‘This is just our job’: Family-owned auction house in Pembroke to auction items from Murdaugh estate

PEMBROKE, Ga. (WTOC) - The Murdaugh family’s estate is still getting a lot of attention beyond our area, but not related to the murders.

Tucked back off Highway 280 in Pembroke, Liberty Auction will host the biggest auction they’ve ever had because the Murdaugh family’s name is attached to it.

The owner Lori Mattingly told WTOC Thursday they’re expecting double their usual crowd with 1,000 people or more.

“Look for the tape with the numbers on it. So all that stuff is theirs, all that stuff, all this stuff,” said Lori Mattingly, owner of Liberty Auction House.

The 42,000 sq. ft. family-run auction house has been around for decades. They’ve auctioned items from movies before, but they’ve never seen as much interest since their inception as they have leading up to Thursday.

“The phone and email and social media - our Facebook has been definitely busier than ever and I’ll be glad when it’s back to normal.”

Of course, Mattingly said they know who the Murdaughs are.

Mattingly said, “I’m like anyone else. I knew what was going on, but I can’t tell you in detail like some people can who have devoted their lives to watching this. It amazes me some people are obsessed with it.”

This happened the way it did because they’ve been around the auction business so long. They have plenty of referrals and connections with realtors.

“This is just our job. We clean up people’s estates. We’ve done it for many years. I’m trying to keep things as normal as possible. We’re treating their items as special as anyone else’s items.”

The Murdaugh’s belongings marked “3-35″ aren’t all they have in the warehouse. The owner said you can’t tell it apart from anything else.

“You know just the same things you and I have. We all have a sofa and bedroom set and it was just typical things like that. Nothing out of the ordinary or unusual.”

People will show up Thursday and bid for their own reasons.

“It’s like they want every little part of it. It’s a toss up. Some people say I can’t imagine someone would wanna buy that stuff and other people are saying I have to have something from there.”

With this family being so high-profile, she does expect items could get high.

“They’re going to be a little more competitive than normal,” Mattingly said. “I really do think that but we’ll see.”

The doors won’t open Thursday until noon. It will begin at 4 p.m. as their auctions do every other Thursday.

Law enforcement will be present.

Copyright 2023 WTOC. All rights reserved.