Murdaugh Housekeeper Speaks: "They Weren't Who You Think" | Blanca Simpson Interview Part 1 — Transcript

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1. 0:00This is Hidden Killers with Tony Brussi.
2. 0:03Here now, Tony Bruski.
3. 0:06>> For over 15 years, Blanca Simpson was
4. 0:08the housekeeper for one of the most
5. 0:10powerful families in the South Carolina
6. 0:13low country, the Murdo. She cleaned
7. 0:16their home. She ran their errands. She
8. 0:18became a part of their inner circle. And
9. 0:21on June 7th of 2021, she was one of the
10. 0:24last people to see Alec Murdo before his
11. 0:26wife Maggie and son Paul were gunned
12. 0:28down at the family's Moselle hunting
13. 0:31property. Now Blanca is speaking out,
14. 0:33not just about the murders, but about
15. 0:35the family she thought she knew, the red
16. 0:37flags she says investigators ignored,
17. 0:40and her own theory about what really
18. 0:43happened that night. This is part of my
19. 0:47five-part interview, part one with
20. 0:49Blanca Simpson. In this first segment,
21. 0:52we'll go back to the beginning. How she
22. 0:54first crossed paths with Alec Murdoch in
23. 0:57the late 1990s. How she eventually
24. 1:00became the family's trusted housekeeper
25. 1:02and who Maggie and Paul Murdoch really
26. 1:04were behind closed doors. Let's get into
27. 1:08it. Well, Blanca, take me back uh to
28. 1:122002.
29. 1:14back when uh you started working with
30. 1:16Alec at PMPED and and then how you
31. 1:19transitioned to become the Murdoch
32. 1:21family housekeeper in 2007 those those
33. 1:23initial days. What was life like for you
34. 1:26and and what was the world like as you
35. 1:28entered into the orbit of the Murdo?
36. 1:32>> Um I met him in the late 90s.
37. 1:37Um,
38. 1:38like I said, a friend of mine needed,
39. 1:41um,
40. 1:42she basically needed a new attorney
41. 1:44because I, you know, the the agency that
42. 1:47she had hired was not doing her um,
43. 1:51>> was not helping her out with with what
44. 1:53she needed.
45. 1:54>> And I told her that I was going to help
46. 1:56her find an attorney. And I walked into
47. 1:58his office and I was talking to the lady
48. 2:01at the front and he just stepped out and
49. 2:03he's like, "Hey, come on back here." you
50. 2:05know, and got to talking and he said he
51. 2:07would do it. He would take the case, but
52. 2:10he said we would have to release the
53. 2:12other attorney. So, we would have to do
54. 2:13a letter and um to make sure that the
55. 2:16letter was um in Spanish and in English
56. 2:19because of the fact that she was not
57. 2:20very fluent.
58. 2:22>> So, I I told him that, you know, we
59. 2:25would take care of that. and he said
60. 2:27just to gather any,
61. 2:30you know, any photographs or any
62. 2:32anything that they had that she had
63. 2:34provided for them. So,
64. 2:36>> we did that and like I said, that was in
65. 2:38the late in the late 90s when I first
66. 2:41met him.
67. 2:42>> Yeah. And then um when the case came up,
68. 2:48I translated. He asked if I would
69. 2:50translate in court because he said there
70. 2:52was no Spanish speaking um court
71. 2:55translators
72. 2:56>> there. And and during that time, you
73. 2:59didn't have to be certified. You um you
74. 3:02as long as you were fluent.
75. 3:04>> So I I told him, "Yeah, I would do it."
76. 3:07And
77. 3:09that was the first case, like I said,
78. 3:10and that's how I met him.
79. 3:12>> Sure. And
80. 3:14and then after that, he called me.
81. 3:18I think I ran into him at um the local
82. 3:20Pizza Hut in the parking lot.
83. 3:22>> Yeah.
84. 3:23>> And we got to talking and shortly after
85. 3:26that, he called me and asked if I would
86. 3:29translate for, you know, a case. And
87. 3:31that's how it all got started.
