SC - Paul Murdaugh & mom Margaret Found Shot To Death - Alex Murdaugh Accused - Islandton #24

[Batman's Mommy]

Did Curtis know this plan?

 

[Katrinepa]

I don't think this will benefit the defense at all. It is not really believable that Alex hired him to kill him (especially since there is no payment for that). I think that man was set up just like every other person in Alex's life. The only person that knew the plan was Alex.

This shows that Alex's go to for getting out of jams is contriving plans. He didn't own up to this until he had no other option at all. Then he has a drug problem and goes to rehab and suddenly wants to come clean about this.

He scammed so many people out of money in his work life.. lied and stole, and it worked for years.

His initial reaction after the boating accident was to be at the hospital trying to talk to all the kids to get their story straight to benefit his son (really to benefit himself and his $$).

So having this come to light only shows even more the true nature of how Alex thinks and operates. He was not concerned with finding the murderer of his wife/son. He was concerned with clearing Paul's name and setting up a scenario that would point to a young person that he could say see the same people that killed my family did this to me.. and then it's assumed he was saying it's the same people seeking revenge of the boat incident.

It's clear as day and the defense attempting to muddy waters by maybe suggesting this man that was "hired" to shoot Alex could have also been the one to shoot Maggie/Paul? Nope doesn't work. It also doesn't work that it's some random drug dealers either because how would they even know where to go, where to find the guns, who would or wouldn't be there.. either way Alex would be involved with any of those scenarios.

Well said!

 

[mrjitty]

This is like a bad Ozark script

 

[arielilane]

Most interaction that I've seen from M family after court adjourned. moo

 

[Batman's Mommy]

Had AM changed the beneficiary on this life insurance policy he is talking about because he would have to have made that change, too, if this was his "plan."

JMO. moo

 

[Cindizzi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1626326761339252743

 

[Batman's Mommy]

And AM listening to this like he has never heard it before..... I.just.cannot.with.this.man. Geez....

 

[mrjitty]

I don't think this will benefit the defense at all. It is not really believable that Alex hired him to kill him (especially since there is no payment for that). I think that man was set up just like every other person in Alex's life. The only person that knew the plan was Alex.

This shows that Alex's go to for getting out of jams is contriving plans. He didn't own up to this until he had no other option at all. Then he has a drug problem and goes to rehab and suddenly wants to come clean about this.

He scammed so many people out of money in his work life.. lied and stole, and it worked for years.

His initial reaction after the boating accident was to be at the hospital trying to talk to all the kids to get their story straight to benefit his son (really to benefit himself and his $$).

So having this come to light only shows even more the true nature of how Alex thinks and operates. He was not concerned with finding the murderer of his wife/son. He was concerned with clearing Paul's name and setting up a scenario that would point to a young person that he could say see the same people that killed my family did this to me.. and then it's assumed he was saying it's the same people seeking revenge of the boat incident.

It's clear as day and the defense attempting to muddy waters by maybe suggesting this man that was "hired" to shoot Alex could have also been the one to shoot Maggie/Paul? Nope doesn't work. It also doesn't work that it's some random drug dealers either because how would they even know where to go, where to find the guns, who would or wouldn't be there.. either way Alex would be involved with any of those scenarios.

Great post

I think the point is just to make this all so wild as to maybe confuse a juror or two

 

[Wallendo]

Good grief.. $50,000 a week on pills and he wrote the dealer checks?

That amount makes no sense. The going rate for oxycodone was about $1/mg last time I checked. That would work out to about a thousand oxycodone pills a week. If he were going for something like Dilaudid that would cost more, but not this much. This sounds like a money laundering scheme.

 

[Katrinepa]

Snipped for focus. (Great post)

That fund could be tapped in a federal case, I believe.

He may have believed he would be charged with federal crimes (and I suppose he sill could be).

Can My 401(K) Be Seized or Garnished?

Find out under what circumstances, and for which debts, your 401(k) retirement savings plan can be seized or garnished to satisfy your creditors.

www.investopedia.com

(Third paragraph in the section on whether the Feds can tap a 401K).

