Alex Murdaugh trial - live: Brutal cross-examination begins as Murdaugh spars with prosecutor

Oliver O'Connell and Rachel Sharp

Alex Murdaugh took to the stand on Thursday in his trial for the double murder of his wife Maggie and son Paul, giving dramatic testimony at Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina.

He immediately denied killing Maggie and Paul but admitted to lying in police interviews about his whereabouts on the night of the brutal killings.

Mr Murdaugh described finding the bodies of his wife and son, after explaining his movements up until that point on 7 June 2021, including his last evening with Paul.

He also admitted to his extensive financial crimes and explained both those and his lies to police as the result of an addiction to opioids.

In the afternoon, Mr Murdaugh was subjected to the first stage of a brutal cross-examination from the state in which he was confronted with individual examples of his egregious theft of settlements for the victims of accidents.

He conceded that the thefts were not just to fund his pill addiction but also his lavish lifestyle, and repeatedly said he was wrong to have done so.

Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters asked: “How many times have you practiced that answer?”

Cross-examination continues at 9.30am ET on Friday.

Alex Murdaugh murder trial

Murdaugh snaps in tense cross-examination about faking police power, stolen funds and lavish lifestyle

23:26 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh snapped during a tense cross-examination on Thursday about his family’s prominence in the lowcountry, his alleged abuse of power, and about the string of legal clients who he stole millions of dollars from.

The disgraced legal dynasty heir was confronted by prosecutor Creighton Waters as he took the witness stand in his high-profile trial for the 7 June 2021 murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul.

Mr Waters pressed the accused killer again and again to recount just one time that he could recall sitting down with one of his legal clients and lying to their faces as he secretly stole every dime of their settlements.

Mr Murdaugh was unable to give even one example.

Rachel Sharp reports on a bombshell day in court.

Alex Murdaugh snaps in tense cross-examination about family power, stolen funds

Watch: Murdaugh says he remembers lying to clients

23:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Court adjourns for the day

22:37 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Clifton Newman calls a halt to proceedings for the day and the jury is excused.

Defence attorney Dick Harpootlian asks to have two witnesses from out-of-state testify in the morning, interrupting Waters’ cross-examination.

Judge Newman says no.

22:32 , Oliver O'Connell

In summary:

Waters wants Murdaugh to recall a specific time he looked into a client’s eye and lied to them as he stole their money.

Murdaugh is basically refusing to do that, saying he can’t recall specifics.

“These are real people, weren’t they?” says Waters.

Murdaugh: “These are people that I still care about, and I did them this way.”

He later adds: “I remember all of these people that I did wrong.”

“Most of the money that I’ve been accused of stealing, I stole,” he concedes again.

22:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Waters continues to press Murdaugh about specific cases — as well as his interactions with Palmetto State Bank CEO Russell Laffitte —he continues to respond by saying that he did these things and that it was wrong.

Waters asks: “How many times did you practice that answer before your testimony today?”

Murdaugh responds: “I didn’t practice, you keep asking me...”

22:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Waters asks Murdaugh whether he was living a wealthy lifestyle and whether this theft was funding this lifestyle and not just pills.

Watch: Audible gasp in court druing cross-examination about financial crimes

22:01 , Oliver O'Connell

21:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Things get a little heated between Waters and Murdaugh.

Murdaugh says that Waters has charged him with murdering his wife and son, and he has sat in court for weeks and listened to all this financial evidence. He says he is happy to talk about it but cannot remember all the specific details.

Waters says that the point he is making is not as simple as the fact that he stole money, but he had to sit with each client and lie to their faces as he stole from them.

Waters continues to bring up individual cases in which people were injured and Murdaugh stole their settlements. There are huge amounts of money mentioned and details of victims including one who was rendered a quadriplegic after his accident.

Murdaugh is humiliatingly asked to confirm how much he took from each of them.

21:51 , Oliver O'Connell

In the first case that Waters brings up, Murdaugh is asked about a teenage client from whom he stole a $2m settlement when he had already been paid $800k in fees.

Waters makes a point that he had to look these clients in the eyes and tell them he was on their side before he stole their money.

Murdaugh says: “I admit candidly in all of these cases that I took money that was not mine, and I shouldn’t have done it. I hate the fact that I did it. I’m embarrassed by it. I’m embarrassed for my son. I’m embarrassed for my family. I don’t dispute it.”

21:46 , Oliver O'Connell

Waters moves on to Murdaugh’s addiction to opioids.

“You had a pill addiction for 20 years?” he asks to which Murdaugh agrees.

“When did you start stealing money from clients? How long did it take before you started doing that? asks Waters.

Murdaugh responds that he is not sure when the first time was. He says he doesn’t remember as he has been in rehab and jail.

Waters begins to ask about specific cases in which Murdaugh stole money from client settlements.

21:32 , Oliver O'Connell

Turning to the boat crash, Waters asked if he had his assistant solicitor badge with him on the night of the boat crash and whether he took it to the hospital with him that night.

Murdaugh says he does not remember. He confirms he was not at the hospital that night in an official capacity.

Murdaugh is shown a photo of him at the hospital that night with his badge hanging out of his pocket.

Murdaugh concedes: “A badge has a warming effect with other law enforcement. If I was seeking an advantage as you say.”

