Georgia man explains why he paid $31K for Murdaugh’s living room set from Moselle estate

Everyday household items previously belonging to the Murdaugh family were auctioned off Thursday in Georgia, including the leather couch that convicted killer Alex Murdaugh claimed he napped on the night his wife and son were fatally shot.

Phillip Jennings of Soperton, Georgia, paid $31,400 for two leather couches, two chairs, accompanying ottomans and a rug. Jennings said he also bought bedroom sets, mattresses, some fishing tackle boxes and other miscellaneous items which, he said, he will use along with the furniture at his premiere membership hunting lodge, the Broomsedge Rod and Gun Club in Soperton.

“People have said things like it is morbid or it is cold-hearted and, no, it’s not,” Jennings told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. “That money is going to help the victims of these people who went through a very dark time in their life and were wronged.”

Jennings said that although what happened is “one of the saddest stories” out there, he really just bought the items out of necessity to fill the rooms at his lodge. He said he has several pieces of furniture from the same Prosperity, South Carolina, manufacturer as the Murdaugh items, and buying them just made sense.

“Hopefully, we allow those beautiful pieces that Maggie had to live on,” Jennings said. “Now, she can’t come back but I would like to hope that, when I go, some of the great pieces I’ve collected would live on and someone would enjoy them.”

The hunters at the lodge, according to Jennings, will get great use out of the furniture.

“We want everything to be preserved and taken care of,” Jennings said. “We’re not running a ‘come sit on the couch’ process. We want those couches protected just like the other components of our lodge.”

Auction attracted many just to watch

The auction lasted about six hours at the Liberty Auction warehouse in Pembroke, Georgia, and buyers were lined up outside the warehouse hours beforehand just to get inside, according to reporting from CNN. For sale were everyday household items from the family’s Colleton County estate known as Moselle, where the June 2021 murders took place.

In a $3.9 million deal, the estate was sold to Jeffrey Godley and James Ayer, and the majority of the money will go toward settlements against Murdaugh’s oldest son, Buster, and the estates of Paul and Maggie, according to previous reporting.

Alex Murdaugh, the disbarred Lowcountry attorney, was convicted March 3 of killing his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, on the estate and was sentenced to two life terms in prison. His attorneys have filed a notice with the court that they intend to appeal.

Also up for auction were dishware, turtle shell lamps and hunting trophies, which sparked outrage from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

In a letter penned by the organization’s president, Ingrid Newkirk, on the day of the auction, Liberty Auction was asked to donate the items to PETA instead of putting them for sale.

“Violence should have no place in our society, and we’re hoping you’ll donate the tortoise-shell lamps, mounted heads, and other decorations created at the expense of animals’ lives,” Newkirk wrote in her letter.

The items were auctioned off, as planned, and one bidder reportedly paid $450 for deer antlers, and a set of longhorn antlers went for $10,000, according to CNN.

The sale also included beds, chests, tables, chairs, a popcorn maker, and picture frames that once hung on the walls of the Moselle estate, along with a large rack of hunting equipment, CNN reported.

Robert Daley’s book “Man with A Gun,” a story about a man who commits an accidental homicide, was among the items sold.

The organization did not get a response from Lori Mattingly, the owner of Liberty Auction, PETA officials said.

A representative for Liberty Auction could not be reached for comment by The Island Packet

Jennings said the auction attracted many who came to watch and did not buy anything.

“There were more sight-seers there than buyers,” Jennings said. “Only a small number of people were buying anything of significance.”

Murdaugh background

Alex Murdaugh was convicted earlier this month after a nearly six-week-long trial that garnered nationwide attention and docuseries from media giants like CNN, HBO Max and Netflix. In addition to the murders, Murdaugh also faces charges for over 100 financial crimes involving money he stole from the family law firm and clients he represented, including the family of Gloria Satterfield, the family’s housekeeper who died on their property in 2018 from a fall.

In the weeks since the trial, Murdaugh’s oldest son, Buster, says he has been harassed by members of the national media while at his condo on Hilton Head where he now lives with his girlfriend, Brooklyn White. The two have filed several police reports describing being followed by paparazzi while driving down U.S. 278 and photographed through the window blinds of their home.

Buster Murdaugh became the focus of media attention more recently when he released a statement via his lawyers denying any involvement in the 2015 death of a Hampton County classmate, Stephen Smith. At the time, 19-year-old Smith was thought to have been killed in a hit-and-run. Last week, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said it considers Smith’s death was a homicide.

“This has gone on far too long,” Buster Murdaugh said in his statement. “These baseless rumors of my involvement with Stephen and his death are false. I unequivocally deny any involvement in his death, and my heart goes out to the Smith family.”

The Smith family started a GoFundMe earlier this month to pay for the exhumation and independent investigation in Stephen Smith’s death. As of Monday, $110,465 of their $15,000 goal was raised.