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Former FBI agent recalls the one serial killer who left her ‘shaken’: ‘He just didn’t seem human’

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Former FBI agent recalls the one serial killer who left her ‘shaken’: ‘He just didn’t seem human’

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Jana Monroe wasn’t expecting to receive a phone call from “The Co-Ed Killer.”

It was the early 1990s and Monroe was a member of the FBI’s Behavioral Sciences Unit at Quantico, Virginia. She wasn’t afraid to go face-to-face with a serial killer – but this encounter with Edmund Kemper was different.

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“He left me shaken,” Monroe admitted to Fox News Digital. “I certainly didn’t give him any way to contact me, and yet he was able to do just that. It’s very difficult in prisons or mental institutions to make phone calls. You can earn that right with good behavior. So I was surprised to hear from him. And that monotone voice – it’s very chilling. Very creepy.”

REAL ‘MINDHUNTER’ RECALLS MEETING ‘PERSONABLE’ SERIAL KILLER EDMUND KEMPER: ‘HE DIDN’T APPEAR TO HOLD BACK’

Jana Monroe was the model for Clarice Starling (played by Jodie Foster) in “The Silence of the Lambs.” (Michael Ochs Archives)

The former FBI agent recently wrote a memoir titled “Hearts of Darkness: Serial Killers, the Behavioral Science Unit, and My Life as a Woman in the FBI.” It explores the challenges she faced as a woman in the male-dominated Bureau, as well as the cases that have stayed with her over the years.

Monroe was the model for Clarice Starling in “The Silence of the Lambs.” She even helped train Jodie Foster for the Oscar-winning role. Monroe has consulted on more than 850 homicide cases, including those involving serial killers such as Kemper.

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In the ’70s, Kemper murdered eight people, including his mother and her close friend.

Edmund Kemper was charged with killing eight people, including his mother. (Getty Images)

“I don’t know whether Anthony Hopkins used him as a model, but his role as Hannibal Lecter reminded me so much of Kemper,” Monroe explained. “Kemper had a way of staring at you and through you. He didn’t blink very much. His face was emotionless. He would just stare at you and not blink. The same was true of his voice. It’s completely devoid of emotion. Just flat. Hearing it gives you the chills. He just didn’t seem human.”

Jana Monroe didn’t know how Edmund Kemper, known as “The Co-Ed Killer,” was able to find her number and call her. (Getty Images)

Kemper, known as “Big Ed” for his towering 6’9″ frame, first committed homicide at age 15 when he fatally shot his grandparents in 1964. Kemper, diagnosed with schizophrenia, was remanded to the custody of San Luis Obispo County’s maximum-security Atascadero State Hospital, Investigation Discovery reported.

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According to the outlet, he was released in 1969 at age 21. Kemper was allowed to live with his mother in Aptos, California, because he convinced psychiatrists he was no longer a threat to himself or society. Soon after, he went on an 11-month killing spree. His last known homicide occurred in 1973. He was convicted that year and sentenced to life in a maximum-security prison.

WISCONSIN KILLER, BODY SNATCHER ED GEIN’S VOICE HEARD IN UNEARTHED RECORDINGS: ‘BARNEY FIFE WITH A CHAINSAW’

Edmund Kemper’s right arm is bandaged following a suicide attempt in his Redwood City cell. He received eight concurrent life sentences. (Bettmann)

“I don’t know if you believe in IQ tests or not, but he always tested very high on those standardized tests,” Monroe said. “He was very intelligent. But what was so significant about him was that he had no conscience… A true sociopath. He would try to conjure up a tear when he spoke of his mother because he knew that’s what normal people would do if they were feeling sad or guilty. But he could never quite pull it off. So to see someone who truly has no feelings, someone who tries to mimic feelings… it’s just creepy. I hadn’t seen anybody do it to that extent.”

Jana Monroe’s book, “Hearts of Darkness,” is available in bookstores. (Harry N. Abrams)

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Monroe was never in the same room as Ted Bundy because he wanted “absolutely no females present.” One of the nation’s most prolific serial killers, who slaughtered at least 30 women and girls across the country in the ‘70s, was executed in 1989. He was 42.

“The reason he didn’t want to speak to a female investigator was based on how he looked at females,” Monroe explained. “He didn’t look at women with respect. He didn’t think they could hold a position above him, even with him being behind bars. He degraded women and did not want to think of them in any kind of professional setting.”

Ted Bundy refused to meet with a female investigator. (Getty Images)

Monroe learned that Bundy only chose what he described as “worthy victims.”

