Jurors in Alex Murdaugh double murder trial reach verdict in less than 3 hours

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WALTERBORO, SC — Jurors in the double-murder trial of Alex Murdaugh reached a verdict Thursday at 6:41 p.m. after less than three hours of discussions and without asking questions.

The panel’s decision will determine whether Murdaugh, 54, will be sent to prison for the rest of his life for allegedly shooting his 22-year-old son, Paul, and his wife Maggie, 52.

Prosecutors argued that he butchered Paul and Maggie on June 7, 2021, near the dog kennels on the family’s hunting property in Islandon, South Carolina, in a desperate act of self-preservation.

The Colleton County trial is now into its sixth week with more than 70 witnesses taking the stand.

ALEX MURDAUGH: A TIMELINE OF SOUTH CAROLINA’S ONCE POWERFUL FORECLOSURE ATTORNEY

Research failures and alleged constructions

Jurors received the case after Murdaugh’s defense attorney, Jim Griffin, delivered his summations. He claimed that the investigators “failed miserably” in their investigation and accused them of “fabricating evidence” against the accused.

“We believe that SLED (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division) failed miserably to investigate this case, and if they had done a competent job, Alex would have been removed from this cycle a year ago, two years ago,” he said. .

Griffin argued that SLED immediately zeroed in on Murdaugh without considering other suspects.

He then described to the jury every error in the investigation.

Magee had hairs on her hand that were never tested, no shoe prints were preserved at the crime scene and no DNA samples were ever taken from the victims’ clothing, Griffin said.

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As the investigation progressed, “they started to fabricate evidence” against Murdaugh, Griffin said,

A report from a state blood expert, which was never presented at trial, concluded that there was high velocity blood spatter on Murdaugh’s T-shirt.

That would mean Murdaugh was standing at Paul’s feet when he allegedly shot him.

But it was later revealed that the shirt tested negative for blood. After the defense disputed the blood spatter expert’s report in pretrial motions, prosecutors did a 180, arguing at trial that Murdaugh’s white T-shirt looked freshly washed.

“They went off the shirt of Mr. Bloody which led to this trial in Mr. Clean during this trial,” Griffin said.

The blue raincoat covered in gunshot residue recovered from Murdaugh’s mother’s home months after the murders was never linked to the defendant — but agents told the grand jury it was his, Griffin said.

He also disputed the state’s theory that Paul and Maggie died at 8:49 p.m. because that’s when their phones were locked for the last time.

The state’s incentive is weak

The lawyer, who was a former federal prosecutor, scoffed at the state’s suggestion of a motive: that Murdaugh committed the heinous crime to prevent his financial wrongdoing from becoming public.

“Putting himself in the middle of a murder investigation, putting himself in the middle of a media firestorm? Is that their motivation?” Griffin asked incredulously.

Besides, the lawyer said, Murdaugh didn’t need the diversion when his father was seriously ill and died three days after the murders.

Griffin played the damning dog kennel video that places Murdo at the crime scene with the victim within minutes of the murders, debunking Murdo’s original claim that he was in the main residence sleeping.

In the clip, Murdaugh can be heard happily chatting with Maggie about their dog Bubba catching a chicken in his mouth.

It is inconceivable that moments later Murdaugh would fatally shoot his beloved wife and son, Griffin argued.

Griffin admitted, as did Murdo on the stand, that his client repeatedly lied about being at the kennels that night.

“He lied, because that’s what addicts do,” Griffin said. “Addicts lie. He lied because he had a closet full of skeletons. He didn’t want any more control over him.”

The defense suggests that Paul may have taken his own life

Griffin first suggested that, perhaps, Paul’s own actions led to his death.

“Let me add another scenario that is just as plausible,” he said. “What if Paul, the ‘detective’, found out the source of the drugs being sold to his dad?”

Griffin assumed Paul could confront the dealer and threatened to turn him in if he didn’t stop selling pills to his father.

“What if the source is a member of a dangerous drug gang?” Griffin asked, eliciting an objection that was accepted.

Paul, who was known as the “little detective” in his family, had confronted his dad about a pill drop in his computer bag about a month before the murders.

Griffin also argued that there were likely two shooters because there were two guns.

Griffin chokes on the final appeal to the jury

Griffin argued that the state’s case is based on theories and speculation and that this is not proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

“Two words that justice requires in this case, and those words are ‘not guilty,'” Griffin said, his voice cracking with emotion.

“On behalf of Alex, on behalf of Buster, on behalf of Maggie and on behalf of my friend Paul, I respectfully ask that you do not conflate one family tragedy with another. Thank you,” he said as he closed the two-hour summation.

The prosecutor says Paul was a key witness in the rebuttal argument

Assistant Attorney General John Meadors delivered the state’s rebuttal argument – the final argument in Murdaugh’s double-murder trial.

“I don’t know why he did it,” Meadors said, adding that the state doesn’t have to prove motive. “I think she did it to protect the one she loved the most. The one she truly loved the most so she could maintain her lifestyle and not be financially embarrassed. She wanted to go on and love Alex.”

Murdaugh’s testimony was a gift to the prosecution, Meadors said, because it confirmed that he is a liar.

But the person who finally solved the case was the young detective, Paul, prosecutors told jurors.

“Paul, he didn’t testify to you on that stand, but he testified through Dr. Rimer and he testified through his phone,” Minders said, referring to the medical examiner and the dog kennel video. “It was so nice of him to help us. It was so pure.”

The jury threw out the case

A female juror was disqualified from the panel Thursday after the court heard she had conversations with at least three people about the case and shared her opinion of evidence presented in violation of the judge’s express instructions.

In a rare moment of levity at the trial, the dismissed juror asked for a dozen eggs, her purse and a bottle of water left in the jury room.

“We have a lot of interesting things, but now a dozen eggs,” the judge said with a smile, drawing laughter from the courtroom.

Prosecutors portray Murdaugh as a cunning crook

Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters delivered a marathon three-hour closing argument Wednesday, branding the defendant a master manipulator who killed his wife and son to prevent a devastating financial toll.

Murdaugh is charged with theft almost 9 million dollars from clients and his former company and admitted to most of the thefts when he testified.

Waters told jurors Murdoch was a cunning con man who tried to deceive them when he took the stand last week.

“This is a man who made his lie. He lied about the most important facts of the case and effortlessly and easily turned to a new lie when faced with something he was not prepared for,” Waters said of Murdaugh’s testimony.

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Murdaugh, he added, deceived the people who believed they were closest to him.

“It took both Maggie and Paul by surprise, and they paid for it with their lives,” Waters told the jury. “Don’t let him fool you too.”