Posted on 03/04/2023 8:52:35 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
For a year and a half, Alex Murdaugh denied he was anywhere near where his wife, Maggie, and 22-year-old son, Paul, were brutally killed.
But it was one of his victims -- his son -- who would provide key proof after his death that legal experts say exposed his father's web of lies and ultimately led to his conviction in the double homicide.
"It is ironic, in the end, that it was the victim, Paul Murdaugh, who solved his own murder," Dave Aronberg, state attorney for Florida's Palm Beach County, told CNN Thursday night.
Murdaugh, a now disgraced former South Carolina attorney, was found guilty Thursday of fatally shooting his wife and son and, a day later, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He has maintained his innocence.
The key proof came from a video, which Paul recorded moments before he was gunned down and killed. It appeared to show one of the family's dogs near the kennels on their property. It also captured Alex Murdaugh's voice in the background -- and placed him at the scene of the crime.
The video, which Murdaugh didn't know existed before the trial, marked the crumbling of his alibi and left him no choice but to take the stand and explain why he lied multiple times to authorities about his whereabouts, legal experts told CNN.
Murdaugh, while denying he killed his wife and son, testified he lied about where he was because of paranoid thoughts stemming from his yearslong drug addiction to opioid painkillers, as well as his distrust of investigators. While on the stand, he also confessed to more lies, admitting in court he had stolen millions from his law firm and clients over roughly two decades.
(Excerpt) Read more at channel3000.com ...
But jurors did not believe him."
I hadn’t heard a single thing about this murder, so last night we watched the 20/20 coverage of it. Riveting!
Jurors are coming forward now to say that the video shot by the slain son was proof that Murdaugh was there at the time of the killings. His voice was clearly heard on the recording of the dog in the kennel around the time of the double homicide.
What a fricken mess.
Ample proof that the attorney profession maybe the most corrupt, crooked one on this planet. Just ask yourself, who makes the laws of the land, and what profession do most of them come from.
Case closed.
He’s also being sued 100 ways from Sunday over all of his past thievery. I’m not sure what’s going to happen to his one remaining son (in his 20’s I think?) but he’s not going to inherit any fortune, that’s for sure.
Yes. A total shame. People are so selfish, drugged up and nutty!
Murdaugh did not call any law enforcement agents when he “found” his wife and son. That was critical.
I would like to see this much attention paid to the unsolved Gilgo Beach killings. It’s been 11 years!!!!
err a video he didnt know about before trial? sounds like a discovery violation...
You couldn’t write a believable script from his deeds. Just far too many working parts.
Then he met his arch foe, the judge. I think the judge would have gone for death but he had to settle for Maggie and Paul visiting Alex daily saying ‘Why?’ when he was trying to go to sleep.
Killing a wife is one thing, but killing your kid is way out of the park.
Been married 45+ years and raised a step child. I’d never kill them. Drugs or not.
My initial reaction to the whole mess is that reality in an episode of “Midsomers Murders.”
Lots of spouses kill their ex and children. Many kill the children to punish the ex or spouse. Both men and women do it, but the majority are men.
“a video he didn’t know about before trial? sounds like a discovery violation”
IIRC law enforcement had trouble accessing the phone data since no one knew the son’s password. And didn’t get into it until either right before or right after the trial started.
IIRC law enforcement had trouble accessing the phone data since no one knew the son’s password. And didn’t get into it until either right before or right after the trial started.
A convenient story...
Kind of a moot point anyway if you ask me.....the defense coulda had knowledge of it for a year, wouldn’t have made any difference.....what’s on the video is what’s on the video.
No way around it
I think that when Alex Murdaugh finally realizes what he has done - annihilated his family to preserve the facade and feed his addiction - he might be inspired to take his own life.
It’s March. April 9 is Easter. He might think about repentance, atonement, .... In May, he’ll be by himself in a cell rather than with his family Memorial Day. All the things that families do together, he will not be able to do July 4. His family probably had their own Labor Day traditions, but he’ll have neither a holiday, nor his family. Kids in cute costumes won’t ring his doorbell in October. The Thanksgiving dinner in the company of his fellow inmates will not be nearly as pleasant as it would’ve been with his family. And then, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, all the birthdays, ......, all of it just gone. I think that when he realizes to what lust of the flesh and pride of life have reduced him, he’s going to be desperate to end his life.
He was a student at Furman University (Greenville, SC) when the murders took place.
From memory, Furman costs over $50,000 a year, so it is quite possible he had to quit and start working since all of the family assets would have been frozen.
The murdered brother had a serious alcohol problem from a young age and caused a lot of stress and heartache for the entire family.
The guy’s a psychopath... I’m guessing his wife and son weren’t the first people he murdered.
He’s a piece of work.Thinks he can just say or do anything.Not this time Alex,not this time.
I think many are attracted to the profession because they like to know the rules so that they can exploit them by at least unethical methods, if not illegal.
Mario Puzo hit that right on the head in The Godfather novel: "A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more money than a hundred men with guns."
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