He must have felt his domestic and his public world were falling apart.

And yes, he was going to have to find the money for a good criminal defense for Paul and possibly, for himself, in the boat case. He found out that mediation had failed, what, 1-2 days before the murders? And the confrontation about the law office thefts was quite recent. MM had moved 70 miles away and I believe he knew she wasn't coming back and he knew her well enough to know she'd hire a good lawyer with a forensic accountant.

Oh, and if was worried about being arrested on all the financial charges and if he really was an addict, he had to have been worried about that as well. One form of family annihilator is the type who thinks he's "protecting" the family from reputational damage, shame or financial disaster (if they were about to become poor). And another type is vengeance killing (when a wife is leaving and taking half the assets).

IMO. I am going by memory and this is all speculation.

Characteristics of 4 Types of Family Murderers

Researchers in the UK have identified four primary types of people (usually fathers or mothers) who kill their

psychcentral.com

Another suspicion mentioned on Podcasts is possible Offshore accounts, but I also think Gambling is very possible. He's such a Sociopath, that he can convince people of lies, making them doubt themselves. Mob mentality to the Max.

 

[Boismom]

DH “when will this ever end? When have been here for months. We need to expedite this…..this is going to take a long time let’s adjourn”. They want their cake and to eat it too! I am so sick of this moronic behavior.

 

[TDoc72]

I am sorry if these questions have already been answered. I've been watching most days of the trial and I had two questions in the back of my head that I never heard answers to.

1. Do we actually know for a FACT that AM had a drug addiction? Both prosecution and defense admit that AM is a congenital liar. Could he be lying about the drug addiction? Is there any debate about this?
2. Did the prosecution present evidence of where AM's phone was at the time of the murders? Yes, there is the Snapchat video from PM but what about the data from AM's phone? What does his phone show? How did I miss this piece of data?

I’ll try:
1–I think the hospital did have some positive tests for opioids. I don’t know the levels. MM’s sister and PM’s girlfriend both mentioned his pills. So it seems he did have some level of addiction. How severe it was could be a lie.
2-His phone went to the cell tower around Moselle & his mother’s house. But that’s as far as they could take it. Paul’s phone had more location services running in his apps than AM or MM did. So they didn’t get exact locations.

 

[Warwick7]

H

Hahaha, a real nice guy who was out to kill me.

I think he was definitely going to take Eddie down and blame him for the murders.

Yes! Exactly!!

 

[Edvis]

And AM listening to this like he has never heard it before..... I.just.cannot.with.this.man. Geez....

The fog

 

[arielilane]

https://twitter.com/AveryGWilks

Court is back in session.

The state calls its 60th witness, SLED agent Ryan Kelly. He is going to testify about the September 2021 roadside shooting.

Kelly testifies about responding to the scene of the 9/4/21 shooting and finding Maggie Murdaugh’s Mercedes SUV. The rear driver's side tire had been punctured by a small blade, like a pocketknife. But the vehicle had run-flat tires, meaning it could have still driven.

Prosecutors are having some issues with playing a recording they want the jury to hear. So Judge Newman excuses the jury.

We are now hearing the 9-1-1 call.

Audio: 911: “What’s going on?” AM: “I’ve got a flat tire. Somebody stopped to help me, and when I turned my back, they tried to shoot me.” 911: “Oh, okay. Were you shot?” AM: “Yeah.” 911: Did they actually try to shoot you or did they shoot you? AM: “They shot me.”

Audio: AM: "… I can’t drive, and I’m bleeding a lot.” 911: What part of your body? AM: “I’m not sure, somewhere on my head.”

Ambulance video: AM repeats the same story to paramedics, telling them he was shot by someone who acted like a “real nice guy.” AM: “It sounded like a shotgun. It was so loud. It didn’t sound like a .22.” Other voice: “It looks like a small caliber bullet.”

Ambulance video: AM says he thinks he was shot just one time. “I lost my vision right when it happened.”

SLED agent Kelly: I went to Savannah hospital. Met with Alex Murdaugh and Randy Murdaugh. AM told me the same story he told the 9-1-1 dispatcher and a deputy. He was awake and willing to talk with us.