88. 3:34>> But it wasn't like a daily, a weekly, or
89. 3:37monthly. It was like an occasional if he
90. 3:40had a case.
91. 3:41>> Um
92. 3:41>> Yeah. he would call me because I was
93. 3:44still working at the time.
94. 3:46>> Sure. Sure. And and those initial
95. 3:48interactions obviously, you know, we'll
96. 3:50talk about hindsight later, but
97. 3:52initially, I mean, are you what are you
98. 3:55feeling about Alec Murdo at the time?
99. 3:56You know, he's he's got a pretty good
100. 3:57reputation around town. The family has a
101. 3:59reputation around town. Not for what it
102. 4:01is today, but obviously it was more
103. 4:04positive back then. Are you thinking,
104. 4:06you know, this is great. You know, this
105. 4:08is a high power attorney. I, you know,
106. 4:10looks like this could be a good
107. 4:11opportunity. What what's what's going
108. 4:13through your mind as you're having those
109. 4:14interactions with him, uh, as time kind
110. 4:16of went on?
111. 4:20>> Knowing I I I didn't know too much about
112. 4:23the family other than what my husband
113. 4:25had told me, you know, that they were
114. 4:27um, you know, the the best lawyers, you
115. 4:30know, as he referred to them. I guess
116. 4:32growing up, you know, that's the way
117. 4:34they people refer to them.
118. 4:35>> Yeah.
119. 4:36>> Um, other than that, I I didn't know too
120. 4:38much. I didn't inquire about him or
121. 4:40anything. I just wanted him to help, you
122. 4:42know. That's how I and that's how I
123. 4:44found him.
124. 4:45>> Yeah.
125. 4:46>> Yeah.
126. 4:46>> Then, um,
127. 4:49as far as as far as, uh, me, I just, um,
128. 4:56it it it wasn't I I still I had a job. I
129. 4:59I I was still employed.
130. 5:01>> Just a nice little side gig that you
131. 5:03could get every now and then. and and
132. 5:05why not, you know, this is a
133. 5:07wellrespected family in the area and and
134. 5:09that's what it was. So, nothing nothing
135. 5:11odd or anything like that in the in the
136. 5:13early portion of this. Um,
137. 5:16>> no, nothing. They were very popular in
138. 5:19the town. They did a lot for the
139. 5:21community. They they were just, you
140. 5:24know, the murdos and
141. 5:26>> Yeah. And then eventually you you you
142. 5:28get into more life with them beyond just
143. 5:31translating. In was it 2007
144. 5:35or so you became the family housekeeper?
145. 5:36Is that accurate?
146. 5:38>> In 2007 I started just helping helping
147. 5:43um you know here and there if she needed
148. 5:45help. Um
149. 5:47>> you know I I would just um kind of step
150. 5:49in and help the other lady that was
151. 5:51there which Miss Gloria Satderfield.
152. 5:53>> Yeah.
153. 5:53>> Um who was working for her at the time.
154. 5:56But um that was about it was it was
155. 5:59occasional at that point. Um in 2007 I
156. 6:04was working at the federal prison
157. 6:07>> and I had
158. 6:10I resigned the federal prison and I went
159. 6:12into real estate. So I had a lot of time
160. 6:15in between because if you remember
161. 6:17correctly that's when the real estate
162. 6:20market crashed.
163. 6:21>> Sure.
164. 6:21>> When I got into it. So, I had I had um
165. 6:24in between me not, you know, doing
166. 6:26anything, I would go by the house and
167. 6:28help, you know, Maggie out. And that's
168. 6:30how I got to know the family. Um but but
169. 6:35not Alec, I already knew him. And he was
170. 6:38he was just
171. 6:40>> he was very easygoing, you know, that
172. 6:42like I said, no worries attitude. Him
173. 6:44and Maggie were the same way. They they
174. 6:46weren't
175. 6:47>> flashy or anything, at least not in
176. 6:50front of me.
