It's almost an afterthought in the Alec Murdoch case. Who was his wife Maggie? And how did the
one known as the Friendly Murdoch end up as fodder in one of the biggest scandals in recent South
Carolina history? By all accounts, Maggie Murdoch was your average All-America Southern belle
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, to Terry and Kennedy Branstetter, she had a modest upbringing
one that was seemingly based on traditional Southern values. Her father worked for DuPont
and the family eventually relocated to Unionville, Pennsylvania, where Maggie attended high school
and was a member of the track team. One of her classmates, Lisa Hindman-Moore
told the New York Post in 2021 that Murdoch came from a very proper family
and aspired to have a family of her own one day. She recalled, We had our little cliques, and we ran after boys and did a little partying and drinking
but I think her dreams were what she was taught. She was from the South, and the Southern dream
for a girl at that time was to finish college, maybe, but more importantly, find a husband
get married, and have kids. Although Hyman Moore considered Murdoch a friend, their friendship
apparently didn't last thanks to some mean girl behavior. She said, She was just a pretty girl, wearing the same preppy clothes we all did. I remember us out
in the fields drinking a six-pack, but Margaret — we never called her Maggie — was always thin
She would pick at me for being heavier. Regardless, Hyman Moore said Murdoch didn't
deserve what happened to her. Reflecting on her murder, she mused, I think she got in too deep and didn't have a voice, but she had to be quiet on account of who
she was married to. That was the tragedy, I think. Maggie met the man she would marry and who would
later be convicted of killing her when they were students at the University of South Carolina
Alec Murdoch was one year ahead of his future wife, and as one of her friends anonymously told
the New York Post in 2021, he was her first real boyfriend. Thanks to his family name, Alec was
probably considered a catch by many. However, marrying him meant that Maggie would have
to immerse herself in the family and the culture of his hometown
While the town of Hampton was small, the Murdock name loomed large as one of the most well-known
legal families in the state. Ever since his great-grandfather Randolph Murdock Sr. was
appointed 14th Circuit Solicitor in 1920 the offices belonged to a Murdock male That is until Alec came along Alec was passed over in favor of Duffy Stone which broke the line of succession that had spanned three generations While he may not have inherited the office held by his father grandfather and great
Alec still enjoyed all the weight and privilege the Murdoch name carried
And with Maggie by his side, they ran the town, according to one family member
They went on to tell the Post, They owned the police. They could always do whatever they wanted. There was no fear of
consequences or repercussions to anything they did. Murdoch's don't really get told no much
Alec and Maggie had two sons, Buster and Paul. By all accounts, Maggie, a stay-at-home mom
was a devoted and loving parent. A family member told the New York Post, She bent over backwards for her kids, maybe to a fault. Those boys wanted for nothing
The boys were Murdoch's and, as such, were afforded what some would consider more than
their fair share of leniency and protection. For instance, there was speculation that the
oldest son, Buster, was involved in the hit-and-run death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith
although he has vehemently and publicly denied any involvement and was never charged
Buster's younger brother Paul, on the other hand, was charged with a serious crime. Paul had a reputation for being aggressive and volatile, even when he was a kid
The family member told the New York Post, I saw him snap at least once. He told his aunt Nancy to go f*** herself. It was about 10 years
ago, and he would have been around 11. He did not take authority well. And things only got worse as
time went on, as a friend of the family noted in the Netflix documentary series Murdoch Murders
A Southern Scandal. But when Paul started getting older, that's when his reckless behavior became
much worse. At the time of his death, Paul was being charged in connection with a boat crash
that killed his friend Mallory Beach. He pleaded not guilty, but was killed before the case was
tried, so no one knows for certain. As for what happened to Alec Murdoch's only surviving son
Buster, he married his longtime girlfriend, Brooklyn White, and has filed several defamation
suits over the Smith allegations. In a family full of powerful men, it sounds like Maggie was
a breath of fresh air. She took her role as the matriarch of the family seriously, but she remained
true to her roots and was considered by many who knew her to be a kind, caring, loving woman
family friend Bubba Mixon told the New York Post, When the longtime family housekeeper Gloria Satterfield was in the hospital Maggie was