“What he meant was he selected women that were, by his standards, very attractive,” she said. “They were in college or had jobs, careers. He didn’t think prostitutes were worthy because anybody could have them. Part of that excitement and thrill he got was having an attractive, well-accomplished woman take note of him and being able to take control of them.”

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“For him, it was all a challenging game,” she said.

‘MONSTER’: JEFFREY DAHMER SURVIVOR NEVER RECOVERED AFTER HARROWING ESCAPE FROM KILLER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY SAYS

Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms, or a total of 957 years, in prison. Dahmer was killed by a fellow prisoner, Christopher Scarver, 28, in November 1994 at Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin. (Eugene Garcia/Getty Images)

In 1994, Monroe was supposed to interview Jeffrey Dahmer, known as “The Milwaukee Cannibal.” But two days before their sit-down, Dahmer was bludgeoned to death by a fellow inmate. He was 34.

“I wasn’t surprised,” Monroe admitted. “We have a term called ‘prison justice.’ It’s a pecking order. Within prison walls, the worst are the child molesters and incest cases, but especially any case involving a child. Although not all of Dahmer’s victims were that young, some were certainly under the age of 21. He was also homosexual. Typically, prisoners like that are in protective custody or have them isolated from others for that reason.”

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There was one serial killer Monroe felt “very badly” for – Aileen Wuornos. She was convicted of murdering six men working as a prostitute along highways in central Florida. She was executed in 2002 at age 46.

Aileen Wuornos is shown in this undated photograph from the Florida Department of Corrections. Wournos was executed by lethal injection on Oct. 9, 2002, in Florida for murdering six men when she was a prostitute. (Florida DOC)

“If you look at her history, in my opinion, she didn’t have a chance,” Monroe said. “From the day she was born, her mother gave her up in a card game. Then she was molested [by an adult]. She went to live in a variety of foster homes. After she was apprehended, she claimed she was either molested or assaulted at these foster homes.”

“She had, from her perspective, a really good reason not to like men,” Monroe continued. “I think it would have been outstanding if she had grown up to have morals and be on the spectrum of normal. But when talking about a bad childhood, she had one of the worst that I’ve studied.”

Monroe also studied women who fell in love with serial killers. She said they were the greatest mysteries of her career.

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At one time, Jana Monroe was the only female agent in the FBI’s Behavioral Sciences Unit at Quantico. She later became the first assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division. (Courtesy of Jana Monroe)

“One of the women we interviewed was an emergency room nurse with a master’s degree,” she said. “She could have easily made her own money and lived on her own… Many of these women stayed with these serial killers. I would have assumed these women would have been really needy and financially dependent. That proved to be inaccurate… They loved these bad boys on steroids. They’re the ones, in my opinion, that should really be studied. How can an emotion be so strong that it overcomes any kind of judgment?”

TED BUNDY’S EX-GIRLFRIEND RECALLS HORRIFYING ENCOUNTER WITH THE SERIAL KILLER: ‘HE JUST LAUGHED’

Jana Monroe in Quantico. (Courtesy of Jana Monroe)

Monroe hopes her book will shine a light on the cases she studied over the years. A common question people tend to have about serial killers is why. 

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“The big misconception that still exists is that a serial killer looks a certain way,” Monroe said. “People expect a serial killer to look like Charles Manson – someone with weird eyes. There must be something physically different about them, or they just don’t engage in conversation. But the truth is, serial killers can mask all of that.”

“If you were to run into one at a grocery store, they would have a conversation with you,” she shared. “I think people don’t expect that. They underestimate some of the pretense and social skills they can have… It’s compelling and repulsive at the same time.”

Jana Monroe, right, trained Jodie Foster on how to confront a serial killer. (Courtesy of Jana Monroe)

“Why are people fascinated by serial killers?” Monroe reflected. “Well, it’s like a traffic accident. People don’t want to see others hurt or injured. But at the same time, they can’t stop looking.”

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Rev. Franklin Graham delivers Kentucky flood survivors new homes for Christmas: ‘We can finally breathe’

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Rev. Franklin Graham delivers Kentucky flood survivors new homes for Christmas: ‘We can finally breathe’

Standing in the snow on an eastern Kentucky mountaintop Friday, Rev. Franklin Graham dedicated 18 newly constructed homes in Jesus’ name to families who lost everything in the region’s catastrophic 2022 floods. It was a moment survivors described as the first real breath of relief they’ve had in three years.

