VERDICT WATCH SC - Paul Murdaugh & mom Margaret Found Shot To Death - Alex Murdaugh Accused - Islandton #35

[Loveallmyhorsesdogsandcats]

Creighton had a folder on his desktop with LM's jail calls to AM. I really wish she'd been called.

Significance of the phone calls? I missed this! Thanks

 

[girlhasnoname]

Alex got into drug business with Barrett and then tricked him when he was diagnosed with cancer ? - told him to sign without reading because Alex is a lawyer who cares about him and would not steer him wrong?

There's still the question of how lawyer/ solicitor Alex first met drug-dealer Barrett ... real estate and money laundering together from 2011 until 2018. After Barrett died in 2018, what did Alex do to cover their shared money-laundering real estate debt?

There has to be some instance that triggered Murdaugh to take ownership of Moselle. How did he do that?

He basically stole it from Barrett when he had POA over his affairs.

MOO

 

[Eddie99]

Exactly. Listen to his testimony on that. Asked how many pills he took a day.. not a straight answer. Well how many did you take at a time and when, what's a normal day like.. 60 pills.. he said some days more than that, some days not that many. He was doing pill math.. well 30mg and if you have 100 it's 3000mg blah blah blah.

A true remorseful addict would say, I woke up and needed pills right away. I took 5 or 6 or insert whatever here.. then by lunch I needed more or I did xyz.. it's not difficult to explain what your habit looked like.

He didn't/couldn't/wouldn't. I can't believe a functioning addict that supposedly no law partners or family new except Maggie and Paul.. would sometimes not take as many.. wouldn't you have withdrawal at work? It's all just fishy.

I think he was thinking about it for a long time. I don't think he was actively planning it that long, but every time he had to look at financials or read something from the boat case, he was thinking if Paul was gone or even if some accident happened to Paul the sympathy would swing his way vs this lawsuit being on them. I really think as time went on and he realized the criminal charges were not going away and Maggie just wanted to settle about the boat case, but she didn't know about his dirty deeds stealing from others so he can't just settle.. he had to much money out and stolen and he was not having it. Not going to have to open his financials to be exposing all his bad deeds. He still thought he could get out of those financial bad deeds if he could get the boat case to go away. I think as it go closer to judgement day for Alex his wild ideas became more reality for him. Drugs played a part, but I think the main concern for him was exposing his financials and he saw the boat case as the reason for this problem. He wasn't lying when he said the reason they were dead was the boat case only it was HIM who caused that, not some random vigilante.

Snipped from above....As preamble to:

All of what is sworn to or published as evidence in a court trial is allowed as evidence in subsequent trials...and the record of a Criminal Case can be introduced as evidence in a Civil case. Raises a number of questions and maybe answers a few when it comes to both motive in this case and the future of AM in terms of the theft and malfeasance charges he has yet to face...As example and strictly MOO:
PM facing trial for criminal charges in the boat disaster, the evidence and testimony from that opens a Pandora's box of evidence for the plaintiffs in the civil case against PM, AM and BM. Were there no criminal trial, the plaintiffs would have to develop considerably more evidence on their own to pursue the civil suits....Motive, possibly?
AM, already charged for the financial crimes, has effectively admitted them under oath at this trial. Could that explain why the prosecution have spent so much of their cross exam of AM on forcing him to admit the financials? It is the State AG office that will be prosecuting the financial trial and it is almost a sealed deal for at least a considerable portion of those charges, at this point. DH and Co. might as well start drafting stipulations now....

I also believe there is more to come. SLED has re-opened the Smith investigation which means they have chosen to ignore the COD/MOD documents that indicate it was vehicular hit and run...the various articles from MSM would indicate SLED has reason to believe that the M's could be involved in some way. That had been published information in Mid June 2021 only a couple weeks after the PM & MM murders.

SLED opens its own investigation into death of Stephen Smith; possible Murdaugh connection

Based on details gathered during the double murder investigation of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh, SLED has opened its own inquiry into a 2015 death.

www.blufftontoday.com

This trial is absolutely critical to the Murdaugh family not just in terms of their power and prestige locally but also to their shared legacy. At this stage the only available progenitor of the dynasty is...BM.

ALL MOO.

