The Jury is expected to return to court shortly to announce their verdict. Updates coming -

7:00pm Court is in session, Madam Clerk publishes the verdict.

Indictment for Murder -GUILTY

Indictment for Murder -GUILTY

Indict. for poss. of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime - GUILTY

Indict. for poss. of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime - GUILTY

Alex's face is like stone, Buster is crying quietly.

Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian requests a polling of the Jury, every Juror agrees this is their verdict. The alternate Juror is returned to the general audience. Harpootlian asks for directed verdict for a mistrial. Prosecutor Creighton Waters argues against it, the motion is denied.

Judge Newman accepts the Jury's verdict. Given the lateness of the hour and other considerations, Newman states he will "defer sentencing." The minimum sentence for the charge of murder is a term of 30 years, and a minimum of 5 years for the weapons charges. We will reconvene for sentencing in the morning. "The defendant is taken away."

Judge Newman thanks the jurors extensively for their service and gives them permission "to talk with the case with anyone and reminds them that the media is unaware of their identities. If you decide they want to speak with anyone, that is your prerogative, however, if anyone harasses you, let me know."

7:23pm - The Jury is dismissed. Although Judge Newman offered to defer sentencing to a later date Prosecutor Waters states he is ready for sentencing tomorrow morning, and the defense agrees. Sentencing is scheduled for tomorrow at 9:30am.

_________________________________

Here is Prosecutor Creighton Waters shredding a guitar out a few years ago with his Sole Purpose Band - He Rocks! Word-up is that he made this video after a previous victory over Harpootlian.

🎸🎶

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I haven't heard of this story until this week. But this murder trial is on every network and is a top story on every news page. What makes Alex Murdaugh's case so important compared to any other murder trial?

I understand he's a rich lawyer with a substance abuse problem, but it doesn't seem like he had any media presence or political power*. OJ Simpson was at least a big celebrity, so there was national public interest there. But why all the focus on this particular trial?

*on a national level

edit: Well my question has been answered, and then some! I had no idea how high-profile this case was, or all the true-crime media drama surrounding it. Now my wife and I are fully invested, we'll probably start watching the Netflix show after work today. I'm enjoying reading everyone's discussion about the case too.

Throughout disgraced former attorney Alex Murdaugh's six-week double murder trial in Walterboro, South Carolina, I listened to dozens of witnesses' testimony, viewed most of the 500 pieces of evidence presented and interviewed Murdaugh's friends about his relationship with his wife Maggie and the power of the Murdaugh name.

I have covered several high-profile criminal cases, including the exonerations of Amanda Knox and Casey Anthony. But the Murdaugh story is unique. There are multiple stories — and crimes — linked to the prominent family. There are the nearly 100 charges against Murdaugh for various financial crimes, the 2019 fatal boat crash involving his son Paul, the death of the Murdaugh family housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, and the 2015 mysterious death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith.

Murdaugh’s fall from grace is epic, and his family continues to stay in the spotlight, as many wonder what’s next for them.

To give context of the power the Murdaugh’s have wielded in the South Carolina low county: There was a portrait of Murdaugh’s grandfather — once a prominent attorney — hanging in the courtroom where Murdaugh was tried. Judge Clifton Newman had it removed for the trial. Now Murdaugh’s everlasting portrait is his post-conviction mugshot: a shaved head and jumpsuit.

On Friday, March 3, 2023, Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul. His attorneys said they plan to appeal his conviction.

EDIT: Thanks for all the questions! You can watch my "48 hours" report, “The Trial of Alex Murdaugh,” on the and now.

PROOF:

THE JURY RETURNED A VERDICT IN THE ALEX MURDAUGH CASE

Indictment for Murder -GUILTY

Indictment for Murder -GUILTY

Indictment for possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. -

GUILTY

Indictment for possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

GUILTY

Thank you, Judge Newman. You are a National Treasure.

BY TED CLIFFORD, JOHN MONK, BRISTOW MARCHANT, AND BLAKE DOUGLAS - The State - 3/2/23

Alex Murdaugh, the fourth-generation heir to a powerful Lowcountry legal, law enforcement and political family, was found guilty Thursday of murdering his wife and son in a case that brought the glare of national and international media attention to a long-secluded but corrupt corner of Lowcountry South Carolina.

A jury of seven men and five women took less than three hours over days before unanimously finding Murdaugh, 54, guilty of executing his son Paul, 22, with a shotgun inside the feed room at the dog kennels before gunning down his wife, Maggie, 52, with a high-powered rifle on June 7, 2021, at the family 1,770-acre rural Colleton County estate, called Moselle.

The verdict was announced in the same courtroom where Murdaugh’s father, Randolph Murdaugh III, was the elected solicitor, or criminal prosecutor, from 1986 to 2006, and his grandfather, Randolph “Buster” Murdaugh Jr., the elected solicitor from 1940 to 1986, brought cases against thousands of the county’s accused criminals over the years. And Murdaugh’s great-grandfather, the original Randolph Murdaugh, was solicitor from 1920 until his death in 1940. TOP VIDEOS

For six weeks, lead prosecutor Creighton Waters pulled together a case with one major hurdle: no direct evidence.

In the case brought against Murdaugh, the S.C. Attorney General’s Office had no direct evidence, such as fingerprints or DNA, that would have allowed the state to conclusively prove Murdaugh’s guilt. Even the weapons used to kill Paul and Maggie were missing — hidden or destroyed by Murdaugh, prosecutors contended.

To overcome that hurdle, prosecutors introduced hundreds of pieces of evidence, ranging from police interrogation videos, gunshot residue tests, car and cellphone data and — most importantly — a cellphone video taken from Paul’s phone that showed Murdaugh at the dog kennels just before his wife and son were murdered.

To establish an alibi that he was somewhere else when the killings took place, Murdaugh quickly drove to his ailing mother’s house in a nearby unincorporated community, Almeda, where he visited with a caregiver and lay on his mother’s bed for 20 minutes as a game show played on the television, prosecutors contended. Then he drove back to Moselle where he pretended to discover the bodies and called 911, prosecutors told the jury.

All this digital data shredded Murdaugh’s alibi of being somewhere else at the time of the killings, prosecutors contended. After nearly three hours of deliberation on Thursday, the jury agreed.

An especially difficult obstacle for prosecutors was showing the jury that Murdaugh, a then-respected family man with generational ties to law enforcement and the state’s legal community, a man who numerous witnesses testified devoutly loved his wife and son, would go on a sudden rampage and kill his wife and son.

To explain Murdaugh had a motive for the killings, Waters introduced a theory called “family annihilation,” which says that an outwardly successful person who has lived a hidden life and suddenly faces exposure, might suddenly kill those closest to him.

To prove this theory, Waters during the trial introduced some nine witnesses, who testified that Murdaugh for years had lived a secret life of fraud, stealing from friends, family, colleagues and his law firm, bilking them of millions. Waters also showed that Murdaugh, even on the morning of the killings, was on the verge of being exposed as a debt-ridden criminal instead of a prosperous respected lawyer.

At the heart of the widespread media interest in the latest generation Murdaugh was a long-running “whodunit” mystery that quickly attracted national and international attention because of the brutality of the Maggie and Paul’s execution-style killings, the prominence of the victims’ family and the seeming helplessness of the S.C. Law Enforcement Division to identify even one suspect for more than a year or advance a theory of what had happened.

For 14 months — until Murdaugh’s indictment on murder charges in July 2022 — neither SLED officials nor prosecutors from the S.C. Attorney General’s office would comment on evidence in the case or law enforcement’s highly publicized failure to make an arrest.

