SC - Paul Murdaugh & mom Margaret Found Shot To Death - Alex Murdaugh Accused - Islandton #31

[pittsburghgirl]

“No. There was no person out there that the dogs didn’t know.” Then repeat.

Ok, well, thanks for admitting that.

That says a lot.

 

[detectivewannab]

Those guns are in the septic tank along with the clothes and shoes. Just my guess. Who would look there? The pump out hole is large enough that those items would fit. That house has to have some type of waste disposal as it isn't on a city sewer and most rural properties have a septic tank. The lines to the tank can't be too long so the tank is close to the house. You never want to cover the pump out lid...they charge you to dig it up when it's pumped out. Take the lid off and leave it off, drop the stuff in; put the lid back on and you're done.
moo

How do you think he got all the blood off of him so quickly? The fact he lied and the time window for him to clean up shortens.

 

[vls12345]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1629209886104989697

View attachment 405269

Looking at this in relation to the grass/parking discussion at his mom's house in a previous thread. Considering they were at Moselle a lot (I think) and it looks like they park on the grass there, the grass doesn't look too bad considering. (At least from what I can see in this photo.)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1629234356471611392

Wouldn't hurt them. Well, I guess when people are dead, they aren't hurting? Right?

MOO.

 

[Katrinepa]

I feel like so much of the story is missing. Likely all tied up with where the $$ really went.

But without that, AM has been shown to be someone who saw beloved members of his circle as marks to steal from and lie to. Specifically why he killed them is not entirely clear to me-I think it could be him saving what could be saved, Buster. But that's really too "noble" for AM. He might have seen some possible way out of all his financial crimes by shaking things way up with a murder that will also provide a solution to Paul's boat case & free up Maggie's property for him.

It might have been a last ditch Hail Mary providing him with the above and also sympathy which would deter pressures being put on him.

He can say whatever he wants, as he always will, but once Jeannie found the embezzlements, the clock was ticking. AM knew all he had stolen but no one else did. Dead family members relieved pressure on AM.

What I hope is whatever the verdict in This case, there have been many other issues raised for the Public to see and demand investigations...
. the death of Ms Satterfield
.the unexplained death of the LGBTQ young man, who was in school with Buster, and some say they had a relationship-Not hit by a car, but Murdered
.the Boat case, where Paul was driving Drunk, had an accident and a young woman was killed

 

[Knox]

AM just can’t help himself, he’s chatting away even when there’s not an actual question in front of him

Was he that wordy in Civil Court on his own cases, lol?

 

[Kroni]

Cross examination was really not focused on the murders as much as the financial crimes and lies that AM repeatedly admitted to. Yes he's a bad guy (a drug addict, thief and a liar) but in looking at the big picture the Murdaughs were all about protecting their own no matter what i.e. the boat accident and circling the wagons. I don't agree with the suggested motive. I just wouldn't be able to convict him of murder for that reason and because:

1.Relying on time of death at around 8:50 (i.e when they stopped responding to texts). Argument: the cell service was spotty unless you stood in certain areas (testified to). Facetime was not good according to friend so he asked PM to take a video. PM never sent the video. He may have been waiting until he could actually get to a spot where he could send it. Coroner said time of death between 9:00-10:00. AM left at 9:06. It could have happened after that.
2.Missing guns. Guns all over the property, in unlocked vehicles. Granted usually a murderer would bring their own weapon, but maybe they did but found something better at the scene and opportunity.
3.Trafficking drugss - although prosecution says it has absolutely nothing to do with it the felons that are involved in that will kill family members as a warning but also you as well if they want to. It doesn't matter if you are living in a small, secluded town. Maybe AM was trying to become a big fish.
4. AM should have been covered in blood, no blood in the house, no evidence of anything wrong in the house.
5. Missing clothes: prosecution never asked him to produce according to testiony. He stayed all over after the murders and stayed with friends, clothes left everywhere.
6. No financial gain.

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

If, supposedly, AM didn't know what time the murders happened, then why would he need to lie about whether he was at the kennels with them at 8:44pm. What would it matter? The only reason why he would need to establish he last saw them at Moselle much earlier and was never at the kennels (until he found them) was to hide the fact that he was near the crime scene at the time of the shooting which occurred before he left at 9:06pm. And only if he already knew they were dead before he left.

Didn't he also lie on the 911 call? Before any LE even got there?

Isn't this a glaring logic mistake or am I misinterpreting his claims?

Yeah, and I'm disappointed CW hasn't mentioned that.

 

[HawthorneJuniper]

Some people are very forgiving and kindhearted. While I am hoping all jurors base their decision on the facts, the testimony and the judge's instructions, I am prepared for a hung jury. Not holding my breath. I will be happy if I'm wrong - but after today, I am extremely happy that the truth is so blatantly out there.

I was curious about jury instructions but while searching for them realized SC took them offline! I've never heard of that but it says on their page they did. That seems really bizarre to me. They should not be secret as far as I've ever known.

But "reasonable" doubt is often a very helpful explanation for jurors. Too many don't understand technical, legal "reasonable" doubt. It's not synonymous with any "doubt".

I also saw SC has a strange jury instruction when a case is purely circumstantial. I've never heard of that either. But I'm an attorney in a bank...

If anyone is interested in this Logan instruction there's plenty of cases about it. For example
Failure to Give Logan Instruction Not Harmless Error Where Evidence Almost Entirely Circumstantial

The Court recited the charge from Logan which, in pertinent part, states: “Direct evidence directly proves the existence of a fact and does not require deduction. Circumstantial evidence is proof of a chain of facts and circumstances indicating the existence of a fact.... [T]o the extent the State relies on circumstantial evidence ... the circumstances must be consistent with each other, and when taken together, point conclusively to the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. If these circumstances merely portray the defendant’s behavior as suspicious, the proof has failed.”

