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Alex Murdaugh defied his own lawyers’ advice to take the stand in his double murder trial in a legal Hail Mary that has divided experts.
In the latest twist in the Murdaugh saga, the disgraced legal scion, 54, decided to testify Thursday, stunning those both inside and outside the courtroom – with his own lawyer conceding that he was ‘hurt’ by the move.
Murdaugh admitted lying to cops when he told them he was never at the murder scene moments before his wife Maggie and son Paul were shot dead. He claimed a crippling 20-year opioid addiction made him paranoid around the police.
Under cross examination, the disbarred attorney said he was ’embarrassed’ that he had routinely lied to clients and partners at his law firm during a decade of malfeasance during which he stole more than $10m to fund his drug addiction.
Legal experts are divided, some arguing that his testimony has been a ‘train wreck’, while others say his account was ‘thoughtful and collected’ and would help jurors to fill in the gaps in the complicated case which hinges on circumstantial evidence.
Murdaugh broke down in tears Friday as the prosecutor brought his explosive grilling to a close with proof that the alleged double murderer lied to cops about his alibi
Prosecutor Creighton Waters grills Alex Murdaugh during Murdaugh’s murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse
Buster, Maggie, Paul and Alex Murdaugh in a photo the mother posted for Father’s Day in 2020
Murdaugh is accused of shooting Maggie, 52, five times with an assault rifle before twice blasting Paul, 22, with a shotgun at the family’s hunting estate at Moselle, South Carolina, on the night of June 7, 2021.
No murder weapon has ever been recovered and there is no forensic evidence tying Murdaugh to the scene.
But phone records, GPS data and a video taken by his son moments before his death prove Murdaugh’s original alibi to cops – that he left to visit his mother and never saw the pair alive at the kennels – was not true.
Murdaugh denied the killings on the stand and claimed that someone had killed the pair in revenge for his son’s fatal boat accident. He claims Paul received threats in the wake of the crash that left his friend, 19-year-old Mallory Beach dead.
Lori Murray, a South Carolina criminal defense attorney, said the grilling Murdaugh received under cross-examination both harmed and helped his case.
On the one hand, jurors will now have his lies fresh in their memory, but on the other he ‘held up well’ and managed to remain collected under severe questioning.
Murray told DailyMail.com: ‘It harmed him because it took away from the good evidence the defense had put in and put the focus on him. They’ve now forgotten what they heard two days ago. But he held up well in my opinion. He remained calm even under some intense questioning. I would argue if you cannot lose your cool in that situation what’s a little financial pressure?
‘It also helped him because the state focused more on his lies than the murders. I would have got up – asked the right questions and sat down. They spent way too long beating a dead horse and now the jury has forgotten the OnStar (GPS car data) testimony. I’m also not sure how well the snarky tone works in small town America.’
South Carolina attorney Susan Williams said she was ‘completely flabbergasted’ by the decision which was ‘very rare’ for any defendant, not least one with so much on the line.
Lori Murray , a South Carolina criminal defense attorney, said the grilling Murdaugh received under cross-examination both harmed and helped his case
Williams believes he made the decision because the legal heir believes his status can see him through with jurors at the Colleton County courthouse in Walterboro.
‘He thinks that he can out smart, he thinks that his personality, his influence and power is going to be more well regarded from the jury than what the actual case and what the actual science and what the hard evidence is,’ she told WJCL
She argued that Murdaugh’s claim that he lied to cops because he mistrusted State law enforcement was not credible given that he was a solicitor he frequently rubbed shoulders with officers.
‘What I found absolutely incredible was his distrust for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division which is remarkable because as we know Alex has a badge as a volunteer solicitor and he has these, quote unquote, graveyard buddies, that are fire, police, DNR, you know these are his close friends and I’m not buying what he’s selling about his distrust for State law enforcement.’
Speaking ahead of his cross examination today, Williams predicted it would ‘go terribly for Alex and go very well for the State.’
She said: ‘Abraham Lincoln said ‘No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar,’ and there are so many details that the prosecution is going to bring out which the defense had completely skipped over.
‘Once the flood gates of cross examination open up all bets are off and I think that the prosecution is really gonna hammer in on Alex Murdaugh and I don’t think he can rap his mind around how much he’s gonna come on cross examination.’
