Alex Murdaugh trial — live: Jury begins deliberations after case highlights from defence and prosecution

The jury in Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial has begun weighing the accused killer’s innocence or guilt regarding the brutal 7 June 2021 murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul.

On Thursday morning, attorney Jim Griffin delivered the defence’s closing argument in the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro hoping to plant reasonable doubt in the minds of jurors.

Prosecutor John Meadors then presented the state’s rebuttal argument, bringing Murdaugh one step closer to learning his fate. Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters delivered the state’s three-hour closing argument on Wednesday.

He laid out the case against Mr Murdaugh beginning with the “gathering storm” of financial problems that led up to the murders and concluding with a plea to jurors to give a voice to the victims whom he said were fooled by the defendant like everyone else.

“Don’t let him fool you too,” Waters urged the jury.

Earlier on Wednesday, jurors also toured the crime scene where Maggie and Paul were brutally gunned down by the dog kennels on the grounds of the family’s Moselle estate.

Follow live as we wait for the jury to come to a verdict.

Alex Murdaugh murder trial

• Jury begins deliberations in Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial

• Is Alex Murdaugh guilty of murder?

• Prosecutor slams defence in rebuttal for ‘blaming’ investigation

• Defence accuses police of ‘fabricating evidence’

• Alex Murdaugh jury visits estate where wife and son were murdered

• Alex Murdaugh prosecutor delivers dramatic closing argument

Action in the courtroom

23:33 , Megan Sheets

Lawyers appear to have gathered in the courtroom.

There have been no official indications of what is happening - but it could be that the jury is about to go home for the night.

What are the charges against Alex Murdaugh?

23:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury is now deliberating after hearing six weeks of evidence and arguments in the double-murder trial of Alex Murdaugh.

Mr Murdaugh, the disbarred personal injury lawyer, is accused of brutally murdering his wife Maggie, 52, and his son, Paul, 22, at the family home in Colleton County, South Carolina, on 7 June 2021.

The 12 jurors are considering four charges against Mr Murdaugh. Here’s what they are:

What are the charges against Alex Murdaugh?

Murdaugh’s ‘gathering storm’ of crimes turned him into a ‘family annihilator’, says prosecutor

22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh’s “gathering storm” of financial crimes, opioid addiction and years of “living a lie” culminated with the moment that he murdered his wife Maggie and son Paul, according to the prosecution’s dramatic three-hour closing statement.

In Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Wednesday, prosecutor Creighton Waters described how the once-powerful attorney spent years “on the hamster wheel” avoiding accountability as he stole millions of dollars from his law firm and its clients.

While keeping up the pretense of a respected attorney and carrying on his prominent family’s legacy, he had actually been “living a lie” for the last decade and the “pressure became overwhelming”.

Alex Murdaugh prosecutor says storm of crimes made him a killer in closing argument

No jury deliberations over weekend

22:28 , Oliver O'Connell

Law & Crime’s Cathy Russon has confirmed that there will be no jury deliberations over the weekend.

The jury can deliberate late tonight and up until the end of the day tomorrow. If they have not reached a verdict, they will return on Monday for further deliberations.

What did the defence are prosecution argue over the past six weeks?

22:22 , Oliver O'Connell

Over the past six weeks of Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial, jurors have heard hours upon hours of gruesome testimony about how his wife Maggie and son Paul were gunned down at the dog kennels of the family’s sprawling 1,700-acre Moselle estate.

Two different guns were used in the 7 June 2021 attack – neither of which have ever been found.

Paul was ambushed by his attacker as he stood in the feed room of the kennels, being shot twice with a 12-gauge shotgun.

The first shot struck his chest, while a second fatal shot tore through his shoulder, neck and head, blowing his entire brain out of his skull.

Just yards away from Paul, Maggie was shot five times with a .300 Blackout semiautomatic rifle, as she tried to flee her killer.

Husband and father Mr Murdaugh is accused of their murders, with a jury set to decide his fate any day now.

But is he guilty?

Here’s what the prosecution and the defence say:

Is Alex Murdaugh guilty of murder? Here’s what the defence and prosecution argued

Update from court on deliberations

22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury can deliberate until 10pm his evening if they wish.

There is no plan currently to order dinner for the jury, but they have coffee, tea, water and snacks.

The official word from the court is that they do have the option to deliberate over the weekend, but we have not heard any indication of that yet.

According to reporters at the courthouse, the defence team has said there will be no deliberations over the weekend and tomorrow’s cutoff is 4pm.

Jury makes first request

22:04 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury has made its first request. They asked for a monitor to watch some of the video evidence.

OJ Simpson weighs in on the Murdaugh trial

21:54 , Oliver O'Connell

“It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if this guy beats this case,” says OJ Simpson. This is not the first time he’s commented on a major court case.

Watch:

The story of Alex Murdaugh’s spectacular fall from grace

21:35 , Oliver O'Connell

On the surface, Alex Murdaugh had it all.

He was a high-powered attorney who ran both his own law firm and worked in the local prosecutor’s office.

He was the son of a powerful legal dynasty that dominated the local South Carolina community for almost a century.

And he was a family man who lived with his wife and two adult sons on their sprawling country estate.

But over the last 20 months, Mr Murdaugh has experienced a spectacular fall from grace, culminating in what has been described as the “trial of the century” now taking place in a courtroom in Walterboro, South Carolina.

