SC - Paul Murdaugh & mom Margaret Found Shot To Death - Alex Murdaugh Accused - Islandton #19

[Katrinepa]

Aside from the Murders, he should be prosecuted for RICO crimes. Racketeering charges are often used to bring down criminal operations and crime rings. The RICO Act applies to thirty-five different criminal offenses. It covers crimes frequently associated with organized crime, such as illegal gambling, prostitution , collection of unlawful debt (protection money), counterfeiting , money laundering ...

 

[Seattle1]

SLED should have kicked everyone out of the house the night of the murders and not let anyone in until they did a search. They had a search warrant and should have executed it. The "voluntary search" with people in the house trailing after the SLED agent was not good enough IMO. This is where the Murdaugh influence came in to play I think. I really doubt "Joe Smith" would have been afforded this courtesy. JMO.

Agree! However, unlike other cases where I think the jury might not overlook deficient, non-regulatory investigative work, I think the local jurors might be more forgiving of LE-- knowing how they were at the home of the County's most important constituent. Jurors will better understand the culture here where probably everybody in the room could get you fired. MOO

 

[Katrinepa]

Depends on who you ask. My favorite one is the drug money is laundered through the local churches before getting to the real people pulling the strings. I don't know anything about that, but there are an inordinate number of churches around here, none of which are filled on Sunday mornings.

It's a little too much like tin-foil hat conspiracies for my taste, but it would be interesting if there's some truth to it.

Many years ago I knew of a guy, who was a Drug Kingpin on the east coast, living in NJ, now in Prison. He funneled money through his Construction Business and at least one Jewelry Store(the Jewelry Exchange), and his Accountant and many others were all arrested, and he was known to have had his thugs kill people. He lived in a Huge house, wore tons of jewelry, owned sharp cars, etc. No money issues for him.

 

[Seattle1]

Aside from the Murders, he should be prosecuted for RICO crimes. Racketeering charges are often used to bring down criminal operations and crime rings. The RICO Act applies to thirty-five different criminal offenses. It covers crimes frequently associated with organized crime, such as illegal gambling, prostitution , collection of unlawful debt (protection money), counterfeiting , money laundering ...

I think it's the financial mess with more assurance of a conviction with a hefty sentence, that keeps many uncertain about the state meeting the burden to prove murder, going. MOO

 

[cocky0]

If that’s your favorite which one do you feel is most believable?

Most believable? I don't know. I'm just watching it unfold with everyone else. Not much big news comes out of Hampton, so it's interesting to see what comes of all of this.

 

[girlhasnoname]

On June 25, 2021 AM and son BM announced a reward.
18 days after the murders.

And they put an expiration date of September 30, 2021 !!
Who does that ?!
JMO

Alex Murdaugh the real murderer would do that IMO.

 

[cocky0]

Many years ago I knew of a guy, who was a Drug Kingpin on the east coast, living in NJ, now in Prison. He funneled money through his Construction Business and at least one Jewelry Store(the Jewelry Exchange), and his Accountant and many others were all arrested, and he was known to have had his thugs kill people. He lived in a Huge house, wore tons of jewelry, owned sharp cars, etc. No money issues for him.

Yeah the whole idea of money laundering is fascinating to me. I'm sure a little of that goes on around here, but I don't know any of the particulars. I have my suspicions, but those are just my own conjecture.

 

[cocky0]

I’ve heard that drug running stuff said about every seemingly successful person in my rural SC county from diner owners to the sheriff so I don’t really pay mind to it. I recall some pot runners who were loyal about tithes as well.

Edit, I was responding to the discussion from @Katrinepa, @Elley Mae, and @cocky0.

Yeah that's a fair point. I don't know anything about any of it. I just hear the local gossip from time to time.

 

[Katrinepa]

I think it's the financial mess with more assurance of a conviction with a hefty sentence, that keeps many uncertain about the state meeting the burden to prove murder, going. MOO

Agreed. What concerns me is the convoluted cross information, and the Jurors not being allowed to take notes. I'd be soo confused, not knowing which info to focus on, and how it all plays into the Murder charge.

 

[girlhasnoname]

SLED should have kicked everyone out of the house the night of the murders and not let anyone in until they did a search. They had a search warrant and should have executed it. The "voluntary search" with people in the house trailing after the SLED agent was not good enough IMO. This is where the Murdaugh influence came in to play I think. I really doubt "Joe Smith" would have been afforded this courtesy. JMO.

