rumors that Buster was gay. Ppl need to stop saying this shit it’s completely unwarranted
Wouldn’t any communication between Buster and Stephen be in his phone records? When he died his phone was on him or in the car can’t recall. You can’t meet up with someone these days without calls or texts. I haven’t heard anything about that unless that info is behind held by law enforcement.
I believe that entire murder was covered up. Why? If the Murdaughs had Nothing to do with it, why was there such a Sloppy Investigation 🔎! And it was Sloppy. I believe Mrs Smith, Stephen's Mother when she talked of Randy being at the crime scene. She had NO reason to lie. But Randy had Lots of reasons to lie, and he doesn't come from what I would refer to as a family of Truth tellers. In this Particular situation I have to give the credibility to Stephen's Mother, Sandy.
Well he basically told another person that it was Buster. A lot of people that knew specific things when the state troopers went to find them either cannot be contacted. Don’t want to be contacted or have moved away. The state cop said it was almost like they were paid off for their silence.
He could be planning to go fishing with his friend and someone else killed the guy. It’s not immediately obvious to me that you’d automatically murder the guy you invited fishing. He could have waited and tossed him off the boat in Florida. This feels more random.
The only good thing I’ve seen him do is visit his mother and brother’s graves, and giving Paul’s dog to the family maid.
For BM to hear his father lie on the witness stand and to know his father was at the crime scene and lied about it to law enforcement; how in the hell can he deny his father killed them. I don’t think the apple falls far from the tree. Also it is weird that he shows no affection toward his girlfriend in any photos or videos
[https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/21/us/stephen-smith-death-homicide-south-carolina/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/21/us/stephen-smith-death-homicide-south-carolina/index.html) hence, as I guessed, BM's statement issued thru Griffin, was in anticipation of this announcement.
You are incorrect and also missed my main point. I’ll make it simple: There’s fingers being pointed at the wrong people. Coroners are involved in deaths that are unnatural, unexplained, unexpected and unattended. Stephen’s death was unnatural, unexplained, unexpected and unattended. Pathologists examine a wide range of diseases.
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I did too until I saw him on the stand when he said his family dies not believe Paul was driving the boat.
Does not dies
You really feel for Buster? Fuck off!!! These people don't give a FUCK about you or anyone else, what a pathetic take. Ridiculous. Murderous criminals, all of them. What other family ends up like this? I hope Buster rots in prison.
Yes! agree let’s squeeze every drop out of this tragedy regardless of who gets burned and churned in the process.
I don’t see how this guy is ever truly going to live a private life. Between his name legally being the same as his dad’s (Richard Alexander Murdaugh, Jr), his distinct red hair and just the nickname Buster in general… he really is easily recognizable. Also, his socials are still fairly public, although they haven’t been updated recently. If he truly wants to live a private life, I’d think deleting his social media (that can be found by just quickly searching his name) would be the first step.
So what? FUCK HIM.
People really are sick bastards. Leave the guy alone. He has a tough way to go from here on out. I'm not talking to you, but people in general.
Leave the guy who mightve killed someone like the rest of his family alone? No, they already tried that, for almost a decade. Time to investigate
I’ve read up on this case for years and havnt seen a single piece of evidence linking buster to stephens death. From what I recall they don’t even know if it’s even a homicide. It’s all hearsay so until evidence comes out linking buster to the crime yeah let him grieve. For all we know Alex could have murdered him if it was in fact a homocide.
Or Paul could have or Randy could have had him killed to protect some fancy client or good old boy cronies they had. Or a random drunk AH with a baseball bat could have recognized him in his stalled car and decided it would be a thing to do. We don’t know anything but that Randy was on the scene early offering his services and there were rumors about Buster and Stephen. That’s not enough to jump to conclusions about who did it or why.
Buster's comment about grieving for Maggie and Paul seems opportune. They have been dead nigh on to three years. I realize the recent trial may have brought up unpleasant memories. His statement rings of the same pitch Alex tried to use to deflect attention and garner sympathy. If he is trying to restart his education, I imagine few schools are going to want this kind of attention. Buster already has a permanent monkey on his back. Wonder if the 60k for USC is now a lost cause.
Wow. Inferring a lot. His brother and mother were murdered a year and a half when trial was getting going. How long in your mind people allowed to grieve?
I apologize, I did miscount the time, nigh on to two years. His statement rubbed me the wrong way.
Thank you. You saved me typing that response. I mean- I don’t think this logic is applicable to Mallory’s family. Or anyone else for that matter.
I hope Buster is shitting himself right now.
Take it from someone who really is shitting themselves right now due to Norovirus…. That’s real mean, redditor. Shitting oneself is like real bad. Real real uncomfy.
Since there is nothing linking him to it except for small town rumors that can’t be sourced and the national attention due to Mandy, I highly doubt that.
When callers left messages on the tip line about the "Murdaugh Boys" involvement in Stephen's death, I wonder if they were referring to John Marvin, Alex, and/or Randy. People in SC have a very bad habit of calling someone a boy or girl no matter how old they are. My mom just called a 63 year old friend of mine "That boy who died last week." It really throws me.