177. 6:51>> Sure. So, so that that time span from
178. 6:542007 um going all the way up until about
179. 6:582015 because I know you had to take some
180. 6:59time off uh for your health reasons. Um
181. 7:03all that all that window there, what
182. 7:06were your feelings on the family if
183. 7:07somebody had, you know, come up to you,
184. 7:09you know, in let's say 2016 when you
185. 7:12were taking some time off and and said,
186. 7:14"Hey, you know, uh you know, even
187. 7:16privately was like, "Hey, you know, what
188. 7:18do you think of the Murdoz? I'm I'm I'm
189. 7:20I'm thinking of using them for an
190. 7:21attorney or I'm I'm thinking about
191. 7:23talking to Maggie about something just
192. 7:25whatever it may be. What would your
193. 7:27reaction have been back then if you were
194. 7:29to to give them your your just honest
195. 7:31opinion of the family?
196. 7:33>> Very positive. They were a very um
197. 7:35loving family. They seemed to be united
198. 7:37in every in every aspect of the way.
199. 7:40They did everything as a family together
200. 7:43with Mary's Maggie's parents and Alex's
201. 7:46parents. Um it seemed like every little
202. 7:49affair it was the whole family was
203. 7:51included in that. Um and I I like that.
204. 7:54Um
205. 7:55>> yeah,
206. 7:56>> I didn't have um I I like the unity in
207. 7:59the family that I saw when I was around
208. 8:02them and
209. 8:04>> it it that's what attracted me to the
210. 8:06family and I thought, you know, they
211. 8:08had, you know, they just had that
212. 8:10charisma with each other, Maggie and
213. 8:12Alec.
214. 8:14You said that you want to to humanize
215. 8:16Maggie and Paul uh in your book. What
216. 8:19what was I know it's a it's a wideopen
217. 8:23question and probably one you could go
218. 8:24on for quite for quite some time, but if
219. 8:27you were to kind of summize who they
220. 8:29were, who were the real Maggie, Murdoch,
221. 8:32and Paul to you?
222. 8:36Maggie
223. 8:38Maggie was not the prey snob that every
224. 8:43furw wearing, you know, person that that
225. 8:46they the pictures that they've been
226. 8:47showing about, you know, with the furs
227. 8:49and [clears throat]
228. 8:50>> um that that wasn't her. Um anybody that
229. 8:55was around her, she would she would
230. 8:57dress casual if she had a dentist
231. 8:59appointment or a doctor's appointment.
232. 9:01For the most part, Maggie was Maggie was
233. 9:04a type to walk around in athletic gear
234. 9:06with the long tunics or depending on the
235. 9:09weather, but she was not as fancy as
236. 9:14they made her out to be. And then they
237. 9:16people were saying that, you know, she
238. 9:18was a snob. She was never a snob to me.
239. 9:20And she never
240. 9:22um made it
241. 9:25as a you know, I have money and you
242. 9:27don't, you know, that type of thing. She
243. 9:29she was not like that. Yeah.
244. 9:31>> Um
245. 9:33she she looked out for the people around
246. 9:35her and um she always made sure to
247. 9:41if if there was something that she need
248. 9:42to purchase either major small purchase
249. 9:44or whatever, she always liked using the
250. 9:47local mom and pop type stores that were
251. 9:50around in the community
252. 9:52>> because she liked giving them the
253. 9:54business.
254. 9:55>> She wasn't
255. 9:57>> she wasn't what the media had her made
256. 9:59out to be. And a lot of people had that
257. 10:01image of her in the fur coat and being
258. 10:03this high and you know
259. 10:05>> yeah she was high up in the social you
260. 10:07know realm in in the town but
261. 10:09>> she didn't act like it. Um
262. 10:12>> yeah [clears throat]
263. 10:13>> as as far as with my interactions and
264. 10:16the interactions that I saw her with
265. 10:18other people that when I was around
266. 10:21>> as far as anybody else I don't know what
267. 10:23their inter I don't even know how they
268. 10:25approached her.
