SC - Paul Murdaugh & mom Margaret Found Shot To Death - Alex Murdaugh Accused - Islandton #30

[Luna20]

I believe NBC misreported. While it appears true that two female jurors were seen weeping, the part of the tissue is incorrect.

Reporter Matt Johnson reported that AM took a tissue from the tissue holder located in front of the jurors' box when being escorted from the courtroom but not that a juror actually made contact with AM to hand him a tissue.

You can bet that the bailiff would have nipped any attempt to reach the defendant --- even with a tissue. MOO

This was a female journalist who said specifically that a juror slid the box of Kleenex to Alex.

 

[LetsSolvIt]

I was referring to seeing this on “NBC”. It was a journalist who was there commenting on it.

I said to myself there goes the ‘one juror’. Passing tissue or anything to a defendant should be off limits.

He is sobbing, ‘engaging’ the jury face to face for sympathy. He knows how all of this works. He’s prepped clients for decades.

Did you notice JG giving side looks at jury during his examination of Alec? Looking for their reactions.

 

[Derph]

It absolutely is evidence of bad character. Which is why Rule 404 of evidence exists. The rationale behind the rule is that admitting character evidence will distract a jury from finding guilt from actual proof of the murders and not because he lies, cheats, steals, etc… and therefore must be guilty.

This is also why so many are worried that Judge Newman committed appealable error in admitting so much financial misgivings evidence. Some feel he should have excluded it because it is prejudicial and confusing for a jury.

Can’t stop now though, gotta let the train roll on.

Can't see another SC judge overturning this on appeal. For one thing Judge Newman is really well respected. For another, judges here tend to stick up fpr their fellow judges and finally AM has flicked his forked tongue out at every law enforcement person and insitution in this state. He's run wild over the court system for decades and his day of judgement has arrived. There is no way this gets turned over on appeal. The Murdaugh name is literally mud. This verdict will stand.

 

[AugustWest]

I think in this case it's a bit different. The defense opened the door. They wanted to show that Alex is now a great man because he admits to his wrongs and went to rehab or that the roadside shooting was because of drugs. he's changed and now he isn't lying, but then he was (because he did lie about that night and now admits that, but only after he learns his voice is on a recording just before the murders).. It's tricky because I don't think him commiting financial crimes means he would commit murder. I think because his crimes were discovered the day of the murders is key.. I think the fact he lied to his clients and his partners and now is claiming he did lie to police, but isn't lying anymore is more the issue I see. He can't have it both ways. He can't say I did lie, but now I'm not without talking about why/how he was lying before. He can't even recall what he said or how he lied to his clients, but he's so sorry about it? It doesn't mean he's a murderer, but it can help the jury decide if he's trustworthy enough to believe his testimony.. if he isn't then what he has said on the stand should be ignored entirely.

He chose to get on the stand and this is the result. He wants to seem trustworthy and not have his past bad deeds mentioned, then he shouldn't have taken the stand to get asked about it. His word means nothing.. he lied to LE and had a bogus reason for doing that and it was proven. If he lied about his alibi then what else is he lying about?

It’s true the defense did open the door. They clearly argued of his good character. No argument here.

That doesn’t preclude a judge from shielding the jury by just applying Rule 403. Each rule of evidence doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

I don’t have a strong opinion on the matter one way or the other. But the financial evidence is overwhelming and definitely could confuse a jury. Heck, these threads are littered with confusion over character vs motive.

 

[Skigirl]

His waxing rhapsodic at length about Maggie is so creepy.

 

[Luna20]

His waxing rhapsodic at length about Maggie is so creepy.

That was unsettling, almost like a Ted Bundy vibe.

 

[Gardenista]

Can't see another SC judge overturning this on appeal. For one thing Judge Newman is really well respected. For another, judges here tend to stick up fpr their fellow judges and finally AM has flicked his forked tongue out at every law enforcement person and insitution in this state. He's run wild over the court system for decades and his day of judgement has arrived. There is no way this gets turned over on appeal. The Murdaugh name is literally mud. This verdict will stand.