The murders had taken place at night, the crime scene had been overrun by Murdaugh’s friends and family until it was sealed off and there were no witnesses except the family’s dogs who barked at investigators from their cages. The state was never able to produce the murder weapons — a shotgun and a .300 Blackout assault-type rifle.

Facing life in prison without parole, Murdaugh has seen witness after witness testify how he has stained the name of his family that has been woven into the fabric of the 14th Judicial Circuit for more than a century. Today “Murdaugh” has become shorthand for wickedness and the firm the family founded in 1910 was dissolved and reformed, without the Murdaugh name.

In a move reportedly opposed by his defense team, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, Murdaugh took to the stand for two days.

In testimony that was in turn tearful, defiant and litigious, the disbarred attorney denied killing his wife and son.

But in five hours of cross examination by lead prosecutor Creighton Waters, Murdaugh offered a stunning series of admissions. He confessed, for the first time, to lying about his alibi and to a decade’s worth of thefts from his clients and his law firm, which he said was driven by a need to fund a $50,000 a week addiction to prescription painkillers.

Even before he took the stand, Murdaugh’s defense team had little room to maneuver.

Judge Clifton Newman, who oversaw the trial, granted the prosecution’s wish list of motions.

He allowed them to introduce a landslide of witnesses who testified about Murdaugh’s financial crimes, leading Harpootlian to protest that it was more of a “Madoff trial than a murder trial.” Bernie Madoff was imprisoned for orchestrating a $64.8 billion Ponzi scheme, the largest in history.

While not required to prove motive, Waters repeatedly accused Murdaugh of being a “family annhilator,” driven to commit a biblical act of destruction when the facade of his successful life began to crack.

Ballistics experts also matched a family gun to the weapon that killed Maggie and the state used family’s phones and data from Murdaugh’s car to , casting doubt on the defense’s improbable claim that Murdaugh missed the killings by mere minutes.

Many of the witnesses were drawn from the inner circle of the Murdaughs’ close knit and clannish world, among them Murdaugh’s surviving son, 26-year-old Buster, who testified in his father’s defense.

Their testimony threw back the curtain on an insular world of privilege and power among the swamps of the Lowcountry.

Since the allegedly caused by Paul, the family has gained unwelcome international prominence through podcasts, documentaries and a zealous community of online sleuths.

In court, the 6-foot-four inch tall Murdaugh often appeared gaunt, his once red hair turned almost white. He frequently rocked back and forth and openly wept during testimony.

It was hard to connect the man at the defense table with the image of well-fed, affluent contentment who beamed out from family pictures that have been featured heavily in nearly four years of coverage of the case.

The verdict is a vindication for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Attorney General’s office who conducted perhaps the state’s highest-profile law enforcement investigation and prosecution in a generation amidst a whirlwind of scrutiny and criticism.

It was also a personal test for South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, whose office rarely prosecutes murders and who sat at the prosecution’s table throughout the trial and led direct examination of the state’s final witness.

Wilson is the heir to his own South Carolina legacy — his father is U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson – and is rumored to be considering a run for higher office.

The case was transferred to his office after 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone recused himself on Aug. 11, 2021.

Stone occupied the same office that had been held by Murdaugh’s father, grandfather and great grandfather. Murdaugh himself held the nebulously defined role of “volunteer solicitor,” and frequently displayed the badge in his car’s cup holder while maintaining a seven figure a year practice at the Murdaugh law firm.

9:40am Court convened for a sentence hearing in the Murdaugh Murder Case.

Prosecutor Creighton Waters provides the judge with sentencing sheets. Waters has no victim impact statements to present but offered an eloquent statement and asks for the maximum, two life sentences. Judge Newman asks if any victim wants to speak at a later time. Alex is dressed in a tan prison jumpsuit today.

Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian declines to offer any witnesses or statements on behalf of his client, stating that the defendant wants to address the court. Alex stands:

Alex states, "I am innocent. I would never hurt my wife Maggie, and I would never hurt my son Pau- Pau."

The Judge makes final remarks -

"A man whose grandfather's portrait hung in the courthouse that I had to remove to ensure a fair trial was had by both the prosecution and the defense." As a well-known member of the legal community, you've practiced before me, and we've seen each other over the years, and it was particularly hard for me to see you change from a grieving father of a wife and son, to being the person convicted of killing them." "You've engaged in such duplicitous conduct here in the courtroom, here on the witness stand."

Judge Newman continues, "I have not been able to get anyone, any defendant, even those convicted of being guilty, to explain to me that moment in time, when they opted to pull the trigger, to commit the most heinous crime known to man."

Judge Newman states that people have been given the death penalty for lesser offenses.

The Judge asks what Alex meant when he stated in court "Oh what a tangled web we weave"... and Alex responds, "that I lied."

Judge Newman states, "A notice of alibi was filed in which Alex claimed to have been someplace else at the time was committed. Then after all the witnesses placed you at the scene, you switched courses and admitted to being there. Then that necessitated more lies, and where will it end, it won't end, but in your own soul you will have to deal with that."

Alex agrees with the Judge that Maggie and Paul visit him "every night."

Judge Newman is surprised that Alex is waiving his right to offer commentary at this time.

Alex state "I'll tell you again, I respect this court, but I would never have hurt my wife Maggie, and would never hurt my son Pau Pau.'

The Judge says "maybe it wasn't you; maybe it was the monster you become when taking large amounts of opiods. "I've seen that before."

"Without any delay, we are going to schedule the other (financial) matters." "Law enforcement has been harassed over the past few weeks by one who was able to deflect justice"

Your law firm was coming down on you for stealing a half a million dollars, and "you have a tiger like Mark Tinsley on his tail, trying to recover for Mallory Beach"

"Amazing to have you come and testify it was just another day, my wife and son and I was enjoying our day, and this was not true."

Judge Newman sentences Alex to two consecutive LIFE terms.

Alex is taken away, and Judge Newman comments about the images of the Jurors shown on camera as Alex walked in front of them yesterday.

He states that until yesterday, media has been very good about not revealing Jurors' identities. Law enforcement may decide to investigate this issue.

He also speaks to screenshots of autopsy photographs published by court viewers. Judge Newman speaks to Kobe Bryant's case, where his wife sued over leaked autopsy photos, and states the penalties can be severe.

10:13 Judge Newman slams the gavel and adjourns court.

11:00am SLED holds a press conference in front of the Courthouse.

Defense Press Conference scheduled for 11:45 am - (thanks for the alert, )

live coverage -

12:15pm - The press conference begins. Dick Harpootlian announces he will make no statement, and begins taking questions. HE STATES THEY WILL APPEAL IN 10 DAYS.

🥇 A link to prosecutor Waters shredding a guitar with his Sole Purpose Band - He ROCKS! 🥇

This subreddit is overwhelmingly on the side of Alex being guilty, which makes sense given the evidence and his behavior after the incident. It's a false equivalency to claim that both sides should be heard equally.

That said, there are a million posts about his guilt and there should be at least a few arguing in good faith why he might be innocent or at least why the jury might find him so.

Off the top of my head and in no particular order:

1. Financial crimes aside, it seems like an exaggeration that the day marked the culmination of the lies coming to light. As far as I know, he was only on the hook for $150k within the next few days.

2. By all appearances, he loved his family.

3. Feel free to call me on this one using data, but family annihilators often kill themselves, run, or plead guilty. I can't think of one where they plead innocence and went to trial. I'm sure there are examples, but laws of averages and whatnot.

4. Two guns were used, shot at angles that don't match his height.

5. Plausible deniability of hearing the gunshots from the house.

6. Tight timelines.

7. Despite lying about the kennel, the voice on the video seems happy and not like someone about to commit a heinous crime. I get that this is behavioral and mostly bunk, but I could see it swaying the jury.

