SC - Paul Murdaugh, 22 and mom Margaret, 52, found shot to death, Islandton, 7 June 2021 #9

[clearskies1]

amanda loveday is actually a very certified PR professional. That said, i don't trust a word she nor harpootlian say. They're the queen and king of spin.

IMO...

Seems unusual to have a PR strategist involved. What the client tells them is not protected by the attorney client privilege. Their files can be searched by LE with a warrant. JMO.

 

[JRWoodwardMSW]

Seems unusual to have a PR strategist involved. What the client tells them is not protected by the attorney client privilege. Their files can be searched by LE with a warrant. JMO.

What, you don’t get that rich people hire someone to do their lying?

 

[elliefant]

It seems to me that what the PR person is saying is that the family deny AM&MM were getting a divorce. They may or may not believe that but at no point, despite being AM’s spokesperson, does she say AM says there was no pending divorce. To me that says there was a pending divorce and rather than have AM lie about it they are getting his family to claim ignorance of it - because nobody can prove their ignorance or otherwise. She has worded it in such a way that she hopes it will be taken as the official line and that we won’t notice it is not necessarily AM’s line (if he were ever to be honest about it).

 

[10ofRods]

Seems unusual to have a PR strategist involved. What the client tells them is not protected by the attorney client privilege. Their files can be searched by LE with a warrant. JMO.

The legal PR strategist I know works directly for a law firm, is paid by the law firm, and his product is considered a product of the law firm - just as it would be if one were a legal consultant to a firm or a paralegal...

 

[Magdelena]

Went back to thread 1 found this, Thanks @stattlich1 for the link.

...

7


Twi A: 4:35am
Twi N: 5:13am
Twi: 5:47am
Sunrise: 6:16am
Sunset: 8:30pm
Twi: 8:59pm
Twi N: 9:34pm
Twi A: 10:11pm

Sunrise Sunset Calendars

 

[Magdelena]

I'm totally new to replying and may flub up a bit but I am trying to find an article written just after the murders that noted it was raining off and on that evening. If so, it would be very dark by 9:00.

Does anyone else remember this or know where it might have been noted?

 

[MoeInVA]

The legal PR strategist I know works directly for a law firm, is paid by the law firm, and his product is considered a product of the law firm - just as it would be if one were a legal consultant to a firm or a paralegal...

Exactly. I am in PR and when appropriate I would structure my contracts with the law firm rather than the client which puts us in a better position to argue the work product and communications are protected.

The Loveday statement’s distancing language about divorce and turning over texts to us suggests to me that she is spokesperson for the legal team and/or the family with Buster as AM’s POA. The distancing is quite notable however given that in previous statements the lawyers and family repeated AM’s accounts as absolute fact. This statement hedges. Which is exactly what I would do given AM’s track record for dishonesty. Moo.

 

[MoeInVA]

I'm totally new to replying and may flub up a bit but I am trying to find an article written just after the murders that noted it was raining off and on that evening. If so, it would be very dark by 9:00.

Does anyone else remember this or know where it might have been noted?

It definitely was raining and the sheriffs records noted they needed to get a tent.

 

[Elley Mae]

I'm totally new to replying and may flub up a bit but I am trying to find an article written just after the murders that noted it was raining off and on that evening. If so, it would be very dark by 9:00.

Does anyone else remember this or know where it might have been noted?

Yes here is one article.

Welcome to Websleuths Magdelena!

You are right about it being more dark then dark with storms/rain.
...

Moreover, it had rained the night of June 7 for some time after the killings and the rain may have washed away any evidence on the cell phone, the sources said.

A police report supports the sources’ account of rain. On the night of the murders, around 10:30 p.m., an investigator with the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office used a large tent to cover evidence that was “exposed to the elements,” according to a redacted police report released by SLED earlier this week.

https://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article252301778.html

 

[TenaciousTBacon]

What does the degree of darkness at 9pm have to do with who pulled the triggers?

Maybe I got lost somewhere.

 

[worm]

What does the degree of darkness at 9pm have to do with who pulled the triggers?

Maybe I got lost somewhere.

I guess it would have to do with aim but both of these weapons are really lethal within any semi close range.

 

[MoeInVA]

What does the degree of darkness at 9pm have to do with who pulled the triggers?

Maybe I got lost somewhere.

It may or may not be relevant. In my opinion, there may be a difference between a crime committed under cover of full darkness and a crime at dusk. For instance:

• I would think a robbery or a planned hit on the whole family would be more likely at night well after it is fully dark rather than at dusk and at an hour when people may still be up and about.
• If it was an unplanned murder and it was not yet very dark (e.g. a fight or a robbery and no one was expected to be there), the perpetrator(s) may have felt they had little choice but to murder a witness who arrived at the scene because the perp(s) were seen.
• Moo

 

[HopeForTheBest]

Great post, HopeForTheBest! Light pollution is a real thing. You explained it very well. Out in the "sticks" it really is MUCH darker than highly populated areas. Unless, of course, you're in the Arctic Circle, the Land of the Midnight Sun!

That’s so nice of you to say, and gosh, yes, on the Arctic Circle!