the only Murdoch to visit her, despite even with the drama going on in her own life at
the time with Paul's boating accident. Despite the scandals that often seemed to swirl around
her family, Maggie had a fun side, and like the men in her life, she knew how to have
a good time. A family member said, She'd let her hair down and drop some F-bombs and tell you to piss off if she felt like it
She had a great, dry sense of humor. She had this thing where she'd roll her eyes when
someone was doing something stupid, like Alec or Paul. Despite her good nature and everything she had going for her, that old saying still rang true
money can't buy happiness. Even with her comfortable lifestyle, Maggie supposedly had marriage issues that only
worsened toward the end of her life. A source who was said to be close to the family claimed
to the Daily Mail, their marriage was absolutely on the rocks. Alec and Maggie didn't look at each
other like they were married. There was no love lost between them. I never saw them touch or be
affectionate to each other. Part of the reason may have been Alec's alleged affair. While testifying
during Alec's murder trial, Maggie's sister, Marion Proctor, alleged that Alec had cheated
on his wife many years ago, and Maggie had kicked him out of the house. Proctor also claimed that
her late sister was still bothered by it up until her death. During her testimony, she said
She did not think anything was going on. It still bothered her
On top of the alleged sexual indiscretions, Alec grappled with prescription drug addiction
Chris Wilson, who claimed to be Alec's best friend, confirmed this during the murder trial
During his testimony, Wilson said that Alec had once admitted to him that he'd been addicted to
opioids for two decades. Wilson also claimed that Alec told him that he'd been stealing money
from his law firm and from clients. During his own testimony, Alec confirmed he had been misusing
opioids for years. While we may never know the full story, there has been speculation about where
Maggie and Alec's marriage was headed. Unconfirmed rumors have floated that Maggie was living apart
from Alec at the time of her death. People later reported that some of Alec's co-workers had
claimed that something seemed amiss in the marriage, as Maggie spent less time around
the office than usual Another source told the magazine that Maggie had met with a divorce attorney just a few weeks before her death Apparently she was trying to get a handle on the state of the family finances to determine how she would fare if worse came to worse
There were indications that the family was under increasing amount of stress on multiple levels
The source told the publication, she didn't pay close attention to the family money or
where it came from, but now she was starting to look into it. Those close to the Murdochs denied any rumors of marital problems, much less divorce talks
A spokesperson for Alec issued a statement refuting the claims. It read
The most recent allegations by People magazine regarding the state of Maggie and Alec Murdoch's
marriage are totally inconsistent with what we have been told by friends and family members
Also, we have reviewed many years of text messages on Alec's phone
and the conversations between Alec and Maggie portray a very loving relationship
Maggie's friend Maria Cordero got more to the point and told the New York Post
None of what they're saying is true, and it's nobody's business, neither. If it's true that Maggie was starting to look into the family finances, then it's probably
also true that she may have been shocked by what she found. From all appearances
the Murdochs lived a life of wealth and excess, complete with private jets and luxurious vacations
But the reality was much different. Maggie may have started to see the truth when she
experienced an embarrassing incident. A source claimed to the Daily Mail, I remember one day, it must have been a few months before she was killed
she was crying because she had written a check at a charity luncheon and it had bounced
She thought at first there must have been some mistake, but when she found out there wasn't, she was mortified and upset
In addition to two counts of murder, Alec was also convicted of financial crimes
including money laundering and wire fraud. Hopefully he serves out the double murder convictions
but the backstop was always these financial crimes. The source continued, I think when Maggie married Alec, she didn't have to think about money or where it was coming from
and when she started asking questions, she definitely picked her battles. He'd always
tell her not to worry about it, that he'd figure it out, he'd fix it. As the tragic story of the
Murdoch's lives unfolded, the residents of their small community realized that nothing was as it
seemed. As one member of their social circle told People, behind all those black ties and fancy
dresses were some pretty miserable people