8. A masterful testimony that largely nullified Waters, at least for the murder.

9. Reasonable doubt around some of the supporting evidence, like asking his mother's caretaker to lie. Also, step rates. Using these indicates some weakness in the state's case.

10. A family hated by many, so it's not unthinkable that another person would have a motive.

11. No meaningful gun residue.

Yesterday, Alex Murdaugh was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in the South Carolina Department of Corrections. He was convicted of two counts of murder and two counts of using a weapon in the commission of a crime. Alex's attorney Dick Harpootlian stated in a presser yesterday that he will file an appeal in ten days.

No witnesses were presented during the sentencing hearing. None of his victims wanted to make a statement, no one spoke for Maggie and Paul, no one spoke for Alex.

In a haunting coincidence, March 3 is also the anniversary of the day Mallory Beach's body was recovered from the Beaufort River.

Alex was wearing a tan prison jumpsuit and sandals, his hands in cuffs, when he was taken to Kirkland Correctional Institute, where his head was shaved, and he was booked into the Jail.

Alex's demeanor was different yesterday, reflected in his face. He seemed perhaps relieved of a burden, accepting the Judge's admonishments calmly. Alex still proclaims his innocence, still distances himself from the act, saying "I would never have hurt my wife Maggie, and I would never have hurt my son Paul."

Judge Newman's remarks were both poignant and profound. "Maybe it wasn't you. Maybe it was the monster you become when you are on drugs." He is sure that Alex "sees Maggie and Paul every night when you are trying to go to sleep." Alex agreed that he does, every night.

Judge Newman also remarked that he had "never, not once, had a murderer reveal their thoughts about the committing the crime."

The HOT RUMOR is that Moselle was on fire yesterday; turns out it was a prescribed burn taking place down the road a bit. HOT, but bogus.

There are also rumblings in the Stephen Smith case. A fundraiser for his gravestone is being questioned, and a new one is being considered to raise funds for an exhumation.

Here are some morning links:

Judge Newman's speech to Alex:

The Defense's press conference:

Perp walk and spectator reactions:

The town of Walterboro reacts:

Links to interesting reactions and reviews:

Bruce Rivers, Criminal Lawyer Reacts to Verdict and Sentencing

J. D.- A Lawyer Explains does a "Legal Post Mortem" on the Trial

Matt Harris' Impact of Influence podcast - Murdaugh Family Murder #112

Law & Crime - Full Sentencing Recap

___________________________________________

A big WELCOME to all of our new members*!* MurdaughFamilyMurders subreddit has more than doubled in membership over the past few weeks, over 56,000 as of last night. Grab a cuppa and join our cozy room for the latest news and interesting commentary!

*Visit our collections, which are updated daily. We've just updated our witness list and trial coverage. Corrections and additions are greatly appreciated!

___________________________________________

And a link to prosecutor Creighton Waters' terrific shredding skills, one more time; the guy ROCKS!

🏆

(Interesting tidbit: Creighton made this video a few years back after a win over Dick Harpootlian.)

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Here are some of 's excellent media links:

Post & Courier -

Greenville News -

The State -

Good morning!

Last evening, after only two and half hours, the Jury found Alex Murdaugh guilty of all charges. The jurors looked straight ahead as Alex walked by them on his way to lock-up. Alex was stone-faced and made no emotional display, his son Buster cried quietly.

At least one Juror has appeared on media, providing information that the Jury's initial vote was 9/3, and suggesting that the kennel video and lies associated with it were key in the guilty verdict. It is reported that it took 45 minutes to reach a guilty verdict.

provided this link:

Court resumes at 9:30 this morning for a sentence hearing to determine the length of time Alex will spend behind bars for the murders of his wife and son. Judge Newman remarked that the minimum sentence for murder is 30 years, and five years on the weapons charges. He offered to defer sentencing, to allow both teams to prepare witnesses and statements for the hearing, however these offers were declined as prosecutor Creighton Waters and defense attorney Dick Harpootlian were both ready to proceed with sentencing this morning. It's been a long trial.

Judge Newman met with attorneys in chambers about 9:30 on Wednesday night to tackle an issue with one Juror who had three limited conversations about the trial. Two individuals that the Juror had contact with were brought into that in-chambers meeting, where they 'waffled' in their explanations of what had occurred. The HOT RUMOR is that these two people are local media personalities. We'll add details as they become available.

We expect that the defense team will appeal Alex's conviction. We'll keep you updated on that, as well on the upcoming court case for his 99 financial fraud indictments.

9:40am - Judge Newman calls court to order. Alex appears in a tan jumpsuit and handcuffs.

Prosecutor Creighton Waters provides the judge with sentencing sheets. Waters has no victim impact statements to present but offered an eloquent statement, asks for the maximum, two life sentences. Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian offers no comment, but states Alex would like to make a statement:

ALEX stands to address the court: "I am innocent I would never hurt my wife Maggie, and I would never hurt my son Pau- Pau."

Judge Newman makes final remarks - A wife who's been killed, a son who's been savagely murdered, a lawyer, a person from a respected family who has controlled justice in this community for over a century. A person whose grandfather's portrait hung in the back of the courthouse, that I had to have ordered removed to ensure that a fair trial was had by both the State and the defense."

And I've sat through the trial not only but as the presiding judge of the state grand jury, I've sat through and participated in the issuance of search warrants of various sorts, bond hearings, and have had to consider many things. I have this case, and I'm also assigned to preside over... at least 99 other cases. Although testimony has come up regarding many of those other cases, I will not make any remark on the pending cases as I have been assigned to them as well."

It's also particularly troubling, Mr. Murdoch, because as a member of the legal community, and as a well-known member of the legal community, you've practiced before me, and we've seen each other at various occasions throughout the years, and it was especially heartbreaking particularly hard for me to see you go in the media from being a grieving father who lost a wife and son, to being the person indicted and convicted of killing them."

"And you've engaged in such duplicitous conduct here in the courtroom, here on the witness stand, and as established by the testimony throughout the time leading to the indictment to the trial to this moment in time, ah , certainly you have no obligation to say anything other than saying "not guilty" Probably expected or absolutely expected I would not expect a confession of any kind.

"In fact as I've presided over murder cases over the past 22 years, I have yet get anyone, find a defendant who could go there, who go to that moment in time, when they decided to pull the trigger or to otherwise murder someone. I have not been able to get anyone, any defendant even those who have confessed to being guilty, to go back and explain to me what happened at that moment in time when they opted to pull the trigger, when they opted to commit the most heinous crime known to man."

"And this case qualifies under our death penalty statute based on the statutory aggravating circumstances of two or more people being murdered by the defandant." I don't question at all the decision of the State not to pursue the death penalty. But as I sit here in the courtroom and look around at all the portraits of judges and court officials and reflect over the past century your family including you have been prosecuting here in this courtroom, and many have received the death penalty, probably for lesser conduct."

"Remind me of the expression you gave on the witness stand.....'oh what a tangled web we weave', what did you mean by that?" Judge Newman asks. Alex responds, "I meant that when I lied, I continued to lie."

"And the question is 'when will it end, when will it end. And, it's ended already for the Jury because they've concluded that you continued to lie and lie throughout your testimony. And, perhaps with all the throng of people here they for the most part all believe or 80 or 90, 99% believe you continued to lie in your denial to the court." Perhaps you believe it does not matter, that there is nothing that could mitigate a sentence given the crimes that were committed."

Judge Newman states "A notice of alibi was filed in this case, in November, and we conducted a hearing, pre-trial hearing in which you claimed to be someplace else at the time was committed. Then after all the witnesses placed you at the scene of the crime, at the last minute,... last minutes or days, you switched courses and admitted to being there. Then that necessitated more lies, and continued to lie, and I said where will it end. It's already ended for many who have heard you and concluded that it'll never end. But within your own soul you have to deal with that."