Buster Murdaugh, the son of Alex Murdaugh, buries his face in his hand as he listens to his father testify at the Colleton County Courthouse on Friday
Defense attorney Jim Griffin objects to questioning by prosecutor Creighton Waters as Alex Murdaugh testifies during his murder trial
Prosecutor Creighton Waters cross examines Alex Murdaugh during Murdaugh’s trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Friday
Buster Murdaugh, the son of Alex Murdaugh, looks stony-faced as his listens to his father Friday
Defense attorney Jim Griffin talks with Dick Harpootlian as Alex Murdaugh testifies at the Colleton County Courthouse
Defense attorney Duncan Levin said Murdaugh’s testimony was a ‘train wreck that has inched the prosecution significantly closer to a conviction.’
‘It was clear prior to his testimony that his own lawyers did not want him to testify, and now we know why,’ Levin told The Daily Beast. ‘The prosecution has done a very good job so far at showing the jury who Alex Murdaugh really is. And he really appeared to flounder during cross-examination.’
Levin said Murdaugh had admitted to abusing his solicitor’s badge, stealing from clients and lying about his alibi on the night of the killings.
‘His demeanor was also off, snapping at the prosecutor, who was asking about his financial crimes,’ Levin added. ‘He repeatedly admitted lying and blamed it on a drug addiction.
‘The question is whether the jury will accept his excuses, and it seems pretty incredible to believe that anyone on the jury was swayed in his direction during his testimony.’
However, Gerald Harmon, a South Carolina criminal defense attorney, said he found Murdaugh to be ‘thoughtful and collected’ giving evidence.
‘I can imagine the jury is engaged and is using his testimony to fill in holes,’ he added.
‘It’s complicated to analyze how effective his decision to testify will be with the jury. I do not believe Alex has substantially harmed his case with his testimony.’
Murdaugh broke down in tears Friday as the prosecutor brought his explosive grilling to a close with proof that the alleged double murderer lied to cops about his alibi.
‘Are you a family annihilator, Mr Murdaugh?’ Prosecutor Creighton Waters asked.
Murdaugh replied: ‘A family annihilator? You mean did I shoot my wife and son? No.’
But Waters then exploded Murdaugh’s ‘new story’ after the legal scion yesterday admitted he lied to cops when when he said he was not at the kennels moments before Maggie and Paul were killed because his partners arrived to tell him to get a lawyer before he spoke to State investigators (SLED).
The prosecutor played bodycam footage from the local cop who was first on the scene in which Murdaugh lied that he last saw Maggie and Paul 45 minutes before going to see his mother.
‘At that time SLED was not there … but you still told the same lie,’ Waters said as he brought the cross examination to a crescendo.
‘And all those reasons you just gave this jury about the most important part of your testimony was a lie, too. Isn’t that true, Mr. Murdaugh?’
Murdaugh replied: ‘I disagree with that.’
‘Nothing further,’ Waters said as he brought the two-day grilling to a close.
Earlier, Waters reeled off dozens of victims of Murdaugh’s financial crimes, including clients and staff at his firm, asking if the alleged killer lied to each individual.
Murdaugh squirmed on the stand, at times admitting his lies, at other points claiming his memory was hazy before conceding: ‘I would have at some point I am sure.’
Waters then skewered him, saying: ‘And you want this jury to believe a story manufactured to fit the evidence that you brought forth just yesterday after hearing this trial’s whole testimony?’
Murdaugh replied: ‘No sir, that’s not correct.’
Alex Murdaugh today broke down in tears as the prosecutor ended his explosive grilling with proof that the alleged double murderer lied to cops about his alibi
The prosecutor played bodycam footage from the local cop who was first on the scene in which Murdaugh said he said the last time he saw Maggie and Paul was around 45 minutes before leaving to see his mother. In his ‘new story’ he told jurors yesterday he saw them about 20 minutes before he left
Buster, Maggie, Paul and Alex Murdaugh. Buster was staying with his girlfriend near Charlotte at the time of the murders
It comes after Murdaugh outlined a new narrative after the jury saw video which proved he was with his wife and son at the kennels at 8.45pm – around five minutes before the State says they were killed.
He admitted he was there briefly but went back to the house a minute after the video was taken. Murdaugh said he lied to cops that night and in later interviews because his opioid addiction made him paranoid.
The disgraced legal scion told Waters today that ‘other than lying about going to the kennel, I was cooperative about every aspect of this investigation.’
Waters hit back: ‘Very cooperative except for the most important fact of all – that you were with the victims just moments before they died.’
The prosecutor said he drove to his mother’s home in Almeda, around 15 minutes away, in order to ‘manufacture an alibi.’
Murdaugh told jurors: ‘I never manufactured an alibi in any way shape or form because I would not and did not harm my wife and child.’
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