SC - Paul Murdaugh & mom Margaret Found Shot To Death - Alex Murdaugh Accused - Islandton #33

[Ray_of_hope]

Here's a photo of Paul's swollen feet

https://storage.googleapis.com/www-courttv-uploads/2023/02/3e777c59-defense-180_paul-feet-text-attach.jpg

OMG! That child needed to see an MD. Holy cow!!!!!!!!!! How horrible.

 

[rahod1]

Their explanation as he has closed in several different locations that he was staying at, which is probably true, implying that Blanca never saw it again because it could be somewhere else. However, if I had a piece of clothing that could exonerate me, I would provide it I would not have to be asked.

So, you get a search warrant at all those places to find that clothing? NOT finding would be significant.

 

[Katrinepa]

Exactly! JMM acting all incredulous that they had to clean up. Headshot murders everywhere, some poor family has to do the clean up or, if they have the means, they hire a company like After Disaster to do the clean up. There might be some places that it's in the budget for the police dept to have it cleaned, but I can't imagine very many. I know it doesn't happen where I'm at. I had personal friends who had to hire a company in one instance, friends of the family did it in another.

I was lucky that in 1991 in New Brunswick, NJ, the County Seat, there was/is a Victim/Witness Program connected to the Prosecutor's Office, and they provide a family Representative to answer any questions, provide access to help/counseling(free), and to be at Court every day of Trial, to comfort/protect. Homeowners Insurance(at least Mom's) provided all the cleanup, and carpet replacement, etc.
IF JM truly was so upset about his nephew's murder, there is NO WAY he would clean up Remains of Any Kind! He's be Puking! He totally fabricated that BS for the Jury.
AM has said more than once how he didn't trust SLED. LOL!! He couldn't Play them. They weren't in his pocket. They did the best job they could under the circumstances. Local LE and friends of Am tried to control the situation, and I'd bet, also tried to Bully the younger members of SLED, some that had no idea who Am was, and were assigned specific duties accordingly, so the Would Not be Swayed by the 'reputation'. The MOB prevented soo much cooperation, at AM direction. Firs thing he did was call tons of people to come and muddy up the scene IMPOV. He had Protection from the get go. Sorry for the rant, but I am furious! MOO

 

[TeaTime]

WAIT a minute...

The place the truck broke down is Varnville and that is where Almeda is? I'm going to have to pull up a map and look at this now. I was already thinking it sounded really iffy.. AND the police chief that was paid money after this passed him and then had to come back.. geez wonder if he was retrieving anything?

Any time I've had someone follow me to make sure I get somewhere, they are behind me you know so they see if I don't make it and they can stop.

It was an escort.

 

[Loveallmyhorsesdogsandcats]

People are discussing possible infidelity testimony. Do we think it was MM or AM who had an affair or something like that?

Seems like it is AM. Does Bachelor Party count as infidelity?

Either would go to motive, anger if she were cheating, him wanting her gone if she caught him, no divorce that would mean examination of the finances

 

[fred&edna]

Any time I've had someone follow me to make sure I get somewhere, they are behind me you know so they see if I don't make it and they can stop.

ITA with everything in your post... but this is what stood out the most.

ETA: A police-pal escort to "lead" a vehicle that's about to conk-out?! I don't get it.

 

[Gardenista]

OMG! That child needed to see an MD. Holy cow!!!!!!!!!! How horrible.

Agree and his father said Paul didn't want to go to the doctor, yet Paul had sent a text to with that photo to his father saying he needed a doctor appointment. Alex is such a liar.

 

[Loveallmyhorsesdogsandcats]

So, you get a search warrant at all those places to find that clothing? NOT finding would be significant.

Agree, not sure why they didn’t, a mistake on their part

 

[Ray_of_hope]

With the trees smaller and shorter at the time of the murders the sound would travel further, not get scattered and muffled in the trees. AM could see perfectly down to the kennels with the hanger lights on as well.

@Edvis Thankful you're ok. Take a few days off to rest. No swinging from chandeliers. The rest of us will stock and run the bar.

 

[Walela]

She has much to deal with, as her sister was married to the Banker(can't remember name) who colluded with AM, and is in Prison for that.

That would be Russell Laffitte and her sister is still married to him. RL was convicted in November of 2022 but has not been sentenced. JS testified at his trial. Russell Laffitte's family leads testimony....

 

[Derph]

I think AM is responsible for the murders of his wife and son. But there are enough holes in the prosecution's case to allow for some reasonable doubt in my mind, partly because their theory appears to be that he did this all himself.

The theory that keeps swirling in my head is that AM hired another shooter (or shooters) to either do both killings or to help him. Has this been entirely ruled out? Perhaps the hitman shot Paul at close range and AM shot Maggie. I'm even wondering if the hitman/men arrived earlier than AM expected, muddying up his alibi.