“This is Franklin Graham,” he says in an exclusive video to Fox News Digital. “Terrible floods here a few years ago just destroyed hundreds of homes. Well, today we are dedicating 18 houses that are finished and ready for people to move in.”

The homes are part of the new Chestnut Ridge subdivision, a 57-lot neighborhood built from scratch by Samaritan’s Purse and an army of volunteers.

“We’re grateful to God,” Graham added. “We couldn’t do this without the partners who provided land, the finances, the volunteers. These people are going to be in their homes for Christmas.”

CHIP CARTER MARVELS AT BIPARTISANSHIP HE WITNESSED AT HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, FATHER’S FUNERAL

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Rev. Franklin Graham shares a lighthearted moment with Paul Johnson, a home recipient who can now register for a lung transplant with a permanent address after years of being displaced from flooding. (Courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse)

Flood survivor Lora Honycutt described the moment she stepped into her new house in a raw, unfiltered way captured on video.

“When I walk in this house here … the floors are not sinking,” Honeycutt said, wiping her eyes. “Even the smell is different. … I can’t describe the feeling.”

She added through tears, “These are happy tears. … These are happy tears.”

Video clips showed families breaking down as they crossed thresholds, their first structurally sound homes since the deadly floods destroyed entire communities three years ago.

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For Paul Johnson, the dedication was life-changing. When the floods wiped out his home, he lost the permanent address required to stay on his lung transplant list.

“I was taken off the list when I moved into an RV. After today, I can get back on the transplant list,” Johnson said. “This home exceeds anything I expected. It’s beautiful. I feel very blessed. It’s a great day.”

SAMARITAN’S PURSE RACES TO HELP JAMAICA AFTER CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE MELISSA DESTRUCTION: ‘NOT BEEN FORGOTTEN’

The Chestnut Ridge subdivision in eastern Kentucky has 18 homes for survivors of 2022 floods that devastated the region. (Courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse)

The Chestnut Ridge homes have two, three or four bedrooms with one notable exception. A family with 10 children has the only home in the new subdivision with five bedrooms after spending 1,128 nights crammed into two campers since losing everything in the floods.

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“We were thankful to have a place to lay our heads,” the mother said, “but it was aggravating. We were all on top of each other.”

Looking around her new five-bedroom home, she couldn’t hold back.

“We’re so dumbfounded, I don’t know what to do,” she said. “We can breathe.”

A SEASON OF HOPE: T2T’S GIFT OF INDEPENDENCE AND DIGNITY FOR INJURED HEROES

Rev. Graham of Samaritan’s Purse and dedicated 18 homes in eastern Kentucky for survivors of 2022’s deadly floods. (Courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse)

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Former U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft and her husband, Joe, the CEO of coal mining company Alliance Resource Partners, donated the land on which the new neighborhood was built.

Graham also praised employees at the Lowe’s in Hazard, Kentucky, some of whom volunteered on construction crews.

Samaritan’s Purse has now constructed nearly 100 homes across Kentucky, from tornado-ravaged Mayfield to the devastated communities of the east. 

Crews are also rebuilding in North Carolina, which continues to reel from Hurricane Helene.

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As snow fell across the mountaintop, Graham prayed over families receiving their brand-new houses, no longer haunted by the memories of 2022’s floods.

“We give God the glory, and we praise Him and, of course, these people are going to be in their homes for Christmas,” Graham said as he looked over the row of new homes.

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Wounded National Guardsman beginning to ‘look more like himself,’ remains in acute care: West Virginia gov

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Wounded National Guardsman beginning to ‘look more like himself,’ remains in acute care: West Virginia gov

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The National Guardsman who was injured after being shot last week in Washington, D.C., is starting to “look more like himself,” West Virginia’s governor said, relaying a message from his parents. 

Gov. Patrick Morrisey provided the update Friday evening before attending a prayer vigil in Andrew Wolfe’s honor at Musselman High School in Berkeley County, W.Va., where the recovering 24-year-old graduated from, according to WUSA9. 

“His parents report that his head wound is slowly healing and that he’s beginning to ‘look more like himself,” Morrisey said in a statement.  

“Overall, the family expects that Andy will be in acute care for another 2-3 weeks but have been optimistic about his progress,” the Republican governor added. “We continue to ask all West Virginians and Americans for their prayers! They are making a difference!”