Kelly: AM described a newer model dark-in-color blue Chevy pickup with some type of sport tires. Said he lost his vision after the gunshot and dropped down to his knees but didn’t lose consciousness.

Kelly: AM described the shooter as a white male, 30-40 years old. Nice-looking. Close-cropped hair and facial hair. AM said he would recognize the man if he saw him again, but he didn't know the person.

Kelly: We found no debris at the scene that could have caused Murdaugh’s tire to go flat. But they did find a gray utility knife in the grass across the street.

Kelly: DNA profiles of Alex Murdaugh and Curtis Eddie Smith were identified on the knife.

Kelly: AM repeatedly gave investigators the same story about how he was shot on the side of the road, why he stopped and who shot him.

The composite sketch SLED created based on Murdaugh’s interviews

https://twitter.com/x/status/1626312557949591556

Kelly: AM was desperately trying to get access to his phone while in the hospital. He even tried to bribe nurses to let him use his phone. Apparently, he got his phone and called Curtis Edward Smith. Investigators traced that phone number back to Smith.

Photos of Curtis Smith’s truck and Maggie’s Mercedes going in the same direction toward the roadside shooting, and then Smith’s truck later going on the operation direction.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1626313857214840832

Kelly: We executed a search warrant at Smith’s house. In the residence, we found a drug reference guide he had made personal notes in. Also a 3 ½ inch spiral notebook. It logged numbers and pills. “It looked like some type of sales ledger.”

Kelly: At this point, AM had been fired from his law firm. We were aware of that. We were aware of AM’s prescription drug addiction. And we knew AM had reached out to Smith from the hospital. We also knew Smith lived in a modest home.

Kelly: Yet we’re seeing several hundred thousands of dollars in deposits and financial records in Smith’s bank account. And those funds tied back to AM.

Kelly: Prior to the shooting, AM had made contact with housekeeper Blanca Simpson and asked her about his insurance cards. She sent him a picture of one of the cards.

Kelly: I reached out to Harpootlian to try to get another interview with AM. Harpootlian and Griffin said AM had been entered into a rehab facility out of state. We made plans to travel to Atlanta, where we thought AM was. But those plans did not come to fruition.

Kelly: Harpootlian called SLED 9/13/21. We were able to set up a phone interview. The jury is about to hear that interview.

Harpootlian laying the ground rules for the SLED interview: “We don’t want to talk about what happened in Moselle, and we don’t want to talk about finances.”

Audio: AM tells SLED he had met with Chris Wilson that morning, 9/4/21, and spoke with Wilson about “everything I had done … finances, pills, lies.”

Audio: AM on the morning of 9/4/21: “I was in a very bad place. I thought it would be better for me not to be here anymore. I thought that it would make it easier on my family for me to be dead.”

Audio: AM says he called Curtis Eddie Smith on the morning of 9/4/21. They met. “I told him that things were getting to be really bad and it would be better off if I was not here.” “I asked him to shoot me.” “I think at first he was a little surprised” but then he agreed to it.

AM said he gave Smith the gun, a .38 revolver. It was AM’s gun. Smith followed him out to Old Salkehatchie Road. AM stopped, punched a hole in his tire with a knife and threw it.

Audio: AM: Smith stopped and pulled up. I didn’t look at his face. I stood close to his car. “He shot me.” “He missed and hit me in the very back of the head.” “I lost my vision for a little bit. I’m not sure if it knocked me to the ground or not, but I was disoriented.”

Audio: Harpootlian: Your intent was to have him kill you so you could collect your life insurance right? AM: “So my son could. I knew I was about to lose everything, and I figured he was better off that way than dealing with me.”

Audio: Harpootlian: Did Curtis Smith ever ask try to talk you out of it? AM: “No, sir.” H: Is that strange? AM: “I was focused on … on being gone.”

Kelly: How long have you known Curtis Eddie Smith? AM: “I apologize to you for lying to you at the hospital. I was in a very bad place.” ... "I've known him for years. I represented him. He knew my dad somehow from playing softball.”