I don't necessarily think the Logan instruction is a problem as I think the circumstantial evidence DOES all hang together. But I am curious about it as I hadn't known about this type of circumstantial evidence instruction.

 

[Cindizzi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1629246076715761664

 

[Skigirl]

If anybody thinks by now that AM is innocent then they just don’t want to know.
I won't say it was a masterful takedown by Waters because I think he spent too much time on the financial stuff, but all the rest of it was great.
He forced AM to squeeze his new story into that tiny little window of time.
He showed the ridiculousness of riding down to the kennels to only stay a handful of minutes.
He showed AM would have barely been back up to the house when the loud reports of a 300 Blackout would have been heard.
He probed how easily AM lies.

I know it felt like it was dragging a bit when they were going through the financial crimes, but IMO, it was critical for the jury to understand how easily and frequently AM lies to and harms people he claims to love.

 

[Knox]

I think both of those lovely women could have definitely been terrified and scared of saying anything derogatory against Alex. I'm sure they both have stories they could tell.

MOO

If true, too bad some of that didn't come out in court, JMO.

 

[Not a Belle]

I’m assuming his goal was to create reasonable doubt, but for me that performance only removed any possible doubt. CreighCreigh did good.

 

[Teche]

Apologies if the group has discussed this, but I am just catching up watching AM's testimony. For experts:

Is it a Southern custom for courts to allow a defendant's testimony to become a soliloquy?

As noted, there is a Clintonesque quality to AM - just keep putting space between his response and the question, or even more boldly, to answer a question with a question. It is mind boggling to me that the judge allows this to happen.

And - frick all this "sir..", talking of "honor", from AM on the stand. It's just all bs.

AM's way of talking reminds me of Confederate cultural stereotypes you see in Civil War movies. Sheesh.
Is this the actual way that deep Southerners actually interact with one another?

I'm from the deep South and this is absolutely not the way we interact with one another.

 

[legalmomma]

Will
Give you that however—-
W/d or not, anybody messes with an addicts stash it’s not good.

And I still think Paw Paw and Mags took his stash and/or tried to confront him with his pill issues ?and maybe $ stuff) and he just blew

Makes sense either way. If he is hyped up on 1200mg/day oxy or he is w/d—-either way don’t mess with the addict

This!! Has the prosecution even mentioned this possibility? I honed in on this during AM’s testimony when he said when he was in withdrawal he would do anything to get more pills ( or something like that) along with the paranoia.

Also, has the fact that AM was beneficiary of Maggie’s estate even been addressed? The Mosell property was in her name only. He needed $$ and I don’t believe Maggie would have agreed to refinance Mosell since she was now aware of the money issues and his drug addiction.

Missed opportunities. Hopefully CW will tie these into his closing.

 

[makayla]

My impression after today is that Alex still has not faced up to his own cognitive and personality issues. Oh my.

I don't even know what a "conscious decision" would mean to this man. He does what he wants and remembers what he wants. He rewrites literally thousands of immoral, illegal interactions (when all his admitted wrong doings are broken down into their rippling effects). He rewrites in his own favor. He probably used "I have to care for my family" as the reason for all the stealing, and then he tosses that aside and kills ⅔ of that family.

He's a human wrecking ball but he actually believes himself and he believes he has the capacity to "love" people and hold people "dear." Reminds me of people like Emperor Nero (who obviously had his own story to tell - which only he believed).

Since he's also an addict on top of everything else, he is unaware of many, many moments of his own life. He has no continuous inner self or personal recording of life. It's very sad and very damning.

IMO.

I don’t think he ever will. If he truly suffers from a narcissistic personality as I believe he does, he will never see himself that way. Most narcissists deny they have a problem. It is not curable.

 

[Dexxie8]

What a day.

Alec Murdaugh's jail cell is going to be a lonely place this weekend.

There's no air left in the balloon.

Bravo, Creighton Waters.

Gosh, I hate to disagree with you, but I do. I thought Alex was a really good witness and Waters wasn’t that good at cross examination. IMO Alex’s testimony humanized him and I believe he may have gathered some sympathetic jurors. I think that Alex’s testimony might have saved him from conviction or a hung jury. BTW I do think Alex is guilty of murder

 

[Skigirl]

How do you think he got all the blood off of him so quickly? The fact he lied and the time window for him to clean up shortens.

Hosed off at the scene so he wouldn't get blood anywhere, and then a very quick shower before dressing in clean clothes to go to his mom's.

 

[Walela]

Was he completely broke? Why couldn't he have just bought more pills?

He didn't need to buy more. He had more than one stash in more than one place. Most likely he had a stash at Almeda as well as Moselle, Edisto, his car, etc. According to him, he had some in his pocket the night of the murders.

 

[pizzaman12]

Very interesting to see everyone's take on the cross on WS vs. all the other shows like L&C, etc...Seems many of those other don't think the cross went all that well. The amount of time spent on financials and letting AM control it. They feel they've gotten the point across that he is a lie and a cheat but haven't shown that he's capable of murdering his wife and son, no murder weapon and still haven't established a motive. Very different views than that on WS.

 

[LavenderGooms]

Did AM

When I heard that I wondered if she had a migraine (I get them and I would totally put a blanket over my head to avoid bright lights) and instead of missing a day of court she is trying to manage it and that room is bright. Maybe a blanket helps with light sensitivity?

and having to listen to that voice would bother me too. Moo