Alex Murdaugh, the alleged perpetrator on the middle of some of the byzantine true crime circumstances in latest reminiscence, is lastly getting his day in courtroom. Alongside his indictment final 12 months for allegedly murdering his spouse, Maggie, and his second son, Paul, Alex Murdaugh (pronounced “Alec Murdoch”) additionally faces over 100 counts of monetary crimes together with fraud, cash laundering, embezzlement, and tax evasion.
So should you thought the trial for the 2021 homicide of Murdaugh’s spouse and son, which lastly started on January 23, could be a routine affair, guess once more. So far, the Murdaugh trial has introduced us weird and ugly opening statements, quite a lot of crying, newly revealed police footage, and a “yanny/laurel” second within the courtroom — and we’re simply originally.
Going into trial, the case in opposition to Alex Murdaugh has appeared largely circumstantial — however there’s a staggering quantity of circumstances, implicating Murdaugh in not one, not two, however 5 suspicious deaths since 2015. (Check out our explainer on the head-turning twists on this case for the total image.) As a member of an elite South Carolina household of high-powered attorneys, Murdaugh gained an area fame for with the ability to manipulate the justice system and bend different folks to his will, all with little or no accountability. That all modified in 2019 with the demise of Paul’s buddy’s girlfriend, Mallory Beach, in a boating incident. Paul was allegedly piloting the boat whereas drunk.
Throughout the following investigation, Alex drew scrutiny for trying to hinder any potential prosecution in opposition to his son, which solely raised extra questions on different suspicious deaths to which he had ties. These included the 2011 demise of Hakeem Pinckney, a consumer whose insurance coverage payout Alex allegedly stole; the 2015 demise of Stephen Smith, a homosexual faculty scholar who was rumored to have connections to his different son, Buster; and the 2018 demise of the Murdaughs’ housekeeper Gloria Satterfield from a mysterious head damage incurred on the Murdaugh property, after which Alex allegedly embezzled life insurance coverage cash from her household. Speculation solely elevated following the double murder of Maggie and Paul, which occurred on the Murdaugh property on June 7, 2021. Alex’s conduct after their deaths didn’t alleviate suspicion; he was subsequently arrested for insurance coverage fraud after reportedly hiring somebody to kill him and stage it to seem like a homicide.
By this level, the Murdaughs have been making nationwide headlines, so when Alex pleaded not responsible to the 2 homicide expenses in 2022, he assured a media circus of a trial. But you want extra than simply proximity to a string of murders to safe a conviction, and with all eyes on the Colleton County Courthouse, the place the trial started final week, questions on what precise proof the state had in opposition to Alex loomed massive.
Here’s what we’ve discovered to date.
Both attorneys on this case have a aptitude for the dramatic
Opening statements kicked off with a bang on Wednesday, January 23. After a jury choice course of that winnowed a pool of over 900 candidates right down to 12 jurors and 6 alternates, chief prosecutor Creighton Waters led by describing Maggie and Paul’s accidents — two pictures for Paul with a shotgun, at the very least 5 pictures with an assault-style rifle for Maggie — and really saying, “Pow, pow!”
“It’s complicated. It’s a journey,” he advised jurors, describing the entire case as a puzzle they have been slowly placing collectively. He laid out the proof, a lot of it new and far of it forensic, that the jury may anticipate to listen to, together with gunshot residue throughout Murdaugh’s garments and automobile, and cellphone proof that apparently debunks Murdaugh’s alibi.
Then, with Alex Murdaugh overtly weeping at elements, his protection lawyer, Richard “Dick” Harpootlian, gave quizzical directions to the jury: “He didn’t do it, and you need to put any thought that he did from your mind,” he advised them. “There’s no direct evidence. There’s no eyewitnesses. There’s nothing on camera. There’s no fingerprints. There’s no forensics tying him to the crime. None.” He additionally repeatedly asserted that Paul and Maggie have been “butchered,” which arguably didn’t assist his case.
“He didn’t do it. He didn’t kill — butcher — his son and his wife, and you need to put out of your mind any speculation that he did.”
While his theatrics could also be off-putting to some trial junkies, don’t write Harpootlian off simply but: When he’s not serving within the South Carolina state Senate, the 74-year-old Harpootlian is a veteran trial lawyer who’s labored as each prosecutor and protection lawyer, identified for hoodwinking opponents at trial with sneaky however efficient techniques. In the Murdaugh trial, he was bringing his specific dramatic aptitude to the courtroom lengthy earlier than opening statements started, trying to overturn a protecting order in August and accusing the prosecution of withholding essential proof from the protection. There’s no proof that that’s true, but it surely does point out that we are able to anticipate some grandstanding alongside the best way.
Alex Murdaugh’s alibi could also be a bust
In Alex’s now-infamous 911 name on the day of the murders, he claimed he arrived at his household’s canine kennels at their “Moselle” property after spending a while along with his mom, solely to search out the our bodies of his spouse and son. Prosecutors allege as a substitute that he lured his household there (his sudden curiosity in getting her out to the closely wooded home prompted Maggie to textual content a buddy that he was “acting fishy”) and shot them with two totally different weapons.