269. 10:26>> Sure. So, but as far as my observations
270. 10:31with her was always she was always down
271. 10:33to earth, laughing, you know,
272. 10:37>> if she would meet somebody, I think she
273. 10:38would come out of there laughing,
274. 10:40joking, and made a friend. And
275. 10:43>> it didn't matter to her. And with Paul,
276. 10:47um, my interactions with him started
277. 10:49with him. Um, I think I've I've always
278. 10:52said he was a little clown. He was just
279. 10:55a little jokester. He would hide my
280. 10:58whatever I was using. If I if I was
281. 11:00cleaning the kitchen, I was trying to
282. 11:02put stuff away, he would take stuff away
283. 11:04from me and hide it. And so I'd be
284. 11:07hollering at him like, "Paul, what did
285. 11:09you do?" You know, or that sort of
286. 11:11thing. Um, he was a little messy, but
287. 11:15nothing nothing that any normal teenager
288. 11:18doesn't do, you know, with regard to
289. 11:20their room. Um, but he just had that
290. 11:23personality. Um,
291. 11:26he had the little arrogance to him. I'm
292. 11:28not going to deny that because I did get
293. 11:30to see a little bit of that. But
294. 11:32>> yeah,
295. 11:32>> not to the point where he would not
296. 11:36help somebody because of who he was.
297. 11:39>> He he would literally give you the shirt
298. 11:41off his back. And that's the side that
299. 11:43people don't
300. 11:46that's the side that people don't know
301. 11:48about him. and the villainization that a
302. 11:53lot of media has created surrounding,
303. 11:55you know, that that family,
304. 11:58it it wasn't it wasn't true. It's not
305. 12:02true.
306. 12:02>> Yeah.
307. 12:03And that's an interesting thing because
308. 12:05I think the media and and people in
309. 12:07general, you know, when when you hear
310. 12:09and you learn about the case and you
311. 12:10learn about everything that went on in
312. 12:12the family with that boat crash, I mean,
313. 12:14it's easy to to damn someone when you
314. 12:18you look at the ingredients of of what
315. 12:21what Paul looked like he he kind of had
316. 12:24been for a bit and but you consider his
317. 12:26age, where he was brought up around, who
318. 12:29he was brought up around, the
319. 12:30entitlement, the arrogance, that's going
320. 12:32to be normal equations for almost
321. 12:34anybody in that sort of position, at
322. 12:36that sort of age. Take the money out of
323. 12:38it, kids at that age are going to be
324. 12:40arrogant. They're going to make bad
325. 12:41choices. And Paul obviously made a bad
326. 12:44choice with the with the the boating
327. 12:46incident and the drinking and driving
328. 12:48and and all that. Obviously, bad
329. 12:50choices, one that he couldn't erase
330. 12:53because obviously it it took the life of
331. 12:55of someone and injured others. But he
332. 12:58was still a human. there was still a
333. 12:59history and still still a a story to
334. 13:03life beyond that. It it's easy to judge
335. 13:07someone, I guess, by their worst
336. 13:09moments, but that's not really an
337. 13:11accurate picture of of who they actually
338. 13:13are, is it?
339. 13:14>> It it it really is not.
340. 13:17Paul Paul did have remorse regardless.
341. 13:22I've heard a lot of people saying, you
342. 13:23know, he was just arrogant. He was still
343. 13:25doing, you know, the partying and all
344. 13:27that. He was a young man. He had a lapse
345. 13:30in judgment and he paid dearly for it.
346. 13:34>> But it does not take away from the fact
347. 13:37that he mourned his friend. Um that he
348. 13:40thought about her every day. He carried
349. 13:43her obituary in his truck right there.
350. 13:47When he would get in, it was right on
351. 13:49the um on the door frame right there. He
352. 13:51had it stuck in there.
