The trial of disbarred lawyer Alex Murdaugh for the murders of his wife and son began in early January. Murdaugh has pleaded not guilty. Now, in week four, the defense has a heavy burden of proof from the prosecution.
Murdaugh pleaded not guilty in July to two counts of murder for the deaths of his wife Margaret"Maggie," 52, and son Paul, 22. They died from gunshot wounds on June 7, 2021. Murdaugh has adamantly denied that he fatally shot his family.The prosecution wrapped up its case on Feb. 17 after more than three weeks of presenting evidence and testimony from nearly 50 witnesses. The defense will then take up its case, with arguments expected to last for at least a week.
A video played in the courtroom became the focal point of the prosecution's case. Just short of a minute long, the video was filmed near the family's kennels on Paul Murdaugh's phone starting at 8:44 p.m. the night of the murders. Both housekeeper Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson and Nathan Tuten, Paul’s childhood friend, are among the several people who have identified Alex Murdaugh's voice in the video, despite his repeated denial that he was around the kennels.
Murdaugh is under 19 indictments and 99 charges ranging from tax evasion to fraud. Prosecutors allege that Murdaugh defrauded his clients and stole money from their settlements, amounting to more than $8.7 million. However, the defense had fought the admissibility of the financial evidence, stating that the fraud case is irrelevant and the motive claim is"illogical and implausible."Son's boat wreck focal point of trial
He said if Alex Murdaugh was considered to be a"victim of some vigilante," the civil case for Beach's death would be dropped because"nobody would have brought a verdict back against Alex." Proctor said she had accepted her brother-in-law's theory that her sister and nephew were targeted for the boating incident. However, she recalled that he never wanted to talk about finding the person who killed his wife and son but instead was solely focused on protecting his son's reputation.
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