I appreciate what you are saying... All the stuff in the periphery. The boat, the poor kid in the street....I get it. I'm trying to be fair here. The unfortunate facts the lurk in the background here are:

1. Nothing was going to stop the legal problems he had, except his death. Even then they could likley sue the estate. Killing his family wasn't going to stop that.

2. The boat accident. As sad as it is kids do stupid stupid stuff everyday. Every city & town in the world has lost young folks because of bad decisions. Between liability insurance on the boat and his legal expertise, AM probably didn't have too much exposure. That aside, trying to keep PM out of jail, by killing him doesn't really square up.

The poor kid they found dead in the street...There is nothing tangible there, at least at this point. No one knows what happened.

In the end, the law firm wasn't going away. The dwi wasn't going away. If there were evidence with the Smith boy, that wasn't going away.

From watching the trial, it's abundantly clear AM is highly intelligent. I would say cunning. He knows that killing his family wasn't going to solve his problems. He knows how investigations work. He knows how phones work. He knows how on-star works.

If he pulled the trigger himself in some for of rage - his best play would have been to wait until the morning. Say he fell asleep & didn't hear anything. Really anything other than what he did would have been better.

I guess what I'm saying is...

The data puts him there. The video puts him there. Everything points to him being there. But none of it makes any sense. None of it squares with premeditated murder, at least when the murderer doesn't want to get caught (meaning, some people kill, and don't care about getting caught, others want to get away with it).

If there was another person there. Presumably took control of the situation and took their phones (which is what they are using to help determine time of death) And AM left, and went to his mother's. It must have been to get something. That doesn't really make sense to me either. But its the only thing I can think of.

God only knows what these people were into that we don't know about. Drugs, smuggling, human trafficking. Nothing would surprise me.

Then again, maybe he was going to kill them and himself, but chickened out.

Just a bizarre situation.

 

[girlhasnoname]

Jailhouse call

The always super helpful baby brother John Marvin looking for ways to help Alex out.

 

[girlhasnoname]

Did you all notice that AM was more flat yesterday and today not as much emotion? He also didn't seem to have his mouth full of mints or tobacco or whatever it was he was previously manipulating orally all during the trial. I noticed he did "cry" a few times but not as much and he seems worn out, maybe feeling defeated? OMO

Did anyone else notice a change since he testified?

He used up all his manufactured emotions, hard to keep that up for as long as this trial has been going on.

MOO

 

[Skigirl]

Is there any blog or site that is not all in for the defense? All the talking heads are defense attorneys and enamored with Dick. Except Nancy Grace….she’s on an hour a day I guess.
There has to be someone willing to entertain the possibility of AM being a monster. I hope.

I don't know about blog, but the investigative reporters who broke the news of the murders, the roadside shooting, and who uncovered the financial crimes of against the Satterfields have a podcast called "Cup of Justice" along with Eric Bland, the Satterfields' attorney, and it's super-interesting, highly recommend.

 

[girlhasnoname]

I’ve been bothered this entire trial how Maggie was such an afterthought. No family in court. All of the obcession over Paul & how he was killed etc. etc. smh

So agree, it's like she wasn't even there.

 

[girlhasnoname]

I think RM is the odd man out in the family right now.
While the sister got caught passing contraband(and she knew better, she’s a victim advocate), and Bu$ toed the party line on the witness stand, and JMM put on his best gee whiz gosh routine and cried on cue…RM is the one who called SLED after the roadside shooting and told them AM was trying to bribe nurses to use their phone, and gave them the phone number he was calling. RM is the one who voted with his law partners to fire AM for his theft from them and clients.
I think he supports AM because they are brothers, but instead of a motto of “Family No Matter What”, RM’s motto might be “I Won’t Be Fooled Again”.

I think RM is the only one smart enough not to open his mouth in public or on the stand.

MOO

 

[Edvis]

I don't think that she had friends. She was probably so busy trying to support her dysfunctional spouse, raising her kids, managing codependency takes a lot of energy. And she can't complain to anyone, because she has to keep up the front of having a perfect life.

I think that the former housekeeper was probably her friend, and we see how that friendship ended.