Not to mention Judge Newman was appointed to this case by the SC Supreme Court

S.C. Supreme Court names judge to oversee Murdaugh cases

The prominent Lowcountry family has garnered national attention surrounding the numerous killings of family members.

www.wcnc.com

 

[Cindizzi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1628789229672071172

 

[pizzaman12]

Then who did? Seriously. Who else had any motive whatsoever.

It's not the job of the defense to figure out who else could have done it and/or their motive. It's the state's job to prove that AM did it.

While I think AM had direct involvement, I think the state has focused on items (while important) too much and it's been distracting.

 

[rahod1]

We now know AM was AT THE SCENE of the crime and now admits he LIED about this (because he got caught). So, the defense now wants the jury to believe someone else was *there*....and AM conveniently managed to exit in the nick of time? MASSIVE BS being peddled.

 

[Dexxie8]

Pawpaw and Mags and Bus..look at all of his southern charm on full display. Very interesting. He gets the Oscar

 

[Luna20]

My opinion is that Alex has brain damage. His statements were totally incoherent for the first 30 minutes. What was going on inside his mouth, the lip licking?? Lord Have Mercy. Mark my words, he, too, will have an Alzheimers diagnosis within the decade, if. not. sooner.

I’m not getting that he has brain damage. He’s very calculated and knows how to get the results that he wants. That takes practiced effort in plotting accordingly.

I don’t know if narcissism or deception is considered as brain damage but if so I may agree.

What do mean specifically about brain damage, I may be missing something? I’m open to learning.

 

[Pruddennce]

It seems to me that the reason to do this is because he needed time AND he knew he would lose his wife and kid because of his actions. I don't think he thought he would lose BM. The other two were confronting him about his addiction and would be the first to hear as things unravelled.

He went to detox 3x and tried on his own a number of times. Their lifestyle--parties and drinking etc never changed. But he never worked a program or got help to stay clean. He just kept relapsing and they kept covering for him.

He lured his family into a sense of security and that was about to blow up. He knew he would be disbarred/fired/charged based on the crimes. He knew they were looking at his behavior the evening of the boat accident. He tried to hide money starting in 2005 (round my home, lawyers and doctors protect their assets by buying through an LLC so it is not uncommon). He admitted in court today that MM would have signed loan papers because all he had to do was ask. She already felt like a pariah with the boat case. What would have been her reaction if she found out that her husband left people he represented with little to nothing of the settlements ---injured children, grieving children, police officers, grieving families, and people he called friends --vulnerable people who needed all they could get. His actions were the antithesis of helping the little guy. I am not sure she would have stuck by him as he was not only an unrepentant addict but a hustler, thief and abuser of people who put their faith in him. Her association with him would have torn her apart given what we have heard about her and her reported response to the boat accident.

And, why did he do it? Coach bags, private planes, high price tickets, and multiple home. Their family name would be worse off than with the boating accident. AND, they would be broke. MM might have had liability for taxes unpaid, items purchased with stolen money because she signed tax forms and she benefitted from his ill gotten funds.

I don't think this was planned so far in advance but rather an impulse decision because he couldn't face reality. I think he had shocked himself and, then, had to cover it all.

I don't think he was suicidal in Sept. 2021 but impulsively was trying to get out of more of his troubled actions because he couldn't face it.

He may be clean but unless he has worked rehab and continues to work rehab he would be doing the same thing again and again until he got caught.

He demonstrated today that he is a skilled and manipulative liar. If there are jurors who fall for it, then, we will get a hung jury. There is no way all 12 would fall for it. I feel pretty positive that if the jury is hung, then they will continue to work to discover new information and re-try him.

great post. he admitted today he was not in an altered state all of the time and the thievery was not due to solely needing money for his pill addiction. I hope the jurors absorbed that tidbit. individuals have murdered their family for a myriad of reasons. this is not unbelievable. I believe that AM's wife was on a path that he did not want her to be on.... without him. his son already complicated and compromised both of their lives, their affluent lifestyle/personally and financially which was destroyed by AM and then compounded by his son. and: his wife was sole owner of the large estate worth millions. also, I found interesting he was attempting to take out equity and 'just would give her the papers and she would sign them without question'. hmmm.....seems like she did not comply when he last requested it. evidence of being confronted about the pill usage could equal rage at this point.... IMO

 

[Derph]

It's not the job of the defense to figure out who else could have done it and/or their motive. It's the state's job to prove that AM did it.