I have to agree @clearskies1. I said it many threads back when the murder first happened how it was a mistake that they didn't include the house into the taped off crime scene. They not only didn't seal it off, but let the family and friends congregate there during the investigation. Big no no IMO.

Not enough to get him off IMO, but a poor mistake on local LE part.

MOO

 

[girlhasnoname]

Agreed. What concerns me is the convoluted cross information, and the Jurors not being allowed to take notes. I'd be soo confused, not knowing which info to focus on, and how it all plays into the Murder charge.

I think the State will wrap it all up nicely in closing arguments. Plus they'll have all the exhibits to look over in the jury room. There is a lot to process, but I feel like jurors take their job seriously. At least I hope so in this case.

MOO

 

[scapa]

Yes, quite the Wolf in Sheep’s clothing.
From MM’s FB:
June 2020
“Happy Happy Father’s Day to the best who everybody loves

Thank you for all u do for our family. You work so hard for your family and our kids r so lucky! Dad,Coach,Teacher and best friend.”

The above is pretty much verbatim from that weird statement that Russell Laffite's wife gave as his trial began. Dad, Coach, Teacher, BF.

It's like there's a well-worn character script for even the vilest local good ole boy skullduggery.

 

[Kembo]

I think the State will wrap it all up nicely in closing arguments. Plus they'll have all the exhibits to look over in the jury room. There is a lot to process, but I feel like jurors take their job seriously. At least I hope so in this case.

MOO

I think it is wise of the judge not to let jurors take notes. If jurors take notes, they are more likely to get things wrong, then when they re-read them, that will reinforce their errors. My guess is, the judge will likely allow them to take notes when the prosecutor wraps everything up in closing, with the timeline much clearer and more succinct. That will help all of us viewers also, who are so lost in this mess. As of now, based on the cell phone calls, texts, orientations, and steps being out of chronological order, and each phone presented separately, the defense can more easily present several theories around that data that could cause reasonable doubt. Just last night I put together at least two theories that could exclude AM as the shooter. Bottom line is, how can AM get around the fact that he lied about being at the kennels, when he obviously was from at least 8:40 to at least 8:45.

 

[clearskies1]

I love that Tony Satterfield got a "J'accuse" moment -- getting to take the stand and physically point out Alex in the court room. I know the jury wasn't there, but I'm still happy with it. The Satterfield theft is just the absolute worst. Makes me almost cry thinking about it. JMO.

Son of Alex Murdaugh's former housekeeper accuses him of stealing $4m

The son's of Alex Murdaugh's housekeeper Gloria Satterfield say they never received a penny from an alleged $4 million wrongful death payout that he received following her 2018 death.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Diddian]

On June 25, 2021 AM and son BM announced a reward.
18 days after the murders.

And they put an expiration date of September 30, 2021 !!
Who does that ?!
JMO

Shopping for ANY rumors that might be turned into a SODDI defense.

 

[Walela]

Alec may have gone to some rehab facility but I don't think he had an opioid addiction. He may be an alcoholic (like PM) but seriously doubt opioid. You don't get over that in just 10 days or a month in rehab. That's 90 days rehab and then OP therapy and daily Ala-Non meetings for months, and then a lifetime of addressing it.

The fact that he and his attorneys have said he HAD an addiction tells me he didn't. If he is actually in recovery (as in he went to rehab and embraced the program) he would be saying I AM an addict. Once a cucumber becomes a pickle, it's always a pickle. OMO. MOO.

I agree. There is a big difference in going to rehab for recovery from addiction and going to rehab to dry out.

 

[Warwick7]

I love that Tony Satterfield got a "J'accuse" moment -- getting to take the stand and physically point out Alex in the court room. I know the jury wasn't there, but I'm still happy with it. The Satterfield theft is just the absolute worst. Makes me almost cry thinking about it. JMO.

Son of Alex Murdaugh's former housekeeper accuses him of stealing $4m

The son's of Alex Murdaugh's housekeeper Gloria Satterfield say they never received a penny from an alleged $4 million wrongful death payout that he received following her 2018 death.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Agreed!

 

[ch_13]

I have a procedural question about the case. I skimmed back through the previous thread and didn't see it discussed but I may have missed it.

Is there a reason that they've paused the trial to determine whether AM's financial misdeeds can be admitted? I would have thought that would have all been handled in pre-trial motions rather than midway through the court case. Is this just how SC trials work or is there some other reason it was done this way?