21:28 , Oliver O'Connell

Waters asks Murdaugh why he had not referred to Paul by the nickname Paw Paw at any previous moment in the investigation.

Murdaugh says he doesn’t know but he called him that all the time.

The implication from the state appears to be that the use of the name is performative, perhaps to engender sympathy.

21:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh had blue police lights installed on one of his vehicles owned by the law firm. He says he got permission from several local sheriffs to do so.

They were installed by a person who does such work for local law enforcement offices.

21:13 , Oliver O'Connell

Waters is spending a significant amount of time on Murdaugh’s volunteer assistant solicitor badge and how he would keep it on the front seat, cup holder, or on the dashboard of the car if he wanted someone would see it. He has had the badge since 1998.

Murdaugh says he would keep it visible in the cupholder at least if for example he was pulled over to get better treatment from someone in law enforcement.

21:08 , Oliver O'Connell

Waters and Murdaugh get into a disagreement regarding two different sets of data extracted from his SUV.

Eventually, Murdaugh agrees that the initial telemetry data extracted by the FBI does not contradict the more accurate GPS data from the OnStar system that came in later in the trial.

Watch: Murdaugh argues against family considered ‘prominent'

21:02 , Oliver O'Connell

20:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Waters takes Murdaugh through the storied history of his family’s involvement in South Carolina’s legal profession over the decades.

He goes on to establish that Murdaugh himself is a successful lawyer and is experienced at trial rising to be elected leader of the South Carolina lawyers’ association.

Murdaugh argues about the perception of being successful.

As part of his work, Waters establishes as that through his work Murdaugh has worked on a lot of car crash cases (as we heard in the financial crimes evidence earlier in the trial). This would involve pulling car data from things like OnStar.

In addition to that, it is established that Murdaugh has experience with digital forensic evidence from cell phones, transmission towers, and other sources.

Cross-examination of Alex Murdaugh begins

20:47 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumes and the jury is seated.

Cross-examination of defendant Alex Murdaugh by lead prosecutor Creighton Waters begins.

He starts by asking if the most important thing Murdaugh is in court to explain is his lie for a year and a half that he was never at the kennels on the night of 7 June 2021.

Murdaugh counters that he thinks all of his testimony is important.

He also agrees with the statement that he was stealing from clients and his law firm since 2010 (a year which Murdaugh cannot confirm but does not dispute).

20:31 , Oliver O'Connell

Direct examination of Murdaugh concludes with his statements of love for his late wife and son.

Griffin asks if he killed Maggie.

“I would never hurt Maggie. And I would never hurt Paul. Ever. Under any circumstances.”

The court is now on a 10-minute break.

20:26 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh talks about Paul.

“He was 100 percent country boy. He was tough. He could hunt anything. He could catch any fish. He could run any piece of equipment. He could use any tool. He could do anything. At 22 years old, he could do so many things.”

20:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh talks about Maggie.

He describes her as “just as beautiful inside as she was outside”, “adventurous”, and “devoted”.

20:19 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh says that on Labor Day Weekend 2021 he contacted Curtis Smith (Cousin Eddie).

Griffin asks what his intentions were that day when he asked Cousin Eddie to shoot him.

“I meant for him to shoot me so I’d be gone.”

Griffin asks why.

“I knew all of this was coming to a head. I knew how humiliating it was going to be for my son.”

The jury hears that Murdaugh had two insurance policies worth $8m and $4m with Maggie as the beneficiary. There were no such policies for Maggie and Paul he says.

20:12 , Oliver O'Connell

When his law partners confronted him about the theft of money from the firm and clients, he told them about his opioid addiction.

Murdaugh testifies that he believes they were not aware of his addiction.

20:09 , Oliver O'Connell

“Alex, the jury has heard testimony about you stealing client funds. Did you do that?” Griffin asks.

“I did,” Murdaugh responds.

“How did you get in such a financial predicament that led you to steal money that wasn’t yours.,” asks Griffin.

“I’m not quite sure how I let myself get where I got. I battled that addiction for so many years. I was spending so much money on pills,” he replies.

Murdaugh goes on to explain that he became addicted to painkillers in the early 2000s after failed knee surgery to deal with a college football injury.

Over the years he has been to detox facilities three times. Murdaugh explains that detox flushes the opioids from your system over a seven-day period.

Rehab is different, that is the treatment to keep you off opioids.

Murdaugh says he has been opioid-free for 535 days and is very proud of that.

20:04 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh says he was not concerned about the 10 June 2021 motions hearing for the boat crash case in which Mark Tinsley, the attorney for Mallory Beach’s family, was seeking financial disclosure from the family as part of the civil suit.

Again Murdaugh says he wasn’t concerned that his finances were going to be laid bare.

He says that he does the same thing as Mr Tinsley and in 27 years has never been able to get a judge to order the disclosure of anything more than a statement of net worth.

19:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin asks if on the day of the murders, Murdaugh believed his “financial house of cards was about to crumble”.

“On June 7? Absolutely not,” he replies.

Griffin then asks about what impact Maggie’s death would have had on his finances and his ability to obtain financing.