The story of Alex Murdaugh’s spectacular fall from grace

Voices: Will Alex Murdaugh’s dodgy memory bring him down?

21:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Megan Sheets writes:

Alex Murdaugh’s fate is now in the hands of a jury that will determine his innocence or guilt in the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul. Needless to say, the panel of 12 jurors has a big job ahead following six weeks of astonishing testimony from 75 witnesses.

Having followed the courtroom circus in the most minute detail from our New York newsroom, there’s no doubt in my mind that the verdict will hinge on one witness: Murdaugh himself.

Read on:

Will Alex Murdaugh’s dodgy memory bring him down?

20:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Court goes into recess waiting for the verdict.

Murdaugh’s fate lies in hands of jury as they begin deliberations

20:40 , Oliver O'Connell

The fate of fallen legal scion Alex Murdaugh now rests in the hands of 12 jurors as they have begun deliberations in his double murder trial.

The jury began deliberating on Thursday afternoon after six weeks of testimony concluded with dramatic closing arguments at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Jury begins deliberations in Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial

20:34 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Newman tells the jury “you have no friends to reward or no enemies to punish”.

20:23 , Oliver O'Connell

“Madam forelady and members of the jury, you have heard the testimony, received the evidence, and heard the arguments of the state and defendant,” says Judge Newman.

He explains that they will have to consider the law as he states it to them as they weigh Murdaugh’s culpability in his wife and son’s murders.

They are permitted to take into account a witness’ demeanour and bias and are also allowed to dismiss most of a witness’s testimony but include just one part.

He reminds them that the burden of proof is on the state.

Relating to Murdaugh’s other crimes, Judge Newman says they can only be considered in relation to their impact on the murders — not to prove the character of the defendant.

Judge Newman reminds them that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty and the jury’s function is to find them guilty or not guilty. They are not to factor in potential sentencing.

Murdaugh has pled not guilty but does not have to prove his innocence.

There are four indictments that are to be considered separately.

The murder of Maggie.

The murder of Paul.

Possession of a weapon during the murder of Maggie.

Possession of a weapon during the murder of Paul.

Watch LIVE: Alex Murdaugh jury receives instructions from judge

20:21 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumes

20:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Clifton Newman is now going to give the jury instructions before they go to deliberate about the evidence presented by the state and the defence.

When will there be a verdict in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial?

Murdaugh prosecutor slams defence in rebuttal for ‘blaming’ investigation when ‘he lied about alibi’

19:52 , Oliver O'Connell

The prosecutor in Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial slammed the defence for “blaming” law enforcement for the investigation when the disgraced attorney “obstructed” the case by repeatedly lying about his alibi for the night of the brutal slayings.

Prosecutor John Meadors hit out at Mr Murdaugh and his legal team as he delivered a high-octane rebuttal case in the high-profile double murder trial in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina.

Rachel Sharp reports on what was said in court today.

Alex Murdaugh prosecutor slams defence for ‘blaming’ investigation in rebuttal

Murdaugh defence accuses police of ‘fabricating evidence’

19:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh’s attorney accused law enforcement of “fabricating evidence” in order to tie the disgraced attorney to the murders of his wife and son, during the defence’s dramatic closing statement.

Defence attorney Jim Griffin told jurors in Colleton County Courthouse on Thursday morning that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) “failed miserably” in its investigation into the 7 June 2021 murders and decided from the get-go to pin the crime on Mr Murdaugh.

Rachel Sharp has the details.

Alex Murdaugh defence accuses police of ‘fabricating evidence’ in closing statement

When will there be a verdict in the Alex Murdaugh trial?

19:20 , Oliver O'Connell

After five and half weeks of testimony, the jury in the double-murder trial of Alex Murdaugh is expected to begin deliberations on Thursday.

Before they begin to consider a verdict, the 12 jurors and two alternates visited the scene of the crime — the dog kennels and feed room at the Murdaugh family’s 1,700-acre Moselle estate.

It was there that Mr Murdaugh is accused of brutally murdering his wife Maggie, 52, and younger son Paul, 22, were brutally murdered on 7 June 2021.

When will there be a verdict in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial?

Murdaugh juror dismissed for misconduct sparks laughter by revealing she left ‘dozen eggs’ in jury room

19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

A juror in Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial sparked laughter in the courtroom when she revealed she had left “a dozen eggs” in the jury room after being dismissed for misconduct.

Judge Clifton Newman announced in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Thursday morning that a female juror – number 785 – was being removed from the panel for discussing the case with at least three other people.

Rachel Sharp reports on what went down in court this morning.

Alex Murdaugh juror dismissed for misconduct sparks laughter with egg concerns

18:41 , Oliver O'Connell

Meadors concludes by calling on the jury to use their power to find Murdaugh guilty of the murders of Paul and Maggie.

The jury is excused for lunch.

Judge Clifton Newman will give the jury their charges after lunch.

Court will resume at 2.50pm.

18:39 , Oliver O'Connell

“I think he loved Maggie. I think he loved Paul ... But you know who he loved more? Alex.”

18:37 , Oliver O'Connell

“Thank god for Bubba,” says Meadors, noting how the family dog attacking a chicken led to Murdaugh’s voice being heard on the kennel video that he did not know was being shot.