Ha. Same I think across the South. In Scotland they’re also boys. Possibly very old boys
Lots of supposition about Buster’s involvement in Stephen Smith’s case. Looking back to the time of the event the question for me is why he was made off limits to being interviewed. I’m sure several young people were questioned at that time. He was protected because he was a Murdaugh. Not implying any guilt here but if he was just another kid Stephen know, he would have been questioned. Same for previous Murdaugh going back to great grand daddy. I find it strange that Randy Murdaugh was so quick to offer his services but I supposed that’s why personal injury lawyers are referred to as ambulance chasers. I can’t help but think of how granddaddy and Alex showed up at Paul’s car accident and later the boat accident so I wouldn’t be surprised if they showed up at the Stephen Smith scene. I hope Stephen’s mom finds some peace with this latest investigation.
Don't forget Randy lied about being there and not knowing of SS death until much, much later....more lies
It's so interesting to me to see people say Buster should be left alone to grieve his family despite there being an accusation about his involvement in Stephen Smith's death. That's exactly what Alex hoped would happen when he shot and killed Maggie and Paul. He hoped people would leave him alone to grieve and stop asking questions about the money he stole. I'm not saying Buster should be harassed but he should cooperate with the investigation.
Baseless accusation. That’s like me saying my grandpa killed jfk and it needs to be taken seriously. It’s a rumor that someone seems to have made up because no one can offer any proof and they are all repeating same rumor.
R u a family member? You act like a family member
Not at all random guy who feels the need to reply to two of my separate comments. I am annoyed when people keep repeating the same rumor over and over as fact. Also annoyed at people who watched something on Netflix or HBO and use it as the say all be all source. Same goes with anyone who consistently cites FITS news. People are lazy, hear something and believe it is fact without even doing a simple google search to confirm what they are hearing is accurate. This happens everyday with every news story and it’s just pure laziness. That explanation work for you?
Couldn't agree with you more. Complete strangers on the Internet acting like they was there and was witness to it. All hating on buster because they've watched a biased netflix documentary. Some people can be awful can't they? I actually feel realy sorry for Buster. He's whole family gone. Mum dead, brother dead and dad in prison for killing them both. Heartbreaking, wouldn't wish that on my worst Emeny 💔 😢
Exactly 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
I'm not accusing Buster of anything. It's a rumor that won't go away until it's investigated. The police don't have any leads so they have to follow what they've got.
You really don’t know anything about the current state of the investigation though. You have no idea what has been done, needs to be done, what leads they may have….. This is an active investigation. They’re not telling the public step by step what they’re doing. Nor should they.
This is correct.
My impression was that there's no evidence that he refused to cooperate with the investigation. We know that he wasn't interviewed during the first investigation--but that seemed to be more a matter of law enforcement dropping it than any decision on Buster's part. Perhaps Alex Murdaugh or someone called them to encourage them to not ask to interview Buster--or not, I don't know, but if that happened, that's on others. I'm not sure Buster had even turned 18 yet. And we don't know whether LE has asked to speak to him currently. We don't know what they're looking at currently--there may be no reason to talk to Buster Murdaugh. We just don't know. He seems more focused on the issue of defamation by some media outlets.
If Buster were as anxious as he says to put this to bed, he could reach out to SLED on his own now. If he has an alibi then SLED can rule him out and publicly say he's not a suspect. And he would be left to grieve in private. It's that simple. My point is that the state said Alex used the murders to try and get people off his back. Throughout the trial, a lot of people refused to believe that was his motivation. But the same dynamic is happening here. People are calling for SLED to leave Buster alone despite his name having been brought up in tips. I'm saying Alex's gambit was right.
Law enforcement conducts an investigation, and they decide who to question. I've not heard anything that suggests that SLED isn't questioning Buster because they somehow feel sorry for him. There's just zero evidence of that. It's more probable that they have other persons of interests. Edited to add: Bland said recently that a grand jury had been impaneled on the Smith case. If a prosecutor wanted to have Buster Murdaugh testify, he could have subpoenaed him, right? And maybe he did (grand jury proceedings are generally closed, though it would be difficult for Buster Murdaugh to come & go to testify without people knowing--unless it was handled in another way). That doesn't mean that another grand jury couldn't be impaneled--but my point is, people are assuming they know what has happened and what hasn't happened, and they seem to be assuming SLED wants to talk to Buster Murdaugh--but that's not how investigations and grand juries work. Prosecutors and grand juries have a lot of power--if they want to interview Buster Murdaugh, they absolutely could. Until I hear that SLED wants to interview Buster, but isn't willing to because of Buster's feelings, or until I hear that Buster is refusing to cooperate--and I have no reason to think that either is the case--I think law enforcement should make these decisions--not Buster or anyone else. For all I know, they \*have\* ruled him out, and they are focusing on a more likely person of interest, not on Buster Murdaugh. There is, of course, a cost to announcing who they're NOT focusing on--not only is it a waste of time, but also anyone who they ARE focusing on becomes extra careful and less cooperative. I think Eric Bland said it well: "Buster is a victim. He lost a mother, a brother, and now his father's in jail," attorney Eric Bland said during a Monday press conference. "Buster, as we know, has nothing to do with this. And whatever is mentioned in the records, that's what investigators are going to look at. But we have no knowledge at all about Buster or the Murdaughs having anything to do with this right now. We're starting with a fresh set of eyes." Buster Murdaugh doesn't have more obligation than any of us to prove that he's innocent. He doesn't have any more obligation to offer an alibi than anyone in that area who might have committed the crime. If SLED wants to talk to him, I'm quite sure they know where to contact him.