19:51 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin asks Murdaugh about the conversation he had with PMPED CFO Jeanne Seckinger on 7 June 2021 about the missing $792k form the Mack Trucks case he worked on with Chris Wilson.

He confirms to Griffin the money came to him directly and that it should not have been done.

“The conversation got interrupted very quickly. I told Jeanne that the funds were in Chris Wilson’s account, and there was nothing to worry about.

Murdaugh is asked about how concerned he was about Ms Seckinger confronting him about the money: “There was some level of concern because she was asking me about money that I took that I wasn’t supposed to have.”

He adds: “It wasn’t a very big concern.”

Court resumes

19:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumes after the lunch break and the jury is brought back in.

Direct examination of defendant Alex Murdaugh by defence attorney Jim Griffin continues.

Watch the Alex Murdaugh double-murder trial LIVE

19:42 , Oliver O'Connell

‘I couldn’t be any closer to Paw Paw’

19:37 , Oliver O'Connell

Andrea Blanco reports on what Alex Murdaugh said about his final day with his son Paul.

“We rode around and we spent time together on the property,” Mr Murdaugh told the court through tears. “We went to the duck pond where we stayed for a minute.”

“Paw Paw had planted the duck pond by himself and he was making a really big deal to me about how much better the corn was doing,” he added, referencing his nickname for Paul.

Alex Murdaugh describes how he spent final day with son Paul before murders

Murdaugh explains bizarre phone records after 911 call

19:27 , Oliver O'Connell

Disgraced legal scion Alex Murdaugh has denied prosecutors’ claims that he searched a local restaurant online moments after finding his son and wife’s bodies.

During his anticipated testimony in his own defence on Thursday, Mr Murdaugh contested the state’s timeline report of the evening on 7 June 2021, when Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were shot dead on their property in Islandton, South Carolina.

Andrea Blanco has the story.

Alex Murdaugh denies searching for restaurant minutes after calling 911 about murders

Watch: Murdaugh denies disposing of murder weapons and bloody clothes

19:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh denies disposing of murder weapons and bloody clothes

‘It was so bad’: Murdaugh sobs and whimpers as he describes finding bodies of Maggie and Paul

19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh broke down in tears on the witness stand as he described the moment that he claims he discovered the bloodied bodies of his wife Maggie and son Paul by the kennels of the family’s estate.

The disgraced heir to a powerful legal dynasty took the witness stand in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Thursday morning as his defence nears the end of its case in his high-profile double murder trial.

In dramatic testimony, the accused killer sobbed as he faced the jury and repeated the same phrase he was heard making on the night of the 7 June 2021 to describe the scene of the murders: “It was so bad.”

Rachel Sharp reports.

Alex Murdaugh sobs as he describes finding bodies of wife and son

Murdaugh defiantly tells court at murder trial: ‘I am going to testify. I want to testify’

18:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Embattled legal dynasty heir and accused killer Alex Murdaugh has defiantly announced that he will take the stand in his double murder trial.

In a dramatic – and hotly-anticipated moment – in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Thursday morning, the 54-year-old told Judge Clifton Newman that he has made the decision to testify that he is innocent of the brutal slayings of his wife Maggie and son Paul.

“I am going to testify. I want to testify,” he said defiantly.

Alex Murdaugh admits he lied about alibi on night of murders in bombshell testimony

18:39 , Oliver O'Connell

Court breaks for lunch.

The trial resumes at 2.40pm.

18:39 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh says that the clothes he was wearing earlier in the day (seen in the Snapchat) only became an issue after it was shown that it was a lie that the clothes he was wearing when officers arrived on the scene had evidence of blood splatter on them.

“My clothes were never an issue in this case until y’all figured out, as my lawyers, figured out that there was no blood spatter on me.”

Nevertheless, Murdaugh’s clothes from earlier in the day have never been found. Griffin establishes that he had clothes in multiple locations after the murders as he was staying with different people and never returned to Moselle to sleep ever again.

The defence wants to establish that just because the clothes were never recovered does not mean that he disposed of them.

18:33 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh says his experience with the boat crash case and all the rumours that he had “fixed witnesses” and “structured the investigation” informed his decision to not speak about the murder investigation.

He also says he asked SLED to meet with Maggie’s family as they had questions he could not answer.

18:16 , Oliver O'Connell

After the murders, Murdaugh said he was “attached to Buster at the hip” and was not left alone.

The defence team asks where he was on each of the nights after the murders.

This line of questioning moves on to cover the hiding of the blue raincoat/tarp that Shelly Smith testified she saw him with at the Almeda house one morning.

Murdaugh says: I know for a fact I didn’t go to Almeda at 6:30 in the morning. I was in Summerville.”

Further, he denies he ever taking a blue raincoat/tarp to Almeda at anytime the week after his father’s funeral.

18:12 , Oliver O'Connell

Speaking of GPS data, Murdaugh says that Maggie love to have her close family and friends on her iPhone’s Find My Friends.

He adds that she loved to surprise people by saying she knew where they were and gives the example of her asking for a TV from Walmart.

18:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh says he asked SLED to get the SUV data cell phone data to confirm his movements on the day of the murders.

“I knew my phone and Maggie’s phones never crossed paths, and that was extremely important to me. I asked about it every single time we talked.”

17:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh says he saw reports that he had blood spatter on him but says there is no way that is true.

Griffin asks: “Were you anywhere in the vicinity when Paul and Maggie were shot?”

Murdaugh states: “I was nowhere near Paul and Maggie when they got shot.”

Murdaugh testimony resumes

17:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury is brought back in and direct examination of Alex Murdaugh by defence attorney Jim Griffin continues.

The question of Murdaugh’s clean clothes at an otherwise bloody scene is brought up. He testifies that he got blood on his fingertips after touching Maggie and Paul.

He adds that if Maggie’s blood is on the shotgun, “I put it there.”

Watch: Murdaugh denies disposing of murder weapons and bloody clothes

17:37 , Oliver O'Connell

17:24 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh is asked to explain odd phone activity — he read a group text, searched for a restaurant, and tried to call a wedding photographer.

He says these were unintentional as he scrambled to call family members and hit the wrong contacts etc.

Court is now on a 10-minute recess.

17:22 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh is asked why he called Rogan Gibson, Paul’s friend, as he contacted family while waiting for the first responders to call.

Rogan had been trying to call both Paul and Maggie that night as he was still waiting for the kennel video of Cash, the puppy.

17:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin asks him about the threats that Paul has received — which he mentions on the 911 call.

He says he doesn’t believe there were any formal police reports of the threats but says “it was well-known”.

17:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Questioning moves on to why Murdaugh went back to the house to get a gun.

“I believe I got that gun off the pool table. … I was grabbing the first gun I could get,” he says and adds that he grabbed a handful of shells.

Murdaugh says he didn’t realise he was loading a 16-gauge shell into a 12-gauge shotgun, adding that he wouldn’t have made that mistake normally as someone who has hunted all their life.

“Why did you go back up to the house to get a gun?” asks Griffin.

Murdaugh says: “I just didn’t know. … I didn’t know if somebody was still out there.”

17:07 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin asks Murdaugh about what he meant by “I should’ve known”, which he says is about the alleged threats against Paul regarding the 2019 boat crash.

He is then asked to clarify what he meant when he said it was two hours since he saw Maggie and Paul and he says he said approximately.

Based on the kennel video, it was less than 90mins from 8.44pm to 10.06pm (when the 911 call was made).

17:04 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin asks what he meant on the 911 call when he said “here”. The state contends that at least one of the dogs was running free from when the murders happened and Murdaugh was trying to call it to put it in the kennel.

Murdaugh says that the dispatcher asked him if they shot themselves and he says he knew they didn’t.

He says: “I’m telling her ‘here’ if that’s what you’re asking me. I gave an explanation that you couldn’t hear on that phone.”

Murdaugh says there was no dog running free and he did not roll up the hose at the kennels as earlier testimony has suggested.

Watch: Murdaugh describes trying to turn over Paul

16:57 , Oliver O'Connell

16:54 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh says he jumped out of the car and ran towards them. He went back to the car to call 911. He says he was running back and forth between the bodies while on the phone with the operator.

“Paul was so bad. At some point, I know I tried to check him for a pulse. I know I tried to turn him over.”

Asked why he tried to turn him over, he says: “I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know why I tried to turn him over. He was laying face down, and he’s done the way he’s done. His head was the way his head was. I could see his brain laying on the sidewalk. I didn’t know what to do.”

Further, he says he touched Maggie around the waist and again says he went back and forth between them.

The court is now hearing the 911 call.

16:51 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh says that when he returned to the house, there were lights on. He was not surprised that Paul and Maggie has not come back.

He looked around the house and they were not there.

Griffing asks if he then drove down to the kennels in his Suburban.

“I did.”

Asked what he saw when he got there, he says: “I saw what y’all have seen pictures of.”

After a long pause, he says: “So bad.”

Griffin asks if he saw them on the ground when he was pulling up in the car.

Murdaugh cries and says: “I did.”

CONTEXT: GPS evidence shows a 20 second gap between Murdaugh arriving on the scene and calling 911, which the prosecution argues is too short a period of time for Murdaugh to check the bodies for pulses (they were 30ft apart) and try and turn over Paul.

16:45 , Oliver O'Connell

On his departure from Almeda, Murdaugh is asked why he stopped in the driveway for a moment. He says he was getting his phone which had fallen down into the console between the seats.

Griffin asks if he was disposing of murder weapons.

“No.”

Griffin asks if he was disposing of bloody clothes.

“No.”

16:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin steers questioning back to Murdaugh’s departure from the house. Asked why he didn’t stop by the kennels on his way out, he testified that he used the gate that was closer to Almeda.

Asked if he was concerned by Maggie not responding to his calls and texts to let her know he was going, he says: “At that time it didn’t concern me at all. For one, she was with Paul. Number Two, it’s not unusual not to be able to get to somebody all the time.”

16:41 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Murdaugh says his mother was awake and he held her hand and talked to her for a bit. He says she was doing pretty well and was not agitated.

Carer Shelly Smith testified that Miss Libby was asleep when he visited.

Asked if Maggie was planning to join him for the visit to his mother, he says she was not. Maggie did not like to visit his mother as she was “a shell of her old self” because of Alzheimers.

They used to spend a lot of time together before she was sick. Maggie did enjoy visiting his father.