"And I know you have to see Paul and Maggie during the nighttime as you try to go to sleep. I'm sure they come and visit you. I'm sure. Alex agrees with the Judge that "Maggie and Paul visit him every night."

And I'm sure they look you in the eyes as you looked the Jury in the eyes. I don't know a person whose always been such a friendly, gregarious cause your life to be tangled in such a weaved web, such a that you've spun into. And it's unfortunate because you had such a lovely family of such friendly people, including you. And to go from that to this.

Your license to practice law has been stripped away from you. You've turned from lawyer to witness, and now have an opportunity to make your final appeal as an ex-lawyer, and it's.... really surprising that you're waiving your right at this time. But if you opt to do so it's on you. You're not compelled to say anything. But you have the opportunity to do so.

Alex states, "I'll tell you again, I respect this court, but I'm innocent. I would never, under any circumstances hurt my wife Maggie, and would under any circumstances hurt my son Pau Pau.'

Judge Newman says "And it might not have been you. Maybe it wasn't you; maybe it was the monster you become when taking 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 opioid pills. Maybe you become another person. I've seen that before. The person standing before me did not commit the crime, though it's the same individual. We'll leave that at that."

Before we announce sentence in this case, in regard to all the other pending cases, are any of them in Colleton? Prosecutor Waters answers that the cases are spread around.

Ah, we may have worn out our welcome here in Colleton and take this opportunity to thank Sheriff Hill and all of the court officials and really everyone I've met and dealt with here in Colleton County. They've just been great. But without any delay, we are going to schedule the other (financial) matters."

There are other cases that deserve to be heard, and we have jumped other cases, perhaps jumped it because of the assault on the integrity of the judicial in our state, law enforcement in our state. Even law enforcement has been harrassed for the last few weeks, by one who had access to the wheels of justice to be able to deflect the investigation and as evidence as pointed out in this case, the looming storm that Mr. Waters talked about.

"I can just imagine that day on June the 7th, when a lawyer confesses to having stolen over half a million dollars from a client and he has a tiger like Mark Tinsley on his tail, pursuing discovery in the case involving the death of Mallory Beach. And having a father, for the most part, on his death bed. I could imagine, I really can't imagine, I know it had to have been quite a bit going through your mind on that day. But amazingly, to have you come and testify that it was just another ordinary day. That my wife and son and I were out just enjoying life. Not credible, not believable. You can convince yourself about it, but obviously you have the inability to convince anyone else about that.

If you made any such arguments as a lawyer you would lose every case like that, cases you will never have the opportunity to argue anymore except perhaps your own as you sit in the department of corrections."

Mr. Murdaugh, I sentence you to the State Department of Corrections on each of the murder indictments, for the murder of your wife, I sentence you for the term of the rest of your natural life. For the murder of Paul Murdaugh, whom you probably loved so much, I sentence you to prison for murdering him for the rest of your natural life. Those sentences will run consecutively. Under the statute involving a weapon during a violent crime, there is no sentence, where a life sentence is imposed on other indictments.

That is the sentence of the court, and you are remanded to the State Department of Corrections."

The gray-haired man who has been seated behind Alex every day in court, is today wearing a law enforcement uniform. He leads Alex away.

Judge Newman comments about the images of the Jurors shown on camera as Alex walked in front of them yesterday.

He states that until yesterday, media has been very good about not revealing Jurors' identities. Law enforcement may decide to investigate this issue.

He also speaks to screenshots of autopsy photographs published by court viewers. Judge Newman speaks to Kobe Bryant's case, where his wife sued over leaked autopsy photos, and states the penalties can be severe.

10:13am Judge Newman slams the gavel and adjourns court.

11:00am SLED holds a press conference in front of the Courthouse.

Defense Press Conference scheduled for 11:45 am - (thanks for the alert )

live coverage -

12:15pm - The press conference begins. Dick Harpootlian announces he will make no statement, and begins taking questions, and states HE STATES THEY WILL APPEAL IN 10 DAYS

🥇 A link to prosecutor Waters shredding a guitar with his Sole Purpose Band - He ROCKS! 🥇

_________________________

LIVESTREAM OF TODAY'S TRIAL:

Law & Crime:

News 19:

Avery Wilks' Twitter Feed:

Drew Tripp's Twitter Feed:

__________________________________________

posted a second poll when the defense rested. Over 10,000 redditors voted; see the results here:

*A big WELCOME to all of our new members! MurdaughFamilyMurders subreddit has more than doubled in membership over the past few weeks, over 54,000 as of last night. Grab a cuppa and join our cozy room for the latest news and interesting commentary!

*Visit our collections, which are updated daily. We've updated Moselle photos and our daily trial summaries. Corrections and additions are greatly appreciated!

___________________________________________

Media Channels are overflowing with Murdaugh reviews and reactions -

Here are some of the latest:

J. D - A Lawyer Explains - Did we see Remorse, Regret, or Guilt on Display on Thursday -

Harvard Lawyer Lee - Closing Arguments!! Lawyer Reacts

J. D. - A Lawyer Explains - Some Observations on the Murdaugh Closing by the State

And links to photos and videos of Moselle -

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For the latest news coverage, here are some of 's excellent media posts:

The State -

Post & Courier -

Greenville News -

by Will Folks / September 5, 2023

Attorneys representing convicted killer Alex Murdaugh filed a bombshell motion with the South Carolina court of appeals on Tuesday morning demanding a new trial on the basis of alleged jury tampering by Colleton County clerk of court Becky Hill.

Murdaugh’s attorneys also reportedly referred Hill to the office of U.S. attorney Adair Ford Boroughs for potential criminal charges – which could open the door to a federal investigation of the Murdaugh trial itself and a potential overturning of his conviction at the federal level based on constitutional violations.

Indeed, the complaint claimed Hill’s alleged conduct violated “Murdaugh’s constitutional right to a fair and impartial jury.”

No information on the criminal referral was available on Tuesday morning, but Murdaugh’s attorneys – state senator Dick Harpootlian and veteran criminal defense lawyer Jim Griffin – were scheduled to hold a press conference on Tuesday afternoon outside the S.C. court of appeals.

In the meantime, their complaint spoke for them …

“The clerk of court tampered with the jury by advising them not to believe Murdaugh’s testimony and other evidence presented by the defense, pressuring them to reach a quick guilty verdict, and even misrepresenting critical and material information to the trial judge in her campaign to remove a juror she believed to be favorable to the defense,” the complaint alleged.

Specifically, the filing claimed Hill told jurors “not to be ‘misled’ by evidence” presented in Murdaugh’s defense” – and “not to be ‘fooled by’ Murdaugh’s testimony in his own defense.”

During Murdaugh’s testimony, Hill allegedly instructed the jury to “watch him closely,” to “look at his actions” and to “look at his movements.” One juror indicated this led them to understand “that Murdaugh was guilty.”

“I understood (this) to mean that Mr. Murdaugh would lie when he testified,” the juror wrote in an affidavit attached to the complaint.

This same juror – No. 630 – also complained about being pressured to convict Murdaugh despite having misgivings about the case against him.

“I had questions about Mr. Murdaugh’s guilty but voted guilty because I felt pressured by the other jurors,” the juror wrote in the affidavit.

The complaint further claimed Hill had “frequent private conversations with the jury foreperson,” and also allegedly “asked jurors for their opinions about Murdaugh’s guilt or innocence.” Hill is further alleged to have “invented a story about a Facebook post to remove a juror she believed might not vote guilty.”

