Georgia woman finds hoard of unseen Murdaugh family photos after buying camera bag at auction

PEMBROKE, Ga. — As hundreds of people attended an auction that contained several items from the Murdaugh family, a Savannah woman got more than she bargained for when she won the highest bid on a camera bag.

Prominent South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh killed his wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, in June 2021.

Investigators said Paul was shot twice with a shotgun near kennels outside the family’s Colleton County hunting lodge. Maggie was shot four or five times with a rifle close by. Both victims were shot in the head after they were gravely wounded, authorities said.

The case captivated followers from across the country.

Last week, Liberty Auction House in Pembroke, Georgia, auctioned off several items that once belonged to the family.

Dawn Martin said she just had to go.

“I had followed the case very closely. I had the day off and decided to, since it was so close, I was very surprised to have it in Pembroke, Georgia,” Martin told WTOC-TV.

While at the auction, Martin bought several things.

“The most important for me was this camera,” Martin told the TV station.

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Inside were two cameras and a bunch of memory and SIM cards. She took them home and started looking at what was on the cards on her computer, expecting everything to be blank.

Martin said the cards were filled with hundreds of photos of the Murdaugh family.

“Alex, with his arm around driving the boat. Pictures of Paul holding up deer, hogs that he apparently had shot. Pictures of vacations,” Martin said.

She told the TV station that she got emotional looking at the photos.

“I will say that it has changed me. I can’t unsee it. I never imagined that I would be the owner of the things and (had) a glimpse into the private view of their life,” Martin said. “I feel honored that I saw them. But it’s like the novel, we know what happened in the end. So, for me, it’s very eerie.”

She told WTOC-TV that she wants to tell the story of Maggie Murdaugh, Alex’s wife.

“She was the forgotten victim in this story,” Martin said.

Martin said her own experience with domestic violence has motivated her to tell Maggie’s story.

As for the photos, she is still trying to figure out what to do with all of them.

Alex Murdaugh is currently serving two life sentences in prison. He is also appealing his conviction.

RELATED NEWS:

Attorney Alex Murdaugh turns himself in on charges he plotted own killing (NCD)

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