16:37 , Oliver O'Connell

He called Shelly Smith on the landline phone to alert her he was there and to let him into the house.

16:34 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin’s questioning jumps directly to Murdaugh’s arrival at Almeda and where he parked when he got there.

Per Buster Murdaugh’s earlier testimony, he parked at the back of the house on the edge of the grass as that was the entrance they would use as it was nearer his mother’s bedroom.

He says all other family members would pull up to the back of the house and would only park on the drive at the front if there were lots of people there.

16:27 , Oliver O'Connell

“I went straight back to the house, to the air conditioner,” Murdaugh says.

He adds that he lay down on the couch and the TV was on.

He then decided he would go see his mother at the Almeda house because she was “agitated” after his father went into hospital.

“I believe my mom knew when my dad wasn’t there because she would get agitated. … She’d cry a lot. She would be fussy when she normally wouldn’t be fussy. I know Alzheimer’s patients can be unpredictable, but I’m convinced she knew.”

16:22 , Oliver O'Connell

Crucially, Murdaugh claims that after getting the chicken out of Bubba’s mouth and putting it aside (the chicken eventually died), he left the kennels and took the same route back to the house in the golf cart.

16:17 , Oliver O'Connell

Returning to the night of the murders, he says he now knows from all of the records introduced as evidence that Maggie got a lift down to the kennels with Paul. He followed in a golf cart.

Maggie had let the dogs out (Grady and Bubba) and they were running around, with one chasing a guinea. Paul is playing with Rogan’s puppy Cash. Murdaugh says he was not aware Paul was filming the video of Cash’s tail.

Bubba then caught a chicken (as heard in the kennel video). Murdaugh says the dogs would catch the chickens but wouldn’t kill them.

Murdaugh says he got the chicken out of Bubba’s mouth and put it aside.

16:13 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin switches questioning to the days leading up to the murders.

Murdaugh recalls his father being in hospital and that he spent the night there in a recliner on Friday.

On Saturday, he and Maggie went up to Columbia to see Buster and his girlfriend and watch the NCAA baseball game. They tailgated.

On Sunday they went to another baseball game and then returned to Moselle for the night.

16:09 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh says he got home around 6.45pm and Paul arrived around 7pm.

Maggie arrived after 8pm. He says he went to the house leaving Paul at the workshop.

He says he talked to Maggie and then took a shower before changing from the clothes he is seen wearing in the Snapchat video into what he was wearing when the police arrived at the scene later.

The family ate in the den in front of the TV. Paul was already nearly done when he came in to eat with Maggie.

Paul then went to do something around the house. After eating Murdaugh says he lay back on the couch and wanted to take a nap but Maggie wanted to go to the kennels. He did not want to go as he had just showered and didn’t want to get hot again.

16:01 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh is asked about his relationship with Paul and whether they were having a good time.

“You couldn’t be any closer than Paul and I.”

“You could not be around Paul, you could not be around him and not having a good time.”

16:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh is asked about the Snapchat video taken by Paul of him with a tree that keeps falling over. He says he’d been looking after the tree and trying to get it to stand up straight.

15:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh begins telling his version of events from that day.

He says Maggie went to Charleston to visit the doctor and then had to visit the Edisto Beach house. Murdaugh says: “I always, always asked Maggie to come back home and stay with me.”

That afternoon he says he met up with Paul about the sunflowers in the dove field that had been sprayed by CB Rowe (the groundsman on the property) and how they had to be replanted.

A tearful Murdaugh recalls riding around the property spending time with Paul and visiting the dove field, the duck pond, the cabin on Moselle Road, and the workshop near the kennels.

15:53 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh says that his use of opioids made him paranoid and that coupled with his distrust of SLED, advice to not speak to anyone without a lawyer, and the events of the night of 7 June made him lie.

“On June 7, I wasn’t thinking clearly. I don’t think I was capable of reason. And I lied about being down there. And I’m so sorry that I did.”

An emotional Murdaugh apologises to his family, most of all to Maggie and Paul.

“I would never do anything intentionally to hurt them, ever.”

He says he continued to lie after that night because once he had told the lie he had to keep lying.

“Oh what a tangled web we weave. Once I told the lie, and I told my family, I had to keep lying.”

15:49 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh admits he was at the kennels at 8.44pm.

He admits he repeatedly lied to SLED and sheriff’s deputies about being there. “I did lie to them.”

Griffin asks why he lied on multiple occasions about his location on the night of the murders.

Murdaugh responds by bringing up his addiction to opioids.

15:47 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin’s first question: “Did you take this gun or any gun like it and blow your son’s brains out?”

Murdaugh says he did not.

Griffin’s second question is whether he shot Maggie with the 300 Blackout.

He says he did not.

“Mr Griffin, I didn’t shoot my wife or my son any time, ever.”

Court resumes

15:44 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury is brought back in.

Alex Murdaugh takes the stand and will be questioned in direct examination by defence attorney Jim Griffin.

15:22 , Oliver O'Connell

The court takes a ten-minute break ahead of Alex Murdaugh’s testimony.

15:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Tuten testifies that when he got to Moselle after the murders, Murdaugh kept repeating: “The boat wreck” to him.