While I think AM had direct involvement, I think the state has focused on items (while important) too much and it's been distracting.

Your right but if they can point to the involvement of someone else it behooves them to enter that into the record to provide reasonable doubt. They need to show something to counter the fact that Alex was at the kennels minutes before the murders with a weapon in his hand. Without it, there is no reason to doubt that Alex is the shooter.

The fact is they can't because there is no evidence that points to someone else being there and pulling the triggers of both weapons. That's a problem and without putting forth any evidence to the contrary there is only one reasonable explanation..Alex is the shooter.

 

[Curious Me]

Two women jurors needing tissues when AM described his wife and son, talking about Maggie and Paul, emotionally testifying for his Defense. It is worrisome even for Vinnie on Court TV.

Did it finally dawn on those two teary eyed jurors later that they had been duped to tear up? While Prosecution kept revealing how despicable all AM's actions were deceiving, lying, stealing from good, trusting people-- did those two women jurors finally realize AM can manipulate people every which way?

Somebody just said on Court TV-- "People don't remember what you say, they remember how you made them feel." AM had two jurors crying with him. Hopefully, Prosecution will grasp the way this is going and regroup. Jurors need to feel disgust and horror at the realization that AM was right there when those murders happened. There's a video he was with them. ​

 

[mickey2942]

Pawpaw and Mags and Bus..look at all of his southern charm on full display. Very interesting. He gets the Oscar

Not really, I started watching when he got on the stand, it was like watching the Southern rooster, "Foghorn Leghorn". After two hours, the fake southern drawl was gone. He was getting peevish. And the more he talked, the less southern he sounded.

 

[Luna20]

Not to mention Judge Newman was appointed to this case by the SC Supreme Court

S.C. Supreme Court names judge to oversee Murdaugh cases

The prominent Lowcountry family has garnered national attention surrounding the numerous killings of family members.

www.wcnc.com

Wow that’s great. Maybe certain people knew that he would not be moved by DH, AM and friends. I think he has done well collectively. He’s not wishy washy.

 

[Sonny Crockett]

I hope I'm wrong. But, unfortunately, I don't see AM getting a guilty verdict in this case. Or, if he does - it will be one of the much lesser charges. Too bad, since he definitely deserves to go to prison for the rest of his life - at the least.

It's obvious to anyone that's been following this case that if AM were poor/middle class & under the exact same circumstance (i.e., his wife & son found murdered on his property) that he would have been arrested & taken to prison from Day 1. However, in this case - as in many similar ones over the years - his wealth & respected position in the community have given him entitlement & preferential treatment from the beginning.

 

[AugustWest]

Your right but if they can point to the involvement of someone else it behooves them to enter that into the record to provide reasonable doubt. They need to show something to counter the fact that Alex was at the kennels minutes before the murders with a weapon in his hand. Without it, there is no reason to doubt that Alex is the shooter.

The fact is they can't because there is no evidence that points to someone else being there and pulling the triggers of both weapons. That's a problem and without putting forth any evidence to the contrary there is only one reasonable explanation..Alex is the shooter.

The defense has put forward such evidence. Not that I think it was very good, but Mr. Ballistics/Sound all-in-one engineer dude did so.

Smoking guns in this one are few and far between IMO, for both sides. Each has problematic red flags that were hard to cover for.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter now what any of us individually believe (and I know you are aware of this), it’s what those jurors believe. I don’t envy them at all.

I’m just rambling now, but this one sure has been interesting

 

[AugustWest]

I hope I'm wrong. But, unfortunately, I don't see AM getting a guilty verdict in this case. Or, if he does - it will be one of the much lesser charges. Too bad, since he definitely deserves to go to prison for the rest of his life - at the least.

It's obvious to anyone that's been following this case that if AM were poor/middle class & under the exact same circumstance (i.e., his wife & son found murdered on his property) that he would have been arrested & taken to prison from Day 1. However, in this case - as in many similar ones over the years - his wealth & respected position in the community have given him entitlement & preferential treatment from the beginning.

He’s going to prison for the rest of his life. If not for murder then superfraud2022. Rest easy on that