18:28 , Oliver O'Connell

Meadors reminds the jury that Murdaugh sat in the witness stand and under oath admitted to lying to everyone about whether he was at the kennels that night.

He wonders why Murdaugh would do that if he was trying to help the police investigation into the murder of his family.

Meadors asks the jury if they think he would’ve told the truth on the stand if Paul’s kennel video had never come to light.

18:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Meadors turns to the testimony of Blanca, the Murdaugh’s housekeeper.

Blanca dropped the phone when she heard the news of the murders — “that’s real” says Meadors.

He pauses and returns to when Murdaugh was first confronted with the Snapchat of him at the tree wearing the blue shirt.

Meadors recalls how Blanca had remembered helping him with his collar. After the murders she says Murdaugh approached her about the shirt he was wearing that day and says he tried to tell her it was a different shirt.

Jumping back to Shelly, Meadors says she recalls Murdaugh wearing Sperry-type shoes on the night he came to visit, not the sneakers he was wearing when police arrived.

He had changed shoes.

18:09 , Oliver O'Connell

Meadors reminds the jury about Murdaugh’s return trip to Almeda days later early in the morning.

“Doesn’t call. He didn’t need a timeline to create for that visit. Didn’t want a timeline. Didn’t want a record of that.”

Shelly sees him come in and go upstairs with something blue. He is referring to the famous blue raincoat and emphasises how gunshot residue was found on the inside of it.

“That’s what he disposed of the guns with.”

Shelley also recalled that he drove two different trucks and an ATV around his parents’ property that morning. Meadors contends he was getting rid of the evidence.

Meadors says the blue raincoat is good circumstantial evidence.

“Is Shelley making that up? Did she make that up?”

He reminds the jury that Murdaugh offered to help Shelly with her wedding costs and with her job at the school.

18:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Meadors says of what reasonable doubt means in this case: “You can’t answer every question, and the law doesn’t require it.”

He returns to talking about Murdaugh’s mother’s house at Almeda which he alluded to earlier.

“We submit to you that’s when he went to hide the guns. That’s common sense.”

Meadors adds: “He wasn’t going to love his momma. He was going to be with her. He was going because he loves Alex.”

He repeats multiple times that Murdaugh was there hiding the guns and that the timeline is important as he was only in the house 15-20 minutes out of his time there.

Meadors brings up Murdaugh’s conversation in which he asked home carer Shelly Smith to say he was there for 35-40 minutes, upsetting her.

“That’s real,” says Meadors. “Shelly’s real.”

17:58 , Oliver O'Connell

“We don’t have to prove motive! I think it’s been proven. His world was collapsing.”

Referring to what constitutes murder, Meadors argues that malice has been established as Maggie and Paul were shot several times. This was not an accident.

Malice only needs to exist for the small amount of time it takes to pull the trigger.

17:53 , Oliver O'Connell

Meadors asks why Murdaugh didn’t call Buster for almost 40 minutes. Why not when he found the bodies if he was so worried about him and warn him that someone is trying to kill them all?

Why wasn’t he concerned for his mother at her house?

Meadors says that he couldn’t because he’d hidden the guns there.

17:49 , Oliver O'Connell

Meadors criticises the defence team’s arguments against SLED’s handling of the case and how they accused them of fabricating evidence.

He says he dubbed defence attorney Dick Harpootlian “a smokescreen machine”.

Meadors finds it offensive that law enforcement didn’t do their job while Murdaugh was withholding and obstructing justice by not admitting to being at the kennels.

He asks why Murdaugh didn’t say he was at the kennels.

“Why wouldn’t you tell them that?” Meadors asks. “Credibility. Believability.”

“This case is about the defendant never being real.”

17:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Meadors begins by thanking the jury for sitting through six weeks of the trial.

He tells the jury there is no book on how to be a juror, but says that they have been preparing for this moment their whole lives through their lived experiences and daily interactions.

They have to decide what is credible and believable as this is “a common sense case”.

Court resumes

17:41 , Oliver O'Connell

Court is back in session after a short break.

Prosecution attorney John Meadors will give the state’s closing rebuttal. Before the break he said that he estimates it will take no more than 40 minutes.

The jury is brought back in.

17:29 , Oliver O'Connell

Wrapping up, Griffin says that the law doesn’t require that you look at Murdaugh as a monster, but it requires you to view him as innocent.

“There are two words that justice demands in this case and those two words are Not Guilty.”

He chokes up mentioning the victims, Maggie and Paul.

The jury is excused and the court takes a five-minute break.

17:28 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin says about the state’s alleged motive for the murders: “You’ve heard weeks of testimony about Alex’s financial crimes, drug addiction, and lies. But after all that, the state has failed to provide a satisfactory answer to this question: Why?”

He says the state cannot answer that because Murdaugh would not do it.

17:26 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin says the state has shown the jury a number of guns, but none of them are the weapons that killed Maggie and Paul.

“They want you to think that because you own guns, that you should be viewed differently? I don’t know what else to make of that.”

17:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Returning to the question of Murdaugh’s lie, Griffin says: “We are back to the lie. Because that’s all they have in this case, is that Alex lied to them. And he shouldn’t have.”

He reiterates that Murdaugh has admitted to lying and that once he started he had to continue to lie and he should not have.

Griffin argues that it wasn’t rational, but he was in the throes of addiction, and he had just discovered his wife and son dead.