My issues with the prosecution's AM single shooter theory: If Paul's murder occurred at such close range, how did AM clean himself up so quickly after the murders, leaving no evidence on his clothes, body, or in his house or vehicles? How was he able to dispose of the guns and clothes if LE knows exactly where he was in the two hours after the murders? Why two guns? While it may have been possible for AM to use two guns, it doesn't seem it the risk would be worth the minimal benefit of creating the appearance of two shooters.

A hired hitman could also explain why he said HE could never, ever hurt his wife or son...

Sorry if this has already been discussed. I'm trying to catch up!

Here's my whole thinking about a so called hitman or hitmen and maybe I've been watching too many ex-mafia members Youtube channels. Considering where they lived, which is out in the middle of nowhere and the fact that there were numerous dogs on the property, Moselle really is one of the worst places to hit someone. They had different people showing up at different times to work on the land, feed the dogs, clean the house etc. Also PM had friends that could show up at any time. Especially if he was keeping a friend's dog. They also would have to known both PM and MM were on the property. And of course they would have to figure out how to get them to go to the kennels where the dogs were. Not really an ideal spot for two random guys to access. Also these murders happened just after dark. Sunset was 8:26 that night. They are going to have to show up while it's still light out, hide at the kennels and wait. I'm sure the dogs would just lay down, yawn and go back to sleep with two strangers lurking about. Also at least one dog was not in the kennel and was roaming around killing chickens.

And of course the hitmen would have to get the exact same guns from out of the house, go to the on property shooting range, fire their weapons leaving spent shell casings there, then reload the shotgun with bird AND buckshot like the rest of the shotguns in the house, reload the rifle with the same ammunition as other rifles in the house, throw those boxes of ammunition away in the garage at the kennels ( there is video of the detectives pulling ammo boxes out of a garbage bag in the garage by the kennels), lay in wait for PM and MM to come down to the kennels, wait for Alex to leave, shoot them both and escape.


A much easier way would be to hit them on the road where there were long lines of sight and easier escape routs. Like Alex did, one might pull over on the side of the road and fake an accident or block the road. Follow on a motorcycle and get them at a stop sign. Or break into the house when everyone was asleep and kill just the two of them leaving Alex be. Yeah, Moselle isn't really the ideal place to do this.

And the final thought on the whole hitman theory..If Alex really and truly was in fear that this was some kind of hit or revenge kill or cartel or gang hit then WHY didn't he ask his Sheriff friend or any of the other 10's of law enforcement buddies to get him some kind of protection???!!!!!? If he didn't trust SLED, then why not go to the FBI? If not the FBI why didn't he hire some kind of private security firm to protect him or Buster or any other family member?

 

[Katrinepa]

AM might find a white-collar prison full of less violent offenders (including drug dealers) to be preferable to his other prison options.

Some Money crimes may be Federal crimes, and might get him into Federal Prison, which some people call CAMP, as it is cushy and good meals, etc., better than many outside 'Prison' have access to, And WE the Taxpayers pay for that. GRR!
If he is convicted for 2 Murders, he will be in State Prison, with all sorts of 'undesirables', exactly where he belongs. MO not only

 

[Diddian]

@Diddian No, but you’ve got part of it straight. It’s confusing. Here’s what JMM said:

1. RM got an unscheduled Dr appt for Handsome (RM3=“H”), needed JMM to meet him 1/2 way to get H to Savannah
2. RM picked H up at Almeda. Drove him in Miss Libby’s car 1/2 way.
3. JMM took H to Dr in Savannah in Miss Libby’s car
4. RM drove JMM’s truck back to Almeda
5. H admitted to hospital. JMM drove Miss Libby’s car home to Okatie. Paul, who worked at Okatie with JMM, was asked to drive Miss Libby’s car back to Almeda, and to then drive JMMs truck back to Okatie when he, Paul, came to work the next day.
6. Paul drove Miss Libby’s car to Almeda, then took JMM’s truck to Moselle.
7. JMM received call about murders. All he had was Paul’s “hunk of junk” farm truck.
8. JMM got in farm truck. He was concerned about the truck making it to Moselle, so he called Greg Alexander (Yemassee police chief, a friend), and asked for an “escort” to Moselle in case of a breakdown. GA agreed.
9. In Varnville, GA passed JMM. But then the farm truck broke down. JMM called GA and said “turn around and come get me” (in Varnville).
10. GA does and they proceed to Moselle.

Is that clear? (Ha!)

Wow, now that I have thought about it, it’s hinky as heck!! I think this implies how the evidence AM disposed of was done (AM was in Varnville/Almeda between 9:22 - 9:43, and IIRC, Onstar data showed he paused near the train tracks in front of Almeda for a few minutes).

But why would the DEFENSE bring it up unless it’s preemptive because they think CW has something about this in rebuttal?

And remember, during this logistical nightmare testimony, Griffin asked JMM: “Did you see any guns in the farm truck?” Why did he ask him that Q?

I need a secret decoder ring! Does anyone else find this awfully unusual?

