Murdaugh murder trial in South Carolina

[Tskware]

I have been following this case closely since the scandal first broke. Amazing story of how this formerly prominent attorney went so far off the rails, stolen money, murder, mysterious episodes involving prominent lawyers, bankers, familiy secrets and colorful locals. John Grisham only wishes he could write a story with this many twists and turns.

However . . . . from what I have read by so called criminal experts, it is no slam dunk case he gets convicted of murdering his wife and youngest son. No witnesses, no murder weapon, and a lot of supposition. Of course, and I realize this is not evidence, but my first thought is who else would have done it? One strange fact is that the two victims were killed with two different weapons, a shotgun and a high powered rifle (AR 15 I think, but could be mistaken about that). Son was known to own an AR 15, but cops can't find it.

He is facing so many other criminal charges, it is doubtful he ever gets out of jail in any event.

Another issue that bothers me is that he settled all kinds of high dollar cases, and pilfered the money with the help of his buddy a local banker, who has also been indicted (I think) . . . and yet his former law partners claim they had NO IDEA he was not remitting the proper funds to the firm clients. They were SHOCKED to learn of all the shenanigans. I honestly don't know how the other partners skate on the financial crimes perpetrated on their own clients. And where did all the fees go, if not to the firm, shouldn't they have asked those questions long before now?

 

[BigBlueFanGA]

I have been following this case closely since the scandal first broke. Amazing story of how this formerly prominent attorney went so far off the rails, stolen money, murder, mysterious episodes involving prominent lawyers, bankers, familiy secrets and colorful locals. John Grisham only wishes he could write a story with this many twists and turns.

However . . . . from what I have read by so called criminal experts, it is no slam dunk case he gets convicted of murdering his wife and youngest son. No witnesses, no murder weapon, and a lot of supposition. Of course, and I realize this is not evidence, but my first thought is who else would have done it? One strange fact is that the two victims were killed with two different weapons, a shotgun and a high powered rifle (AR 15 I think, but could be mistaken about that). Son was known to own an AR 15, but cops can't find it.

He is facing so many other criminal charges, it is doubtful he ever gets out of jail in any event.

Another issue that bothers me is that he settled all kinds of high dollar cases, and pilfered the money with the help of his buddy a local banker, who has also been indicted (I think) . . . and yet his former law partners claim they had NO IDEA he was not remitting the proper funds to the firm clients. They were SHOCKED to learn of all the shenanigans. I honestly don't know how the other partners skate on the financial crimes perpetrated on their own clients. And where did all the fees go, if not to the firm, shouldn't they have asked those questions long before now?

I live pretty close to Hampton County, about 25 minutes, and we hear about this case nonstop. One of the biggest issues is going to be the tshirt that they tested for the sons blood. They used a method that destroyed the shirt and the defense can't independently have it tested. They knew this problem and had other testing choices but for whatever reason they picked the one that destroyed the shirt. The judges over there aren't what I would call, unbiased, either. This will be interesting to follow.

We had a similar high profile case here about a decade ago and I went to one day of the trial. That just happened to be autopsy photo day. That was seriously weird.

 

[Hank Camacho]

Dick Harpootlian got this.

 

[Get Bucket$]

I have been following this case closely since the scandal first broke. Amazing story of how this formerly prominent attorney went so far off the rails, stolen money, murder, mysterious episodes involving prominent lawyers, bankers, familiy secrets and colorful locals. John Grisham only wishes he could write a story with this many twists and turns.

However . . . . from what I have read by so called criminal experts, it is no slam dunk case he gets convicted of murdering his wife and youngest son. No witnesses, no murder weapon, and a lot of supposition. Of course, and I realize this is not evidence, but my first thought is who else would have done it? One strange fact is that the two victims were killed with two different weapons, a shotgun and a high powered rifle (AR 15 I think, but could be mistaken about that). Son was known to own an AR 15, but cops can't find it.

He is facing so many other criminal charges, it is doubtful he ever gets out of jail in any event.

Another issue that bothers me is that he settled all kinds of high dollar cases, and pilfered the money with the help of his buddy a local banker, who has also been indicted (I think) . . . and yet his former law partners claim they had NO IDEA he was not remitting the proper funds to the firm clients. They were SHOCKED to learn of all the shenanigans. I honestly don't know how the other partners skate on the financial crimes perpetrated on their own clients. And where did all the fees go, if not to the firm, shouldn't they have asked those questions long before now?

Did you see/hear anything about the son’s tik tok or some other social media message to his friends in the day he was murdered they were entering into evidence?

 

[1_Cool_CAT]

I hear ya, I have been following some cases close too..

 

[august-west]

Dick Harpootlian got this.

Ole Dick kind of got off to a rough start yesterday. Jim Griffin did a much better job today on cross.

Did you see/hear anything about the son’s tik tok or some other social media message to his friends in the day he was murdered they were entering into evidence?

Supposedly there is a Snapchat of some sort from Paul’s phone that was done just prior to the killing. Don’t know if it has been entered into evidence yet.