Agreed I believe she knew in her heart that AM was starting to go into a tailspin and saw through many of his lies. I'm sure AM was gaslighting her as well about where the family stood with finances, drug habit and other bones that hadn't surfaced yet. Big names in small towns can work in your favor or bring you to your knees and whispers floating around were reaching her ears and breaking her heart. I give her credit for standing next to a man maybe for the families sake but also believe she was slowly finding an exit to step away with grace from AM knowing he had become a loss cause. Edisto was her safe place to gather her thoughts and find some peace of mind away from the town rumor mill and AM as well. I hope that when all is said and done the memory of both will be a good one despite the rumors and shortcomings. AM has no limits with his means to an end and human lives were expendable as well. AM was playing with lives like one would play Chess as he used up all the pawns and then started to sacrifice the key pieces even to go as far as to sacrifice main pieces, PM and tragically the queen MM as well. AM still refuses to hear the word Checkmate and throws the remaining pieces into the grinder in hopes of a miracle but the king IMO must fall and fall hard.

 

[Txbarfly]

DH’s frustrations were clearly showing ….he couldn’t break RC

Very strong day for the prosecution, imo. Just not sure it’s going to be the difference maker.

First you had Hartpoolian swinging and missing badly at Crosby.

Then, you had Jim Griffin keeping Dr. Kinney on the stand WAY too long. Kinney practically had me in stitches, esp when, after one question he took a sec, looked at JG half deadpan, half smirk and said “Really?” Like, “are you seriously asking me that totally dumba** question?”

 

[Loveallmyhorsesdogsandcats]

I appreciate what you are saying... All the stuff in the periphery. The boat, the poor kid in the street....I get it. I'm trying to be fair here. The unfortunate facts the lurk in the background here are:

1. Nothing was going to stop the legal problems he had, except his death. Even then they could likley sue the estate. Killing his family wasn't going to stop that.

2. The boat accident. As sad as it is kids do stupid stupid stuff everyday. Every city & town in the world has lost young folks because of bad decisions. Between liability insurance on the boat and his legal expertise, AM probably didn't have too much exposure. That aside, trying to keep PM out of jail, by killing him doesn't really square up.

The poor kid they found dead in the street...There is nothing tangible there, at least at this point. No one knows what happened.

In the end, the law firm wasn't going away. The dwi wasn't going away. If there were evidence with the Smith boy, that wasn't going away.

From watching the trial, it's abundantly clear AM is highly intelligent. I would say cunning. He knows that killing his family wasn't going to solve his problems. He knows how investigations work. He knows how phones work. He knows how on-star works.

If he pulled the trigger himself in some for of rage - his best play would have been to wait until the morning. Say he fell asleep & didn't hear anything. Really anything other than what he did would have been better.

I guess what I'm saying is...

The data puts him there. The video puts him there. Everything points to him being there. But none of it makes any sense. None of it squares with premeditated murder, at least when the murderer doesn't want to get caught (meaning, some people kill, and don't care about getting caught, others want to get away with it).

If there was another person there. Presumably took control of the situation and took their phones (which is what they are using to help determine time of death) And AM left, and went to his mother's. It must have been to get something. That doesn't really make sense to me either. But its the only thing I can think of.

God only knows what these people were into that we don't know about. Drugs, smuggling, human trafficking. Nothing would surprise me.

Then again, maybe he was going to kill them and himself, but chickened out.

Just a bizarre situation.

What reasons would make sense for killing your family? Unfortunately there is way too long a list of those who killed their family when they had other choices- Chris Watts, Chris Longo, John List, Susan Smith, Chris Coleman, Josh Powell, all could have simply asked for a divorce. The walls were closing in on AM, the source of pressures being put on him were were from PM and MM. His life was a financial dumpster fire, being turned down for loans, law suit about to reveal his stealing and true state of his life- all common signs of family annihilators. AM spent his life maneuvering and scheming, these murders were another attempt/scheme to save himself, the roadside shooting was another attempt/scheme to save himself. We do know AM was in to drug smuggling with BB but defense did not present any evidence of that being related to the murders. If they had any viable evidence, they would have presented it. AM was part of a century long “dynasty” that ran that and surrounding counties, had no fear of repercussions. He had the protection of DS, interesting that the roadside shooting happened mere days after DS finally recused himself and warrants etc started being issued. 3 people were at the kennels at the time of death and only one walked away. AM is devoid of true emotional connection like some many of the others who also killed their family. I don’t understand it either, do not understand how Chris Watts could kill his wife, but her body in his trucks, load his 3 and 5 year old, drive to the tanks, smother the girls and stuff them in the tanks but he did, he could have got a divorce. I will never understand or ”make it make sense” but have zero doubts of AM’s guilt and why he did it. MOO

