Convicted South Carolina killer Alex Murdaugh chatted awkwardly with his son in their first publicly released prison call, according to audio obtained by FitsNews.
"Hey, buddy," Murdaugh said from the McCormick Correctional Institution, where he is serving two life terms for fatally shooting his wife, Maggie, 52, and his son, Paul, 22.
"Hey I don’t have a whole of time I just boarded a ferry to go back to Hilton Head Island from Daufuskie (Island)," his son, Buster Murdaugh replied.
"Yeah I know, I – I been trying to call – I was supposed to call you while you were with Jim, um, about this meeting," said Murdaugh, 55, likely referring to his defense attorney, Jim Griffin. "But anyway. How about text him and let him know I’m trying to call him?"
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"Mm-kay," Buster told his father on the call, which connected May 16 at 5:38 p.m.
"Did he talk to you about that – about the thing (line crackles) that I told him?" asked Murdaugh.
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"No, I can’t really understand you either," Buster said.
"Alright, alright … I’m gone, um, I’m going to leave word with Jim, and he’ll be in touch with you," Murdaugh said.
At the end of the 42-second conversation, Murdaugh told Buster, "Love you."
After an awkward pause Buster responded, "Alright, love you, too."
"Proud of you," Murdaugh added.
"Thanks," Buster said, quickly hanging up.
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The pair may have spoken before the May 16 call after Murdaugh was convicted in March of the double murder, but it was the first time the disbarred attorney called his son directly, according to records obtained by the local news outlet.
Murdaugh has insisted he is innocent and is appealing the verdict. The call was obtained through South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act.
Sources told FitsNews that the call occurred around the time Buster was filming an interview for Fox Nation's upcoming documentary on the Murdaugh family.
Filming for the three-part series took place on Daufuskie Island – suggesting that Buster may have been returning from the shoot at the time he received the call from his father, the outlet reported.
Buster has stood by his father since the murders, attending every day of the Colleton County trial and testifying for the defense.
He told jurors his dad was "destroyed, heartbroken" after finding the dead bodies of his wife and son on the family's hunting estate in Moselle.