Murdaugh asked him to get in touch with Rogan Gibson, Paul’s friend who was trying to contact the family that night and to whom Paul was supposed to have sent the kennel video.

Mr Tuten is asked in redirect if you could see the kennels from the main house. He said you could see the roof but not what was going on down there.

15:17 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Tuten is asked about his interactions with Paul on the day of the murders. They were talking about digging up some sunflowers that had been sprayed. The plan was to replant.

He is asked about the kennel video and testifies that he hears the voices of Paul, Maggie and Alex Murdaugh.

Mr Tuten is one of approximately ten or twelve close friends of the family who have testified that Alex Murdaugh was at the kennels at 8.44pm — minutes before Maggie and Paul were murdered.

In Murdaugh’s version of events he did not go to the kennels that night and was asleep on the couch in the main house before heading to Almeda to visit his mother.

Profile: Alex Murdaugh

15:13 , Oliver O'Connell

Everything you need to know about Alex Murdaugh before he testifies in his defence at his trial for the double-murder of his wife and son.

Who is Alex Murdaugh?

15:07 , Oliver O'Connell

In cross-examination, Mr Tuten agrees he was as close a friend to Paul as you could be. He calls him loyal and says he is someone you could call on in the middle of the night and he’d be there for you.

Attorney David Fernandez asks him about the Halloween party at which Paul’s 300 Blackout rifle was taken from his car.

15:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Tuten recalls seeing Murdaugh on the night of the killings.

“He was pretty distraught. … He gave me a hug and started crying and told me they were gone.”

New Witness: Nolan Tuten

14:57 , Oliver O'Connell

Before the court hears from Alex Murdaugh, the defence calls Nolan Tuten to the stand.

Mr Nolan is the brother of Nathan Tuten who testified earlier. They were friends of Paul Murdaugh.

Mr Nolan testifies about his friendship with Paul and the family, how Paul always had his phone on him, how he never put his phone down, and how they would always drive down to the kennels.

Paul would leave guns everywhere.

Murdaugh sworn in

14:54 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh is sworn in and Judge Newman explains his right including the Fifth amendment right to not testify against himself. He warns he can be cross-examined on any relevant issues pertaining to the case.

Judge Newman notes the decision on whether to testify is Murdaugh’s alone, not his attorneys’.

He asks if Murdaugh needs to consult with his lawyers on this any further.

Murdaugh states clearly: “No sir, I don’t need to talk to them anymore. I am going to testify. I want to testify.”

Court resumes

14:52 , Oliver O'Connell

The day in court resumes with defence attorney Dick Harpootlian restating all of the motions the defence team has put forward to exclude any testimony about his alleged financial crimes.

He makes it clear that if the financial crimes were not allowed to be brought up they would have advised Murdaugh to take the stand. They try again to get the financial crimes barred from questioning.

Harpootlian argues that they will spend the next day or two or three with the state going through the minute details of each of the financial crimes.

“This is a Bernie Madoff trial. This isn’t a murder trial,” he says.

Judge Clifton Newman says they can make that argument to the jury.

Watch the Alex Murdaugh double-murder trial LIVE

14:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Multiple reports confirm Murdaugh will testify today

14:28 , Oliver O'Connell

There are multiple reports that Alex Murdaugh will take the stand today. The apparent source of the confirmation that he will testify in his own defence is his attorney Jim Griffin.

Murdaugh arrived in court shortly at 9am.

Day 23: What to expect in court today

14:00 , Rachel Sharp

The moment everyone has been waiting for... or not?

Alex Murdaugh is rumoured to be taking the stand on Thursday as the defence continues to present its case.

On Thursday, the disgraced attorney’s legal team asked the judge to limit the scope of cross-examination if he does take the stand, barring the prosecution from asking about his slew of alleged financial crimes.

The judge denied the request and now it remains to be seen whether Mr Murdaugh will still take the stand.

There has been conflicting reports about his plans.

The trial will be back in session at 9.30am ET so we’ll find out for definite then.

What happened in court on Wednesday?

13:45 , Rachel Sharp

Murdaugh’s plans to testify – Before the day’s proceedings began, Alex Murdaugh’s attorneys said Murdaugh is considering testifying and asked Judge Clifton Newman to ban the prosecution from cross-examining him about his alleged financial crimes if he does. The judge denied the request.

‘Sloppy’ crime scene – Alex Murdaugh’s former law firm partner at PMPED Mark Ball described a chaotic crime scene on both the night of the murders and the next day – with evidence left out in the elements or left behind altogether. In one graphic moment, he described finding “a piece of Paul’s skull the size of a baseball” left behind at the scene by investigators.

Defence witness places Murdaugh at scene – Mr Ball testified that he has “no doubt” that the disgraced attorney’s voice is in the video Paul took at the dog kennels minutes before he and Maggie were killed – in a blow to Mr Murdaugh’s alibi.

Expert says evidence wasn’t gathered correctly – Crime scene expert Kenneth Zercie testified that SLED did not do an adequate job of preserving and collecting evidence. “Much more could have been done,” he said.

RECAP Day 22: Trial hears how ‘piece of Paul’s skull the size of a baseball’ was left at scene

13:30 , Rachel Sharp

Jurors at Alex Murdaugh’s high-profile double murder trial heard on Wednesday that a piece of his son’s skull “the size of a baseball” was left behind at the crime scene by South Carolina investigators.