This is a reference to the infamous “egg juror” – No. 785 – who was dismissed during closing arguments over a Facebook post attributed to her ex-husband which accused her of getting drunk and expressing her opinions regarding Murdaugh’s innocence.

As the trial approach its pivotal moment, Hill allegedly “pressured jurors to reach a quick verdict, telling them from the outset of their deliberations that it ’shouldn’t take them long.'”

Hill’s alleged motive for the aforementioned conduct? “To secure for herself a book deal and media appearances that would not happen in the event of a mistrial.”

In fact, one of the affidavits attached to the filing – from Harpootlian’s paralegal, Holli Miller – claimed a juror told her that Hill “passed out business cards from the media to jurors” during their deliberations saying “the media would want to interview jurors at the end of the trial.”

Hill accompanied three jurors on a trip to New York City in the aftermath of the trial for an exclusive appearance on NBC’s Today show.

“Hill betrayed her oath of office for money and fame,” the complaint alleged. “Once these facts are proven, the law does not allow the court any discretion about how to respond. It must grant a new trial.”

The motion seeks a stay of Murdaugh’s appeal so the trial judge in the case, Clifton Newman, can consider the motion and decide whether to grant the defense’s request for a new trial.

“The defense motion must be heard in trial court by trial judge,” noted Sara Azari, a Los Angeles attorney who hosts The Presumption podcast with Griffin.

Future motions related to Newman could be forthcoming, however.

“The defense has not indicated how and when they will address possible recusal of Newman,” Azari wrote. “I can’t imagine that’s not a concern they won’t address.”

Why would Newman need to recuse himself?

Since the conclusion of the trial, the judge has made several comments which some have suggested are indicative of a potential lack of objectivity related to Murdaugh.

“I don’t believe that he hated his wife, and certainly I did not believe that he did not love his son, but he committed an unforgivable, unimaginable crime, and there’s no way that he’ll be able to sleep peacefully given those facts,” the judge said during remarks at his alma mater, Cleveland State University, following the trial.

On March 2 of this year, Murdaugh, 55, a disbarred attorney and alleged fraudster from Hampton, S.C., was found guilty of the graphic 2021 murders of his wife – 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh – and younger son, 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh, at the conclusion of a six-week trial in Walterboro, S.C.

The proceedings attracted international attention given the gruesomeness of the crimes – and given Murdaugh’s status as a member of the once-powerful “House of Murdaugh,” a family which ran the Palmetto Lowcountry like a fiefdom for nearly a century. Three Murdaughs held the post of S.C. fourteenth circuit solicitor between 1920-2006 – and Murdaugh himself was a badge-carrying assistant solicitor at the time of the murders.

The jury deliberated for only a few hours before returning its verdict: Guilty on all counts.

Did Hill put her thumb on the scale in an attempt to influence that outcome?

“Toward the end of the trial, Mrs. Hill came into the jury room a lot,” one juror wrote in an affidavit attached to the complaint.

Associated Press

Alex was sentenced to quite a bit more time than the prosecution recommended, 17 to 22 years, ending up with a much longer sentence of 40 years. US District Judge Richard M. Gengel said the reason for that was Alex stealing from 'the most needy, vulnerable people", adding that Murdaugh stole from those who "placed all their problems and all their hopes" on him. Gengel also imposed mandatory restitution of more than $9 million, although he stated that Alex did not have the ability to pay it. Murdaugh was required to pay $2,000 in a special assessment, immediately. The 22 federal counts he was sentenced for today are the final outstanding charges for Murdaugh.

In response to Alex blaming his crimes on an opiod addiction, Judge Gergel scoffed, saying "No truly impaired person could pull off these complex transactions."

Prosecutors want to keep many of the FBI statements secret, as they are still investigating the missing money and others who may have been involved. Publicly revealing the information might jeopardize an ongoing grand jury investigation, they stated.

Murdaugh said he was "filled with sorrow. I am filled with remorse. I am filled with guilt."

Attorney Jim Griffin stated Alex would probably serve 60% of his sentence, about 24 years, but added that 'things can change over time."

Eric Bland, attorney for several victims of Murdaugh's crimes, said it was offensive to equate Murdaugh's victims with victims of Bernie Madoff, Samuel Bankman-Fried, or Enron Victims. "These victims were not investing money. They lost their loved ones....And Alex Murdaugh took advantage of that."

Good morning!

On Friday, March 3, Alex Murdaugh was led away from the Colleton County Courthouse wearing a tan prison jumpsuit and handcuffs. He was taken by paddy wagon to the Kirkland Correctional Institution in Richland County, South Carolina. Following prison guidelines, Alex changed into a yellow prison jumpsuit and his head was shaved before he was booked into the maximum-security facility. He is actively serving a life sentence and his Inmate Detail Report lists 'not eligible' for parole or furlough.

💐In a haunting coincidence, March 3 is the anniversary of the day Mallory Beach's body was found.💐

The HOT RUMOR is that a Juror has a sibling relationship to a witness for the prosecution. Thanks to Angenette Levy of the Law & Crime channel for confirming that both prosecution and defense were aware of this relationship beforehand and approved him for Jury service

Alex's Inmate Search Detail Report:

Judge Newman spoke eloquently to Alex at the sentencing hearing:

"This has been perhaps one of the most troubling cases, not for just for me as a Judge, the State and Defense teams, but for all of the citizens in this community, all the citizens in this state, as we've seen based on the media coverage, throughout the nation. We have a wife who's been killed, a son savagely murdered, a lawyer, a person from a respected family who has controlled justice in this community for over a century. A person whose grandfather's portrait hanged in the back of the courthouse, that I had to have ordered removed to ensure that a fair trial was had by both the State and the defense."

"And I've sat through the trial as the presiding judge of the state grand jury, I've sat through and participated in the issuance of search warrants of various sorts, bond hearings, and have had to consider many things. I have this case, and I'm also assigned to preside over... at least 99 other cases. Although testimony has come up regarding many of those other cases, I will not make any remark on the pending cases as I have been assigned to them as well."

"It's also particularly troubling, Mr. Murdoch, because as a member of the legal community, and as a well-known member of the legal community, you've practiced before me, and we've seen each other at various occasions throughout the years, and it was especially heartbreaking particularly hard for me to see you go in the media from being a grieving father who lost a wife and son, to being the person indicted and convicted of killing them."

"And you've engaged in such duplicitous conduct here in the courtroom, here on the witness stand, and as established by the testimony throughout the time leading to the indictment to the trial to this moment in time, certainly you have no obligation to say anything other than saying 'not guilty.' " ...I would not expect a confession of any kind."

"In fact, as I've presided over murder cases over the past 22 years, I have yet to get anyone, to find a defendant who could go there, who would go to that moment in time, when they decided to pull the trigger or to otherwise murder someone. I have not been able to get anyone, any defendant even those who have confessed to being guilty, to go back and explain to me what happened at that moment in time when they opted to pull the trigger, when they opted to commit the most heinous crime known to man."

"And this case qualifies under our death penalty statute based on the statutory aggravating circumstances of two or more people being murdered by the defandant. I don't question at all the decision of the State not to pursue the death penalty. But as I sit here in the courtroom and look around at all the portraits of judges and court officials and reflect over the past century your family, including you, have been prosecuting here in this courtroom, and many have received the death penalty, probably for lesser conduct."

"Remind me of the expression you gave on the witness stand.....'oh what a tangled web we weave', what did you mean by that?" Judge Newman asks. Alex responds, "I meant that when I lied, I continued to lie."

"And the question is, When will it end, when will it end? And, it's ended already for the Jury because they've concluded that you continued to lie and lie throughout your testimony. And, perhaps with all the throng of people here they for the most part all believe or 80 or 90, 99% believe you continued to lie in your denial to the court. Perhaps you believe it does not matter, that there is nothing that could mitigate a sentence given the crimes that were committed."