To attempt to show it, the prosecution opened with a never-before-seen cellphone video from Paul’s telephone shortly earlier than the murders. While on the kennels, Paul took a video of himself taking part in with one of many canines. Prosecutors argue that within the background, you possibly can hear two extra voices — implying that one among them is Maggie and the opposite is Alex.
Prosecutors allege that this video, which was filmed on Paul’s telephone at 8:44 pm, occurred roughly 5 minutes earlier than the shootings, based mostly on when Paul and Maggie stopped their telephones and replying to texts. That would place Alex firmly on the scene earlier than the murders, contradicting his model of the timeline.
The prosecution’s reliance on this video is essential, since they don’t have GPS location information from Alex’s telephone on the night time of the murders. Activity information from Alex’s telephone, however, signifies about an hour inside the time-frame earlier than the murders throughout which no steps have been recorded, indicating Alex may have been driving a car.
On the opening day of testimony, the courtroom seen Alex’s preliminary, half-hour interview with police, which occurred shortly after the murders. In that footage, Alex is carrying a shirt that seems to be utterly clear, and speaks in a manner that has led to questions on whether or not he’s faking tears. Investigators on the scene have been initially suspicious of Alex due to his general calm demeanor when discussing particulars.
Quite a lot of this forensic proof is circumstantial — however that doesn’t make it any much less damning
Among the important thing proof the prosecution has offered is ballistics proof, primarily pertaining to gunshot residue discovered on Alex’s clothes and throughout his automobile, together with the seat and seatbelt. In his opening assertion, Waters additionally promised the jury they’d find out about a blue raincoat that Murdaugh apparently took and left at his mom’s home following the murders — which had gunshot residue all around the inside.
But gunshot residue, although compelling, continues to be shaky forensically — it could switch to an individual who merely holds a gun with out firing it, and it could switch simply from one particular person to a different. The protection claims the gunshot residue is because of Alex choosing up one of many weapons after the homicide, although it hasn’t addressed why Alex would try this.
The presence of gunshot residue, nonetheless, presents a mini-mystery: It doesn’t clarify why Alex’s garments largely seem to don’t have any bloodstains, mud, or any filth from contacting the victims. In Alex’s telling, he checked the our bodies of his spouse and son to see in the event that they have been nonetheless alive. This lack of residue could possibly be a mark in favor of the protection (he didn’t shoot them, so he didn’t get blood on himself) or for the prosecution (he modified garments to cover the blood or wore the raincoat to guard himself from splatter). One blood spatter professional may probably testify that Murdaugh did have blood on his garments, however on condition that this proof is fairly shaky forensically, it’s unclear whether or not the prosecution will name on him.
Much of the opposite ballistics proof is extra damning — proof that the protection had previously fought and didn’t exclude. The prosecution claims merely that the ammunition used to kill Alex’s spouse and son matched ammo discovered all around the Murdaughs’ appreciable property. Specifically, the 300 Blackout rounds used to kill Maggie and the 12-gauge shotgun shells used to kill Paul each matched ammunition on the property. Examples of matching ammo included unused containers within the household “gun room” and spent shell casings discovered across the property’s searching grounds. Witnesses have additionally testified that Murdaugh had a personalized AR-15-style rifle made for him. This sort of gun is suitable with the bullets used to kill Maggie and aligns with the proof that Murdaugh used such a rifle to kill her.
“I” vs. “they,” and different unanswered questions
As issues within the courtroom heated up on Monday, one investigator claimed on the stand that, whereas talking to him by means of tears, Murdaugh mentioned, “I did him so bad,” referring to the state of Paul’s physique. This led to a melodramatic trade wherein the protection offered a slowed-down model of the frankly indecipherable audio in query and requested him whether or not he heard “I” or “they.” While the agent caught to his authentic declare that he heard the phrase “I,” the Rorschach nature of the audio solely underscored that so far, the state’s evidentiary case has been missing in onerous proof.
It’s removed from the one unsettled a part of this case. With a listing of 255 potential witnesses, this trial may go on for fairly a while. But to date, one week into the proof, we nonetheless have some main unknowns.
What was the motive? The prosecution has leaned into the concept that Murdaugh wished to realize sympathy for himself by killing his spouse and son, whereas drawing on the insurance coverage cash — and we all know that he wished that for his remaining son, Buster, as a result of he later admitted to attempting to stage his personal homicide to make it occur. But it appears far-fetched at greatest {that a} double murder, timed because it was, would level scrutiny away from Murdaugh. Were there different suspects who had good purpose to kill both Paul or Maggie, or to implicate Alex of their deaths?
Did he have assist? Neither Paul nor Maggie had defensive wounds; it appears unlikely that Alex would have been in a position to kill them each with totally different weapons with out one or each of them placing up a battle. Given that the proof factors to an “ambush,” per the prosecution’s opening statements, how would Murdaugh be capable of kill them each? And if he had assist, who was it from? Some have instructed Eddie Smith, the alleged drug vendor who wound up serving to Alex stage his botched pretend homicide try. Alex had paid Smith greater than $150,000 within the months earlier than the murders, however we nonetheless don’t actually know why.
We stay up for these questions being answered at trial. So far, although, this case has left us with extra questions than solutions — lots of which, as a result of deaths of Paul and Maggie, will stay endlessly unanswered.
