‘Well-lived and well-loved.’ Paul, Maggie Murdaugh honored at emotional funeral service

Maggie Murdaugh had a funny way of pronouncing things, her sister-in-law, Elizabeth Murdaugh, recalled Friday with a smile.

“Pick-ters,” she used to say, referring to photographs.

She fit into every social situation “with grace” and loved watching from the sideline as her sons played sports.

And Paul Murdaugh, said Ronnie Crosby, “never met a stranger” and loved the outdoors and hunting.

Maggie and Paul, members of the powerhouse Murdaugh family, were found shot to death in Colleton County on Monday. At their funeral service Friday in Hampton County, hundreds gathered in the sweltering heat to mourn the pair’s untimely deaths.

Their bodies were cremated, according to the Peeples-Rhoden Funeral Home.

The shooting deaths have sparked national interest and speculation about potential suspects and motives. At the time of his death, Paul was facing three felony counts of boating under the influence tied to a 2019 boat crash that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach. He never spent time in jail, and his death has led to questions over how justice will be served in the small town struggling to understand the latest tragedy in the Murdaugh family.

At the packed Hampton Cemetery on Friday, grief, pain and fond memories laced the community’s uneasiness. The tight ring of uniformed law enforcement offices surrounding the ceremony was a stark reminder that the killings are still unsolved.

But the unusual circumstances of the Murdaughs’ violent deaths were not mentioned by any of the speakers at Friday’s funeral service.

Elizabeth Murdaugh spoke of the family’s closeness and her love for Maggie.

Crosby, a lawyer at the family law firm, described Paul as an outgoing —albeit messy — person who left clothes lying around at “houses across the state.”

Elizabeth said the two were “well lived and well loved.” They had annual family reunions at “the river,” and traveled all over the state.

Elizabeth also spoke fondly of Alex and Buster Murdaugh, the two remaining members of the immediate family.

Alex Murdaugh, Maggie’s husband and Paul’s father, wiped tears through most of the service, seated in the front row next to his older son, Buster. He did not speak during the ceremony but embraced those who approached.

Alex “actively pursued” Maggie while they were college students at the University of South Carolina. But she always turned him down, Elizabeth said.

She finally agreed to attend his fraternity’s formal in Savannah, “and the rest was history,” she said.

Alex was “the one.” He had an “almost in-human devotion” to Maggie, she said.

And “Buster,” she said,

”your strength this week is so very amazing.”

The service was cut short due to a heavy downpour that toppled a few flower arrangements and sent guests retreating to their cars.

In the funeral program, the family invited friends and family to a reception at the Murdaugh home along Moselle Road.