In dramatic testimony in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, Mr Murdaugh’s former law firm partner at PMPED Mark Ball described a chaotic crime scene on both the night of the murders and the next day – with evidence left out in the elements or left behind altogether.

Mr Ball, who knew Mr Murdaugh for three decades and was close to the family, said that SLED had released the crime scene back to the Murdaugh family by the morning of 8 June 2021 – just hours on from the murders.

He said he went down to the dog kennels of the family’s Moselle estate in Islandton and made a grim discovery.

“A piece of Paul’s skull the size of a baseball was there,” he said.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Alex Murdaugh trial hears ‘baseball-sized piece of Paul’s skull’ was left at scene

RECAP Day 22: Moment Alex Murdaugh’s defence witness identifies him in kennel video

13:15 , Rachel Sharp

Alex Murdaugh’s high-profile murder trial took another dramatic turn on Wednesday when one of his own defence witnesses insisted he has “no doubt” that the disgraced attorney was at the scene of the killings.

Mark Ball, Mr Murdaugh’s former law firm partner at PMPED and friend of 34 years, delivered bombshell testimony in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, where he identified Mr Murdaugh’s voice in the video taken at the dog kennels minutes before the murders.

Mr Ball told the court he has “no doubt” at all that the three voices in the footage belong to Mr Murdaugh, his wife and his son. “It’s Alex, Maggie and Paul,” he said.

Minutes after the video was taken, Maggie and Paul were dead, prosecutors say.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Moment Alex Murdaugh’s defence witness identifies him in kennel video

WATCH: Witness says he was ‘p***ed off’ with crime scene handling

13:00 , Rachel Sharp

In dramatic testimony in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, Alex Murdaugh’s former law firm partner at PMPED Mark Ball described a chaotic crime scene on both the night of the murders and the next day – with evidence left out in the elements or left behind altogether.

Mr Ball, who knew Mr Murdaugh for three decades and was close to the family, said that SLED had released the crime scene back to the Murdaugh family by the morning of 8 June 2021 – just hours on from the murders.

He said he went down to the dog kennels of the family’s Moselle estate in Islandton and made a grim discovery.

“A piece of Paul’s skull the size of a baseball was there,” he said.

Watch his testimony below:

Will Alex Murdaugh testify at his murder trial? It’s sounding like it will happen

12:45 , Oliver O'Connell

As Alex Murdaugh’s bombshell trial for the killings of his wife Maggie and son Paul draws near a close, one crucial question looms: Will he testify?

Over nearly five weeks of trial, jurors have heard from nearly 70 witnesses including law enforcement officials who responded to the fatal shootings in the Murdaugh’s Islandton hunting estate on 7 June 2021, and relatives, longtime friends and house staff of the family.

Now, with the defence prepared to wrap its case on Friday, all eyes are on Mr Murdaugh more than ever.

On late Wednesday afternoon, local news outlet WCBD reported that the disgraced legal scion will make the risky move of taking the stand for his own defence.

Andrea Blanco has the latest.

Will Alex Murdaugh testify at his murder trial?

Her death became a footnote in the sensational Alex Murdaugh murder case. These filmmakers are rectifying that

12:15 , Rachel Sharp

As Alex Murdaugh’s trial continues, a new Netflix documentary brings viewers to the hearts of a traumatised community.

The Independent’s Clémence Michallon speaks to directors Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason:

Her death became a footnote in the Murdaugh murder case. Now, her story is being told

ICYMI: Awkward moment for defence attorney as judge chastises him over tweet

11:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The judge in Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial has compared one of his defence attorneys to Kyrie Irving as he scolded him for a social media post branding the criminal investigation “sloppy”.

At the start of day 19 of the disgraced legal scion’s trial in the Colleton County Courthouse on Tuesday, Judge Clifton Newman questioned Mr Murdaugh’s attorney Jim Griffin about one of his tweets about the case.

On Saturday, Mr Griffin shared a link to a The Washington Post op-ed titled: “Alex Murdaugh trial reveals a sloppy investigation.”

Rachel Sharp has the story of an awkward start to the week.

Alex Murdaugh trial judge grills defence attorney Jim Griffin over Twitter post

Defence witness suggests Maggie Murdaugh killer was 5’2” – not her 6’4” husband

10:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A defence witness in Alex Murdaugh’s high-profile double-murder trial has suggested that Maggie was gunned down by a 5’2” shooter – and not her 6’4” husband.

Mike Sutton, a forensic engineer who specialises in external ballistics, took the witness stand on Tuesday as the defence fights back against the trove of circumstantial evidence laid out by the prosecution over the past four weeks.

Based on the projection of one of the bullets at the crime scene, Mr Sutton told the court that he believes the assailant who shot Maggie with an AR-15-style rifle had to be 5’2” to 5’4”.

Mr Murdaugh is 6’4” tall.

Rachel Sharp reports on the testimony.

Alex Murdaugh defence witness suggests Maggie was killed by 5’2” shooter

How Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial became a circus

09:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Murder. A botched hitman plot. Mystery deaths. Millions of dollars of stolen money. Opioid addiction.