 

[BigBlueFanGA]

Ole Dick kind of got off to a rough start yesterday. Jim Griffin did a much better job today on cross.


Supposedly there is a Snapchat of some sort from Paul’s phone that was done just prior to the killing. Don’t know if it has been entered into evidence yet.

They are trying to compel a snapchat rep to appear in court to verify the validity of the video. No one has said what is on it but the prosecutors claim it is key to them proving their case. Interesting.

 

[Tskware]

They are trying to compel a snapchat rep to appear in court to verify the validity of the video. No one has said what is on it but the prosecutors claim it is key to them proving their case. Interesting.

I think to prove he was there instead of at his mother's house

 

[august-west]

They are trying to compel a snapchat rep to appear in court to verify the validity of the video. No one has said what is on it but the prosecutors claim it is key to them proving their case. Interesting.

I think to prove he was there instead of at his mother's house

Supposedly there is a video that shows Alec and Paul riding around in a truck on the farm the day of the murders.

 

[Tskware]

So today Alex takes the stand and just about the 1st thing he does is admit that he lied 3 different times to investigators about whether or not he was at the dog kennels just minutes before his wife and son were allegedly killed.

But I guess hes going to then tell the jury "but everything I'm testifying about here today is God's honest truth. I swear no kidding this time."

I'm not F Lee Bailey but I swear I would never have let him testify, of course it is always the client's decision

 

[august-west]

I have a feeling Alec thinks he is smarter than most everyone else and he can talk his way out of/around things. I can’t imagine that Griffin or Poot thought it was a good idea.

 

[LOL_Man]

I just watched this and it blew me away. Must-see IMO. That lunatic family killed half the state before they ever got a parking ticket.

 

[Tskware]

I have a feeling Alec thinks he is smarter than most everyone else and he can talk his way out of/around things. I can’t imagine that Griffin or Poot thought it was a good idea.

If they did they should be disbarred. But honestly the prosecution proved beyond a doubt he was there, I guess he had to get up and try to explain it one way or the other

 

[LOL_Man]

I think I should clarify I just watched the Netflix 2 part series on this. I am not talking about following the case as I haven't been doing that. Just stumbled on it on Netflix.

 

[vhcat70]

What the hell. Raid the jail & string him up & be done. Way too much being wasted on lawyers -again of course - TV time & CI space. What's this all about anyway?

 

[LOL_Man]

What's this all about anyway?

Rich family going back generations own a law firm but apparently have been killing people all over the place (well... 5) since 2015 or so (that they know of) and they're just now getting around to actually prosecuting them as their killing got a little too out of hand when one killed his wife and kid because he'd been caught red handed stealing from his own law firm and was going bankrupt but...

Nevermind, just watch the Netflix 2 part series.

 

[vhcat70]

^Oh. NBD vs. real life.

 

[august-west]

I’m not 100% convinced that he is guilty, in fact I *think* he is innocent of the charges against him, but I do believe that he knows what happened.

 

[LOL_Man]

Not sure what August is looking at. This guy can't get any more guilty. At some point they have to charge him for at least 1 more murder as well.

Jury will not have any problems convicting him on all counts. Snotty prick thinks people are so stupid he can make up any story he likes so long as he's wrapped up in the bible and talking plain to the local rabble. Unbelievable what they excused from this family for so long. Awful dangerous people that have to be sociopathic at a minimum. His lunatic son that he killed should have been convicted of manslaughter for the death of that girl in the boat and arrested on the spot at the crash scene. Instead they almost got away with laying that on another kid and the fool responsible never even had cuffs put on him. For years.

 

[Tskware]

I’m not 100% convinced that he is guilty, in fact I *think* he is innocent of the charges against him, but I do believe that he knows what happened.

The fact that two guns were used in the murder (shotgun and some kind of rifle) leads me to speculate that he had a partner (perhaps the guy he paid to fake an attempted murder on himself??). OTOH, I think it more likely he used two guns to make it look like two shooters.

 

[Hank Camacho]

some kind of rifle

Well the rifle Dick Harpootlian pointed at the prosecution was an AR chambered in 300 blackout.

The strangest moments from Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial so far

Here are some of the most surprising and strange moments from the emotional trial so far.

nypost.com

 

[august-west]

Not sure what August is looking at. This guy can't get any more guilty. At some point they have to charge him for at least 1 more murder as well.

Jury will not have any problems convicting him on all counts. Snotty prick thinks people are so stupid he can make up any story he likes so long as he's wrapped up in the bible and talking plain to the local rabble. Unbelievable what they excused from this family for so long. Awful dangerous people that have to be sociopathic at a minimum. His lunatic son that he killed should have been convicted of manslaughter for the death of that girl in the boat and arrested on the spot at the crash scene. Instead they almost got away with laying that on another kid and the fool responsible never even had cuffs put on him. For years.

So far the state, IMO, hasn’t proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he killed then both. They have proved that as a human he is a real piece of shit, but that doesn’t equal guilty.

 

[barbourfor3]

I thought the timeline definitely placed him there when they were murdered. He either did it or knows who did.

