RECAP: Alex Murdaugh Admits to Lying to Investigators on Stand In Double Murder Trial
RECAP: Alex Murdaugh Admits to Lying to Investigators on Stand In Double Murder Trial
Fallen South Carolina attorney, Alex Murdaugh, took the stand in his own defense in his double murder trial on Thursday, telling jurors that he lied to investigators but did not kill his wife and youngest son.
Authorities confirmed that Margaret Murdaugh, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22, were found dead from multiple gunshot wounds on the family property near Islandton, South Carolina, in June 2021. The 54-year-old lawyer called 911 to report the grisly scene and was charged with the killings 13 months later.
Alex Murdaugh was called to the stand Thursday, weeks into the trial, by his team of attorneys. Lawyer, Jim Griffin, immediately asked Murdaugh if he shot his wife and adult child in the head.
“No, I did not,” Alex Murdaugh said. “I didn’t shoot my wife or my son any time, ever.”
Murdaugh’s attorney asked him to describe what he saw at the scene of double murder.
“I saw what y’all have seen pictures of,” he said, weeping. “So bad.”
Prosecutors cited footage taken from Paul’s cellphone on the night of the murders, which included a video captured at the family’s dog kennels, close to where the bodies were later discovered. The video was taken several minutes before the time investigators believe that the shootings occurred. Investigators stated that Alex Murdaugh could be heard speaking in the background of the cellphone footage. Murdaugh said early on in the investigation that he was not down by the kennels on the night of the murders, and that he had last seen his wife and son at dinner.
When Alex Murdaugh was asked about his previous statements, he confessed to lying to the investigators.
“I did lie to them,” he said, confirming that he was in the video shot on June 7, 2021, the night of the double murder.
Murdaugh blamed his addiction to painkillers and resulting “paranoid thinking” as his reasons for lying about the last time he saw his family members.
“On June the 7th, I wasn’t thinking clearly,” he said. “I don’t think I was capable of reason and I lied about being out there and I’m so sorry that I did.”
Murdaugh described his 20-year addiction to opioids, but added that he had been clean for 535 days.
“I battled that addiction for so many years, I was spending so much money on pills,” he said.
Prosecutors have presented more than 60 witnesses and evidence that included police body camera footage from the night of the murders. An upset Murdaugh told police officers “it’s bad, it’s bad,” in the body camera footage, mentioning that his son had been threatened due to his involvement in a boating accident. Paul had been awaiting trial after being charged with boating under the influence, after a February 2019 collision that killed a 19-year-old South Carolina woman.
Murdaugh resigned from his law firm in the months following the murders. His firm sued the attorney amid accusations that he had embezzled money into a fake bank account over several years. Murdaugh also said that he sought help at a rehab facility.
He faces about 100 charges amid allegations that include money laundering and staging his own death to enable his surviving son to collect a $10 million insurance payout.
Alex Murdaugh faces 30 years to life in prison without parole, if convicted of the murders. He has vehemently denied killing his wife and son and pleaded not guilty.
The trial is set to resume Friday at 9:30 am.
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