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AFGHAN EVACUEE ARRESTED BEFORE DC SHOOTING FEDERALLY CHARGED WITH THREATENING TERROR ATTACK 

The family of National Guardsman Andrew Wolfe, inset, are “optimistic about his progress” after he was shot last week in Washington, D.C., West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Friday. In the background, on Dec. 4, 2025, the flag on the south lawn of the White House flies at half staff in honor of Sarah Beckstrom of the West Virginia National Guard, who was killed in the attack. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Department of Justice)

The vigil began Friday with a moment of silence for National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old who was killed in the Nov. 26 shooting, WUSA9 reported. 

Speaking about Wolfe, Morrisey said, “You are not alone. South Berkeley stands with you, and West Virginia and the whole country are praying for you,” the station added. 

During an appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Friday, Attorney General Pam Bondi described Wolfe as a “miracle” who is now “able to open both eyes.”

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SENATE REPUBLICANS DEMAND VETTING OVERHAUL AFTER SHOOTING OF NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS 

Undated file photo of Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the suspect in the shooting of  two National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C. (Provided by Department of Justice)

“Please continue to pray for Andy. I saw Andy. I’ve met with his mom. I talked to his mom constantly, Melody. His dad, Jason. He has a sister, a brother, an eight-month-old niece. They’re all in the hospital with him,” Bondi said Friday. 

“He’s a miracle. From day one, his mother, Melody said, ‘My son is going to live. My son is going to be 100%.’ And I can say this because the parents let me. I was there when the doctors all came in the room after they had done an angiogram. He has no blood clots. He’s a miracle. And now he’s able to open both eyes,” Bondi added.

People gather on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, for a vigil in Webster Springs, W.Va., in honor of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, one of two National Guard members who were shot in Washington, D.C. (Kathleen Batten/AP)

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The suspected shooter is Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national. He faces charges of first-degree murder and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.  

Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace and Alexandra Koch contributed to this report. 

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Murdaugh family housekeeper says white truck ‘haunts’ her from night of murders years later

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Murdaugh family housekeeper says white truck ‘haunts’ her from night of murders years later

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The Murdaugh family’s longtime housekeeper, Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson, said a white pickup truck still “haunts” her years after the brutal Lowcountry murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.

Her book, “Within the House of Murdaugh: Amid a Unique Friendship,” co-authored with Mary Frances Weaver, chronicles not only her close relationship with Maggie Murdaugh but details of the night Maggie and her son Paul were killed.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Turrubiate-Simpson discussed the moment that still troubles her more than four years later, including a white pickup truck she saw near the family’s property off Moselle Road in Colleton County, South Carolina. The property was known simply as “Moselle.”

“The part that really haunts me,” she said, “was not looking into that white truck that was parked out there by the hangar.”

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Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson answers questions from prosecutor John Meadors during Alex Murdaugh’s trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse Feb. 10, 2023.  (Joshua Boucher/Pool via USA Today Network via Imagn)

ALEX MURDAUGH SLAMS NEW TRUE-CRIME SERIES DEPICTING FAMILY’S DOUBLE-MURDER: ‘MISLEADING PORTRAYALS’

She recalled that she initially assumed it belonged to Paul and felt no reason to check it.

“When I heard testimony during the trial where they specified that Paul’s phone was dinging in Okatie, I said, ‘Well, who was driving that truck? Who was driving the white truck? The white F-150?’ That’s one of the main ones that bothers me.”

Disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh arrives in court in Beaufort, S.C., Sept. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/James Pollard)

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MURDAUGH HOUSEKEEPER REVEALS ONE DETAIL THAT CONVINCED HER ALEX WAS GUILTY OF MURDERS: ‘HE DID IT’

Turrubiate-Simpson said she has often replayed that moment in her mind, wondering why she felt compelled to leave the property through a different gate rather than drive past the kennels.

Maggie and Paul were found dead near dog kennels at the family’s home, police said. The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office said both victims suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

“Perhaps it was like a divine intervention or something that said, ‘No, you need to go out the other gate,’” she said. “I wasn’t worried because the truck looked just like Paul’s truck, so it wasn’t a red flag then.”

A side view of the house at the Murdaugh Moselle property March 1, 2023, in Islandton, S.C. (Andrew J. Whitaker/Pool via USA Today Network via Imagn)

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In the book, Turrubiate-Simpson shares several small inconsistencies on the property the morning after the murders that only a longtime confidant would catch.

She told Fox News Digital that Maggie’s car was parked in a spot she had never seen her use.