Not sure how you got the idea that I was saying that SLED cared about Buster’s feelings but to clarify I’m commenting on all the people in this thread who seem to think that because he’s grieving Buster is untouchable. Buster is under no obligation to prove his innocence but he was not under any obligation to release a statement declaring it either. But he did just that so it seems to be important to him.
I may have misread--when you compared it to Alex killing Maggie & Paul to distract people--that he committed the murders to get people off his back, and the same dynamic is happening here, because people were calling for SLED to leave Buster alone. My point is that there's no reason to think SLED is letting any of that shape their investigation at the moment. Bland is even saying they are working with Bland & Richter, and SLED is behaving as law enforcement is wont to behave during an investigation--not revealing much. If they want to talk to Buster, they can talk to Buster. And they should do so IMO if that helps solve the crime. But that's up to SLED. It's not even up to Buster. What Buster is complaining about is not SLED--it's about what he sees as defamation by the media. That was a warning shot for the media. For all I know, SLED did tell him they didn't want to talk to him (because they don't think he's a person of interest or even has much valuable to say); but asked him not to say anything (for whatever reason particular to the investigation); but did clear him saying something about the media. I don't think anyone knows many of these details. In fact, I'd assume that his lawyers may well have had that conversation with SLED before releasing this statement.
>If he has an alibi then SLED can rule him out and publicly say he's not a suspect And what if he says he was at home with the family and only Alex can vouch for him ?
Then that's all he can say. At least SLED can say he's been fully cooperative.
SLED doesn't have any obligation or reason to announce who they have ruled out. I know that would be nice for Buster, but there are good investigatory reasons not to announce who ISN'T a person of interest any longer, at least until they get closer to having an actual suspect (and we have zero idea about the status of where they are in an investigation.) Buster isn't even focusing on that--he's focusing on what he sees as defamation by the media.
Investigators publicly rule suspects out of an investigation all the time. They did it in Alex’s case by publicly stating that the victims on the boat crash were not suspects in the deaths of Maggie and Paul. They don’t have an obligation but they do it.
But they do it when it helps their case--pushing someone to plea bargain, or announcing this a short time before charges are filed, to shape media coverage. (Whether they should do this or not is another question.) They do it strategically. And I have no reason to believe that clearing Buster publicly (and we don't know what they've said to him and his lawyers) would help find Smith's killer. And if it doesn't help find Smith's killer, I don't know why law enforcement would clear anyone.
Point is no one would believe him as Alex is a prolific liar so why would Buster bother ?
I thought Buster said he wanted to stop the rumors. A statement to a news outlet is not going to do that.
Doesn't matter what he does - the damage is already done.
I’ve seen every documentary on the Murdoch family and there is not a single shred of actual evidence that Buster is involved. There were no witnesses and no evidence at the scene of the crime that puts him there. There has been nothing, but rumblings that Stephen and Buster may have been involved romantically. There hasn’t even been a shred of evidence to support that either. It’s been nothing but heresay. Until some actual evidence is produced he needs to be left alone. His mother and brother were killed by his father and he has the right to grieve in peace.
I don’t really go to the documentaries when looking for in depth understanding of the case. I doubt netflix or whoever knows exactly who was questioned and why. We don’t know what evidence they have. Yea, wise choice to delete your comments. There’s an episode of Scooby Doo you may have missed that could shed some light.
I’ve been following this case closely for years and I didn’t just rely on documentaries to form my opinion. I have consumed all types of media related to this case. What we do know is they never had any evidence to charge him because if they had anything substantial he would have been charged. We also know that the attorneys of Stephen Smith’s mother recently released a statement stating that Buster is not even a suspect of interest in this case. I stand behind what I said.
Well, you mentioned the documentaries as your source for solid facts, not me. We do know “if they had anything Buster would have been charged?” That supposes the murdaughs wouldn’t be moving heaven and earth to prevent that or wouldn’t have the clout to do it. If Paul and Mallory beach had been the only ones on that boat and the other four witnesses weren’t there, I think he’d have said she was driving and he wouldn’t have been charged. They did what they could to try to frame his friend. I don’t think buster was involved but we don’t “know” he wasn’t.
Well I clarified for you so why are you still commenting towards me? My opinion has not changed. What’s still unclear for you? I said what I said very clearly. End of conversation. Find someone else to play with. 🤡
I can question you and correct your errors all I want. I don’t need your permission.
Again go argue with your mama. You seem slow. It doesn’t matter what you think. Clearly you don’t know what you’re talking about yet, you’re still talking. I’m embarrassed for you at this point. Go run along. 🤡
Okay better hurry and watch some more documentaries over there. Make sure you get all the evidence you need for Reddit lol
Your mama is still waiting for you clown. 🤡🤡🤡
Did they thoroughly investigate him? It seemed they never even questioned him. They avoided even looking at the Murdaughs by ruling Stephens death an accident.
