THE new owner of the estate where Alex Murdaugh murdered his wife and son has claimed that he has uncovered evidence that points to the convicted killer’s innocence.
Alex Blair splurged $1 million at an auction in February to take ownership of the sprawling 21-acre property previously owned by Murdaugh in Islandton, South Carolina.
The infamous estate, known as Moselle, is the site where Murdaugh gunned down his wife, Maggie, and youngest son, Paul, in June 2021 near the property’s dog kennels section.
At his trial in March 2023, Murdaugh, 56, took on the stand and vehemently denied responsibility for the killings, sobbing to the jury that he never hurt his family.
“I would never intentionally do anything to hurt either one of them, ever,” he said at the time.
Murdaugh was eventually convicted of the slayings and handed two life sentences.
Now, Blair claims he’s in possession of two explosive pieces of evidence that he believes prove Murdaugh did not commit the murders.
Blair, who is completely renovating the massive estate, told Realtor.com he has torn down Murdaugh’s private airplane hanger and the kennels.
However, the new owner said he kept the kennel door and the window that contained bullet holes from the shootings.
Prosecutors said during the trial that on June 7, 2021, after having a family dinner in the dog kennels, Murdaugh ambushed his wife and son.
Crime scene experts said Murdaugh shot his wife five times with an assault-style rifle, leaving her bullet-riddled body several steps from the dog kennels.
Moments later, Murdaugh picked up a shotgun and fatally shot his son, who was inside the dog kennels.
Prosecutors said Murdaugh then left the home and went to visit his ailing mother before returning to the Moselle estate and calling police to report finding the bodies of his wife and son.
But Blair has claimed the placement of the bullet holes suggests Murdaugh was not behind the murders.
“[Murdaugh] is a big man,” Blair told Realtor.com.
“And he was even bigger back then, and he’s too big for the bullets to have gone through in the way that they did.”
Yet, Blair does not believe Murdaugh is not entirely innocent, saying the disgraced attorney’s double-murder conviction was a result of his years of wrongdoings.
“Maybe it was karma for other things that he did,” the new Moselle owner said.
“But I don’t think he killed them.”
To back his theory, Blair also told the outlet that neighbors in the area believe Murdaugh was not behind the killings.
“Everyone on that road is like, ‘No,’” he told Realtor.com.
Among the other artifacts Blair kept are a set of keys and keychains that once belonged to Maggie.
Blair said he’s held on to the items in case Murdaugh’s surviving son, Buster, “wanted it back to have something of his mother’s.”
The new owner said he has plans to use the estate as a second residence and hopes the renovation removes the “bad stigma” surrounding it.
“Every property in Lowcountry has a history,” Blair added.
“Bad things have happened on every property, but you have a choice to either focus on the negative or to create a positive narrative. And that’s what I want to do.”
Alex Murdaugh’s Convictions
Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to two life terms for the June 2021 murders of his wife, Maggie, and youngest son, Paul.
Murdaugh, who is already serving two life terms plus an additional 27 years, was handed an additional 40-year sentence in April 2024 for defrauding his previous clients.
Alex Murdaugh’s conviction and sentencing:
- Murder of Maggie Murdaugh – life sentence
- Murder of Paul Murdaugh – life sentence
- Possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, two counts – five years
- 22 fraud charges – 40 years, running concurrently with a 27-year sentence
- One count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud – punishable by up to 30 years and $1,000,000 fine
- One count of bank fraud – up to 30 years and $1,000,000
- Two counts of wire fraud – up to 30 years and $1,000,000
- Three counts of wire fraud – up to 20 years and $250,000
- One count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud – up to 20 years and $1,000,000
- Fourteen counts of money laundering – up to 20 years and $500,000