He adds that officers had also swiped Murdaugh’s hands for gunshot residue and he believed he was being questioned by the same SLED agent who investigated his friend.

As the jury has been shown, Murdaugh began lying before that moment in the night.

17:21 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin also questions why it is such an issue about which body he checked first and when given he had just discovered his wife and son brutally murdered.

He says that the jury heard yesterday about how Maggie was “running to her baby”.

“Alex was running to his baby. And can you imagine what he saw?”

Griffin asks if Murdaugh can be blamed for not recalling the exact sequence of events.

“Is that evidence of guilt or is that evidence of trauma?”

17:17 , Oliver O'Connell

Regarding discrepancies in Murdaugh’s recollection of times from that day, in which he was caught lying about when he last saw Maggie and Paul, Griffin says Murdaugh’s statements about time were not lies but were misstatements.

Murdaugh has admitted to lying about when he last saw them.

17:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin brings up the contention that Murdaugh was not concerned for his other son Buster’s safety in the aftermath of the murders.

Audio is played from Colleton County Deputy Daniel Greene’s body cam footage in which Murdaugh can be heard asking about whether a police officer can be sent to protect Buster up in Columbia.

17:13 , Oliver O'Connell

Regarding the state’s questioning of the 5’2” shooter theory, Griffin argues that they were using SLED’s measurements.

“The most common sense thing here is there were two shooters. There were two guns. One gun was high capacity. … If you’re going down there to execute somebody, one gun is enough,” Griffin argues.

17:09 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin appears to be drawing to a conclusion.

If Paul and Maggie were killed and Murdaugh was at the house, he would not have heard the shots (as the audio expert witness testified).

However, Griffin then says that if the murders happened at 8.50pm and Murdaugh left the property at 9.07pm, then he had 17 minutes to clean up.

“He’d have to be a magician to make all that evidence disappear.”

Griffin says it is not enough time to clear up all the biological matter from the murders.

Instead, he says, Murdaugh got in his car, called his son, his brother, and his friend, and went to visit his mother.

“He’s got no blood on him. He’s acting normal as every day. He is the same old Alex. Yet their theory is he just blew the people he loved the most in the world, blew them away.”

17:03 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin raises an interesting point regarding Maggie’s phone — that Murdaugh had the passcode.

17:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin mimics slow steps when discussing Murdaugh’s step count as recorded by his phone when the prosecution says he was moving at his quickest.

“This is Alex scurrying around, according to the state’s case,” Griffin says.

He also notes that there is no evidence that Maggie’s phone never moved together with Murdaugh’s phone in the time after her death.

As to the idea that Murdaugh sped up after allegedly ditching the phone, Griffin says he did, but only from 42mph to 46mph. Griffin says that surely if Murdaugh wanted to establish more of an alibi he would’ve driven slower.

16:54 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin is working his way through the phone data extracted from Maggie’s phone, occasionally suggesting alternative theories as to what happened and where the phone was — including that someone else had it and was around the side of the shed where footprints were seen.

Griffin only has to emphasise that there may be reasonable doubt in the case, so if his closing is somewhat unfocused, it could be to jumble the clear narrative laid out in the prosecution’s closing argument in the minds of the jury.

16:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin starts to play a video clip of Rogan Gibson’s testimony. There is an objection from the state which is sustained.

They are allowed to play the sound only which they do. Gibson’s clip is followed by one of Nolan Tuten, and both men say there were moments when Paul wouldn’t use his phone — for example when working on the farm or at the kennels.

16:41 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin argues there is no direct evidence of Murdaugh doing anything other than being at the kennel at 8.44pm having a pleasant conversation with his family.

All other evidence is circumstantial, he says. He argues that the evidence can’t just be suspicious, it must point conclusively toward guilt.

He again says that cell phone usage is not an accurate indicator of time of death.

16:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin is working his way through Waters’ closing argument for the state and picking out a selection of factors that he wants the jury to question, including whether Maggie’s phone was thrown from Murdaugh’s car window on the way to Almeda.

He takes offence to the mention of his participation in the HBO documentary on the case in November 2022 (arguing the interview took place months before). He says he was talking about the murder charges.

There is an objection from attorney John Meadors saying that he did talk about that.

16:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin attacks the state’s scenario for how the murders occurred.

He refers to Paul by his mother’s nickname, “the little detective” and posits his own theory that Paul had found the source of his father’s pills and told them to stop.

There is an objection from the prosecution which is sustained.

Griffin turns to the state’s assertion that Murdaugh accused other witnesses of lying. He says the defendant did no such thing.

“I’ve been around long enough to know that witnesses can misremember things.”

He gives the example of Marian Proctor, Maggie’s sister, misremembering when calls happened just before the murders — this does not mean she lied.

Watch LIVE - Alex Murdaugh defence team presents closing argument

16:21 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumes

16:19 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumes after a short break.

Griffin begins by saying that prosecution attorney Creighton Waters said in his closing that Maggie and Paul were killed by family guns.

He says the evidence does not show that.

This is especially for the shotgun that killed Paul — it could’ve been bought that afternoon at Walmart he says.

For the Blackout rifle that killed Maggie, the state contends that the shell casings by her body match some near the house.

Griffin says those conclusions are “not gospel”.

He adds that the state says that the replacement Blackout for the one that Paul lost, was bought by the defendant when it was actually bought by Maggie. It was also not owned by the defendant, it was Paul’s.