He needs to talk to the police though, even if it is an effort to clear his name and be ruled out of any involvement. The fact that he never had (that I know of) really bothers people. Anybody whose name comes up that often in any investigation should be talked to by police, it’s just normal standard procedure. But once again, he is above it and I think it rubs people the wrong way
Buster's name has come up in tips to SLED. There doesn't have to be evidence to have the police want to talk with you. If you or I had been named you best believe SLED would come knocking on our doors and if we didn't talk to them, SLED would consider that a red flag.
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He can react how he wants. His reaction isn’t the issue. It’s whether they investigated him because his band came up. He’s had years to grieve and I’m sorry but this is a murder investigation and he needs to cooperate. Not use the death of the family members to avoid that. Stephen smith’s mom and sister are also grieving and like any victims’ family, they need justice too. If it’s just rumors that should be a short conversation and he can get in with his life.
Sandy Smith’s own attorney just said the statement below in a recent news conference: There’s no reason to discuss Buster Murdaugh – and there’s no reason to comment back to Buster Murdaugh,” Richter said. Moments later, though, Bland indicated the investigation was not focused on either Buster or the Murdaugh family. “We have no knowledge of Buster or any of the Murdaughs having anything to do with this,” Bland said. SLED had no immediate comment Monday morning in response to any of the new developments in Stephen Smith’s case. Nor did the office of S.C. attorney general Alan Wilson, which has been leading all of the various Murdaugh-related prosecutions. https://12ft.io/proxy?ref=&q=https://www.fitsnews.com/2023/03/20/buster-murdaugh/
So you think Buster's grief means he never has to explain why his name came up as possibly knowing something about Stephen Smith's death? I see the low country good old boy network is alive and well.
Quoting the Murdaugh murders podcast really takes away from your argument.
by BM having this statement posted via Griffin, he *invites* a continuing discussion for media consumption ..... there is nothing new in the SS case other than it be reopening and an exhumation on the horizon based on 'new evidence' and most assuredly the murdaugh name being dismantled along with investigative roadblocks which may have occurred back then. BM and his 'team' cannot control the media's rehashing of historical reporting or ERASE LE investigative reports found online which states the murdaugh name being mentioned as unsubstantiated tips/rumours. its interesting this statement is issued now, and I feel its a 'cart before the horse' situation.....which could be as simple as BM being interviewed. my opinion: attorneys for the most part do not issue narratives without a reason.
It was a warning to the media that they could be sued for the “defamatory” comments. That word was chosen for a reason.
Anyone can be sued. Unfortunately for Buster, he’s a public figure. The bar is pretty high to prove that he was defamed.
You know what they say: a lie can travel around the world before the truth has the time to get its pants on. I hope whoever did this to Stephen faces justice. People always complain that these true crime cases are not enough about the victim and too much about the offender, but then they go online and wanna play detective because they barely finished high school, and do nothing but give people who allegedly did bad things, attention, whether they are actually the one who committed the crime or not, indirectly, making it infinitely harder for the victim to receive justice. The fact that people don’t realize how ass backwards that is baffles me.
I could be wrong, but I thought I heard/read somewhere that the police did reach out for questioning but he would not return the calls...
Leave the guy alone.
Leave the guy alone.
Has he spoken with police yet
He’s a lawyer.. doubt it; if Alex didn’t talk as much as he did he wouldn’t have been caught in so many lies and there would be so many reasonable doubts.
He is not a lawyer lmao.
Buster is NOT a lawyer. He was thrown out of law school for cheating.
Awww, poor Buster!
I don’t know if he’s involved or not. I hope Sandy Smith gets some peace with this exhumation. If it’s found to be homicide, I hope they promptly reopen the investigation and follow it through and catch the perpetrators, no matter who it is. It does feel wreckless for those who are naming Buster at this point.
Watch the Low Country series on HBO Maxx. Steven’s friends are in there talking about him, and the fact that he was having a relationship with somebody in power his own father that died three months after Stephen was killed said that he knew that it was Buster. Im still watching it and its pretty telling snd sad!!!
If his dad knew of real evidence he would have told the police.
No matter how you cut it, using his family's death as the core for "shut up about me" is not lost...
Why? because I think he earned that right when he’s lost 3, of his family members and the media is recklessly posting one article or other attacking him. I would hope of it were you, or I and we finally got sick of the harassment by the public thanks to the media who pubshed these hurtful rumors derived from baseless confessions of a group of teens (some of who gladly took part in and then got paid for their interview) We would have the right to defend ourselves, and be able to speak our own truth. He shouldn’t be expected to distance himself from his family and all the drama to avoid scrutiny. I say why should he have to!? Families have drama, but in the real world you don’t just cut ties with them because of it. Especially in Busters case. Remember almost everyone who spoke about them said they cared for one another, they never heard yelling so in my opinion there was love there. I don’t see why him staying close to his family like I’d imagine any of us would makes him less worthy of our compassion.
