WALTERBORO, S.C. — A quiet, empty Colleton County Courthouse sits along Hampton Street in Walterboro just a week removed from the busiest month in its 200-year history.
Normalcy is a somewhat forgotten feeling for Mandy Burdick. She's the co-owner of Twig, a shop along Main Street in Walterboro, South Carolina. She said her store became a common tourist spot for those who didn’t make it into the court.
"There would be enough people that would come and they wouldn't be able to get into the courthouse because they'd hit capacity so the people who had come from the courthouse would wander down the street and see the shop and say, 'Let's go in,'" she said.
Now, with the trial over, and the hectic days done with, Walterboro is starting to feel like it used to.
"It's nice to have things back to normal, whatever that is," Burdick said. "But we miss our new regulars which are now gone back to Louisiana or North Carolina or wherever they came from. So we miss our regulars."
Outside the Colleton County Courthouse, what was once a lawn full of news outlets is now back to being empty. Guardrails that were used to get people in and out of the courthouse are now neatly stacked in piles around the building. No hustle or bustle, just the sound of some distant landscapers and the chirps from birds.
Those still fascinated by the saga stopped by the courthouse steps for pictures, including Joe and Linda Chapman from Murrells Inlet. Linda said that after following the family drama for years, it felt right going to check it out.
"You just start listening to all this and it's like a drama that you've just been keeping up with and reading about," she said. "It's very seldom you get to look at something like that; so, when you get the opportunity, you just come say, 'Hey, let's go look at what happened.'"
After the courthouse, they made the 30-minute trip to the Murdaugh's Moselle property. Throughout Saturday afternoon, dozens of cars stopped by the gates to take pictures or just visit the site of the crime.
Nana Smock and her sister drove by to take in the eerie feeling of being so close to the scene.
"We wanted to see where it happened at," she added. "I told my sister spooky, kinda scary isn't it?"
As the sun was setting, fewer cars rolled through and neighbors eventually started asking passersby to leave. One man was seen putting up flags and caution tape, warning people not to cross into the property.