Alex Murdaugh’s Dog, Bubba Murdaugh: If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you’ve most likely heard of Alex Murdaugh, a disgraced South Carolina lawyer who was prominently featured in Netflix’s new true crime docuseries, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal.
Alex was convicted by a jury on March 2, 2023, of the double homicide of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, which occurred on his family’s property on June 7, 2021.
He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, with two life sentences. Despite the fact that South Carolina is a death penalty state, the prosecution did not seek the death penalty. The last execution in the southern state occurred in 2011.
Related: Alex Murdaugh was convicted guilty of murdering his wife and son, ending a dynasty
So, we know what happened to Alex (in prison), Maggie and Paul (murdered by gunshot), and Alex’s surviving son Buster (reportedly living in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, with his longtime girlfriend and golden retriever), but what about the Murdaugh family dogs?
The Murdaughs kept a number of dogs in kennels on their sprawling 1,772-acre estate at 4147 Moselle Road in Islandton, South Carolina.
The dogs were mentioned briefly in the Netflix series in relation to the mysterious death of longtime Murdaugh family housekeeper Gloria Satterfield — she allegedly tripped over the dogs and fell on the stairs, eventually dying of her injuries in February 2018 — but there was much more to the dogs’ story than the docuseries revealed.
During Alex Murdaugh’s homicide trial, which started in January 2023, a crucial Snapchat video taken by the late Paul Murdaugh appeared to place Alex at the scene of the crime.
The 22-year-old was seen interacting with his friend Rogan Gibson’s dog in the video, which was reportedly shot just minutes before Paul was murdered.
Related: Alex Murdaugh is shown in videos wearing two different shirts on the night of the killings
According to reports, the animal was only on the Murdaugh property for a short time.
“In the minutes before [the murders], Paul had called Gibson to express his concern for Gibson’s dog Cash, who was temporarily staying in the Murdaugh kennels,” BuzzFeed reported.
When the poor cell signal in the rural area prevented Paul from making a proper FaceTime call to show Gibson the dog’s tail, he instead planned to send a video — footage that was played in court [during the trial].”
Because his voice was allegedly heard in the background of Paul’s video, calling for Alex Murdaugh’s dog, Bubba, this video became crucial evidence against him.
This evidence was particularly damaging to the Murdaugh patriarch because he initially told police that he last saw Maggie and Paul alive an hour and a half before returning home from visiting his mother and discovering their bodies.
Related: Judge sentences Murdaugh to life in prison for his ‘lies.’
This video, assuming it is Alex’s voice in the background, proved Alex was present at the time of the murders with his wife and son.
During his testimony, Alex admitted to lying to SLED about his whereabouts that fateful night, blaming his deception on his painkiller addiction.
“I wasn’t thinking clearly,” Alex admitted, according to CNN. “I don’t think I was rational, and I lied about being down there, and I’m so sorry,” Alex claimed he shot his wife and son.
The Murdaugh dogs were locked in kennels the night of the murders, according to photos shared by the Daily Mail. “If only those dogs in the kennel could talk,” one courtroom attendee said after hearing Alex testify, according to WTOC.
Cash, presumably, went home with Rogan Gibson (though this has not been confirmed and is purely speculative at this time), but what became of the Murdaugh family dogs?
The Murdaughs had several puppies, according to the Daily Mail: yellow Labradors Bubba and Maggie (not to be confused with Maggie Murdaugh, Alex’s late wife), black Labrador Grady, red bird dog Tappy Toes, bulldog Armadillo, and bird dog Dahli.
Related: The last witnesses in the Murdaugh Murders Case
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While the whereabouts of five of those dogs are currently unknown, we do know where Bubba — the dog who ultimately helped Alex convict for Maggie and Paul’s murders — is.
According to BBC News, Bubba is living with Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson, a former Murdaugh employee. During the trial, the yellow lab was described as “stubborn and Maggie’s favorite.”