 

[LowerLevelSeatA]

I’m not 100% convinced that he is guilty, in fact I *think* he is innocent of the charges against him, but I do believe that he knows what happened.

Yeah I’m with you. It just doesn’t add up to me saying he went down there picked up one gun, shot one of them, set it down. Then went and picked up another gun to shoot the other. I think he had help, had others do it, or possibly he was handling one gun and it accidentally discharged (maybe the one they say was fired at an odd angle which shot Paul), he panicked and shot Maggie…was he on drugs then? Even that doesn’t make sense. I’m like you I think he was involved somehow but nothing I can think up of how it went down makes total sense to me.

 

[Creed Bratton]

Yeah I’m with you. It just doesn’t add up to me saying he went down there picked up one gun, shot one of them, set it down. Then went and picked up another gun to shoot the other. I think he had help, had others do it, or possibly he was handling one gun and it accidentally discharged (maybe the one they say was fired at an odd angle which shot Paul), he panicked and shot Maggie…was he on drugs then? Even that doesn’t make sense. I’m like you I think he was involved somehow but nothing I can think up of how it went down makes total sense to me.

I thought he had been on drugs for a while before the murders?

 

[LowerLevelSeatA]

I thought he had been on drugs for a while before the murders?

Yeah he had supposedly been on drugs forever. In trial he has mentioned going to rehab several times so didn’t know if he was off of them at that time.

 

[Smashcat]

He is facing so many other criminal charges, it is doubtful he ever gets out of jail in any event.

This. This guy's life has basically been a quiet crime spree.

 

[Wesley91581]

Crazy he decided to take the stand - what was the purpose? He’s a lawyer so he was hoping he’d convince the jury he was innocent?

 

[LowerLevelSeatA]

Crazy he decided to take the stand - what was the purpose? He’s a lawyer so he was hoping he’d convince the jury he was innocent?

His sons cell phone video placed him at the scene when he said he wasn’t. So I think once that was confirmed he thought he had to explain that lie.

 

[justa]

I think he called his wife to come meet him there from their Edisto Beach house with intent of popping her to get the focus off the upcoming financial rabbit hole. They had been fighting for awhile and not even really living together. She then called the son to meet them there and that put a monkey wrench in his plans. But being doped up he went ahead and shot them both. The bullet angles and different weapons were just him trying to outsmart investigators.

One thing that has stuck out to me in every photo of the sons is they both have such a shit eating smirk constantly. The entitlement was unreal.

 

[Creed Bratton]

I am just amazed either of his 2 little twit sons even had friends. Who would want to hang out with those2?

 

[Hank Camacho]

I thought he had been on drugs for a while before the murders?

It sounds like he had been on drugs nonstop for years and still managing to function pretty highly in society. When people get to that place in life, it is hard to say what sobriety even looks like for them. His normal everyday usage would probably kill most regular adults.

On a side note, there has been a recent increase in the issue with opiate users who stop because of prison or pregnancy and then die almost immediately when they relapse because their body is no longer accustomed to high levels of dope and the dope has gotten so much stronger with carfentanil running rampant.

 

[Creed Bratton]

I read the other day that the Average Life Expectancy has dropped in recent years due to so many opioid deaths. There have been so many overdoses by young people it's dropped by 2-3 years is what I read but who knows if it's true. 🤷‍♂️

 

[justa]

If you ever watch On Patrol Live they have to pop the Narcan about once a night.

I'm torn on that one. On one hand, play stupid games win stupid prizes (OD/Death). But I did have a close relative that was saved with it. So I get why they do it.

 

[WildcatofNati]

What the hell. Raid the jail & string him up & be done. Way too much being wasted on lawyers -again of course - TV time & CI space. What's this all about anyway?

Your perspective on the criminal justice system is precisely what I would have guessed it to be. Disgusting.

 

[Tskware]

The last set of questions by the prosecutor were devastating, played the very first discussion with the police officer on the scene, and when Alec was told his family was dead, he was distraught, crying, as anyone would be, but then the next question was, "when was the last time you saw them", he immediately said, "oh, I went to visit my mother for an hour and a half, and was probably 45 minutes before that".

In short, a pure lie from the very beginning. The victims phones went dead about 4 or 5 minutes after the video showing him at the kennels at 8:45 or 8:46 PM.

 

[LOL_Man]

In what should have been a slam dunk case is probably going to wind up in a hung jury as the prosecution isn't very effective on cross.

For this family to keep getting away with all this stuff is sickening. It's that culture of entitlement where the rules are for everyone else that galls me.

 

[CaptainBoogerBuns]

I am just amazed either of his 2 little twit sons even had friends. Who would want to hang out with those2?

They had the nice toys

 

[Wesley91581]

They had the nice toys

Yup this is 100% the answer

 

[80 Proof]

So far the state, IMO, hasn’t proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he killed then both. They have proved that as a human he is a real piece of shit, but that doesn’t equal guilty.

The blood splatters on his shirt being consistent with a close range shooting is pretty damning.