The case involving Alex Murdaugh appears to have it all when it comes to drama and plot twists.

It’s then little surprise that his murder trial now going on in Walterboro, South Carolina, has captivated the public all across America.

But it should then also come as little surprise to see the high-profile case spilling out into a spectacle far beyond the testimony jurors are hearing in the courtroom.

In just one dramatic week, the trial was rocked by a bomb threat, apparently obscene gestures and bad behaviour from Murdaugh family members, a controversial GoFundMe account, and a Covid-19 outbreak among jurors.

Here’s how Mr Murdaugh’s murder trial has descended into a circus:

How Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial became a circus

A timeline of murders, financial fraud, unexplained deaths and arrest

08:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Disgraced legal dynasty heir Alex Murdaugh is currently on trial in a South Carolina courthouse for the murders of his wife and son.

Mr Murdaugh, 54, is accused of shooting Paul, 22, twice with a shotgun and Maggie, 52, five times with a rifle on the family’s sprawling hunting lodge in Islandton on 7 June 2021.

He was arrested more than a year later in July 2022 and charged with their murders.

In the 20 months since the brutal double murders propelled the Murdaughs onto national headlines, a series of other scandals, allegations and alleged crimes have also come to light.

Here’s a timeline of the key moments in the case:

Alex Murdaugh: A timeline of murders, financial fraud, crime scene and arrest

Defence lawyer makes ‘tempting’ joke while pointing gun at prosecution

07:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh’s defence attorney caused a stir at his murder trial as he cracked a joke while appearing to put a gun at the prosecution table.

Attorney Dick Harpootlian made his daring joke in the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Tuesday during testimony by Mike Sutton, a forensic engineering expert witness for the defence.

“It’s tempting,” Mr Harpootlian remarked as he held a gun indirectly pointed at the state’s table.

Andrea Blanco has the story.

Alex Murdaugh’s lawyer makes ‘tempting’ joke while pointing gun at prosecution

Watch: Murdaugh’s son recalls father telling him mother and brother were murdered

06:45 , Oliver O'Connell

‘He sounded odd’: Alex Murdaugh’s son recounts father telling him about murders

Surviving son Buster Murdaugh gives stoic testimony as dad smiles

04:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh’s only surviving son Buster gave stoic testimony as his father looked on smiling in the South Carolina courtroom where he is on trial for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul.

Buster – who has attended the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, every day since the start of the high-profile trial in a show of support for his father – was the first witness called to the stand by the defence on Tuesday morning.

Read on:

Alex Murdaugh’s surviving son Buster gives stoic testimony in murder trial

‘Piece of Paul’s skull the size of a baseball’ was left behind at crime scene

03:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Jurors at Alex Murdaugh’s high-profile double murder trial heard on Wednesday that a piece of his son’s skull “the size of a baseball” was left behind at the crime scene by South Carolina investigators.

In dramatic testimony in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, Mr Murdaugh’s former law firm partner at PMPED Mark Ball described a chaotic crime scene on both the night of the murders and the next day – with evidence left out in the elements or left behind altogether.

Rachel Sharp reports on today’s testimony.

Alex Murdaugh trial hears ‘baseball-sized piece of Paul’s skull’ was left at scene

Murdaugh’s defence witness has ‘no doubt’ disgraced attorney is in kennel video

02:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh’s high-profile murder trial took another dramatic turn on Wednesday when one of his own defence witnesses insisted he has “no doubt” that the disgraced attorney was at the scene of the killings.

Mark Ball, Mr Murdaugh’s former law firm partner at PMPED and friend of 34 years, delivered bombshell testimony in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, where he identified Mr Murdaugh’s voice in the video taken at the dog kennels minutes before the murders.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Moment Alex Murdaugh’s defence witness identifies him in kennel video

Key revelations from the Murdaugh murder trial... so far

01:45 , Oliver O'Connell

It’s a dramatic saga that now includes murder, a botched hitman plot, multi-million-dollar fraud schemes and a series of unexplained deaths.

The now-disbarred attorney denies the allegations and has pleaded not guilty.

Mr Murdaugh’s trial got underway at Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro on 23 January.

The prosecution has now wrapped up its case with the defence beginning its own case on 17 February – where Mr Murdaugh is expected to take the stand.

Here are the key revelations from the trial so far:

‘Confession’, bloody scene and ‘clean’ shirt: Key moments from Alex Murdaugh trial

Watch: Trial witness ‘infuriated’ by state of ‘sloppy’ crime scene

00:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh murder trial witness ‘infuriated’ by state of ‘sloppy’ crime scene

New Netflix documentary sheds light on tragic death of Mallory Beach

Wednesday 22 February 2023 23:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Clémence Michallon reports on how two filmmakers are rectifying how Mallory Beach’s death became a footnote to the Murdaugh murder case.

Her death became a footnote in the Murdaugh murder case. Now, her story is being told

Defence team to make final decision on testimony tonight or in morning

Wednesday 22 February 2023 23:05 , Oliver O'Connell

The Post and Courier’s chief investigative reporter Avery Wilks reports that a decision to put Alex Murdaugh on the stand is still yet to be made, and the defence team will meet with him tonight to discuss the possibility.

Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website

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