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Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of killing his wife, Maggie, and their son, Paul, in a shocking double murder that took place on June 7, 2021. After his 2023 trial concluded, he was also found guilty of two weapons charges, meaning that he was found guilty of every charge against him in the case. Alex, a disgraced fourth-generation lawyer from South Carolina, pleaded not guilty to murdering his family in July 2022, and his and Maggie’s other son, Buster, took the stand in an emotional defense of his infamous father on February 21, 2023.
Alex also battled dozens of additional charges for financial crimes, forgery, and more. His questionable past has gained widespread attention. A true crime Netflix docuseries called Murdaugh Murders was released for streaming that year in addition to a three-part documentary titled Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty on HBO Max. But 2025’s Murdaugh: Death in the Family on Hulu has sparked interest in the case once again.
Scroll below to find out everything you should know about Maggie Murdaugh, who was shot to death by her husband, Alex Murdaugh.
Maggie Murdaugh Was Reportedly Raised to Find a Good Husband
Maggie Murdaugh was born to high school sweethearts Terry and Kennedy Branstetter, according to the New York Post. A childhood friend told the outlet that she was raised in a “proper” Southern household and was taught that finding a good husband was just as important — if not more — than getting an education. “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,” Lisa Hineman-Moore, a high school friend and track teammate of Maggie’s told the publication. “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.”
Maggie & Alex Were Separated at the Time of Her Death
Maggie and Alex were living nearly completely separate lives when Alex shot her dead, according to the New York Post. She was staying at a cottage in Edisto Beach, S.C., and Alex at a hunting lodge in Islandton.
“Their marriage was absolutely on the rocks,” a person close to the family told the Daily Mail in Nov. 2021. “Alex and Maggie didn’t look at each other like they were married,” they continued. “There was no love lost between them. I never saw them touch or be affectionate to each other.”
Maggie Was A Devoted Mother
A family friend who spoke with the New York Post in the aftermath of the alleged crime told the outlet that Maggie “lived for” her sons, Paul and Buster. “Maggie lived for her kids,” professed family friend Bubba Mixson. “She was at every school function. She was such a sweet person. She never met a stranger. I can’t say enough good about her. and I mean that.”
A family member who spoke to the outlet indicated the same. “She bent over backwards for her kids, maybe to a fault,” they remembered. “Those boys wanted for nothing.”
Maggie Was Known for Being ‘Down to Earth’
Clearly liked by the community that lost her, she was known for being a grounded and kind woman. “Maggie was more down to earth,” a family member told The Post in the above-mentioned report. “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 Alex or Paul.”
According to a family member, despite being the wife of a high-profile attorney, she didn’t maintain an ostentatious residence, either. “I wouldn’t say it was a dump, it was nice enough but not what you’d expect from people who literally seemed to have millions of dollars to burn,” they revealed. Still, he admitted money was spent. “I mean, they never flew commercial that I can remember. They always chartered jets.”
Maggie Considered Divorce Ahead of Her Death
Maggie reportedly saw a divorce lawyer just six weeks before her untimely death, per People. A law enforcement source aware of the case revealed to the publication that she had met with a divorce lawyer once and began to explore her marital assets and finances for a possible split. “She didn’t pay close attention to the family money or where it came from,” the insider said for the Sept. 2021 report. “But now she was starting to look into it.”
