Savannah woman finds Murdaugh family photos after bidding on camera at estate auction

PEMBROKE, Ga. (WTOC) - A surprising find at last week’s Murdaugh family estate auction.

A Savannah woman says she was shocked after one of her winning bids turned up hundreds of never-before-seen Murdaugh family photos.

Like hundreds of others, the fascination with Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial drew Dawn Martin to Pembroke last week.

“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,” said Dawn Martin.

While there, Martin bought several items.

“But the most important for me was this camera bag that was said to have had information of SIM cards.”

Two cameras and a bag of memory cards from the Murdaugh family that she took home and uploaded to her computer.

When asked, “What were you expecting to see?”

Martin said, “Nothing.”

Martin was also asked, “You weren’t expecting anything to be on the SIM card?”

Martin said, “No I didn’t really know what a SIM card or memory card was.”

But she was shocked to see the cards were filled with hundreds of photos from Murdaugh family vacations.

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

Martin says she became emotional seeing the photos.

“I will say that it has changed me. I can’t unsee it. I never imagined that I would be owner of the things and hide a glimpse into the private view of their life.”

A view into the happier side of a family, now known for a tragic double murder.

“The images told a story. There were so many of them. And to guess that looking at a novel and knowing the outcome and what that outcome became and how shocked I was myself.”

By sharing these photos, Martin wants to tell the story of the victims in this case especially Alex’s wife Maggie.

“She was the forgotten victim in this story and 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.

Martin said she’s still grappling with what to do next with these photos.

Because of that, she decided to only share two pictures.

She says that her experience with domestic violence is what ultimately motivates her to tell Maggie’s story.

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