Audio: AM tells Kelly he would pay Smith several times a week for pills, sometimes in cash but often with checks. AM tells Kelly about the fake Forge account. He said he used it to pay Smith, as well as his other accounts.

Audio: Kelly: “Do you know who (Smith) was getting the drugs from?” AM: “I was told he got them from a black guy in Walterboro. I was told that he has some connections in Beaufort.” Didn’t get a name. “I never saw those guys. I never dealt with those guys. So I don’t know.”

Kelly is asking who else AM bought drugs from. He's naming names.

Kelly: When we interviewed Curtis Smith, he said he would need to talk to his attorney first. Smith mentioned Alex Murdaugh and Randy Murdaugh as his possible attorneys. AM: Randy Murdaugh didn’t know anything about this. I had lied to him just like I lied to everyone else.

Audio: AM said he called Curtis Smith from the hospital but he doesn’t remember what he said or what Smith said. “I can tell you from past experience that when the withdrawals start, you’d do just about anything to make them quit.” Says that’s probably why he called Smith.

Audio: Kelly is asking where the money came from to purchase drugs from Smith. Harpootlian jumps in: “This is maybe an area we don’t want to talk about. But let’s just say they were not legitimately obtained.” K: “Mr. Murdaugh is independently wealthy.” H: “Not anymore.”

Audio: Kelly: Did you pay Smith to shoot you? AM: No, sir. K: You just asked him for a favor, and he did it? AM: Yes, sir.

Audio: Kelly: “Do you owe money to any drug dealers?” AM: “No, sir.” Kelly: The money you paid to Smith, you were paying in full. So there is no outstanding debt. AM: “No, sir.” Griffin jumps in: “Ryan, that’s assuming that Curtis passed all the money along.”

Audio: Kelly on AM claiming he didn’t pay Smith to shoot him: “I’ll be honest, that doesn’t make any sense to me.” AM: “I understand.” Kelly repeatedly asks him if he paid Smith to shoot him. AM repeatedly denies doing so.

Audio: Kelly with a great reporter final question: Is there anything else we should ask you, anything we’re missing? AM: In regards to what? K: “I was trying to leave that open-ended.”

Audio: Harpootlian, for the record: “Did you tell us the truth?” AM: “No, I did not tell anybody the truth … until yesterday afternoon. I’ve been really, really sick.”

AM continued: "This is really the first day where I had any coherent thought process. I sincerely apologize again to lying to y’all about everything that I did.”

Audio: AM: “Basically, the way I told you it happened (in the original story) is kind of how it happened, except that it was arranged by me.”

Audio: Kelly: “Why weren’t you truthful with us when this initially happened?” AM: I don’t have a good reason. I was in a bad, bad, bad place.”

That's all from the interview.

Waters establishes with Kelly that Murdaugh never mentioned Curtis Smith to SLED before confessing to arranging the roadside shooting. Kelly says AM said there was no threat to Buster Murdaugh and denied that Curtis Smith had anything to do with the 6/7/21 killings.

Waters finishes his questioning of Kelly. Harpootlian says his cross-examination of Kelly "is going to take a while" and we have a 4:30 p.m. cut-off today (from what Newman said last week). So we will take up cross-examination when court resumes at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.

We are done for the day. Story coming in a little while.

 

[mrjitty]

Yes! Exactly!!

This is why I don't understand why the Judge initially kept this out.

It's clearly a further attempt to obstruct justice IMO

 

[Luna20]

I had to step out, is it over for today?

 

[Luna20]

I had to step out, is it over for today?

 

[10ofRods]

Nor will many and that will create doubt in some people's minds. I know I have doubts surrounding it

Wasn't he money laundering and not just purchasing drugs? He appeared to be making those huge purchases, but isn't it possible most of the money went...elsewhere?

I missed the testimony about the drug purchases - who testified that he was spending $50,000 a week?

 

[Edvis]

Yes! Exactly!!

I'm surprised that the both of them made it off the roadside. Both fumbling for the pistol it goes off shooting both of em as a clown car goes by honking that ole clown horn.