Murdaugh family housekeeper testifies that Maggie had concerns about money in months leading up to murders

WALTERBORO, S.C. (WIS) - As the third week of the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial came to a close, jurors heard testimony from the family housekeeper.

Blanca Simpson alleges that Maggie Murdaugh was worried about money in the months leading up to the murders, and was concerned that her husband Alex was not being fully transparent with her.

Simpson detailed how close she was with the entire family, but especially Maggie.

She said that she and Maggie would often call and text each other.

Simpson recalled her final conversations with Maggie, and testified that Maggie was “disappointed” when Alex requested that she come to the family’s Moselle property the night she and Alex’s son Paul were killed.

Maggie texted Simpson on June 7, 2021, the housekeeper said, asking her to prepare dinner for her, Paul and Alex.

“Her conversation with me was that Alex wanted her to go to Moselle that day, and she was concerned about the workers that she had in Edisto, and she would have preferred to be in Edisto,” Simpson said.

According to Simpson, the Murdaugh family had been doing work on their Edisto beach house at that time, and Maggie typically liked to stay there during the summer.

She also testified that Maggie told her she was worried about Alex not getting enough rest.

The next morning, Simpson got an unsettling call from Alex.

“His voice sounded really shaky,” she said. “He said, ‘B, they’re gone, they’re gone.’”

Simpson then went back to Moselle, and was there for several hours before law enforcement arrived to search the home.

“It was just a weird feeling going through when I unlocked the front door to get in,” she said. “It felt cold.”

She noticed several unusual things at the home, including pots in the refrigerator and Maggie’s pajamas folded neatly in the doorway to the laundry room.

Simpson described the clothes Alex wore the day of the murders. She remembers him wearing a seafoam colored polo, khakis and dress shoes. She said she adjusted his collar before he left for work.

In the bathroom at Moselle, she found a puddle and a pair of khakis.

The khakis did not appear to be bloody, Simpson testified, and she washed them.

These appeared to be the same khakis the defendant was wearing in a Snapchat video taken by his son Paul just hours before his murder, Simpson said.

However, she said that he appeared to be wearing a different shirt in that video.

Simpson also recalled an incident two months after the murders where Murdaugh, she believed, tried to convince her that he was wearing a different shirt, a Vineyard Vines brand, on the day of the killings than the one she remembers him wearing.

He told her, “I’ve got a bad feeling,” and appeared to be concerned about the existence of that Snapchat video.

Simpson testified on Friday that she never again saw the clothes Alex was wearing that day, including his shirt and shoes.

“After June 7 of 2021 did you ever see that shirt again?” State prosecutor John Meadors asked.

“No, sir,” Simpson replied. “There was like a pink one, a white one, a baby blue in the closet. I do not remember that shirt being in there.”

“Did you ever see those house shoes again?” Meadors asked.

“No, sir,” Simpson said.

While cleaning out Maggie’s Mercedes a week after the murders, she found Maggie’s wedding band, Simpson testified.

She recalled Maggie tearfully told her she was anxious about the $30 million being sought from the family in the 2019 fatal boat crash civil case.

During that conversation, she remembers Maggie said, “If I could give them everything I’ve got and make it go away, I will. I just want it gone.”

Defense objected to the inclusion of this line of questioning, and at one point Murdaugh defense attorney Dick Harpootlian called for a mistrial.

“You can’t unring the bell,” Harpootlian said.

Presiding Judge Clifton Newman denied that request.

Simpson continued to describe Maggie’s demeanor during that conversation.

“She knew the amount of money that they were asking, but she felt that Alex was not being truthful to her with regard to what exactly was going on with that lawsuit,” Simpson said. “She said, ‘He doesn’t tell me everything.’”

The defense has sought to portray the Murdaughs as a happy couple throughout the trial. Blanca’s testimony appears to show Maggie was anxious the couple’s financial situation.

Simpson became the fifth witness to identify Alex’s voice in a video taken by Paul at the family dog kennels just minutes before prosecutors say he and Maggie were brutally murdered.

Murdaugh has insisted that he was never there that night, and was taking a nap during this time.

Financial issues were the topic of another witness, Nathan Tuten.

He is a childhood friend of Paul’s and a Walterboro police officer. Tuten also did some work with PMPED.

On July 4, 2021, he testified that Alex told him he could “beat the boat case,” referring to the lawsuit filed against Murdaugh that Maggie referenced with Blanca.

Alex told Tuten that he wanted to do so to clear Paul’s name.

Tuten became the sixth witness to identify Alex’s voice at the kennels, busting his alibi.

Court resumes at 9:30 A.M. Monday.

You can watch the stream on our Facebook and Youtube pages.

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