The only surviving son of murderer and fraudster Alex Murdaugh plans to sue Netflix and Warner Brothers over documentaries linking him to the murder of his former classmate.
Alex Murdaugh, 55, is now in prison for the murders of his wife, Maggie, 52, and youngest son, Paul, 22, as well as a host of financial crimes.
Son Buster, 30, unmistakable for the striking red hair he and his brother both inherited from their father, is suing several outlets in addition to the two major studios for damaging his reputation.
Murdaugh claims that several films and written stories about the case have linked him to the murder of 19-year-old Stephen Smith.
An attorney for Smith’s family warns Murdaugh that attempts to suppress information will only have the opposite effect.
The only surviving son of murderer and fraudster Alex Murdaugh plans to sue Netflix and Warner Brothers over documentaries linking him to the murder of his former classmate
Smith died in 2015 near the Murdaugh estate in South Carolina and it was initially ruled an accident.
Smith, who was openly gay, was initially believed to have died in a collision. But following widespread interest in the Murdaugh case and rumors that Smith and Buster Murduagh were in a sexual relationship, Smith’s case was reopened in June 2021.
On March 23, 2023, his death was declared a homicide and his mother Sandy launched a GoFundMe to pay for the exhumation of his body.
Buster Murdaugh called all reports linking him to Smith’s death last year “vicious rumors” and the lawsuit claims there are no formal allegations against him.
The films Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal on Netflix, Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty, distributed by Warner Bros. and Murdaugh Murders: Deadly Dynasty, on Discovery+ are cited in the lawsuit, along with Gannett’s publishing arm.
He is also suing Michael DeWitt Jr., the editor of The Hampton County Guardian, a local newspaper.
The lawsuit cites several scenes that Murdaugh’s lawyers say are related to Smith’s death.
“The false statements were publicized to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of viewers who watched the show,” the filing added.
Alex Murdaugh, 55, is now in prison for the murders of his wife, Maggie, 52, and youngest son, Paul, 22, as well as a host of financial crimes
Son Buster, 30, unmistakable for the striking red hair he and his brother both inherited from their father, is suing several outlets in addition to the two major studios for damaging his reputation. Murdaugh claims that several films and written stories about the Murdaugh case have linked him to the murder of 19-year-old Stephen Smith (pictured right)
Eric Bland, an attorney for the Smith family, thinks this will only be a good thing for those who sue Murdaugh.
“I think the defendants will love this lawsuit because it will be part 3 of any documentary,” Bland said The everyday beast.
“Buster was never asked if he had any knowledge of it [Smith’s] dead. He just said he didn’t kill [Smith] and had no sexual relationship with him.”
Bland also represented the victims of Alex Murdaugh’s various fraud schemes, which resulted in him being sentenced to an additional 40 years in prison for stealing millions of dollars from clients of his law firm, a sentence that will be served concurrently. his 27-year prison sentence for state fraud convictions.
The lawyer says Buster is “exposing himself” and that he is “very interested” in what information he can obtain about Murdaugh.
“I think this lawsuit will backfire,” he said. “I have spoken to a number of lawyers who were asked to take on his case and they have been successful. This will only put Stephen’s research in the spotlight.’
Murdaugh is seeking actual and punitive damages for the defendants’ “reckless conduct in falsely accusing him of involvement in the murder of Stephen Smith,” according to ABC news 4.
Alex Murdaugh is already serving a life sentence without parole in state prison after a jury found him guilty of murder in the shooting deaths of his wife and youngest son.
Many have tried to link Buster (pictured left), a former high school classmate of Smith’s, to the murder, given that Smith’s death occurred almost on the hunting grounds.
Lawyer says Buster is ‘exposing himself’ and is ‘very interested’ in what information he can get about Murdaugh
Investigators said that when Murdaugh’s financial schemes were about to be exposed in June 2021, he decided to kill his wife and son in the hope that this would make him a sympathetic figure and divert attention from the missing money.
Paul Murdaugh was shot several times with a shotgun and Maggie Murdaugh was shot several times with a rifle outside the family’s Colleton County home.
Murdaugh has adamantly denied killing them and even testified in his own defense against the advice of his lawyers.
Federal prosecutors said Murdaugh appeared to be telling the truth about the roles that banker Russell Laffitte and attorney and longtime college friend Cory Fleming played in helping to steal.
Laffitte was sentenced to seven years in prison, while Fleming will serve nearly four years behind bars after pleading guilty.