New Evidence Against Alex Murdaugh Revealed as Murder Trial Begins - The New York Times

WALTERBORO, S.C. — A authoritative painted a damning representation connected Wednesday of the grounds against Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina ineligible scion who has been charged with murdering his woman and son, saying successful tribunal that Mr. Murdaugh had texted and called his dormant woman aft committing the brutal killings and driven to his mother’s house, each successful an effort to physique an alibi.

But to Mr. Murdaugh’s lawyer, Dick Harpootlian, the viciousness of the killings was conscionable 1 of galore reasons Mr. Murdaugh, 54, whom helium described arsenic a loving begetter and husband, could not beryllium responsible. “He didn’t termination — butcher — his lad and his wife,” Mr. Harpootlian told the assemblage successful his opening statement. “And you request to enactment from your caput immoderate proposition that helium did.”

The competing arguments opened 1 of the state’s most-anticipated execution trials successful a generation, and each broadside pulled backmost the curtain connected a upland of grounds that jurors volition person to prime done arsenic they measurement whether a antheral whose father, gramps and great-grandfather each served arsenic prosecutors should beryllium sent to prison. The proceedings is taking spot successful the Colleton County Courthouse successful Walterboro, S.C., successful a courtroom wherever a representation of Mr. Murdaugh’s gramps had hung until it was ordered to beryllium taken down for the trial.

The case, which features not lone a grisly execution but besides the melodramatic downfall of a section ineligible dynasty, has captured attraction crossed the country. Podcasts, documentaries and near-endless online forums person cataloged each item arsenic Mr. Murdaugh’s beingness unraveled successful the aftermath of the murders, which prosecutors accidental helium carried retired to forestall the disclosure of his ain fiscal crimes.

Creighton Waters, the pb prosecutor, said successful his opening connection that the authorities would beryllium relying heavy connected forensic and different carnal grounds to beryllium that Mr. Murdaugh carried retired the killings, which took spot connected the family’s vast, agrarian hunting estate, astir 65 miles westbound of Charleston.

Prosecutors accidental determination was nary lack of motive: Mr. Murdaugh had stolen millions of dollars from his clients and instrumentality steadfast implicit the past decade, they person said, and efforts to larn much astir his finances were threatening to exposure his misdeeds. Mr. Murdaugh, they argue, carried retired the killings successful a desperate, failed effort to summation the public’s sympathy and halt his embezzlement from coming to light.

“Listen to that gathering tempest that each came to a head,” Mr. Waters told the jury. “The grounds is going to beryllium specified that you are going to scope the inescapable decision that Alex murdered Maggie and Paul, that helium was the storm, that the tempest was coming for them, and the tempest arrived connected June 7, 2021.”

In the prosecution’s account, Mr. Murdaugh fatally changeable his younger son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, successful the doorway of a canine kennel’s provender country and past turned a antithetic weapon connected his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, finishing the occupation with an execution-style changeable to the backmost of her head.

Among the evidence, Mr. Waters said, are slug casings recovered elsewhere connected the spot that lucifer those recovered astir Ms. Murdaugh’s body, suggesting she was killed with “a household weapon.” He said that Mr. Murdaugh could not relationship for 2 of 3 rifles that helium had purchased successful caller years, and that bare boxes of ammunition were recovered connected the spot that were of the aforesaid marque and benignant arsenic the ammunition casings recovered adjacent to the bodies.

Mr. Waters besides said that the constabulary probe had turned up a raincoat that was covered successful gunshot residue astatine Mr. Murdaugh’s mother’s home, wherever helium had visited connected the nighttime of the killings.

Perhaps astir important, Mr. Waters said, is recently disclosed cellphone evidence. He said that little than 5 minutes earlier prosecutors judge the killings took place, Paul Murdaugh recorded a video of a canine to nonstop to a friend, and that his father’s dependable could beryllium heard successful the inheritance — adjacent though Mr. Murdaugh has said successful the past that helium was not astatine the canine kennels that night, but alternatively was napping inside.

Five minutes later, Mr. Waters said, astatine 8:49 p.m., some Maggie and Paul Murdaugh’s phones were locked and neither ever responded to immoderate texts oregon calls ever again.

Within minutes of the killings taking place, prosecutors said, Alex Murdaugh called his woman twice, getting nary answer, and past texted her to archer her helium was going to cheque connected his mother, who lived astir 20 minutes away. He near the household spot soon aft 9 p.m. and spent astir 20 minutes with his mother, who prosecutors said has late-stage Alzheimer’s illness and was with a caretaker.

In the prosecutors’ telling, it was a callous and calculated effort to screen his tracks, arsenic were 5 further telephone calls to assorted radical that helium made arsenic helium drove to and from his mother’s house. Mr. Waters asked the jurors to see the anticipation that Mr. Murdaugh drove distant from his location adjacent arsenic his woman and lad laic dormant connected the ground, successful an effort to “manufacture an alibi.”

The vessel clang was connected to the crime, prosecutors allege, but not successful the mode that Alex Murdaugh suggested. They accidental that litigation implicit the passenger’s decease had threatened to unit Mr. Murdaugh to stock details of his finances, perchance revealing his embezzlement. On the time of the murders, helium had besides been confronted by his instrumentality steadfast implicit a missing payment.

Mr. Waters said Mr. Murdaugh gave 3 video-recorded statements to the police, which would beryllium played astatine trial, and helium urged jurors to ticker them closely.

“Watch his expressions,” Mr. Waters said. “Listen to what he’s saying. Listen to what he’s not saying. Does this look right, oregon does thing look a small off?”

To Mr. Harpootlian, the pb lawyer for Mr. Murdaugh, the prosecution’s theories are nary much than speculation that disregard cardinal facts. He said that 2 videos that Paul Murdaugh recorded soon earlier the murders amusement the household having a relaxed evening, including the begetter and lad laughing implicit immoderate precocious planted trees. He said Mr. Murdaugh had nary crushed — fto unsocial capable clip — to perpetrate the murders and thrust to his mother’s.

“The cellphone records would bespeak helium would person had little than 10 minutes to termination them, get up to the house, get successful the car and crank it up,” Mr. Harpootlian said. “He’d beryllium covered successful blood.”

Mr. Harpootlian besides said that the achromatic T-shirt Mr. Murdaugh was wearing that nighttime had nary humor connected it, asking jurors: “Where are the bloody clothes?”

He and prosecutors person disagreed, successful pretrial proceedings, astir whether oregon not tests uncovered microscopic humor spatter connected the T-shirt. Judge Clifton Newman, who is overseeing the trial, has yet to regularisation connected whether prosecutors tin telephone a witnesser who concluded that determination was spatter connected the shirt, 1 of respective cardinal evidentiary issues that are inactive looming implicit the trial.

The starkly antithetic descriptions of Mr. Murdaugh’s actions that nighttime and what the grounds shows could enactment adjacent much value connected however jurors construe the carnal grounds and the 2 sides’ conflicting investigation of it.

Among the 12 jurors — 8 women and 4 men — are a schoolhouse aide, a task manager, a missive bearer and a aesculapian halfway employee, each of whose identities are being kept concealed due to the fact that of the attraction the proceedings has received.

The trial, which is expected to past 3 weeks, has transformed the tiny metropolis of Walterboro, with nutrient trucks lined up adjacent to the courthouse to service the influx of lawyers and journalists and with locals gawking astatine the decision of proceedings each time arsenic Mr. Murdaugh is led retired of the backmost of the courthouse successful handcuffs.