The Alex Murdaugh trial continues on Day 22 on Wednesday, February 22, with Murdaugh’s defense team leading.
On June 7, 2021, near kennels on their expansive Colleton County farm, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, was shot to death with four or five rifle rounds, and their 22-year-old son Paul was also slain with two shotgun blasts. Alex Murdaugh, 54, is currently on trial for their deaths.
Murdaugh’s double homicide trial got underway on Monday, January 23, with the jury selection determining his fate in the June 2021 deaths of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul—the beginning of a story that has garnered national attention and is now a true crime sensation.
The defense team for the former South Carolina lawyer will pick up where they left off in week five of the Murdaugh trial on Friday, February 17, following nearly four weeks of testimony from state witnesses, some of whom provided fascinating and illuminating testimony, while others bore the hell out of the jury and seemed pointless.
It is now up to the defense to sift through a mass of circumstantial evidence, some of which is more damaging than others, to find areas of reasonable doubt. Murdaugh may receive a sentence of 30 years to life if found guilty.
Tuesday’s Testimony From Buster Murdaugh Has No Significant Shocks
Buster Murdaugh, the eldest son still living, took the witness stand to begin the Tuesday hearing. His testimony was rather emotional at points but didn’t provide any new information or insights.
Buster Murdaugh, who goes by the moniker “Buster” after his great-grandfather, a former longtime 14th Circuit Solicitor, claimed that June 7, 2021, was just an ordinary day with typical family conversations and texts – until his father called him around 10:30 that night to inform him that his mother and brother had been shot and killed.
Buster challenged the State’s apparent assumption that Murdaugh may have gone there first to get rid of the evidence before going inside the house on the night of the killings by pointing out that family members frequently parked near the back of the Almeda property.
Buster also listened to his father’s contentious SLED interview from June 10, 2021, and claimed that Alex indicated “they,” not “I,” had done Paul such terrible harm. Nevertheless, the defense did not ask him to recognize any voices in a different damning video that Paul took just before he passed away.
Alex Murdaugh proudly grinned, never removing his eyes off his son during Buster’s testimony, and sometimes even seemed arrogant. In his cross-examination of the witness, Assistant Attorney General John Meadors showed sympathy and avoided undue pressure by asking a few quick, uninspiring questions.
More friends and family of Murdaugh were present on the 21st day of the double murder trial than there had been throughout the previous four weeks.
- Who is Alex Murdaugh, The South Carolina Attorney?
- Alex Murdaugh Has Filed a Lawsuit to Prevent the Release of His Jailhouse Phone Calls
- Prosecutors Say Paul Murdaugh’s Snapchat Video from the Night He Died is Crucial
Alex Murdaugh Murder Trial: State’s Proof May Sway Colleton County Jury
What evidence—and will it be persuasive—will the Colleton County jury consider in the Alex Murdaugh case? What is the most substantial evidence that the State has?
The Alex Murdaugh double homicide trial’s Wednesday, February 22 proceedings will be broadcast live in the video below or replayed once finished.
Murdaugh News: Friday is a Day of Rest for the State, but Murdaugh Wants the Case Dismissed
The State of South Carolina has concluded its case against alleged family killer Alex Murdaugh after 20 days of proceedings, which included 18 days of testimony, 59 witnesses, and about 400 pieces of evidence.