"A notice of alibi was filed in this case, in November, and we conducted a hearing, pre-trial hearing in which you claimed to be someplace else at the time was committed. Then after all the witnesses placed you at the scene of the crime, at the last minute,... last minutes or days, you switched courses and admitted to being there. Then that necessitated more lies, and continued to lie, and I said where will it end. It's already ended for many who have heard you and concluded that it'll never end. But within your own soul you have to deal with that."

"And I know you have to see Paul and Maggie during the nighttime as you try to go to sleep. I'm sure they come and visit you. I'm sure. Alex agrees with the Judge that "Maggie and Paul visit him every night."

"And I'm sure they look you in the eyes as you looked the Jury in the eyes. I don't know a person whose always been such a friendly, gregarious cause your life to be tangled in such a weaved web, such a that you've spun into. And it's unfortunate because you had such a lovely family of such friendly people, including you. And to go from that to this."

"Your license to practice law has been stripped away from you. You've turned from lawyer to witness, and now have an opportunity to make your final appeal as an ex-lawyer, and it's.... really surprising that you're waiving your right at this time. But if you opt to do so it's on you. You're not compelled to say anything. But you have the opportunity to do so."

Alex states, "I'll tell you again, I respect this court, but I'm innocent. I would never, under any circumstances hurt my wife Maggie, and would under any circumstances hurt my son Pau Pau."

Judge Newman responds, "And it might not have been you. Maybe it wasn't you; maybe it was the monster you become when taking 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 opioid pills. Maybe you become another person. I've seen that before. The person standing before me did not commit the crime, though it's the same individual. We'll leave that at that."

"Before we announce sentence in this case, in regard to all the other pending cases, are any of them in Colleton?" Prosecutor Waters answers that the cases are spread around.

"We may have worn out our welcome here in Colleton and take this opportunity to thank Sheriff Hill and all of the court officials and really everyone I've met and dealt with here in Colleton County. They've just been great. But without any delay, we are going to schedule the other (financial) matters."

"There are other cases that deserve to be heard, and we have jumped other cases, perhaps jumped it because of the assault on the integrity of the judicial in our state, law enforcement in our state. Even law enforcement has been harrassed for the last few weeks, by one who had access to the wheels of justice to be able to deflect the investigation and as evidence as pointed out in this case, the looming storm that Mr. Waters talked about."

"I can just imagine that day on June the 7th, when a lawyer confesses to having stolen over half a million dollars from a client and he has a tiger like Mark Tinsley on his tail, pursuing discovery in the case involving the death of Mallory Beach. And having a father, for the most part, on his death bed. I could imagine, I really can't imagine, I know it had to have been quite a bit going through your mind on that day. But amazingly, to have you come and testify that it was just another ordinary day. That my wife and son and I were out just enjoying life. Not credible, not believable. You can convince yourself about it, but obviously you have the inability to convince anyone else about that."

"If you made any such arguments as a lawyer you would lose every case like that, cases you will never have the opportunity to argue anymore except perhaps your own as you sit in the department of corrections."

"Mr. Murdaugh, I sentence you to the State Department of Corrections on each of the murder indictments, for the murder of your wife, I sentence you for the term of the rest of your natural life. For the murder of Paul Murdaugh, whom you probably loved so much, I sentence you to prison for murdering him for the rest of your natural life. Those sentences will run consecutively. Under the statute involving a weapon during a violent crime, there is no sentence, where a life sentence is imposed on other indictments."

"That is the sentence of the court, and you are remanded to the State Department of Corrections."

Here is a link to Judge Newman's speech to Alex -

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A big WELCOME to all of our new members! MurdaughFamilyMurders subreddit has more than doubled in membership over the past few weeks, over 58,000 as of last night. Grab a cuppa and join our cozy room for the latest news and interesting commentary!

*Visit our collections, which are updated daily. We've updated family photos and our daily trial summaries with a witness key page. Corrections and additions are greatly appreciated!

_______________________________________

Here are some morning links:

WJCL - The trial of Alex Murdaugh: A full recap

The Defense's press conference:

Perp walk and spectator reactions:

The town of Walterboro reacts:

Links to interesting reactions and reviews:

Bruce Rivers, Criminal Lawyer Reacts to Verdict and Sentencing

J. D.- A Lawyer Explains does a "Legal Post Mortem" on the Trial

Matt Harris' Impact of Influence podcast - Murdaugh Family Murder #112

Law & Crime - Full Sentencing Recap

🎸Some redditors have asked about Prosecutor Creighton Waters shredding skills after we posted his "Already Gone" video clip with his Sole Purpose Band. Well, we found this ORIGINAL song that Creighton actually wrote -

BY TED CLIFFORD /The State - Crime & Courts/ September 05, 2023 / 5:04 PM

Accusations that Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca “Becky” Hill tampered with jurors during the Alex Murdaugh murder trial will shock those who watched or attended the trial, including journalists, law enforcement officers and lawyers who saw Hill as a friendly problem solver who ensured the smooth running of a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Over six weeks, Hill became something of a sensation. Her apparent diligence, gentleness, humor and unflappable demeanor seemed to lend an air of Southern charm to a story that was straight out of a Southern gothic.

But Murdaugh attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin allege that Hill tampered with the jury and influenced the outcome of the trial “to secure for herself a book deal and media appearances that would not happen in the event of a mistrial.

“Ms. Hill betrayed her oath of office for money and fame,” the filing alleges.

In a 65-page challenge filed Tuesday morning in the South Carolina Court of Appeals, Hill is accused of having one person removed from the jury, encouraging jurors not to be “fooled” by Murdaugh’s testimony and having inappropriate private conversations with the court-appointed jury foreperson.

Hill has not responded to a request for comment from The State.

The defense filing references several passages from Hill’s memoir, “Behind the Doors of Justice,” co-written with Neil Gordon and published earlier this year by Wind River Media.

Hill’s memoir provides what may be the only public portrait of Hill and her experience of the trial. It paints a portrait of a public servant who was devoted, and often cast her work in terms of religious obligation. But it also showed a local official who was caught up in the media buzz surrounding a high-profile trial where she says she was convinced of the defendant’s guilt.

Who is Becky Hill?

In the book, Hill describes herself as “a bit of a legal eagle” whose entire career had led up to her being elected Colleton County’s Clerk of Court. At the time of the trial, Hill was a relatively new clerk. While she had worked as a court reporter for over a decade, she had only been elected to the position of Colleton County Clerk of Court in November 2020.

Previously, she had been a middle school teacher, worked in the state and local disability agency, and held administrative roles in law offices before working as a court reporter for fourteen years.

After starting as a freelance court reporter, Hill became an official court reporter for the state of South Carolina in 2008, she wrote in her book. She was assigned to Judge Perry M. Bucker, the administrative judge for the Fourteenth Circuit, which covers Allendale, Hampton, Colleton, Jasper and Beaufort counties.

It was in this position that she first met Alex Murdaugh and his father, Randolph, who served as the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor. She describes in the book seeing both Murdaughs around the courthouse, and described a “wonderful charm” that seemed to have been passed down between generations.

In fact, Hill’s family and the Murdaughs had been entwined for generations, as are many families are in that rural, sparsely populated corner of the Lowcountry. Hill recounted that her “granddaddy,” Felder Hiers, a mechanic by trade but moonshiner by nature, ran an illegal liquor still with Buster Murdaugh, Alex’s grandfather who was serving as solicitor at the time.

