Alex Murdaugh: Who is the disgraced attorney and why is he on trial?
Alex Murdaugh’s high-profile murder trial is now in full swing with prosecutors slated to call more witnesses to the stand in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Monday.
The disgraced legal scion, 54, is accused of gunning down his wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, at the family’s estate in Islandton on 7 June 2021. He denies the allegations.
Last week, jurors were shown dramatic bodycam footage from the scene of the grisly murders, where he “immediately” told officers the killings were connected to a fatal 2019 boat crash.
Mr Murdaugh’s first police interview was also revealed for the first time, showing how he described attempts to move the victims’ bloodied bodies – an account that was contradicted by law enforcement testimony and images of his “clean” hands and clothing. Crime scene photos of the dog kennels and the 911 call made by Mr Murdaugh were also shown in court.
On Monday, jurors heard the last text messages and phone calls received by Maggie and Paul as new crime scene photos were released.
The trial is only one of Mr Murdaugh’s troubles in a saga spanning a botched hitman plot, multi-million-dollar fraud schemes, and unexplained deaths.
Who is Alex Murdaugh?
Rachel Sharp filed this profile of the high-profile lawyer.
Oliver O’Connell31 January 2023 03:45
Murdaugh cries as bodycam video shown at trial
Bodycam footage was played in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Thursday morning as the high-profile double murder trial got underway.
Oliver O’Connell31 January 2023 02:45
Murdaugh breaks down as lawyer describes brutal ‘butchering’ of wife and son
Disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh broke down in tears as his lawyer described how his son and wife were “butchered” on the family’s South Carolina hunting estate.
Mr Murdaugh wiped tears from his eyes as his defence attorney described the scene he claims his client found near kennels on the estate and denied that he had anything to do with it.
Dick Harpootlian told the jury that the prosecution’s explanation for the murders was just “theories” and “conjecture” and that Mr Murdaugh was a “loving” husband and father.
Oliver O’Connell31 January 2023 01:45
Alex Murdaugh’s spectacular fall from grace
He was a high-powered attorney who ran both his own law firm and worked in the local prosecutor’s office.
He was the son of a powerful legal dynasty that dominated the local South Carolina community for almost a century.
And he was a family man who lived with his wife and two adult sons on their sprawling country estate.
Rachel Sharp has been following the case for The Independent.
Murders, fraud, and a hitman plot: Alex Murdaugh’s spectacular fall from grace
The ‘trial of the century’ is now under way in a courtroom in South Carolina where powerful legal scion Alex Murdaugh is charged with the brutal double murder of his wife and son. But this is far from the only twist in a bizarre and sprawling tale of unexplained deaths, hitman plots and multi-million-dollar fraud schemes, writes Rachel Sharp
Oliver O’Connell31 January 2023 00:45
ICYMI: Prosecutors paint grisly portrait of Alex Murdaugh killing wife and son
Prosecutors have described how disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh allegedly murdered his defenceless wife and son at the family’s hunting lodge in 2021.
Mr Murdaugh is accused of brutally killing his wife Margaret, known as Maggie, and his youngest son, 22-year-old son Paul, outside kennels on the estate on 7 June 2021.
Prosecutors told the opening of his trial on Wednesday that Mr Murdaugh had first shot his son with a shotgun, and then killed his wife with an AR-style rifle.
Oliver O’Connell30 January 2023 23:45
Watch: Police bodycam shows guns inside family’s hunting lodge
Alex Murdaugh: Police bodycam shows guns inside family’s hunting lodge
Oliver O’Connell30 January 2023 22:45
Watch: Murdaugh escorted away from court
Oliver O’Connell30 January 2023 22:16
Judge Clifton Newman adjourns the court for the day after Murdaugh’s DNA swab is entered into evidence.
Court will resume at 9.30am ET on Tuesday.
Oliver O’Connell30 January 2023 22:08
Murdaugh was asked about how he tried to check Paul’s pulse and how he tried to roll him over. He says he tried to move him in the direction away from the kennels.
Friday’s testimony focused heavily on Murdaugh’s clothes being clean of blood in what was a very bloody scene.
When Paul’s phone fell out, Murdaugh says he didn’t want to “mess anything up” by trying to unlock it. In his first interview, he said he had started to do something with the phone, but put it down.
At one point, he says of his son: “It’s just so bad. I did him so bad.”
Oliver O’Connell30 January 2023 21:58
In one of the more interesting exchanges, a SLED agent asks about CB Rowe who works on the property. Murdaugh says he is keeping him employed for the time being.
The agent then explains that because of the remote nature of the Murdaugh’s Moselle Road property, it seems unlikely that someone randomly went there to commit the murders.
He implies that the murderer would have some knowledge of the property and they would start to look from the inside out.
To rule Murdaugh out they say they will take a DNA sample from him.
Oliver O’Connell30 January 2023 21:46