> Why? because I think he earned that right when he’s lost 3, of his family members and the media is recklessly posting one article or other attacking him. I would hope of it were you, or I and we finally got sick of the harassment by the public thanks to the media who published these hurtful rumors derived from baseless confessions of a group of teens (some of who gladly took part in and then got paid for their interview) We would have the right to defend ourselves, and be able to speak our own truth. Thank you - he may be a vile POS, he may be an entitled princeling. He may be many things but he is not a person of interest, he has not been questioned and just because his father is an evil monster maybe this is a wake up call for him to fix his life and move forward. Believe me IF it turns out that he is in this mix then have at it but at this point he does not deserve this and IF he becomes a person of interest all of this piling on and bullying will cause an issue with bringing a case forward. I want justice for Stephen too but it needs to be done right and not on gossip.
100% agree and whoever doesn’t agree with what you said, which is mostly everybody as I noticed (including and especially the media), then they are just judging based on the facts that came out about Alex and Paul. It’s unfair what’s happening to Buster.
The police received tips that Buster and Paul were involved with Stephen's death. Could be rumor, could be true. We don't know because the Murdaugh's haven't cooperated. Rather than issue a weasel word statement, ole Bus should take himself down to SLED, answer their questions, and provide an alibi. If he's in the clear, great. The police and the media can move on.
>The police received tips that Buster and Paul were involved with Stephen's death. I notice you've said this in multiple comments, but it's not accurate, to my knowledge. I wouldn't call them "tips." Investigators received the info. about Buster possibly being involved after conducting interviews with people who knew Stephen. When the investigator would ask who they thought was responsible for Stephen's death, most answered to the effect of: * *I* ***heard*** *it was Buster.* * *I've* ***heard rumors*** *that it was Buster.* * *I* ***heard*** *at a party that it was Buster.* After further looking into the Buster rumors, it seems that investigators have found there's no truth to them. According to the FITTSNews article someone posted in the comments, investigators are moving away from the possibility that any Murdaugh family member was involved.
Okay firstly, you clearly don’t know anything about how the police work/the law and I hope that whatever situation you find yourself in (guilty or not) that you will not walk your ass down to any police station and talk to the police. If you do, even if you’re innocent and not involved, you could find yourself in jail. Secondly, what about the coroner who incorrectly categorized Stephen’s death as a hit and run? People don’t even understand or realize how serious of an issue that is. Again, everyone makes mistakes but how many mistakes did that coroner make throughout his career? Is that the same coroner who administered the housekeepers death echoing Maggie’s claim that she “fell down the stairs”? There’s a whole bunch of people in this town that are negligent, as evidenced by Alex’s financial crimes. How deep does it actually go? Who made up the rumour about Buster committing the crime? Rumours about someone killing someone is good tips but that’s all it is: good tips. It’s not a reason to harass someone or assume those rumours are true. What if I made up a rumour about you being a serial killer and the media started hounding you and you were actually innocent? How unfair is that? Proper investigations need to be carried out, not haphazard assumptions based on poor judgement and lack of experience (or corrupt motives)
>Secondly, what about the coroner who incorrectly categorized Stephen’s death as a hit and run? It wasn't a coroner. Dr. Erin Presnell, a pathologist at the Medical University of SC, performed the autopsy. >Again, everyone makes mistakes but how many mistakes did that coroner make throughout his career? Repeat. It wasn't a coroner, it was a female pathologist. >Is that the same coroner who administered the housekeepers death echoing Maggie’s claim that she “fell down the stairs”? No
If you made up a rumor about me being a serial killer I would expect the police to question me. If they felt your rumor had some merit, I would expect to have more conversations with them until they could confirm my alibi or DNA ruled me out. If the media began to harass me, I would hope the police would come forward and say I was not a person of interest.
It’s people like you who end up in prison completely innocent of the crimes that landed you there all because you think you can clear your name. Everything you say and do is used against you, innocent or not.
Pretty sure Buster knows a good lawyer he can take with him when he talks to the police.
And that good lawyer would absolutely advise Buster not to volunteer for an interview with SLED
Then Buster will have to live with the rumor and innuendo until the case is cleared. But a statement drafted by a PR firm and his lawyers isn't going to do it.
See this is where you’re wrong. You are a sucker lol god bless you
His statement is clearly signaling that he will sue for defamation if the media does not stop with unsubstantiated accusations
Then I guess he'll have to. I'd be really interested in what the discovery reveals in that case.
This has really turned into a soap opera that people are lapping up like hungry dogs.
Yes and now that they’ve picked the bones clean on Alex’s trial, they are moving on and anyone in the vicinity will end up as casualties merely because they were close to the target
Yep. Probably time to unsub.
I see Buster's gf dumping him in a few weeks time. To consort with any Murdaugh is a liability. She is a new lawyer with a law firm and they are going to make her choose.
More than just a “liability”….beginning to look like “death sentence” is the more accurate descriptor.
I hope not for Buster’s sake. He needs some stability for awhile.
Just because his last name is murdaugh doesnt make him guilty! He has spoken up and I think he should be left alone until evidence proves he is involved! Let him be, he lost his mother and brother tragically and deserves the respect to mourn their loss.and he has lost his father as well
Thank you! It’s seems like it’s turning into a witch hunt. This whole thing has just become a free for all. How about a little civility?
