Jury eyes fam slay site
Tours Murdaugh’s ‘Moselle’ property where wife & son killed
Closing arguments in the trial of accused killer Alex Murdaugh’s got underway Wednesday and will resume Thursday. The final statements follow a site visit by jurors to “Moselle,” the family property where prosecutors say the 54-year-old former lawyer gunned down his wife and son in 2021.
The eight women and four men who will decide Murdaugh’s fate were taken to the 1,770-acre estate Tuesday morning. Jurors saw the kennel and feed area where Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22, were found, but did not enter the house. They weren’t allowed to discuss the case while on the property.
On Monday, Judge Clifton Newman granted the defense’s request to walk jurors around the Murdaugh property. Prosecutors lobbied against the tour. They argued the vacant property wouldn’t look the way it did on the night of June 7, 2021.
The visit followed 26 days of testimony, where Murdaugh admitted to being a liar and a thief, but insisted he’s no murderer. Murdaugh’s defense claimed more than one killer might have been behind the murders. They also argued forensic evidence indicates their client, who’s 6-feet-4 , was too tall to be the shooter. Prosecutors and their experts disagree.
Murdaugh suggested his son’s killing was committed with “anger in their heart” over a 2019 crash, where a woman was killed and two others were injured in a boat his son “Pau-Pau” was allegedly operating while drinking. He presented no evidence to support that theory.
Murdaugh’s wife was shot with an AR-style rifle. His son, who was still facing criminal charges in connection to the boat crash, was killed with a 12-gauge shotgun.
Prosecutor Creighton Waters charged in Wednesday’s closing remarks that Murdaugh was facing a “gathering storm” of financial issues and legal woes that would soon impact his family.
“There is only one person who had the motive, who had the means, who had the opportunity to commit these crimes,” the prosecutor said.
Waters — who spent two days cross-examining Murdaugh last week — focused on the defendant’s admission he’d ripped off several clients and colleagues, as well as false statements he made to investigators. Murdaugh was “living a lie,” Waters said.
He claimed after Paul was shot in the chest and the head, Maggie ran to his aid and was blasted five times. Waters rhetorically asked jurors why the victims had no defensive wounds.
“Because it’s him,” he said, referring to the defendant, whom the victims trusted.
Waters contended Murdaugh became a “family annihilator” because he didn’t want to face the “shame” the consequences of his transgressions would bring. People reported Maggie, who’d begun looking into her family’s finances, saw a divorce attorney weeks before her death. A spokesman for Murdaugh denied that report.
“No one knew who he was,” the prosecutor said. “No one knows who this man was.”
He assured jurors if Murdaugh stole from business associates and misled investigators, they could be sure he’d lied to them, too.
Not wanting the defense to deliver closing arguments to a “frayed” jury at the end of a busy day, the judge postponed the finale to 9:30 a.m. Thursday. Murdaugh’s team estimates their statements will take at least a couple hours. If convicted, Murdaugh could face a life sentence.