Neither murder weapon has ever been found.

16:03 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin makes a direct attack on the prosecution saying some of the things they have said are not backed up by the evidence.

He says that “sometimes, folks get caught up in a case” because they want to win.

Court is now on a 10-minute break.

16:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin also argues that when Murdaugh was fired from the law firm on Labor Day Weekend, he didn’t go and kill anyone else, he tried to have himself killed.

“When Alex is at financial collapse, he doesn’t go kill somebody else. He tries to end it himself.”

16:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin says there was no great pressure on Murdaugh on 7 June 2021 regarding his financial crimes. It was a normal day in his “frenetic lifestyle”.

He contends that even if what the state says is the motive is valid, Murdaugh didn’t need to kill his son and wife to distract from his financial problems, because his gravely ill father was already creating a distraction.

15:51 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin plays clips of testimony from the housekeeper Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson and dog caretaker Dale Davis who both say what a loving relationship Murdaugh had with Maggie and the Paul was his best friend.

He builds to arguing that it makes no sense for Murdaugh to suddenly kill them just because his financial crimes were about to come to light.

“What kind of sense does that make?”

Raising his voice he adds: “That is their theory of the case. If you don’t accept that beyond a reasonable doubt, ladies and gentlemen, I submit the verdict has to be not guilty because there is no reason for him to do it, no reason whatsoever.”

15:47 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin argues against the prosecution’s time of death calculation, calling out their theory that Paul and Maggie died when they did because they stopped using their phones.

He says they contend that if you don’t answer a text as soon as you receive it, you’re dead.

Numerous witnesses testified that Paul was constantly on his phone and was in the middle of a text conversation with Rogan Gibson about the video he filmed of Cash the puppy when suddenly he stopped replying.

15:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin says that Murdaugh lied about his presence at the kennels because he is an addict and that is what addicts do.

He plays the kennel video.

“Four minutes later, the state would have you believe that Alex Murdaugh blew his son’s brains out of his head after having a conversation about Bubba”, the family dog who had attacked a chicken.

“There is nothing on that tape that indicates any strife, any conflict, any anger … anybody being afraid, anybody running, anybody scurrying. Nothing. It’s Maggie, Paul, and Alex down at the kennel. That’s it.”

15:39 , Oliver O'Connell

Regarding the infamous blue raincoat, Griffin notes that no one in the family recognised it as Murdaugh’s or anyone else’s.

He also says SLED misled Murdaugh’s brother John Marvin as to where it had been found.

Griffin says that pieces of evidence presented to the Colleton County grand jury to get the indictment “weren’t true” — GSR on the raincoat, the blood spatter, and how they said the shotguns were loaded.

15:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin says that after the roadside shooting incident, Murdaugh was an “easy target” for SLED.

He then accuses them of “fabricating evidence against Alex”.

As a former state and federal prosecutor, Griffin says: “I don’t make that claim lightly.”

“They came up with a report that said Alex’s T-shirt had high-velocity blood spatter on it. … That means you’re within feet of a shooting.”

Griffin says when that was proven wrong the moved to their “Mr Clean theory” in which Murdaugh rinsed off with the hose after the murders.

15:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Continuing, he says that despite Murdaugh’s insistence that SLED should pull data from his SUV believing it would show he did not move anywhere with Maggie’s phone and ditch it by the road to Almeda.

SLED failed to do that he says and did not follow up. The data only came through when GM got in touch during the trial.

Regarding Maggie’s phone, he says they did not properly store it to prevent location data from being overwritten. Her phone was put in airplane mode. Griffin insists it should have been placed in a faraday bag.

15:23 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin walks the jury through what he considers are SLED’s failures during the investigation.

What happened to the hairs found in Maggie’s hands?

Why didn’t SLED take footprint impressions from around the feed room?

Why wasn’t there a more professional search of the crime scene?

He returns to his argument that the “no danger to the public” statement shows they had already decided that Murdaugh was the killer.

15:19 , Oliver O'Connell

Turning to evidence heard during the trial, Griffin begins with the joint statement issues by the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office and SLED in which they said the day after the murders that there was “no danger to the public”.

He argues that Murdaugh was considered a prime suspect from day one.

“Does that tell you that on June 8, law enforcement had decided it had to be Alex Murdaugh? It’s a fair question for you to ask yourselves. It’s a question that has not been fairly answered in this trial.”

Griffin continues to say that from then Murdaugh was “at the mercy of SLED” to remove himself from the investigative circle.

He adds: “SLED failed miserably in investigating this case. And had they done a competent job, Alex would have been excluded from that circle a year ago, two years ago. But he would have been excluded.”

15:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin also makes a point of explaining the legal system in Scotland in which there are three options: Guilty, Not Guilty, and Not Proven.

In the US, he says, Not Proven is lumped in with Not Guilty.

He is indicating that finding Murdaugh “Not Guilty” does not mean he is innocent.

Murdaugh defence begins closing argument

15:06 , Oliver O'Connell

Attorney Jim Griffin is presenting the closing argument for defendant Alex Murdaugh.

He begins by praising the jury system in this country but wishes there could be some interaction between the jury and lawyers so that he could answer their questions.

Griffin plans to try and answer questions he believes they may have after hearing all the evidence.