Hill believed Murdaugh was guilty

In the opening chapter of her memoir, Hill is clear about how she saw the outcome of the trial:

“I was mostly concerned about Alex being found innocent when I knew in my heart he was guilty.”

Hill says that she was convinced of Murdaugh’s guilt after visiting Moselle with the jury near the end of the trial. Hill described viewing the kennels where Maggie and Paul were gunned down.

“While the jurors viewed the Moselle property, we all could hear and see that Alex’s story was impossible... Some of us either from the courthouse, law enforcement or jury at Moselle had an epiphany and shared our thoughts with our eyes. At that moment, any of us standing there knew. I knew and they knew that Alex was guilty.”

Hill also recounted arriving at this conclusion with other court employees in the car on the hour-long drive back to the court house.

“Just as the jury would do in a span of three hours, we unanimously came to our own verdict in just three minutes: Guilty,” Hill wrote.

Hill traveled with jurors after the trial

The day after the trial, Hill accompanied three of the jurors to be interviewed on The Today Show and Dateline in New York City.

It was on this trip that Hill says she learned that one juror, who thought he wasn’t going to be able to serve because he needed to work in order to make child support payments, received money from three friends so that he could stay on the jury.

Hill also described the experience of being picked up at LaGuardia airport in New York City in a black Chevy Tahoe and being driven into Manhattan, where they were put up at a hotel and had an opportunity to eat at a restaurant on Madison Avenue.

“The jurors told me they felt like they were heard and loved their fifteen minutes of fame in the Big Apple.”

Removing the juror in Hill’s own words

One incident that has drawn particular scrutiny is the dismissal of Juror 758, who was removed from the jury after Hill says she found a Facebook post Hill said she believed to be from the woman’s ex-husband claiming the juror had said she already knew what her verdict was going to be.

In Hill’s memoir, she writes that she saw the post on a local Facebook group, Hampton Word of Mouth, late on a Friday night but didn’t think much of it.

“I felt like a principal dealing with tattletales and problems and issues everyday. It was tiring,” Hill wrote.

She writes that on the following Monday, Judge Clifton Newman asked her to find the post but neither Hill nor her court staff were able to find the original post. Instead, they found that the post had been taken down, and an apology from the poster who said that he had been drinking and had let “Satan” control him.

Newman decided to relieve the juror after interviewing her and corroborating witnesses, Hill wrote. But in the filings, Murdaugh’s attorneys allege that Hill took a far more active role. It accuses Hill of conducting one-on-one interviews with the juror where she allegedly described the post as saying the juror had gone drinking with her ex-husband. Hill also allegedly lied and told the juror that SLED and the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office personnel went to the ex-husband’s house where he confirmed he made the post, according to the legal filing.

Hill also claimed that they only later learned that the juror and her ex-spouse had not seen each other in 14 years and that the juror had three restraining orders against her ex-husband. In an affidavit signed by the juror, which was submitted as part of the appeal, the juror says that she told Hill that she had not seen her ex-husband in ten years.

Michael M. Dewitt, Jr. with Greenville News

. . .

Even as the South Carolina Supreme Court prepares to hear appeals to determine if convicted double murderer Richard "Alex" Murdaugh deserves a new trial over allegations of jury tampering, two former jurors and their attorney have come forward and publicly cast doubts on whether Murdaugh received a fair murder trial back in 2023.

Myra Crosby was formerly known only as the dismissed Juror 785 or "The Egg Lady" during the six-week Murdaugh murder trial in Walterboro. Mandy Pearce was formerly known only as Juror 630 during the 2023 murder trial or Juror Z during the January 2024 hearing that denied Murdaugh a retrial.

Both jurors, who had remained anonymous until this week, and their attorney Joe McCulloch, agreed to an exclusive interview for a new FOX Nation special titled "Fall of the House of Murdaugh: From Egg to Z," which aired Tuesday and was hosted by anchor Martha MacCallum. It is available to watch on streaming channels.

Previous episodes of Fall of the House of Murdaugh, not to be confused with a book by the same title, featured interviews with Murdaugh's surviving son, Richard "Buster" Murdaugh Jr., who expressed his belief that his father did not commit the June 2021 murders of his mother, Maggie, and younger brother, Paul.

Justice system may not have been fair?

During the latest Fall episode, both jurors and their attorney make claims that the justice system may not have been fair in the double-murder case of disbarred attorney Murdaugh.

Crosby tells Fox Nation that she believes she was improperly dismissed from the jury because "they couldn't read me" and because she had doubts about Murdaugh's guilt. She also stated that she felt that the former, now embattled Colleton County Clerk of Court, Becky Hill, was trying to influence the jurymembers.

Crosby discusses Facebook posts alleged to have been made by her ex-husband and an e-mail that surfaced accusing her of talking about the case outside the courtroom. She also claims that Hill targeted her for removal from the jury.

Crosby earned the dubious nickname of "Egg Lady" or "Egg Juror" because she was dismissed for allegedly discussing the case outside of the courtroom and asking someone to fetch her pocketbook and her dozen eggs from the jury room. This incident is explained in more detail in the episode.

Pearce, the only deliberating juror who testified her guilty verdict was swayed by Hill during a January 2024 hearing on the allegations gives "firsthand accounts of the twists and turns of the case" and also expresses her doubts about Murdaugh's guilt and access to a fair trial.

What impact could these jurors have on the Murdaugh case?

Murdaugh was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison, with no possibility of parole. He also received lengthy sentences for his financial crimes in state and federal courts. While he admitted to multiple counts of fraud, he steadfastly denied the murder charges.

But months after Murdaugh's conviction, jury tampering allegations against Hill, ethics, and plagiarism complaints surfaced. These allegations could mean a new trial for Murdaugh as the state Supreme Court prepares to hear his appeal.

Like many major criminal cases, the Murdaugh case has sparked an intense, bitterly debated, often hostile true crime environment, with many critics voicing their concerns online for the past year or more as they take sides on the issue.

Was Alex Murdaugh guilty of murdering his family? Did he receive a fair trial?

These questions continue to haunt the South Carolina legal system, questions that the S.C. Supreme Court, and perhaps ultimately federal appeals courts, will have to address. Still, these jurors and their public admissions may impact—and serve a purpose—especially for many critics who do not believe Murdaugh got a fair trial and who may be actively working to impact the outcome of this case.

Facts to consider while watching documentary

Here are some facts to consider and ponder in this case as you watch the documentary

McCulloch attended almost every day of Murdaugh's six-week murder trial. When reporters asked about his interest and connection to the case (other than representing a plaintiff in a wrongful death case against Murdaugh), McCulloch said he was considering "writing a screenplay" on the case.

Now, he represents two of Murdaugh's jurors and has doubts of his own about the Murdaugh proceedings.

"... I would say there is a tree I have been shaking, and that's the fair tree to make sure even Alex Murdaugh, who may be a murderer, got a fair trial," McCulloch told Fox Nation. "I was not convinced he did after sitting through six weeks. And then being contacted by Myra first and then Mandy, it became clear to me there were problems. Now, those were problems I couldn't reveal to the defense. They contacted me to say they had begun to reach out to jurors."

Juror released book on Murdaugh trial

On the same day that Fox Nation released this latest episode of Fall of the House of Murdaugh, juror Crosby reportedly released a book on Amazon about her experiences during the trial, "Because Enough Is Enough," in which she expresses the same opinions.

That book was co-authored with a "ghost writer" who publicly identifies himself as Crime and Cask. Crime and Cask also recently published an Amazon book entitled "Defending Alex Murdaugh," in which the author argues Murdaugh's innocence.

Murdaugh's defense team provided access to Fox Nation

Murdaugh's defense team, led by Richard Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, have been working closely with the producers of the Fox Nation docuseries, providing access to his son Buster, along with Murdaugh family photos and videos, and, allegedly, even to Murdaugh himself in violation of prison rules.

