Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson has replayed one moment from the night Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were killed more times than she can count ā and years later, she says it still follows her.
According to Fox News, the longtime Murdaugh family housekeeper, whose new book chronicles her close bond with Maggie and the aftermath of the murders, says a white pickup truck near the familyās Moselle property remains the image she cannot forget.
āThe part that really haunts me,ā she told Fox News Digital, āwas not looking into that white truck that was parked out there by the hangar.ā
At the time, she assumed the truck belonged to Paul and didnāt think to check it. But once she heard trial testimony placing Paulās phone miles away, the memory shifted.
āWhen I heard testimony during the trial where they specified that Paulās phone was dinging in Okatie, I said, well, who was driving that truck? Who was driving the white truck? The white F-150? Thatās one of the main ones that bothers me.ā
Turrubiate-Simpsonās book, Within the House of Murdaugh: Amid a Unique Friendship, recounts the small details she noticed in the hours after Maggie and Paul were shot to death near the kennels. She said one of the first things that stood out was Maggieās car ā parked in a spot she never used.
āMaggie used to always pull up to the left of Paul,ā she said. āBut that morning, Maggieās car was to the right⦠kind of where the hunting room entrance is. I knew she didnāt put it there.ā
She said nothing about the placement made sense.
āThere was no need for her to park there when there were no other vehicles really there.ā
Despite her unease, Turrubiate-Simpson said she didnāt believe Alex Murdaugh was responsible ā until she watched Deputy Daniel Greeneās body-camera footage during the trial. Her husband urged her to view it, and within seconds, she noticed something chilling.
āI saw one of the towels that I had washed, that was going to be going back to Edisto,ā she said. āIn a glimpse, something caught my eye.ā
She asked her husband to rewind the footage.
āAnd I told my husband, āGo back, go back, go back.ā⦠I said, āHe did it.āā
The towel, she said, should not have been inside the familyās Suburban unless Alex had grabbed it during a frantic effort to clean himself up.
āTo me, that towel being there made no sense unless he grabbed it,ā she said.
She added that Alexās demeanor that night didnāt resemble the man she had known for so long.
āHis demeanor didnāt match up with the nurturing, loving father that I saw within the home.ā
While she stops short of claiming Alex had help in the murders, she writes in her book that she believes he may have had assistance afterward.
āMy theory in the book is that he had help to clean, possibly setting up,ā she said. The distance between the house and kennels, she noted, ātakes a good few minutesā to travel, and the timeline never added up for her.
Still, she emphasizes that sheās unaware of any evidence proving Alex received help.
Her purpose, she said, is not to stir speculation ā but to make sure the victims remain centered in the publicās memory.
āI wrote this book because of Paul and Maggie,ā she said. āI donāt want her forgotten⦠The two victims have been forgotten in all of this.ā
The South Carolina Supreme Court is set to hear Alex Murdaughās appeal on Feb. 11, after his legal team claimed he did not receive a fair trial due to alleged jury tampering. Turrubiate-Simpson says she supports the legal process.
āI think we all deserve a fair trial,ā she said. āIf they determine that he did not receive one, then we just must follow through. Itās the law.ā
As for the wave of TV dramatizations, she isnāt interested.
āIāve watched some documentaries,ā she said. āBut I donāt feel the need to watch the Hulu series because I lived it. Thereās no point in watching something that I already lived.ā