He makes a big point of reminding the jury that Murdaugh is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Griffin compares what they are doing to instant replay in sports. The referee’s decision stands unless the instant replay definitively shows the call was wrong.

The decision here is that Murdaugh is innocent and the evidence must definitively prove he is not.

When they cast their jury ballots, Griffin says “if there is any reasonable cause for you to hesitate when you write ‘guilty,’ then the law requires you to write ‘not guilty.’”

14:57 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury is brought in.

Juror 254 is upgraded from an alternate to the main jury panel.

14:55 , Oliver O'Connell

No one was eggspecting this development:

14:54 , Oliver O'Connell

Juror 785 is brought into court and Judge Newman informs her of his decision.

“It’s going to require me to remove you from the jury. You have been, by all accounts, a great juror.”

He says she has been attentive and performed well, always smiling.

“With all the time you’ve invested in the case, you probably hate not to continue, or maybe you want to go,” says Judge Newman.

“I’m not suggesting you intentionally did anything wrong.”

Asked if she has left anything behind in the jury room, there is a comical moment when she says she has left her purse and a dozen eggs.

They are retrieved and she is sent on her way with her eggs and an instruction to wait until after the trial to speak about the case if she so wishes, otherwise, her identity will remain confidential.

14:49 , Oliver O'Connell

Lead defence attorney Dick Harpootlian voices an objection about the juror issue and how it was investigated.

He argues that SLED handled the investigation and one agent handling it was a witness in the trial and another was an investigator in the Murdaugh murders.

“It is muddled. But we would defer to your judgment,” he tells Judge Newman.

Harpootlian adds: “SLED has made another bad judgment in this case. This is just a continuum of a calamity of errors.”

Court resumes - a juror will be removed

14:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumes, Judge Clifton Newman presiding.

The first order of business is the removal of a juror.

Judge Newman says he received an email accusing a juror of engaging in conversation about the trial.

Having met with the juror in question, she denied the story. They contacted the person she allegedly had the conversation and two other people were interviewed in an in-chambers on-the-record hearing about their contact with the juror.

“The juror has had contact or discussions concerning the case with at least three individuals, though it does not appear the discussion was that extensive.”

However, the juror did offer her opinion on evidence at the trial.

She will be removed from the panel.

We are now down to 12 jurors with only one alternate remaining.

Watch LIVE - Alex Murdaugh defence team presents closing argument

14:32 , Oliver O'Connell

Day 28 of Murdaugh trial: What to expect today

14:15 , Rachel Sharp

On Thursday morning, the defence will deliver its closing argument as it seeks to convince the jury that Alex Murdaugh is innocent of the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul.

Once closing arguments are complete, the jury will be given its instructions from Judge Clifton Newman.

Jury deliberations will begin – where the panel of 12 will decide Mr Murdaugh’s fate.

It could then be a matter of hours or days before there will be a verdict in the case.

Moselle: The jury visit in pictures

14:00 , Rachel Sharp

On Wednesday, jurors were taken on a tour of the Moselle property where Maggie and Paul were brutally shot dead on 7 June 2021.

After, a media pool visited the site capturing the scene.

Here’s what they saw.

Day 27 in a nutshell:

13:40 , Rachel Sharp

Moselle visit – The jury was escorted to Moselle to see for themselves the dog kennels and grounds of the Murdaugh’s family home where Maggie and Paul were shot dead.

Prosecutor’s closing argument – Creighton Waters delivered his closing argument for the state urging jurors “don’t be fooled” by Alex Murdaugh’s lies.

“Gathering storm” – Mr Waters said that the disgraced attorney’s “gathering storm” of financial crimes, opioid addiction and years of “living a lie” culminated with him becoming a “family annihilator”.

Means, motive, opportunity – The prosecutor told jurors how “family guns” were used in the attack and how Paul’s cellphone video placed Mr Murdaugh at the scene of the murders.

Lying about his alibi – Mr Waters said the kennel video “changed everything” by not only placing Mr Murdaugh at the scene but also showing that he lied to investigators trying to catch his family’s killer. “Why would he even think to lie about that if he was an innocent man?”

Lying on the stand – Mr Waters went on to accuse Mr Murdaugh of continuing his web of lies on the witness stand, including the very reasons he gave for lying to investigators about his alibi for the night of the murders.

RECAP Day 27: Prosecutor’s closing argument describes Murdaugh’s ‘gathering storm’ into ‘family annihilator’

13:20 , Rachel Sharp

Alex Murdaugh’s “gathering storm” of financial crimes, opioid addiction and years of “living a lie” culminated with the moment that he murdered his wife Maggie and son Paul, according to the prosecution’s dramatic closing statement.

In Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Wednesday, prosecutor Creighton Waters described how the once-powerful attorney had spent years “on the hamster wheel” avoiding accountabilty as he stole millions of dollars from his law firm and its clients.

While keeping up the pretence of a respected attorney and carrying on his prominent family’s legacy, he had actually been “living a lie” for the last decade and the “pressure became overwhelming”.

The storm then “crescendoed” to that “day of reckoning” on 7 June 2021 when Mr Murdaugh turned into a “family annihilator”, shooting his wife and son dead on the grounds of the wealthy family’s sprawling 1,700-acre Moselle estate.

“After an exhaustive investigation, there is only one person that had the motive, that had the means, that had the opportunity to commit these crimes,” he said.

