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Alex Murdaugh— Case Archive
personpersonBlanca Turrubiate-SimpsonBlanca Turrubiate-SimpsonMurdaugh family housekeeper who worked at Moselle and communicated with Maggie Murdaugh on June 7, 2021.← All People
Witness

Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson

Courtroom still of Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson.

Murdaugh family housekeeper who worked at Moselle and communicated with Maggie Murdaugh on June 7, 2021.

Appeared2023 Murder Trial
521 lines·21 proceedings·13 mentions

About

Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson testified for the State about her longtime work for the Murdaugh family, her June 7 communications with Maggie, and the clothing she recalled Alex wearing that morning. She recounted Maggie's requests concerning drinks and dinner and a message indicating that Alex wanted Maggie and Paul to return to Moselle.

Turrubiate-Simpson described what she encountered inside the Moselle house on June 8, including a damp towel, a slight puddle, and khaki pants near the shower. She moved the items, washed the pants, and rinsed the shower, but saw no visible blood and had not been instructed to preserve the area. She also identified clothing shown in exhibits, said she did not recall seeing the depicted blue shirt and shoes again, and said she had never seen the blue rain jacket presented during questioning.

She testified that Maggie had expressed concern about the amount sought in a lawsuit and believed Alex was not telling her everything about it. After an evidentiary proffer, the court admitted that testimony as responsive to defense evidence portraying the family as loving and happy and denied the related mistrial motion. She also identified Paul, Maggie, and Alex as the voices on the kennel recording, while acknowledging that she had initially wondered whether another distant voice was present.

The defense challenged the significance of her observations by establishing that agents had entered the house before she examined the bathroom, that she had seen no blood, and that she could not say where or whether Alex changed clothes. Cross-examination also addressed how recently investigators had asked her about his June 7 clothing. Although she described Alex as a friend who adored Maggie, she maintained that a later clothing discussion felt like an effort to convince her what he had worn. Alex later denied trying to influence her and said he raised the subject because an investigator had questioned him about his clothing.

Trial Record (21)

20232023 Murder TrialJan 23, 2023 – Mar 3, 2023Called by prosecution

Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson testified about June 7 communications with Maggie, Alex's clothing, and conditions she observed and altered inside Moselle the following morning. The defense challenged the significance of those observations, and Alex later disputed her account of a subsequent clothing conversation.

Day 15

DirectBlanca Turrubiate-Simpson - DirectBlanca Turrubiate-SimpsonJohn Meadors3highlights270lines spoken

Summary

Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson testified about Maggie's June 7 communications, Alex's clothing, unusual conditions inside Moselle the next morning, missing wardrobe items, and a later conversation about which shirt Alex had worn.

Highlights (3)

Quote“And we had another conversation on the phone where she told me, she said, Alex wants me to come home.”— Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonSimpson attributed to Maggie the statement that Alex wanted her to return to Moselle on June 7.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
Quote“It was hard because I know she wasn't going to be coming back. And I didn't want to move -- I didn't want to move her stuff. It was just a weird feeling going through when I unlocked the front door to get in. It felt cold.”— Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonThe statement conveys Simpson's emotional reaction upon entering Moselle after Maggie's death.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
Quote“He said you remember the shirt I was wearing, that Vinny Vines shirt? That's what he said to me. And in my mind I was saying I don't know remember a Vinny Vines shirt. It was the polo shirt, but I didn't mention it.”— Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonSimpson described a later conversation that conflicted with her memory of the shirt Alex wore when leaving Moselle.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
profferBlanca Turrubiate-Simpson - ProfferBlanca Turrubiate-SimpsonJohn Meadors1highlight3lines spoken

Summary

Simpson proffered Maggie Murdaugh's reported anxiety about a $30 million lawsuit; the court found the testimony responsive to the defense's family portrayal, overruled the objection, and denied a mistrial.

Highlights (1)

Quote“Maggie was crying. Maggie said I -- we don't have that kind of money, Blan, and that's what she used to call me. She said we don't have that. She said if I could give them everything that I got and make this go away, she said, I would do it in a heartbeat.”— Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonSimpson's proffer attributed specific financial anxiety and a desire to resolve the lawsuit to Maggie Murdaugh.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
DirectBlanca Turrubiate-Simpson - DirectBlanca Turrubiate-SimpsonJohn Meadors2highlights28lines spoken

Summary

Simpson identified Alex, Maggie, and Paul as the three voices on the kennel video, described Maggie's lawsuit concerns and kennel habits, and addressed phone use, bathroom conditions, and clothing shown in a frame from the June 7 video.