 

[HopeForTheBest]

In all the rain, I’d imagine there’d be footprints and tire tracks if a vehicle were used to get to the point. I wonder where the shooter was. Behind at least MM is she was shot in the back so…where? The kennels? Really, it seems like doing such a crime in the rain would complicate matters even more such as with the footprints. It’s all so weird and doesn’t seem like a professional killer would want to add rain to the scenario. What if he or she slipped? And footprints, depressions in the ground, tire tracks, and what if you couldn’t find a casing or whatever because the ground was soggy? (Clearly, guns are not my area of expertise; I have no idea if the types of guns used even leave leftovers!) I know it’s a very isolated area and one where guns are common but hearing shots in the rain would give me pause. Not many people hunt in the rain, I imagine, and those who hunt for fun might prefer to wait for dry weather. And the sound of a gunshot carries further in an open area from my experience. I myself DO look up when I hear gunshots before dawn or after dusk since most hunting needs to be done in between the two at least where I’ve been. It all seems so frenetic and desperate, like the quarry was about to escape, rather than cool and calm to me like with a professional. The number of gunshots also seem more like an amateur to me. It just all is so tragic and stupid. MOO.

 

[HopeForTheBest]

And imagine the cacophony of sounds with the dogs going nuts barking at this whole scene. They’d bark due to seeing people running around and then bark when hearing shots. They wouldn’t be afraid but they likely would be excited because to hunting dogs, gunshots are about success. MOO.

 

[RAISINISBACK]

I'm totally new to replying and may flub up a bit but I am trying to find an article written just after the murders that noted it was raining off and on that evening. If so, it would be very dark by 9:00.

Does anyone else remember this or know where it might have been noted?

Welcome!!!!

 

[RAISINISBACK]

What does the degree of darkness at 9pm have to do with who pulled the triggers?

Maybe I got lost somewhere.

If it was one shooter then it can be assumed it's the reason he didn't use the shotgun (owned by AM) to kill MM. If it was fully dark he would need to get the AR-15 (also a type gun owned by AM)because an infrared scope can be mounted on it so he could see her in the dark to shoot her. If it was light enough to see why wouldn't he have used the shotgun. It goes to the theory that one person killed both and why that one person would need to use two different type guns instead of just grabbing a couple more shotgun shells and using the same gun to kill them both.

JMO

 

[RAISINISBACK]

In all the rain, I’d imagine there’d be footprints and tire tracks if a vehicle were used to get to the point. I wonder where the shooter was. Behind at least MM is she was shot in the back so…where? The kennels? Really, it seems like doing such a crime in the rain would complicate matters even more such as with the footprints. It’s all so weird and doesn’t seem like a professional killer would want to add rain to the scenario. What if he or she slipped? And footprints, depressions in the ground, tire tracks, and what if you couldn’t find a casing or whatever because the ground was soggy? (Clearly, guns are not my area of expertise; I have no idea if the types of guns used even leave leftovers!) I know it’s a very isolated area and one where guns are common but hearing shots in the rain would give me pause. Not many people hunt in the rain, I imagine, and those who hunt for fun might prefer to wait for dry weather. And the sound of a gunshot carries further in an open area from my experience. I myself DO look up when I hear gunshots before dawn or after dusk since most hunting needs to be done in between the two at least where I’ve been. It all seems so frenetic and desperate, like the quarry was about to escape, rather than cool and calm to me like with a professional. The number of gunshots also seem more like an amateur to me. It just all is so tragic and stupid. MOO.

I agree. This was not a professional hit. It was a crime of passion. Spur of the moment in an heated argument over a divorce and financial audit.

JMO

 

[Kittybunny]

It seems to me that what the PR person is saying is that the family deny AM&MM were getting a divorce. They may or may not believe that but at no point, despite being AM’s spokesperson, does she say AM says there was no pending divorce. To me that says there was a pending divorce and rather than have AM lie about it they are getting his family to claim ignorance of it - because nobody can prove their ignorance or otherwise. She has worded it in such a way that she hopes it will be taken as the official line and that we won’t notice it is not necessarily AM’s line (if he were ever to be honest about it).

Exactly, it's just more misdirection which makes us look even harder, because we know how common a motive of impending divorce is in cases where one spouse ends up dead, and one has a lot to lose. I'm looking at you, Barry Morphew.

 

[Kittybunny]

MM and PM were liabilities to AM.

Maggie by a potential divorce settlement would have cost him a pretty penny, not to mention a financial audit triggering a million questions.

Paul by the boat crash and impending criminal trial and civil trials (AM being named in the suit) would have been another wipe out of his finances.

If AM could orchestrate his 'attempted shooting' by a friend on the side of the road, and the alleged ripoff of his dearly departed housekeepers children, I don't think it's a stretch to think he is capable of much, much worse. He should be sitting in jail right now not in a cushy rehab.

MOO

From pretty early in, I was heavily leaning towards AM being responsible for these murders in one way or another. But as you said, after hearing the stories of how ruthless and conniving he is, and the lengths to which he is willing to go to to try to hold up his house of cards, I don't doubt for a second that he's capable of it, even being the one to pull the trigger.