“And whose guilty conduct after these crimes betrays him.

“The defendant is the one person who was living a lie. The one person who a storm was descending on. And the one person whose own storm would mean consequences for Maggie and Paul. And that person is the defendant Richard Alexander Murdaugh.”

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Alex Murdaugh prosecutor says storm of crimes made him a killer in closing argument

RECAP Day 27: Jury visits Moselle estate where murders took place

13:00 , Rachel Sharp

The jury in Alex Murdaugh’s high-profile murder trial is visiting the scene where his wife Maggie and son Paul were brutally murdered, before they decide the disgraced legal scion’s fate.

The panel – of 12 jurors and two remaining alternates – were taken to the family’s sprawling 1,700-acre Moselle estate on Wednesday morning to see for themselves the dog kennels and feed room where Mr Murdaugh allegedly gunned down his loved ones on 7 June 2021.

Paul was shot twice with a shotgun as he stood in the feed room of the kennels, with the second bullet blowing his brain from its skull.

Maggie was shot four to five times with an AR-15-style rifle a few yards from her son, as she backed into an ATV parked under a hangar.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp reports:

Alex Murdaugh jury visits Moselle estate where wife and son were murdered

Minute-by-minute timeline maps out the night of Murdaugh murders

12:40 , Rachel Sharp

What happened at Moselle on the night of 7 June 2021?

Minute-by-minute timeline maps out the night Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were murdered

When will there be a verdict?

12:20 , Rachel Sharp

After five and half weeks of testimony, the jury in the double-murder trial of Alex Murdaugh is expected to begin deliberations on Thursday.

Before they begin to consider a verdict, the 12 jurors and two alternates visited the scene of the crime — the dog kennels and feed room at the Murdaugh family’s 1,700-acre Moselle estate.

It was there that Mr Murdaugh is accused of brutally murdering his wife Maggie, 52, and younger son Paul, 22, were brutally murdered on 7 June 2021.

Mr Murdaugh has pleaded not guilty.

The Independent’s Oliver O’Connell reports on when we can expect a verdict in the case:

When will there be a verdict in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial?

WATCH: Prosecutor delivers dramatic closing argument

12:00 , Rachel Sharp

Lying on the stand

11:40 , Rachel Sharp

Creighton Waters closed out his statement by accusing Alex Murdaugh of continuing his lies while on the stand in front of jurors.

He pointed out that Mr Murdaugh contradicted testimony from multiple witnesses.

“Everyone is lying or the master liar?” said Mr Waters.

The prosecutor also picked holes in testimony saying that he lied when he was confronted with other issues on the stand.

Former Hampton County Sheriff T. C. Smalls contradicted Mr Murdaugh’s testimony that he had given him permission to fit blue police lights in his vehicle.

When he was questioned about why he lied about his alibi, Mr Waters told jurors he also lied.

Mr Murdaugh had testified that he had lied for the past 20 months because he was “paranoid” over his suspicions of SLED, warnings from his law firm partners about always have a lawyer present when speaking to the police and investigators having swabbed his hands for gunshot residue.

He claimed that he decided during his first police interview in the early hours of 8 June 2021.

But, Mr Waters hammered home that Mr Murdaugh began lying before that – in bodycam footage from the first officer to respond to the scene.

“All those reasons he gave... he was lying to you ladees and gentlement when he made those up. And he’s good at it,” he said.

“There is nothing more important to someone who is innocent than telling law enforcement when you last saw someone alive,” said Mr Waters.

“People lie because they knew they did something wrong,” he said.

He then used Mr Murdaugh’s own words against him.

“‘Oh what a tangled web we weave when we first deceive’,” he read out.

“How appropriate coming from that man.”

He concluded: “He fooled them all. And he fooled Maggie and Paul and they paid for it with their lives,” he said.

“Don’t let him fool you too.”

‘Manufacturing an alibi’

11:15 , Oliver O'Connell

After the murders, prosecutor Creighton Waters said that Alex Murdaugh stripped and washed himself off, before getting back in the golf cart and heading back to the house.

There, he said Mr Murdaugh was “manufacturing an alibi” as he knew that he had “got to compress those timelines”.

“He was thinking like a prosecutor,” he said.

Mr Waters described how Mr Murdaugh called several people and sped to his parents’ home – trying to get his mother’s carer to match his story of how long he stayed – and sped back as he knew he needed to compress the timeline.

When he arrived back at the property and drove to the kennels, just 19 seconds passed between the moment he arrived at the kennels and claimed he found his wife and son’s bodies – and the 911 call.

Mr Murdaugh previously told law enforcement multiple times that he had touched his wife and son’s bodies to check for signs of life before calling 911. He changed this account on the stand saying that he had actually touched them while on the phone to the 911 dispatcher.

“19 seconds. Is that enough time for a surprised human being to get out of the car go over and see... the reason why it’s so quick is because he knew exactly what scene he was going to find.”

Mr Waters said that Mr Murdaugh called Paul’s friend Rogan Gibson before he called any of his family members.

Paul was looking after Mr Gibson’s dog at the kennels and they had spoken on the phone, with Mr Gibson saying he heard Mr Murdaugh in the background.

The video Paul took – of the dog – he was supposed to send to Mr Gibson and when he didn’t receive it, he had text his friend.