EDIT - Never mind, I found the answer in this Vox article:

On February 1, the defense unexpectedly entered a short video into exhibit that showed Alex celebrating his birthday at home with family and friends. The video showed Alex smiling and laughing as a group gathers around to sing “Happy Birthday.”

But the video, which the defense introduced to show a softer side of the defendant, had an unexpected consequence: Because it introduced a character argument into the trial, it created an opening for a wealth of prosecutorial evidence that the judge had previously ruled inadmissible: Alex Murdaugh’s alleged years of financial fraud and related schemes, which were unraveling in the lead-up to the murders of his wife and son.

The sudden reintroduction of all this evidence meant that the trial has been halted several times throughout the week to allow the judge to entertain whether specific pieces of testimony will be admitted. Some of that testimony, given without the jury present, has included allegations that Alex created fraudulent bank accounts, as well as tearful testimony given on February 2 from one of Murdaugh’s former best friends, attorney Chris Wilson.

 

[Kembo]

PLAUSIBLE TIMELINE FOR THE DEFENSE?​

• Alex is at the house taking a nap from about 8:05 p.m. until about 8:35 p.m. He changes into a white T-shirt and shorts to be more comfortable and lays his phone next time him beside the couch or bed. He drives over to the kennels to check on Maggie, Paul, and the dogs. He forgets or leaves his phone in the house. He arrives at 8:37 p.m. and talks with Maggie and Paul about Cash’s tail or whatever. Sometime after 8:45, just after admonishing Bubba about the chicken, he hops back in his suburban, drives back to the house, and on his way back thinks he should check on his mom since she might be lonely with dad in the hospital.
• At 8:53, Maggie takes a short walk around the kennels, and checks her phone a few times for messages. She enters the kennel to check on the dogs one last time with her phone in her hand, which could lead to orientation changes as well. It was dark inside the kennel, which could account for why the phone didn’t see her face the last time.
• At 9:02, Alex grabs the phone he had left in the house, calls Maggie, who doesn’t answer. He paces around for 2 minutes waiting for her call back. He tries again at 9:04, but she doesn’t answer. He paces around another 2 minutes. He figures she’s still busy with Bubba and the chicken, so he just leaves in the truck at 9:06. This accounts for the 283 steps on his phone between 9:02 and when he leaves in his truck at 9:06. From the suburban, he texts her at 9:08 to let her know he’s on his way to see mom.
• The two assailants, meanwhile, have been lying in wait in the pine trees by the kennels, after having followed Paul there. They track Alex’s movements to the kennels, back to the house, and off the property. As soon as he gets clear of the property, they arm themselves with weapons near the kennels, or possibly ones they stole earlier, and shoot Paul and Maggie at about 9:08. Maggie is still alive at 9:06 because her phone changes orientation, and this is the last time she touches her phone. It’s not that surprising there is no meaningful activity on either Maggie’s or Paul’s phones since 8:54 they could have been just sitting by the kennels talking to each other about the chicken in Bubba’s mouth and Cash’s tail problem. The dogs’ barking could have prevented them from hearing the phone calls from Alex and Rogan. The assailants are surprised that Maggie is there, but they cannot leave a witness. After all, she always protected her spoiled son, so she gets what she deserves for being here. They assumed she was still in Edisto. They would have had no idea Alex had wanted Maggie to return to the Moselle property.
• The perpetrators flee with the weapons, and with Maggie’s phone. They realize they shouldn’t have taken it, but thinking it is too dangerous to go back, they throw it out the window about a half mile down the road. The dispose of the guns in a swamp somewhere, and there clothes sometime later.
• Alex arrives at his mom’s house about 9:30, checks in on her for about 15 minutes to make sure she is ok, then gets back in the car at 9:45, calls Maggie again, then drives directly to the kennels, where he arrives at 10:05, probably to let Maggie have it for not answering his calls or his text. There he discovers the bodies of Maggie and Paul. He calls 911 at 10:07 p.m.
• Alex lies about being at the kennels because he assumes everyone would blame him for the murders, especially after being suspected of stealing money from his clients.

 

[Walela]

I have a procedural question about the case. I skimmed back through the previous thread and didn't see it discussed but I may have missed it.

Is there a reason that they've paused the trial to determine whether AM's financial misdeeds can be admitted? I would have thought that would have all been handled in pre-trial motions rather than midway through the court case. Is this just how SC trials work or is there some other reason it was done this way?

That's a good question. I myself would like to know the answer.