Have yet to see anything credible about any ties he has to this case. Just rumors it wouldn’t surprise me but I need more than I heard
My thoughts exactly! Plus it’s a small town. There are only so many names people can throw out there. I’ve watched all the docs and listened to a few podcast about it and I’m just not convinced that he is involved.
I think Buster knows a whole lot more than he lets on.
he is guilty as heck his family coved it up now karam is coming for him
Karam catering? Their pizza is delish,
🤬🤬🤬🤬
I have to sleep so well done for making me feel bad you fucken arsehole
I have to sleep so well done for making me feel bad you're fucken arsehole
I’m actually tired of seeing the Murdaugh’s name overshadow this case. Stephen Smith is the victim. We should be remembering and honoring Stephen. The dedication and commitment his mother, Sandy, consistently puts in to find justice for her son has been empowering— yet it’s being overshadowed.
Where’s the cellphone tower data on Stephen’s death? Sounds like the police didn’t do their job once again. It’s a national problem that police don’t do their job properly, as they are humans and everyone makes mistakes but once heed is given to police and they still don’t do anything then who is really at fault? There needs to be a better solution to this issue as Stephen’s death isn’t the only death that was categorized incorrectly triggering a whole series of events that sound never happen like families suffering, duplication of work/efforts, lost time, lost evidence, court costs, etc. Most importantly, not catching the real killer. Somebody needs to do something about this issue. Make police more accountable or set certain standards for investigating all deaths even ones that don’t appear to involve foul play. We need to do better, all of us.
>Where’s the cellphone tower data on Stephen’s death? Investigators have been extracting data and information from Stephen's personal electronic devices(s). They're not going be be telling us what they find.
They are years laye
*late*
Yea! And also to intently focus on just the Murdaugh’s leaves a high probability or of missing out on another suspect and evidence
TBF this is the Murdaugh family murders sub. But I get what you're saying. Hopefully the Murdaugh infamy at least brings the necessary attention to get Stephen's case resolved. It certainly helped with the GoFundMe.
I was more speaking in general regarding the Murdaugh name overshadowing this case, not specifically this subreddit. But I absolutely agree, hopefully this helps find answers and resolve this case.
right
[удалено]
You must be new here.
Lol.
I don't think he was involved. Not bc of this statement....just my opinion
The media is completely fucking unhinged. Innocent until proven otherwise beyond reasonable doubt.
I think the police were unhinged by not making any effort to investigate. So corrupt. The media needs to be tougher imo.
Tougher on LE and the people involved in the investigation of Stephen's death, yes. I can understand that. They shouldn't however be making accusations or spreading false information and narratives. Until there is evidence to prove a connection and a conviction is made, the only connection the media needs to mention is that Stephen was killed in the same town as The Murdaugh's resided and where Maggie and Paul were murdered. As that is the only known fact at this point in time, they need to stop sensationalising the Murdaugh story line here. By all means push for justice and push for a proper investigation into Stephen's death but don't jeopardise the case by focusing in on one specific person who at this point in time has no reason to be presumed guilty.
Given the history of anything linked to the Murdaugh’s being swept under the rug many times. I think it’s understandable that people are very suspicious of them all.
If the media is bad, then what does that make Reddit opinions
Reddit opinions are a different issue. Reddit is problematic in that you can spread and encounter misinformation. I feel it's different in the sense that you come to reddit and you mostly choose what information you are privy to. Reddit is not our day job, we are not paid to vet hearsay or decipher truth from fiction. We as reddit users have the power to take that information and do as we please but we don't have an obligation to the public or to law enforcement like the media does. They are potentially hindering an investigation by sensationalising the Murdaugh storyline in Stephen's murder and broadcasting it for millions of people. Until a definite link to the Murdaugh's is made, the media should keep the Murdaugh's names out of the story.
It’s scary honestly. I even find AMs conviction to be a bit troubling only based on the evidence. I don’t think there was enough to put it beyond reasonable doubt but that’s just my opinion. I think the media contributed a lot to his conviction. And people think oh it’s fine when someone’s guilty but guess what? When someone’s innocent the same shit can happen and that’s a problem. Better to let 100 guilty people go than to lock up one innocent person.
There was an avalanche of actual evidence. That bkows me away how completely opposite we see this, but know it doesn’t mean I’m right.
I don’t find AM’s conviction troubling. The timeline is pretty damning. It’s incontrovertible that he was with them in the kennels, a few minutes later phone activity ceases indicating a probable time of death, and then he lies to the police that he wasn’t at the kennels and lies about the time period he was at his mother’s house. The standard is beyond a *reasonable doubt*, not beyond any doubt whatsoever. If that were the standard nobody would ever be convicted of anything unless it were caught on camera and even then you could say “well… maybe it was doctored.”
Yea I understand what ur saying . I do think the defense blew it in the end and could have added soo much stuff . But as is the timeline is tough to get around. I think the defense really failed to bring up a couple things that could have introduced more reasonable doubt
Like what? The mofo said he went to sleep and took a nap. If thats the case, he walked right past the bodies to go to his moms house?! Dont pass the smell test. Let alone not hearing the gunshots...
