For more than a decade as the Murdaugh family’s housekeeper, Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson said she never met Alex and Margaret Murdaugh to argue, only «a few minor disagreements.»
But in the months leading up to June 2021, as Alex Murdaugh called 911 to say he found Margaret and the couple’s youngest son, Paul, shot to death on the grounds of their sprawling South Carolina estate, Simpson said that the family matriarch made coffee, led her into a room, and I closed the door.
«She was worried about a lawsuit and she said she wanted $30 million and she was in tears, saying, ‘We don’t have that kind of money. If I could give them everything I have and make this go away, I would do it in a heartbeat. I’ll start over. We’ll start over. I just want it to go away,'» Simpson testified that Margaret told him.
The lawsuit related to a fatal boating accident case in which Paul was facing trial for three felony offenses of boating under the influence at the time of his death.
Simpson’s testimony, at times tearful as he recalled his friendship with Margaret, gave insight into his apparent state of mind before the murders, and provided jurors with greater insight into Margaret’s nearly three-decade marriage to Murdaugh, a a once-powerful lawyer who is on trial for the murders of his wife and son.
The prosecution’s line of questioning about whether Margaret was concerned about money issues had prompted defense attorney Richard «Dick» Harpootlian to seek a mistrial, arguing that it was all hearsay and therefore the jury did not you should listen to them. But Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman disagreed.
Simpson in his testimony before the jury said that Margaret confided to him that her husband «does not tell me everything.»
«She felt that Alex was not being honest with her about what was going on with that lawsuit,» Simpson said.
On cross-examination, Simpson told the defense that the couple had small fights, such as over the paint color of their beach house remodel, and that Margaret complained that she just wanted her husband to stay put during 10 minutes so they could talk.
But in the end, Simpson agreed that Murdaugh had made his wife «his everything.»
«He adored her,» Simpson added. «He he he loved her.»
But Simpson testified about other allegedly bizarre events and behavior in the days and weeks after the murders.
Initially, Simpson said Margaret had texted him on June 7, 2021, the day of the murders, asking him to come to her property in Colleton County to cook dinner for the family. Margaret and Paul were at the family’s beach house that day, but Simpson testified that Margaret «said ‘Alex wants me to come home'» and that she sounded «disappointed» at having to leave the beach house.
Simpson said he went home to make cube steak with white rice, green beans and salsa, then left it on the stove and texted Margaret before heading home.
The next morning, Simpson said Murdaugh called her and said, «‘B, they’re gone. They’re gone.'»
Confused by what he meant, he told her, «No, B, they’re dead.»
Simpson said Murdaugh asked her to help clean the house, and she testified about finding pots of leftovers in the refrigerator when the family would normally leave them out for her to clean. She said that Margaret’s pajamas were also neatly folded in a doorway, which was unusual. She picked up a damp towel near a small puddle of water by the shower and a pair of khakis and washed them.
Earlier witnesses testified that state troopers had sent Murdaugh and several lawyer friends, family members and others who gathered after the murders to the home so they would not appear in crime scene photos near the property’s kennels, where the bodies of Margaret and Paul were. found. The defense estimated that there were between 12 and 15 people inside in the first hours after the bodies were discovered.
During his cross-examination on Friday, prosecutor John Meadors focused on what Murdaugh was wearing in a Snapchat video his son took a few hours before the murders: khakis, loafers and a sea-foam shirt.
Simpson said that in the months after the murders, Murdaugh asked her if she remembered what she was wearing, saying, «I have a bad feeling.» She said he asked her if she remembered the shirt she was wearing and that it was a «Vinny Vines» brand.
But she said she only remembered a blue polo shirt.
«In my mind, I was saying that I don’t remember a Vines jersey. It was the polo shirt,» Simpson said. «I didn’t say anything, but I was a bit puzzled because I don’t remember him wearing that jersey that day.»
«Have you ever, ever, ever seen that shirt again?» Meadors asked later.
«Not that I know of,» Simpson said.
During cross-examination, Simpson testified that he never saw blood on the khakis he had cleaned.
The prosecution’s case is expected to last until next week before the defense calls their witnesses.
If convicted, Murdaugh faces 30 to life in prison without parole.