 

[Skigirl]

I appreciate what you are saying... All the stuff in the periphery. The boat, the poor kid in the street....I get it. I'm trying to be fair here. The unfortunate facts the lurk in the background here are:

1. Nothing was going to stop the legal problems he had, except his death. Even then they could likley sue the estate. Killing his family wasn't going to stop that.

2. The boat accident. As sad as it is kids do stupid stupid stuff everyday. Every city & town in the world has lost young folks because of bad decisions. Between liability insurance on the boat and his legal expertise, AM probably didn't have too much exposure. That aside, trying to keep PM out of jail, by killing him doesn't really square up.

The poor kid they found dead in the street...There is nothing tangible there, at least at this point. No one knows what happened.

In the end, the law firm wasn't going away. The dwi wasn't going away. If there were evidence with the Smith boy, that wasn't going away.

From watching the trial, it's abundantly clear AM is highly intelligent. I would say cunning. He knows that killing his family wasn't going to solve his problems. He knows how investigations work. He knows how phones work. He knows how on-star works.

If he pulled the trigger himself in some for of rage - his best play would have been to wait until the morning. Say he fell asleep & didn't hear anything. Really anything other than what he did would have been better.

I guess what I'm saying is...

The data puts him there. The video puts him there. Everything points to him being there. But none of it makes any sense. None of it squares with premeditated murder, at least when the murderer doesn't want to get caught (meaning, some people kill, and don't care about getting caught, others want to get away with it).

If there was another person there. Presumably took control of the situation and took their phones (which is what they are using to help determine time of death) And AM left, and went to his mother's. It must have been to get something. That doesn't really make sense to me either. But its the only thing I can think of.

God only knows what these people were into that we don't know about. Drugs, smuggling, human trafficking. Nothing would surprise me.

Then again, maybe he was going to kill them and himself, but chickened out.

Just a bizarre situation.

I agree it's bizarre, I agree that it's possible that he was planning a murder/suicide and chickened out, but I disagree that Alex is highly intelligent. I think part of what makes the crime so difficult to understand is that it was really stupidly carried out. And I think the people who think there is more to the story are giving Alex too much credit. He's not playing three-dimensional chess, he is a good ole' boy whose family has been in control of the county for a hundred years, whose relationships with local law enforcement are very chummy, whose family has always gotten away with everything -- and he thought he could get away with it because of the cover afforded him by the family name, power, and money.

Things were coming to a head, his financial crimes would be exposed if the boat crash case went forward. Paul's criminal defense (with the same lawyers now defending Alex) was going to cost a fortune and leave him with nothing. Mark Tinsley, the Beachs' attorney, is a formidable adversary and Alex had recently been disabused of the notion that Tinsley would throw the case because they had a history. Mark was going to bankrupt him and expose his financial crimes, because the Beach family wasn't satisified with an insurance settlement -- they wanted the financial settlement to hurt and they were not going to be satisfied with a little hush money. Alex would lose Moselle and the beach house and have to face Maggie's feelings over that. He would be humiliated and end up in prison. The only way to stop things, at least for the time being, would be to have a death in the family that would buy him time to come up with a plan, and bring both sympathy and the dismissal of the boat case.

For what it's worth, I think he would take back Paul's murder if he could. I don't think it occurred to him that he would not be able to hide the financial crimes until he figured out some way to replenish the money or cover his tracks more thoroughly; now he's killed his son for nothing.

 

[Elley Mae]

Beaufort County property tax records show Murdaugh co-owns the eight St. Helena Island properties with Barrett T. Boulware.

The properties are small tracts of land ranging in size from less than an acre to more than 20 acres of land. Some of the properties are listed as islands that are only accessible by boat. Several of the properties lack any structures or buildings.

