Hampton residents hope town can heal after Murdaugh verdict

HAMPTON COUNTY, Sc. (WTOC) - People in the town of Hampton say they’re breathing a sigh of relief after the guilty verdicts in the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh.

Many people here in town knew the family, and they say justice was served.

“The impact of the trial is sad in a lot of ways. Lives have been destroyed forever.”

Camille and Bob Hawks have lived in Hampton for more than 30 years, and they say they went to church with Gloria Satterfield for more than a decade. She’s the Murdaugh family housekeeper who died after she tripped and fell at the family’s property in 2018, according to law enforcement.

The couple remembers Gloria today saying, “Beautiful, precious, hardworking. She was the hardest worker. She loved those boys like her own. She really did, she talked about them all the time, she was always there for them, she went on vacations with them.”

The case has put Hampton in national headlines, attracting tourists who made a stop in town while attending the trial in Colleton County.

“It’s not that we like to see tragedy, we like to see justice, and justice was served today,” said Larry McDermott, who is visiting from Daytona Beach, Florida.

And locals – saying the Murdaugh family has been the topic of town chatter for years.

“It’s been the talk of everything, you know everyone says ‘Alex Murdaugh, did he do it, didn’t he do it? Look at all the evidence.’ But like I said, if you know the Murdaughs, you know this town was influenced by the Murdaughs. They could get away with whatever they wanted to at one time, but that day is over today,” said Michael Busby.

However, many wish the town could be known for something else.

“I hope this helps us to grow from here and become a community again, so we can move past this.”

As for what’s next for the town, locals say they hope the verdicts are a chance for the town to heal and move forward after this tragedy that’s truly impacted the entire community.

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