Alex Murdaugh beams proudly as his only surviving son, Buster, takes the stand

Alex Murdaugh beamed proudly today as his only surviving son, Buster, took the stand for defense in the double murder trial for the deaths of his wife and son.

Buster, 26, said his full name, Richard Alexander Murdaugh Jr., as father Alex, 54, looked on with a smile. He was supported in court by his girlfriend Brooklynn White.

Buster was staying with his girlfriend near Charlotte the night his father is accused of brutally shooting Maggie, 52, and Paul, 22, to death at the family’s hunting estate in Moselle on June 7. of 2021.

Buster is expected to be followed by Alex’s brothers Randy and John Marvin, and their sister Lynn, as the defense seeks to portray the alleged killer as a “loving” family man.

An emotional Buster Murdaugh visits the graves of his late mother Maggie and brother Paul at the Hampton Cemetery in South Carolina on Sunday, February 12.

Buster Murdaugh, left, hugs his aunt Marian Proctor after she testified in the double murder trial of his father Alex Murdaugh at the Colleton County courthouse on February 14.

Buster, Paul, Maggie and Alex Murdaugh in an undated social media post

Earlier in the trial, Buster was ejected to the back of the courthouse after he allegedly threw the middle finger at a prosecution witness.

His alleged obscene gesture may even have been caught on camera, with the legal heir seen biting his middle finger as Mark Tinsley, the Mallory Beach family’s lawyer, testified Monday.

At the time of Paul and Maggie’s deaths, Alex was facing a $30 million lawsuit for his youngest son’s drunken boating accident that killed 19-year-old Mallory.

Paul was driving his father’s boat, and Buster had lent him his ID to buy alcohol.

Before trial, Buster and several other unnamed defendants reached a “significant” settlement with the de Beach family and three other surviving passengers.

Prosecutors in Alex’s murder trial rested their case Friday after weeks of complicated evidence from more than 60 witnesses.

The defense case is expected to last at least a week before it is sent to the jury to reach their verdict.

An emotional Buster was seen paying homage at the graves of his mother and brother in Hampton, South Carolina, earlier in the trial on February 12.

He was supported by his girlfriend Brooklynn, also 26, at Hampton Cemetery, where Buster took a moment to kneel and plant a kiss on their graves.

At one point, Buster picked up a small statue of a dog that had been left at their burial sites and placed it on his mother’s grave.

The dog appears to resemble the Murdaugh family dog, Bubba, who has become a key player in the case against Alex, who faces between 30 years and life in prison if convicted of the murders of his wife and son.

As jurors heard earlier in the trial, the yellow Lab was in the family pound the night Maggie and Paul were shot dead on their Moselle hunting ground, and his presence could prove damning for Alex, who, according to Witnesses were heard speaking. the dog in a video recorded in the kennel.

Buster Murdaugh, 26, and his girlfriend Brooklynn White, 26, visit the graves of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh at the Hampton Cemetery in South Carolina on February 13.

Buster’s alleged obscene gesture may even have been caught on camera, and the legal heir was seen biting his middle finger as Mark Tinsley, the Mallory Beach family’s attorney, testified Monday.

Prosecutors have focused on cellphone video recorded by Paul minutes before his death in which voices can be heard in the background ordering Bubba, who had a habit of disturbing chickens and birds, to leave the animals alone. peace.

State witness Rogan Gibson, a close friend of the Murdaughs, testified last week that he was “100% sure” he heard Alex’s voice on the video, which placed him at the crime scene where he claimed he had not been. .

Buster’s name has also come up in connection with the mysterious death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith.

Smith was found dead in the middle of a country road 15 miles from the Murdaugh family’s Islandton hunting lodge on July 8, 2015.

Smith’s death was ruled a hit-and-run, but his mother, Sandy, has always maintained that her son, who was gay, was the victim of a hate crime and that the murder was covered up.

In June 2021, initial investigators found no evidence of any car accident, were convinced the victim had a gunshot wound over the right eye, and received tips questioning whether Smith was in a relationship with Paul’s older brother Richard’ Buster’ Murdaugh.