These events, and the timing as a Supreme Court hearing lies ahead, may cause many true crime critics to examine potential connections between Murdaugh's legal team and other people interested in his case.

But one thing is almost certain. In their court filings and legal arguments, Harpootlian and Griffin have, on multiple occasions, used media reports to make points in their case, so the thoughts of these disgruntled jurors will likely reach the Supreme Court's ears long before they rule.

Jeffrey Collins - Associated Press Greenville News - 2/23/23

Key Points

• Alex Murdaugh lied about being at the kennels with his wife and son shortly before their killings for 20 months before taking the stand Thursday, day 23 of the trial.

• Murdaugh blamed the lie — first told to a state law enforcement agent hours after the killings — on his addiction to opioids.

• Murdaugh said he briefly tried to roll over his son, who was lying face down, to check on him but decided he couldn’t do anything to help.

• Prosecutor Creighton Waters opened cross-examination by asking Murdaugh if he agreed that he stole from his clients and law firm.

• Murdaugh said he couldn’t remember all the details of the thefts that took place over at least 13 years and offered a blanket statement that he was wrong.

Disgraced South Carolina attorney denied killing his wife and son but admitted lying to investigators about when he last saw them alive as he took the stand in his own defense Thursday.

Murdaugh, 54, is charged with murder in the fatal shootings of and their who were killed near kennels on their property on June 7, 2021. In his testimony, Murdaugh continued to staunchly deny any role in the killings.

“I would never intentionally do anything to hurt either one of them,” Murdaugh said, tears running down his cheeks.

Prosecutors spent four weeks of the trial painting Murdaugh as a liar and decided to kill his wife and son because he wanted sympathy to buy time to cover up his financial crimes that were about to be discovered. They have detailed what they called lie after lie, saying Murdaugh reacts violently when the truth is about to emerge, like trying to arrange his own death after his law firm fired him three months after the killings.

The trial will conclude its fifth week on Friday with proceedings beginning at 9:30 a.m. At the end of Thursday's session, prosecutor Creighton Waters told judge Clifton Newman the cross-examination of Murdaugh may take another "three or four hours" Friday.

Creighton Waters peppers Alex Murdaugh on financial crimes

The prosecution began its cross-exam of Murdaugh Thursday afternoon.

Prosecutor Creighton Waters didn’t question Murdaugh about the murders during his nearly two-hour, cross-examination, focusing instead on clients Murdaugh stole money from.

“We heard about it in a very academic, paperwork manner. But in every one of these, you had to sit down and look somebody in the eye and convince them you were on their side when you were not,” Waters said.

Murdaugh said he couldn’t remember all the details of the thefts that took place over at least 13 years and offered a blanket statement that he was wrong, which Waters rejected.

“I know you want to get through this quicker, but we’re not,” the prosecutor said after thumping a large file on the lectern.

Murdaugh said he couldn’t remember all the details of the thefts that took place over at least 13 years and offered a blanket statement that he was wrong, which Waters rejected before hammering on the personal nature of the thefts.

“There were plenty of conversations where I looked people in the eye and lied to them,” Murdaugh eventually conceded.

Alex Murdaugh: Web of lies tied to opioid addiction

Murdaugh lied about being at the kennels with his wife and son shortly before their killings for 20 months before taking the stand Thursday, day 23 of the trial. Murdaugh blamed the lie — first told to a state law enforcement agent hours after the killings — on his addiction to opioids, which he said clouded his thinking and created a distrust of police.

“As my addiction evolved over time, I would get in these situations, these circumstances where I would get paranoid thinking,” Murdaugh said.

The once-prominent attorney had told police that he was napping and did not go to the kennels before leaving the house to visit his ailing mother in another town. But several witnesses testified that they believed they heard Murdaugh’s voice along with his son and wife on cellphone video taken at the kennels about five minutes before the shootings. It took investigators more than a year to hack into Paul Murdaugh’s iPhone and find the video.

Once Alex Murdaugh started lying about being at the kennels, he said he felt he had to continue: “Oh, what a tangled web we weave. Once I told a lie — I told my family — I had to keep lying.”

Once he started lying about being at the kennels, he said he felt he had to continue: “Oh, what a tangled web we weave. Once I told a lie — I told my family — I had to keep lying.”

For prosecutors that lie underpins a case where investigators haven’t presented the weapons used to kill the victims, a confession, surveillance video or clothes covered in blood. Murdaugh faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted.

Murdaugh testified that his wife asked him to go to the kennels the evening of the killings, so he rode down in a golf cart and wrestled a chicken away from a dog before returning to the house and deciding to go visit his ailing mother.

He said that, after returning home from visiting his mother, neither his wife nor his son was in the house. After several minutes, Murdaugh said, he drove his SUV to the kennels where he said he last saw them.

Murdaugh described arriving to find pausing his testimony for several seconds as he cried. “It was so bad,” he said.

Murdaugh said he briefly tried to roll over his son, who was lying face down, to check on him but decided he couldn’t do anything to help.

“I could see his brain laying on the sidewalk. I didn’t know what to do,” Murdaugh said.

After his dramatic opening questions about whether Murdaugh killed his son and wife, defense attorney Jim Griffin led his client though several key points of the case.

Murdaugh said he never saw that prosecutors found at his mother’s home with gunshot residue on the lining. He said his mother’s caretaker was mistaken when she said he came by unexpectedly at 6:30 a.m. acting oddly.

He told Griffin several times that he urged investigators to get GPS data from his SUV or his wife’s phone that would exonerate him. Earlier defense testimony suggested state agents waited too long to get that information from Maggie Murdaugh’s device and it was overwritten for the night of the killings.

Throughout his testimony, Murdaugh called his son “Paul Paul” and his wife “Mags,” though he didn’t use those nicknames in three interviews with police the night of the killings, three days later and months later.

Defense attorneys told the judge that Murdaugh might not have testified at all if prosecutors hadn’t been allowed to introduce evidence of financial crimes.

Murdaugh admitted in court that he stole money from clients. He blamed an addiction to painkillers from the lingering effects of a college football knee injury that got worse nearly two decades ago.

“I’m not quite sure how I let myself get where I got. I battled that addiction for so many years. I was spending so much money on pills,” Murdaugh said.

Murdaugh is charged with about 100 other crimes, ranging from stealing from clients to tax evasion. He is being held without bail on those charges, so even if he is found not guilty of the killings, he will not walk out of court a free man. If convicted of most or all of those financial crimes, Murdaugh would likely spend decades in prison.

Alex Murdaugh's demeanor during the trial

it's case, Murdaugh appeared angry and yet at other times he'd sneer at the prosecution.

As the testimony of how his wife's pancreas, kidney, and other organs were annihilated by 300 Blackout rounds designed to take down wild boar or how his son's brain landed at the victim's feet, Murdaugh rocks, hangs his head and weeps.

Yet in other moments, files in hand, Murdaugh strategizes like the lawyer in the case, then laughs with his defense team and appears jovial, as if he has forgotten that he is accused of the unthinkable.

Murdaugh peered at them, sometimes over the bridge of glasses perched at the end of his nose, seeming to analyze every word that came out.

Witness list in the Alex Murdaugh trial

Murdaugh is now one of the dozens of people to take

 that have already taken the stand and could still potentially take it ranges from investigators with different South Carolina police departments to Alex Murdaugh's still-living son, Buster. Testimony from those witnesses was on hold Friday morning as heard arguments and debated whether to allow evidence of  alleged financial crimes and other "bad acts" as motive in the deaths of Murdaugh's wife, Maggie, and son, Paul.