The eight properties join the Murdaugh family beach house on Edisto Island which News 2 recently reported thousands of dollars are owed on.

Beaufort County tax records show Alex Murdaugh owes back taxes on multiple properties

BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Alex Murdaugh remains behind bars a day after his bond was denied in a Richland County Courtroom. On Wednesday, News 2 uncovered tax records showing several pro…

www.counton2.com

…
Timeline: See Alex Murdaugh’s Ties To Alleged Drug Smuggler Who Owned Moselle

Murdaugh Murders: How Was Alex Murdaugh Tied To Alleged Drug Smugglers?

In the latest mystery in the Murdaugh Murders Saga, a timeline by shows Alex Murdaugh's ties to alleged drug smuggler Barrett Boulware.

www.fitsnews.com

…

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

I think when you marry into this family that is your world. I don't think the dysfunction was only within the AM family but across many branches of the tree. That said, I believe that after the boat accident, any connections she had outside of the family and those who worked for the family (at the homes or in the office) were lost. The town turned on them (rightfully so) as AM and his father applied pressure and split the area between the rich M family and those with less power --- as seen in accounts on the Netflix series. They also did things with her family. I would love to know what more of them are thinking because I have a feeling that they are Team Maggie and not Team Murdaugh in this trial. It is really sad to think that a family with an involved set of parents with lots of opportunities to do good evolved/devolved into what we saw starting at the boat accident. So many good people with power and money use their power for good.

I believe it was shown elsewhere, but not as much in the current Netflix three part series, of the behavior in the immediate aftermath of the boat crash down at the bridge location - when M family members supposedly cut right under the yellow crime scene tape and waltzed onto the scene sure told of their importance - and disregard of anyone else. Same it seemed at the hospital. At least in their eyes, all others be…… MO

 

[CityKid]

There is way more to this than we know. I feel there are others who could provide evidence against AM but I really think people fear retaliation.

I’m hoping that people will come forward eventually. They have had to of been following the case. Bottom line AM isn’t convicted yet.

What is unfortunate is people will remain fearful if AM wins. It sends a message that the Murdaughs always win no matter what they are up against.

I watched the Netflix series last night and I'm gonna be an optimist. The decent people of that area are sick of this. It's one thing when the "rich" (or acting rich, in this case) get out of parking tickets or always manage to get a table in their favorite restaurant. It's a whole other thing when they're getting away with murder and have a string of shady "accidents" hooked up to their names. The number of folks calling in anonymous tips on the Smith case, the way the families of the kids on the boat spoke...it was like when you hear about a kidnapping victim waiting for that one moment when the kidnapper falls asleep so they can break free. I want to believe the jury is going to find him guilty because they know this could be that one moment that they can get out from under this family's control. I'm hopeful that the fear of this family ever getting the chance to retaliate has dissipated somewhat, now that they know everyone will have their eyes on this criminal gang.

 

[BeachSky]

The always super helpful baby brother John Marvin looking for ways to help Alex out.

That guy made my skin crawl!
On cross by the State (who turned to gather info) JM took a sip of water, OBVIOUSLY smiled for a long time at the jurors then looked over at AM. The cunning methods they have learned at the knee of their patriarch is obvious! IMO

ETA: patriarch

 

[CityKid]

Why should anyone think the jury will believe he is not lying to them about murdering his wife and son?? Isn't a jury charge that if the jury knows/thinks he lied about something they can assume he lied about one or more things... or words similar???

I can only speak to NY juries but this may be true in other/all jurisdictions. The judge generally tells the jury they can choose to consider all, part or none of any witness statement.

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

LOL!! They can stay at Howard Johnson's!

Hey….. we should be nice I miss some of the older iconic road presences such as Howard Johnsons. I spoke some days back about Edisto fried shrimp on a honeymoon in Charleston, SC years ago. On that same trip headed down there we stayed at the VA NC line in a Ho-Jos and had breakfast there. Might have been near South Hill? Those morning eggs and grits at that Ho-Jos I can still remember and taste. Absolute perfection!

 

[Gardenista]

Significance of the phone calls? I missed this! Thanks

We don't know since she wasn't called.

 

[UK Girl]

Who is LM?Lynn Murdaugh Goettee

Lynn Murdaugh Goettee