353. 13:53>> Um he carried her her picture. He was um
354. 13:58and he grew up with all of them. So they
355. 14:00they they knew each other since they
356. 14:02were young and I wanted people to
357. 14:05understand that. And also even when they
358. 14:08heard Anthony Cook mention, you know,
359. 14:12that he had another side and that he was
360. 14:14a messed up, his mother said the same
361. 14:16thing. They've known him and people
362. 14:19still
363. 14:20[snorts] villainized him.
364. 14:22>> Yeah,
365. 14:23>> he did. He he he paid for it dearly, but
366. 14:28>> it still doesn't take away from the fact
367. 14:30that he was young.
368. 14:33Um, and he was remorseful and he was
369. 14:37hurting. He he was in a lot of pain.
370. 14:40[snorts]
371. 14:40>> Yeah. It's not to excuse the action, but
372. 14:43it's to look at him as a human being.
373. 14:45And human beings make mistakes,
374. 14:47especially when they're young. And as I
375. 14:49say, all of us all of us were young and
376. 14:51dumb at some time. And uh sometimes the
377. 14:54consequences to the actions and the
378. 14:56choices that we make are far more severe
379. 14:58than others. And and at the end of the
380. 15:00day, I don't think anybody looks at at
381. 15:03Paul and and goes, "He went out that
382. 15:04night to try and kill his friend." No.
383. 15:06Made a bunch of horrible choices.
384. 15:09>> It ended the way it did. But yeah, um
385. 15:13sounds like he had a a very a very
386. 15:15different side that um that that hasn't
387. 15:18been shown very much because of the easy
388. 15:22and quick way to villainize someone. You
389. 15:26uh you took some time off uh between uh
390. 15:29like what was it 2015 and 2021 or so and
391. 15:32then you came back and and were starting
392. 15:34to do more with the Murdoz after your uh
393. 15:37your health scare there. Um, when you
394. 15:39came back to the the family and and
395. 15:41started doing more work for them, was
396. 15:45was the the temperature different than
397. 15:47it was prior? Obviously, you had come
398. 15:49back a little bit after the the boat
399. 15:51crash incident and they were facing all
400. 15:53of the stress uh of that. Um, what was
401. 15:57what was the atmosphere like compared to
402. 15:59to what it was when you when you had to
403. 16:01take some time off when you came back?
404. 16:04I used to see Maggie in town during
405. 16:07during the time of my recovery and so I
406. 16:10was kind of up to date a little bit of
407. 16:11what was going on. I never asked her
408. 16:14about I never asked her about um the
409. 16:17boat accident. I simply called and
410. 16:21um I told her if she needed anything,
411. 16:23you know, to let me know. I I was
412. 16:25starting to move around a little bit
413. 16:27more, you know, closer to um 2019
414. 16:32it was. and I was moving around and
415. 16:36so I kind of had an idea what was going
416. 16:39on and also try talking with um Miss um
417. 16:43um Gloria.
418. 16:44>> I would see Miss Gloria in town and she
419. 16:47would kind of keep me updated on
420. 16:48everything and u would wish me well. Um
421. 16:51that's just
422. 16:53>> that's just who you know they were.
423. 16:56But when I when I heard about the the
424. 17:01accident, the the boating accident, um
425. 17:05I called to offer my support and ask
426. 17:08them if they needed anything and
427. 17:11it was not um there was no other
428. 17:15intention other than
429. 17:18friendship. I you know that that I was
430. 17:21there, you know, if they needed
431. 17:22somebody, I knew that they were going to
432. 17:24be going through some turmoil and I knew
433. 17:25that they were probably going to need
434. 17:28people around them that um
435. 17:31you know that they could u feel
436. 17:33comfortable around.
437. 17:34>> So um that's the reason that I called
438. 17:38and then um she asked me if I would be
439. 17:43willing to come back and help her and I
440. 17:45said, "Well, when do you need me?" She's
441. 17:47like, "Yesterday." So, [laughter]
442. 17:50so I went once I went back I started off
443. 17:55right as I had never left right from the
444. 17:59same place. I knew where everything was.
445. 18:01I knew the routine. I knew so I didn't
446. 18:04really have to go through her telling
447. 18:07me, well, I want this done on this day,
448. 18:09this done. I already knew it.