Highlights (2)

Quote“She said she knew the amount of money that they were asking, but she felt that Alex was not being truthful to her with regard to what exactly was going on with that lawsuit. She said he doesn't tell me everything.”— Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonSimpson attributed to Maggie both concern about the lawsuit and a belief that Alex was withholding information from her.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
Quote“I have. There's only three voices: Alex, Maggie, and Paul.”— Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonAfter acknowledging an earlier impression that another distant voice might be present, Simpson gave her revised identification of the voices on the kennel video.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
CrossBlanca Turrubiate-Simpson - CrossBlanca Turrubiate-SimpsonDick Harpootlian2highlights96lines spoken

Summary

Simpson described Alex and Maggie's relationship, qualified what she knew about the Moselle search and Alex's clothing, said she saw no visible blood in the bathroom, and testified about unreliable cell service and Alex's later shirt conversation.

Highlights (2)

Quote“There appeared to be no blood stains on those pants.”— Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonThe answer directly addressed the defense's questioning about whether the khaki pants displayed visible blood before Simpson washed them.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
Quote“It didn't feel like he was inquiring. It felt more like he was trying to convince me of the shirt that he was wearing.”— Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonSimpson resisted the defense's characterization of the August shirt conversation and preserved the interpretation she had given on direct examination.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
RedirectBlanca Turrubiate-Simpson - RedirectBlanca Turrubiate-SimpsonJohn Meadors2highlights22lines spoken

Summary

Simpson clarified her observations of shirts and a rain jacket, described new clothing Alex acquired after the killings, compared exhibit images, and testified that Maggie texted that Alex wanted her to come to Moselle.

Highlights (2)

Quote“No, sir. As I moved all -- a lot of the belongings to the little house, he had packed some of clothes up over the weekends and stuff when they were going from place to place. I noticed that he was purchasing different clothing items: shorts, shirts. So, there was a couple of new ones in there, which still was not that shirt. It was a lot of -- some of the newer ones.”— Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonSimpson distinguished newly purchased clothing from the shirt depicted in State's Exhibit 306, which she said she had not seen again.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
Quote“Maggie texted me that Alex wanted her to come to Moselle.”— Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonThe answer attributed Maggie's return to Moselle to a request from Alex and tied the account to State's Exhibit 107.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶

Day 18

DirectDavid Owen - DirectDavid OwenJohn MeadorsMentioned

Summary

Lead SLED investigator David Owen traced the investigation from the Moselle crime scene through Alex Murdaugh's recorded interviews, identified repeated inconsistencies, and explained the delayed recovery of the 8:44 p.m. kennel video.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

RedirectDavid Owen - RedirectDavid OwenJohn Meadors1highlightMentioned

Summary

David Owen explained how investigators tested Alex Murdaugh's changing accounts, highlighted blood and firearms evidence, and supplied context for the kennel timeline and the September roadside shooting.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Highlights (1)

testimony highlightOwen explained that investigators compared Murdaugh's accounts with other witnesses and found contradictions involving Shelley Smith and Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶

Day 19

Day 20

ProceduralState Rests and Directed-Verdict MotionMentioned

Summary

The State completed its case, the defense sought a directed verdict based on asserted gaps in the circumstantial evidence, and the court denied the motion before the defense called its first witness.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 21

Day 22

DirectMark Ball - DirectMark BallJim GriffinMentioned

Summary

Mark Ball described weak access control and disturbing conditions at the released Moselle scene, identified the family voices on the kennel video, disputed an audio interpretation, and balanced favorable family observations with his sense of betrayal over Alex's thefts.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 23

Day 24

CrossAlex Murdaugh - CrossAlex MurdaughCreighton Waters1highlightMentioned

Summary

Waters tested Alex Murdaugh's newly disclosed kennel account against digital data, prior interviews, financial deceptions, disputed conversations with Shelley Smith and Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson, and the timing of his 911 call. Murdaugh admitted extensive lying but denied influencing witnesses, manufacturing an alibi, or killing Maggie and Paul.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Highlights (1)

impeachmentWaters contrasted Murdaugh's earlier estimate of a 45-minute-to-one-hour Almeda visit with the vehicle timeline and Shelley Smith's testimony that he later asked her to say he stayed longer than 20 minutes. He then linked that challenge to Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson's account of a conversation about his June 7 clothing. Murdaugh denied trying to influence either woman and supplied separate explanations for both conversations.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
RedirectAlex Murdaugh - RedirectAlex MurdaughJim GriffinMentioned

Summary

Griffin sought to rehabilitate Alex Murdaugh through addiction, family-health, and device-timeline evidence. Murdaugh admitted repeated lies and the roadside fabrication, denied possessing Maggie's phone, distinguished mistaken times from deliberate deception, and again denied hurting Maggie or Paul.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 25

Day 27

Day 28