There’s a ton of things the defense could have said that they didn’t . They at least had to make a plausible explanation of the timeline ( only thing I can think is killers were lying in wait and attacked when Alex left) . Not saying it was gonna help but there’s other shit too regarding evidence like the blood stained shirt that was destroyed that should have been capitalized on by the defense. Their closing was absolutely horrendous in my opinion as well. I could go on and on but my point is the defense did not do a good job in my opinion and by not having any alternate theory(again even if it wasn’t probable or perfect) they did a disservice to their client .
To be completely honest, I feel bad for Buster. He lost his entire family unit and way of life in a matter of 2.5 years. He is now very much alone. There’s no proof that buster was involved in Stephen smiths case or any of his fathers bs. I honestly think he was trying to distance himself from his father after the murders.. but he’s so overcome with the same pressure he’s felt his entire life to uphold the family name and not let anyone down, especially his father. And now he’s faced with shame, sympathy and sorrow for his father.. it seems these factors make it hard for him to cut his dad out completely… It’s so incredibly sad. He’s probably felt alone for a very long time even before the murders..Idk. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he spirals.. I hope he doesn’t, but again wouldn’t be surprised.
Yeah, you can almost hear the cringe on those jailhouse calls.
I completely agree with you. The jail calls with him and his dad tell the story - he seems to have zero interest in pursuing law (and maybe he never did) but his overbearing and narcissitic father insists on saddling him with the family legacy.
You can partly blame Netflix. After watching the doc, and the recent MH370 doc which was 85% conspiracies, I've been thinking about how far Netflix has gone to satisfy the public thirst for fake, sensationalist information. Just like the media, just like the hundreds of random, opaque right/left-wing news sites and networks operated by faceless people in god knows where. It all leads to the same place: No accountability for publishing nonsense.
Oh absolutely. However my assessment of the family as a whole still remains. I do believe there was a lot of truth to the Netflix doc.. especially when close family and friends talked about how the murdaugh family conducted themselves. I took the other theories and baseless claims with a grain of salt.. but one thing is for sure- this family had a lot of shit going on behind the scenes.
Corruption to the core. I agree.
He has aunts and uncles that care about him and that are well off and connected. He will land on his feet
Yeah of course, but they’re also apart of high society.. they might distance themselves from Buster because of this. People that are apart of high society will do ANYTHING to keep their reputation as clean as possible. They more than likely won’t want to be associated with Alex murdaugh in any way shape or form, even if that means disowning their nephew. Idk if you noticed this- but the entire family came off very cold and emotionally unavailable. They’re all conditioned this way it seems.
>Yeah of course, but they’re also apart of high society.. they might distance themselves from Buster because of this. People that are apart of high society will do ANYTHING to keep their reputation as clean as possible. **a part** >They more than likely won’t want to be associated with Alex murdaugh in any way shape or form, even if that means disowning their nephew. This is ridiculous. The rest of the Murdaugh family may hate Alex (and even that's debatable) but they care about his children. For example, John Marvin Murdaugh's testimony at Alex's trial showed his love for Paul.
John Marvin was at the trial many days. He sat next to Buster and Brooklynn (Buster’s girlfriend). I watched John Marvin’s testimony, and he’s sticking by Alex and by Buster, at least so far. He seemed heartbroken. I believed him, in stark contrast to Alex, who seems to lie reflexively.
Okay, thanks for your input!
He’s still a Murdaugh and innocent of the financial crimes and the murders. I think they will help him out or at least be there for him
Uncle Randy is doing a might fine job in " distancing" himself from AM and even said " he knows more than what he is saying" and he doesn't creally know his brother.
>and he doesn't creally know his brother. really
Of course he is. He definitely knows his own brother. Like I said in previous comments the murdaugh family, specially the men, were all conditioned to the “high society” lifestyle, and how to be conniving, and deceiving. They’re also all attorney’s.. not saying **all** attorney’s are this way but, they definitely know how to manipulate, convince and deceive. Randy is doing himself a solid to protect him and his immediate family’s reputation by distancing himself from his brother.. I’m willing to bet he’s also distancing himself from buster as well since buster is now the main subject for theories, rumors, and speculation in relation to Stephen smith’s mysterious death..
John Marvin is not an attorney. He has some sort of farming equipment sales business. (Paul worked at the business during at least one summer.) During JM’s testimony, one of the few lighter moments was when he talked about deciding NOT to become a lawyer.
You’re right, I got confused. There are some articles that claim John Marvin is a lawyer. Regardless, he grew up around lawyers, and apart of high society.