'Murdaugh Murders’ Saga: Scrutiny Of Greg Alexander Ramps Up - FITSNews

Alleged family "fixer" back in the spotlight ...

www.fitsnews.com

If these were all the pieces, I did miss the testimony of some (I was trying to shorthand write them down).

I'd like to see all the vehicle musical chairs on a timeline because that is one heck of a lot of moving them around on a single day where RM was at PMPED to leave work at around 6 or 6:30 and where PM also worked for JMM in OKATIE (sorry for the caps but I've grown tired of autocorrect changing it) and arrived at Moselle in daylight to visit the dove/sunflower field and the floppy tree exhibition.

 

[justtrish]

ITA with everything in your post... but this is what stood out the most.

ETA: A police-pal escort to "lead" a vehicle that's about to conk-out?! I don't get it.

Yeah especially since he said he passed him so that leads me to believe prior to that he was behind him. I'm sure inserting the "escort" part was trying to make it not seem fishy because the good ole police chief was "escorting" him. Same one Alex paid $5,000 a month later for "his parents"

Also, he could have driven his wife's car. What was that about she had to take the kids to school? Come on it's a family emergency and you want to drive the truck that might break down and then how convenient it actually did, but not worries you police chief buddy is escorting you so right there near Almeda, you leave the truck on the side of the road. Coincidence? There are way to many of those with this case for my liking.

This is what happens when you are doing shady things and covering up for people in the past. There are too many connections and things that make me question their credibility to just take JMM story at face value. Everyone was being paid or getting favors and in this ones pocket, looking the other way, helping someone skirt responsibly for this, not getting charged for that, etc. In the end it makes it hard to believe they are genuine now then.

For JMM to say the boat case was blown up in the media.. no sir. A girl DIED and your family wanted to make it go away so your precious name wasn't tarnished meanwhile a girl is DEAD.. how would he feel if it was one of his kids that died? Saying that shows just how clueless he is and how protecting his family and their name is everything to him.. more important than the killer of his nephew and sister in law facing justice.

 

[Katrinepa]

That would be Russell Laffitte and her sister is still married to him. RL was convicted in November of 2022 but has not been sentenced. JS testified at his trial. Russell Laffitte's family leads testimony....

That's him! Thanks. So many names...Not been sentenced yet?! I hope he is in Jail?? Not gonna judge why anyone would not divorce this , as so many factors?
Must have been so hard for JS to testify against her Brother in Law. She is one strong and Smart woman. I liked her very much testifying, as she didn't let Harpootlian get away with anything.

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

Either would go to motive, anger if she were cheating, him wanting her gone if she caught him, no divorce that would mean examination of the finances

Except to date we have no testimony on either side that they had less than a loving relationship. (Whether what went on behind closed doors is what family and friends thought was the case.) Even her sister said she thought things were ok between them. If Maggie had approached a divorce lawyer at some point, we havent heard from them. So if a new witness appears saying Alex was their lover, what will that prove? Many cheat and still remain married for years. If a friend of Maggie’s knew an affair was hurting her and she wanted out, wouldn’t the prosecution have brought that up by now?

 

[justtrish]

And can I just say I sure hope Alex's lawyers are truly in their common sense part of their brain saying WTF. I know they are defending their client and all that.. I get it. But at what point are they thinking good grief this guy is a piece of work and so is many of the people around him. Well maybe they are too so they think he's normal. Now there's a thought. I guess they just might not see it for what it is. One person having this much drama surrounding them. I bet they sit back and think WHAT NOW quite often.

 

[Regal Beagle]

Agree and his father said Paul didn't want to go to the doctor, yet Paul had sent a text to with that photo to his father saying he needed a doctor appointment. Alex is such a liar.

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

Yeah especially since he said he passed him so that leads me to believe prior to that he was behind him. I'm sure inserting the "escort" part was trying to make it not seem fishy because the good ole police chief was "escorting" him. Same one Alex paid $5,000 a month later for "his parents"

Also, he could have driven his wife's car. What was that about she had to take the kids to school? Come on it's a family emergency and you want to drive the truck that might break down and then how convenient it actually did, but not worries you police chief buddy is escorting you so right there near Almeda, you leave the truck on the side of the road. Coincidence? There are way to many of those with this case for my liking.

This is what happens when you are doing shady things and covering up for people in the past. There are too many connections and things that make me question their credibility to just take JMM story at face value. Everyone was being paid or getting favors and in this ones pocket, looking the other way, helping someone skirt responsibly for this, not getting charged for that, etc. In the end it makes it hard to believe they are genuine now then.

For JMM to say the boat case was blown up in the media.. no sir. A girl DIED and your family wanted to make it go away so your precious name wasn't tarnished meanwhile a girl is DEAD.. how would he feel if it was one of his kids that died? Saying that shows just how clueless he is and how protecting his family and their name is everything to him.. more important than the killer of his nephew and sister in law facing justice.

BBM. This! Right?! Kids shmids. Lol. Something horrible has happened. I need to get there stat. We will deal with school tomorrow. Hmmmm

 

[Loveallmyhorsesdogsandcats]

dbm