“Maggie used to always pull up to the left of Paul,” she explained. “But that morning, Maggie’s car was to the right, and it was not close up to the house. It was a little bit further to the right, kind of where the hunting room entrance is. I knew she didn’t put it there.”

The placement didn’t make sense, she said.

“There was no need for her to park there when there were no other vehicles really there.”

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Bullet holes in glass at the Murdaugh Moselle property March 1, 2023, in Islandton.  (Andrew J. Whitaker/Pool via USA Today Network via Imagn)

‘Oh my God. He did it.’

Turrubiate-Simpson said she had her doubts about Alex Murdaugh’s responsibility in the double murders until bodycam video was played in court.

During the trial, prosecutors played video from Deputy Daniel Greene, the first officer to arrive at the property. Turrubiate-Simpson said her husband encouraged her to watch the video, even though she initially said she had no interest in seeing the crime scene.

“He said, ‘I think you need to watch at least a little bit of it,’” she said.

When the camera briefly passed the family’s black Suburban, she immediately recognized a towel.

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“I saw one of the towels that I had washed, that was going to be going back to Edisto [Murdaugh family’s island getaway],” she said. “In a glimpse, something caught my eye.”

Alex Murdaugh talks with defense attorney Jim Griffin during a jury-tampering hearing at the Richland County Judicial Center Jan. 29, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool)

She said she immediately asked her husband to rewind.

“And I told my husband, ‘Go back, go back, go back.’ He’s like, ‘What’s going on?’ I said, ‘Go back to the truck, go back to the truck.’ So, he’s steady going back, and I’m thinking, ‘Oh my God.’ I said, ‘He did it.’ And, at that point, my husband said, ‘What are you talking about?’ I said, ‘He did it. That was him.’ I said, ‘That towel was going back to Edisto. I had just washed it and set it on top of the shelf.’ I said, ‘He … he … he did it.’

“To me, that towel being there made no sense unless he grabbed it,” she added, suggesting she believed Alex used the towel during a frantic cleanup as he moved between the house and the kennels.

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“His demeanor didn’t match up with the nurturing, loving father that I saw within the home.”

A view from the path toward the house of the kennels at the Murdaugh Moselle property March 1, 2023, in Islandton.  (Andrew J. Whitaker/Pool via USA Today Network via Imagn)

ALEX MURDAUGH’S DOUBLE LIFE: HOW GREED AND CORRUPTION BROUGHT DOWN LOWCOUNTRY LEGAL EMPIRE

In her book, Turrubiate-Simpson floats a theory that Alex may not have acted alone that night, not in the murders themselves, but in the aftermath.

“My theory in the book is that he had help to clean, possibly setting up,” she told Fox News Digital.

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The distance between the main house and the kennels, she said, plays a critical role.

“It takes a good few minutes to get back and forth. In the time that they said it was done, there’s just not enough time.”

Turrubiate-Simpson said her theories are rooted in her intimate knowledge of the family’s routines, noting that “there’s no evidence” that she’s aware of suggesting that Alex had help.

“Within the House of Murdaugh: Amid a Unique Friendship, Blanca and Maggie” is a 2024 book by Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson that offers a personal account of her experiences with the Murdaugh family. (Palmetto Publishing)

‘Because of Paul and Maggie’

In her memoir, Turrubiate-Simpson said her purpose was not to fuel speculation, but to remind the world of Paul and Maggie’s lives.

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“I wrote this book because of Paul and Maggie,” she said. “I don’t want her forgotten. When they hear his name, I’m tired of hearing just his name. The two victims have been forgotten in all of this.”

A possible new trial

The South Carolina Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Murdaugh’s appeal Feb. 11.

Murdaugh’s team requested a new trial, arguing he did not receive a fair trial because of alleged jury tampering by Colleton County Court Clerk Becky Hill.

Alex Murdaugh, right, is shown here with his family.  (Fox News)

FOX NATION: FALL OF THE HOUSE OF MURDAUGH: FROM EGG TO Z

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“I think we all deserve a fair trial,” Turrubiate-Simpson said. “If they determine that he did not receive one, then we just must follow through. It’s the law.”

Maggie and Paul Murdaugh’s headstones mark their final resting places in Hampton. (Michael M. DeWitt Jr./USA Today Network via Imagn)

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Turrubiate-Simpson said she doesn’t plan to watch Hulu’s recent dramatization of the Murdaugh saga.

“I’ve watched some documentaries,” she said. “But I don’t feel the need to watch the Hulu series because I lived it. There’s no point in watching something that I already lived.”

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