Buster Murdaugh’s facepalm during father, Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial goes viral

Buster Murdaugh’s reaction to his father, Alex Murdaugh’s testimony during the latter’s murder trial during the previous week went viral on social media.

The defendant admitted to a long list of lies and financial crimes. He also had an awful description of the murder scene riddled with the slain bodies of his wife Maggie, and youngest son, Paul. Alex is accused of double homicide. Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters led an intensive and grueling cross-examination of his father during his trial which led Buster to react in an exasperated manner.

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Law&Crime reached out to a number of experts regarding Buster’s reaction. Robert Rikard, a South Carolina-based attorney who previously worked with Dick Harpootlian, Alex’s former law partner, said: “Buster has sat in the courtroom for weeks supporting his father and has had to listen to horrific testimony regarding the way his mom and brother died. He has watched the State attempt to convince a jury that his father is guilty of those brutal murders. Regardless of what anyone believes about the guilt or innocence of Alex Murdaugh, this tragedy has real impact on his son, and you can see that reflected in this photo of Buster as he listened to his father testify.”

“It appears Buster is all in on his father’s testimony, but the gory details of the murders are likely starting to weigh on him,” Los Angeles-based criminal defense attorney Rachel Fiset said. “…it was likely difficult for him to hear some of the issues being brought up through his father’s testimony – including that his father lied about his whereabouts the night of the murders. Nevertheless, it appears that he does offer his dad his full support.”

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The prosecutor on Friday also accused the defendant of concocting a “new story” simply for jurors’ benefit and repeatedly lying about his whereabouts on the night of the murder.

“One can only imagine the trauma this young man is experiencing watching his father testify,” Los Angeles-based criminal defense attorney Joshua Ritter told Law&Crime. “Putting aside the brutal details of the death of his mother and brother, he is also witnessing the heroic figure that he believed his father to be, unravel before his eyes.”

It is also likely that members of the jury, who might have spotted Buster’s reaction, also be impacted by it. “From the photos I’ve seen of Buster Murdaugh in the courtroom with his face down in his palms, that couldn’t possibly be good for the jury,” Los Angeles-based criminal defense attorney Matthew Barhoma said. “If the jury is perceiving that Alex Murdaugh’s own son has his face in his hands, it seems like he doesn’t believe Alex’s testimony, so why should they?”