449. 18:10>> Sure.
450. 18:11>> So, when I got there, I went straight to
451. 18:13doing what I did. But this time it was a
452. 18:15little bit more um it started getting
453. 18:19more on a more personal level. Um she
454. 18:23was
455. 18:25you know it was taking checks to the
456. 18:28bank you know cashing checks for her um
457. 18:31you know helping her by you know
458. 18:33sometimes I would run to the grocery
459. 18:34store and bring groceries you know to
460. 18:37the house or if she needed anything. So,
461. 18:39it was more of a not just the
462. 18:42housekeeping duties, but other other
463. 18:45things, running errands for her and um
464. 18:48whatever she couldn't do during the
465. 18:49week, you know, I would take care of
466. 18:51that. If they had to go out of town, I
467. 18:53would come in and make sure that the
468. 18:54house was ready, you know, for them when
469. 18:56they returned. So it the I think my
470. 19:01responsibilities became a little bit
471. 19:04more on it started getting more on a
472. 19:06personal you know
473. 19:08>> level.
474. 19:09>> Um but even at that point I did I wasn't
475. 19:13I was not
476. 19:18what I try to tell people is I never
477. 19:19went there with the intention of
478. 19:23becoming a friend. I just wanted them to
479. 19:26know that I was there.
480. 19:29>> Um,
481. 19:30you know, I wasn't passing judgment on
482. 19:32anybody. I I was just trying to be
483. 19:35helpful.
484. 19:36>> Yeah. And
485. 19:38>> which in incidentally that that's
486. 19:40usually ending ending up being what what
487. 19:41a good friend is, you know, exactly
488. 19:44that. And I mean it sounds like it
489. 19:46sounds like you kind of be like you just
490. 19:48naturally became one over time because
491. 19:50they they got to know you, you got to
492. 19:51know them, you you know almost being
493. 19:53part of of their unit uh in your own
494. 19:56way. Would would you describe it like
495. 19:58that?
496. 19:58>> They they um to some extent I think
497. 20:03it was like a dependency. They knew that
498. 20:06they could rely on me.
499. 20:08>> Sure.
500. 20:08>> Um to take care of things for them
501. 20:11sometimes without even having to tell
502. 20:13me. I would take care of things because
503. 20:14I was already I already knew. Um
504. 20:17>> Yeah.
505. 20:18>> And I think they they like that about
506. 20:21about me.
507. 20:21>> Sure.
508. 20:23>> As you just heard, Blanca wasn't just an
509. 20:25employee. She became part of the Murdoch
510. 20:27family's inner circle. She saw them at
511. 20:30their best. The birthday parties, the
512. 20:32family gatherings, the everyday moments
513. 20:34that made them feel normal.
514. 20:37In part two, that picture starts to
515. 20:40crack. Maggie Murdo pulls Blanca into a
516. 20:43room, closes the door, and shares
517. 20:44something that's been weighing on her. A
518. 20:48$30 million lawsuit, and the husband,
519. 20:50who won't tell her the whole truth.
520. 20:53We'll also walk through the morning of
521. 20:55June 7th, 2021. What Blanca saw, what
522. 20:58Alec looked like as he rushed out the
523. 21:01door, and the last words he ever said to
524. 21:04her before everything changed. That's
525. 21:06coming up in part two. Be sure to press
526. 21:08subscribe so you don't miss it wherever
527. 21:10you are listening to us right now. Be
528. 21:13sure to check us out on YouTube. Just
529. 21:14search Hidden Killers with Tony Brusski
530. 21:17and you can weigh in with your thoughts
531. 21:20in the comments section. We'd love to
532. 21:22hear it. Be sure to press subscribe
533. 21:24while you're there as well. Until next
534. 21:26time, my name is Tony Bruski. We'll talk
535. 21:28again real soon.
536. 21:29>> Want more on this case and others? Then
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539. 21:36from Tony Brusski and the Hidden Killers
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