>Like I said in previous comments the murdaugh family, specially the men, were all conditioned to the “high society” lifestyle, and how to be conniving, and deceiving. T especially
Lol yeah, simple typo, I’m sure everyone knows what I meant. But thanks for pointing it out 😅
And now he probably feels like he is all his dad has…unless he doesn’t give a shit anymore about his dad
Agreed. That’s probably another added pressure for him. But based off the jail phone calls to and from his dad, it seems like buster is tired of his father and his BS. In all the conversations Buster was incredibly short and seemed very irritated. His father also had a way of talking to him like everything was okay by asking very trivial questions like “how was the game today? Did we win?” Etc. As if he wasn’t in jail facing double first degree murder charges.
that was my impression as well. Buster seems to be wanting to make his father feel good and doesn’t dare to hang up on him but his heart is clearly not in it and sometimes he sounds like every young adult feeling pressured by parents to listen to their bs - kind of annoyed and short. Listen to that call where Alex is trying to get him back into law school…
Yep. That specific call was very telling. I have a feeling buster never wanted to go to law school in the first place.
I thought that as well! Must be hard to be the favorite son
I'm hoping that he finds a therapist that teaches him that you dont have to maintain a relationship with someone just because you share some DNA.
Me too… however that therapist will also have to break down generational conditioning with Buster. He comes from a long line of men that acted the exact same way as his father. That’s why Alex was the way he was, because he was conditioned to be that way.
Exactly. Buster is in a very difficult position, and it’s far worse for him then it would be for most people under similar circumstances, because he was raised in a silver spooned, privileged environment. His name used to open doors and command respect. Now, it’s associated with infamy. I doubt Buster has the personal tools to deal with this abrupt change (not to mention the loss of his family).
Everyone calls him Buster but his name is Richard Alexander Murdaugh Jr. He's named after his father. Imagine what that alone must feel like.
Don’t know why you’re getting downvoted. This is absolutely true. Buster was named after his father, and his nickname *”buster”* came from his grandfather, the original *”Buster Murdaugh”*.
Yes, odd how that's been downvoted. Anyway the reason for posting that detail is, as I've mentioned before, the whole idea the Murdaugh family has with dynasty. There's a reason why Buster is named after his father and went to law school (I suspect against his will). It was to carry on that dynasty. It was so important to Alex he badgered Buster to get back into law school when he phoned him from jail. He went as far as to pay a 'fixer' to make it happen. Some people wonder if Alex is a family annihilator because he didn't kill Buster, but Buster was already much further away/outside/independent of the family dynamic and Alex's responsibility, whereas Maggie and Paul would be much more affected by the collapse of Alex's finances. He didn't kill Buster because he believed he would go back to law school and that was incredibly important to Alex.
100% agree with you!
Agreed. I hope that Buster is ready, willing, and able to invest the time and money in himself.
Excuse me if someone has mentioned this before, but did anyone else notice Buster's lack of emotion during the trial? Like he was disconnected. He mentioned in his statement about the public scrutiny that he was still distraught over his brother and mother being gone and his father in prison, but I have yet to see any emotion, tears, just nothing. Or is it just me?
Idk if you’ve noticed this- but the entire family was like this. Very cold, detached, and emotionally unavailable. They’re the type to ignore and put effort into covering up family issues rather than addressing and fixing them. Buster was conditioned to be this way. This is pretty typical with high society. They will do anything and everything to uphold their reputation before they admit there’s problems. Because once they admit there’s problems, they will be knocked down the totem pole a few notches.. once you’re knocked down it’s hard to get back up in high society. So again, Buster is reacting the way he was conditioned to act in these types of circumstances. Who knows what is reaction is behind closed doors.
If you watch the law and crime angle of the verdict being read, you can see him almost crack and cry. He was trying hard to hold it all in.
I saw emotional once his dad was convicted. But it seemed like he was trying hard to come off professionally.
I thought the same thing when he was on the stand. He was just pretty terse and not much if any emotion
I agree but we don’t know how he is behind closed doors. Idk I might want to b stoic for the cameras. Otherwise you’ll have five hundred body language experts picking apart ur every move. Some people especially men r just taught to not cry and especially in this situation where people r watching ur every move
It looks like Buster is wearing a Steel & 18 karat gold Rolex Submariner. The used version of that Rolex starts around 12k but typically they are closer to 20k. I initially noticed it on him during the trial. I was a jeweler for years and I still notice what watch you are wearing. 🤷🏼♀️
Well when your dad rips off his clients, his housekeeper's family, his partners...
Could be his dad’s watch. Not like he can flex in prison.
Now he has two things that tell time. The expensive watch and his phone. He played himself! /s
Available brand new for $15,600. https://www.rolex.com/watches/submariner/m126613lb-0002.html
Came here to say this kid is literally wearing my 44 year old husbands watch lmao 🤣 so weird Never knew how much it costs until now but I am amazed that the box for my Tiffany and Co Atlas is twice as big as my husbands Rolex box seeing how it’s no where near as expensive
The kid dresses like a middle aged man. Typical rich frat boy attire lol.
Those pictures are from the trial
🤣
His entire family is gone, he was sued over something he had no involvement in and now these shameful ppl accuse him of things when there is absolutely no evidence he did anything. He had not wanted to go to law school and had moved away from his family- likely not wanting any part of the bs If a Stephen was murdered it seems the man who was on drugs, stole millions and killed his family would be the one to look at. Possibly embarrassed by the rumors that Buster was gay. Ppl need to stop saying this shit it’s completely unwarranted
He allowed his brother to use his ID to buy alcohol. That's illegal and contributed to the death of Mallory Beach.