Alex Murdaugh trial – live: First responders describe grisly crime scene as jury hears 911 call about murders
First officer on scene describes finding Alex Murdaugh’s wife and son dead
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The first witnesses have been testifying in Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial.
Sgt Daniel Greene, a detective with the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office, was working on the night of 7 June 2021 and was the first officer to arrive on the scene of the murders. His testimony was followed by other officers and personnel who handled the initial 911 call and response.
The first day of testimony comes after jurors heard gruesome details about the victim’s brutal injuries in opening statements.
The disgraced legal scion, 54, is accused of gunning down his wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, at the family’s estate. He denies the allegations.
During opening arguments on Wednesday, Mr Murdaugh broke down in tears as his family’s injuries were described to the court while prosecutors indicated that a Snapchat video and cellphone data would be “critical” to the case.
The murder trial is only one of Mr Murdaugh’s legal troubles after his life has dramatically unraveled in the last 19 months.
Now, the once powerful attorney is embroiled in a string of scandals including a botched hitman plot, multi-million-dollar fraud schemes and a series of unexplained deaths.
Alex Murdaugh’s spectacular fall from grace
Rachel Sharp writes:
On the surface, Alex Murdaugh had it all.
He was a high-powered attorney who ran both his own law firm and worked in the local prosecutor’s office.
He was the son of a powerful legal dynasty that dominated the local South Carolina community for almost a century.
And he was a family man who lived with his wife and two adult sons on their sprawling country estate.
But over the last 19 months, Mr Murdaugh has experienced a spectacular fall from grace, culminating in what has been described as the “trial of the century” now taking place in a courtroom in Walterboro, South Carolina.
Murders, fraud, and a hitman plot: Alex Murdaugh’s spectacular fall from grace
The ‘trial of the century’ is now under way in a courtroom in South Carolina where powerful legal scion Alex Murdaugh is charged with the brutal double murder of his wife and son. But this is far from the only twist in a bizarre and sprawling tale of unexplained deaths, hitman plots and multi-million-dollar fraud schemes, writes Rachel Sharp
A timeline of murders, financial fraud, a botched hitman plot and unexplained deaths
Mr Murdaugh, 54, is accused of shooting Paul, 22, twice with a shotgun and Maggie, 52, five times with a rifle on the family’s sprawling hunting lodge in Islandton on 7 June 2021.
He was arrested more than a year later in July 2022 and charged with their murders.
In the 19 months since the brutal double murders propelled the Murdaughs onto national headlines, a series of other scandals, allegations and alleged crimes have also come to light.
Here’s a timeline of the key moments in the case:
Who is Alex Murdaugh?
Who is the man at the heart of the saga?
The defence lays out its case
Disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh broke down in tears as his lawyer described how his son and wife were “butchered” on the family’s South Carolina hunting estate.
Mr Murdaugh wiped tears from his eyes as his defence attorney described the scene he claims his client found near kennels on the estate and denied that he had anything to do with it.
Dick Harpootlian told the jury that the prosecution’s explanation for the murders was just “theories” and “conjecture” and that Mr Murdaugh was a “loving” husband and father.
Graeme Massie reports.
Prosecutors paint grisly portrait of Alex Murdaugh killing wife and son
Prosecutors have described how disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh allegedly murdered his defenceless wife and son at the family’s hunting lodge in 2021.
Mr Murdaugh is accused of brutally killing his wife Margaret, known as Maggie, and his youngest son, 22-year-old son Paul, outside kennels on the estate on 7 June 2021.
Prosecutors told the opening of his trial on Wednesday that Mr Murdaugh had first shot his son with a shotgun, and then killed his wife with an AR-style rifle.
Graeme Massie reports on the prosecution’s case against Murdaugh.
Paul Murdaugh sent Snapchat video to friends hours before murder
Prosecutors say a Snapchat video sent by Alex Murdaugh’s son Paul on the night he and his mother Margaret were murdered will form a key part of their case.
Bevan Hurley has the story.
Paul Murdaugh’s horrifying injuries revealed in court
New details have been revealed regarding the fatal injuries sustained by Paul Murdaugh, the murdered son of disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
South Carolina Official says Murdaugh will not face death penalty
State prosecutors will not seek the death penalty for Alex Murdaugh when the disbarred attorney appears in court next month for a double murder trial that has drawn international attention.
“After carefully reviewing this case and all the surrounding facts, we have decided to seek life without parole for Alex Murdaugh,” South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a statement.
Murdaugh hit with tax evasion charges
The charges come down a month before he is set to go on trial for the shooting deaths of his wife Maggie and son Paul at their family home.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced on Friday nine counts of tax evasion for failing to report $6,954,639 of illegally earned income between 2011 and 2019.
Graeme Massie has the details.
Murdaugh banker convicted of bank fraud charges
A banker charged with helping disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh take money from the legal settlements of clients was found guilty late Tuesday of wire and bank fraud charges in South Carolina.
Former Palmetto State Bank CEO Russell Laffitte was allowed to remain free on bail as he awaits sentencing at a later date. Each of the six charges he was convicted of in federal court carry a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
It was the first trial related to the sprawling Murdaugh legal drama that has captivated true-crime audiences.
Source: independent.co.uk