Buster Murdaugh sat expressionless as the jury declared his father, Alex Murdaugh, guilty of killing Buster’s mother and younger brother. Prosecutors told the court that Alex, the heir of a legal practice dynasty, killed his wife and son ‘to portray himself as a victim and cover up his wrongdoing’ as his financial crimes ‘were about to be exposed’.

Testifying on his father’s behalf, Buster described the moment Alex revealed his mother, Maggie, and brother, Paul, were dead. “He sounded odd, and then he told me that my mom and my brother had been shot,”  Buster said. 

Buster Murdaugh’s girlfriend, Brooklyn White, supported him during the trial

Buster Murdaugh is not gay. His girlfriend, Brooklynn White, was omnipresent alongside Buster during Alex’s trial. 

White graduated from the University of Alabama with a B.A. in political science in 2018 and is a Juris Doctor Candidate at the South Carolina School of Law. She likely met Buster in the course of her legal practice. 

It’s unclear how long she and Buster have been dating, but the relationship seems serious. 

Buster was accused of having a fling with Stephen Smith, a gay teenager found dead on a remote road

Rumors suggesting Buster Murdaugh is gay persist due to his alleged fling with Stephen Smith, a gay teenager found dead on a remote road in Hampton County. 

In Netflix’s Murdaugh Murders, Smith is described as a happy teenager with an impressive academic record. Smith’s death was initially ruled a hit-and-run, but investigators have since reopened the investigation into his death. 

According to investigative files obtained by WCSC, the Murdaugh name appeared dozens of times during the initial inquiry into Smith’s death. However, investigators didn’t interview members of the Murdaugh family. 

Rumors claim that Buster killed Smith as he was about to expose their relationship. Smith’s best friend, Olivia, told Netflix that Stephen allegedly called Buster for help after his car ran out of fuel. Olivia continued:

“I believe that he picked Stephen up and was fooling Stephen into thinking they were taking him home, but I think they got a little way down the road and that’s when it all started to unravel.”

Stephen Smith’s mother, Sandy, told The Guardian that she believed Smith’s death was linked to his sexuality. Sandy didn’t mention Buster but suggested that Smith had opened up about their relationship. Sandy said:

“One of the guys that supposedly did this, Stephen told his twin sister that he had ‘a fling’ with the boy. He also told me that he and the boy had a deep sea fishing trip planned for July. Stephen died on the eighth of July.”

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) hasn’t released additional information about the investigation into Smith’s death. Family friend Susanne Andrews told WCSC that she’s certain the Murdaughs were involved. 

“Where there’s smoke there’s fire,” Andrews said. “There has to be something to it, whether indirectly or directly there has to be some kind of tie to that.”