Mr Murdaugh may have seen those texts come up on Paul’s phone and might have been worried about what Mr Gibson knew, Mr Waters said.

The prosecutor laid out what he said was malice – as he pointed to several aspects of the night which suggested Mr Murdaugh planned the attack.

There was the use of two guns which he said was Mr Murdaugh “manufacturing” the scene.

There was also testimony that Maggie did not want to go to Moselle that night but that Mr Murdaugh had asked both her and Paul to come home.

Mr Murdaugh also left his phone at the house when he went to the kennels something witnesses testified was “unusual” for him to do.

“This is Alex the prosecutor and the lawyer,” said Mr Waters. “He’s thought through this.”

In the aftermath of the murders, Mr Waters also showed “consciousness of guilt” – lying about his alibi and trying to get his story straight with witnesses.

Jurors were reminded about the testimony from housekeeper Blanca Simpson who said she saw Mr Murdaugh in a different outfit earlier that day – an outfit she never saw again.

Ms Simpson said he tried to get his story straight with her about the clothes.

The prosecutor once again played footage from three police interviews with Mr Murdaugh – on 8 June, 10 June, 11 August 2021 – all of which he lied about the last time he saw Maggie and Paul.

“Look how easily he did. About such a crucial thing,” said Mr Waters.

Opportunity: The kennel video - part two

10:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Waters said that the accused killer was “forced” to create a “new story” because “all of those witnesses on the stand said he was there”.

But even with his new story – that he took a golf cart to the kennels briefly and returned to the house almost as soon as Paul’s 50-second video was taken – Mr Waters said “it doesn’t make sense.”

“Even if he could take care of the chicken in the fastest time”, he said it would “put you right at 8.49pm” when the victims were killed.

Returning to the house and having “perhaps the quickest nap ever” he then was up on his phone at 9.02pm.

“Not a single person close to him knew who he really was... And I submit to you that this was the most blatant lie yet,” he said.

Mr Waters told jurors that Mr Murdaugh first shot Paul with the shotgun.

He suggested that the father shot his son and thought he had killed him, bent down to pick up the rifle and was “startled” by his son still moving.

He then shot upwards at Paul, striking the fatal shot and causing the upward angle, he said.

Maggie then ran over toward her son and was shot.

“[Maggie] was running toward her baby while he picked up the Blackout and opened fire again at close range,” said Mr Waters.

“She heard that shot and was mowed down by the only person that we have conclusive proof was at that the scene minutes before,” he said.

Opportunity: The kennel video - part one

09:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Moving onto Mr Murdaugh’s opportunity to carry out the murders, the prosecutor turned to the timeline of the accused killer’s movements on 7 June 2021 – based on cellphone data and car data.

The cellphone data shows Mr Murdaugh and his son moving around the Moselle estate together on the evening.

At 7.39pm, Paul captured a Snapchat video of his father playing with a tree on the Moselle grounds.

After they returned to the family home and had dinner, Paul’s cellphone shows him arriving back at the kennels at 8.38pm.

Key to the state’s case is a damning cellphone video taken by Paul at the kennels minutes later – just moments before he was murdered.

The video, taken at 8.44pm, captures three voices off-camera – Paul, Maggie and Mr Murdaugh.

Multiple witnesses told the court that the voice was “100 per cent” that of Mr Murdaugh’s.

Less than five minutes later – at around 8.50pm – prosecutors say that Maggie and Paul were dead. Both victims last used their cell phones at 8.49pm, the data shows.

Mr Waters said that getting access to Paul’s phone had “changed everything” in the case.

“Getting access to the phone changed everything,” he said.

“It showed opportunity... but more importantly it exposed the defendant’s lies. Why in the world would an innocent reasonable father and husband lie about that?”

“He didn’t know that was there,” he said of the video.

For the 20 months between the murders and the trial, Mr Murdaugh denied ever being at the dog kennels with his wife and son that night. He claimed he stayed at the family home, fell asleep on the couch and then drove to his mother’s home when he woke.

When he returned, he claimed he drove to the kennels to find Maggie and Paul and discovered their bodies.

Jurors heard multiple witnesses identify Mr Murdaugh’s voice in the footage.

Then, last week, Mr Murdaugh confessed for the first time that he was there at the kennels – and that he had lied for 20 months to investigators, his family and friends about his alibi.

Means: ‘Family guns’

08:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Turning to the means, Mr Murdaugh had to commit the crime, Mr Waters told jurors that “family guns” were used to kill Maggie and Paul.

He reminded jurors how the family had three Blackout semiautomatic rifles – and “the defendant can only account for one of them”.

The court has previously heard how Mr Murdaugh bought his sons Paul and Buster a Blackout one Christmas.

When Paul lost his, it was replaced by a third – with Paul’s friend testifying that he recalled shooting that replacement gun with him just a few months before the murders.

Ammunition found on the grounds of Moselle which were fired from that gun on matched the ammo that killed Maggie.

“A family weapon the defendant cannot account for killed Maggie,” said Mr Waters.

The Blackout and a 12-gauge shotgun were Paul’s two favourite guns and were guns that he carried. The shotgun has never been found on the property.

Motive: ‘A gathering storm’ - part three

07:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Another aspect of this “gathering storm” was Mr Murdaugh’s opioid addiction, which Mr Waters said the defendant had admitted makes him “paranoid, agitated, and gives him energy”.

“The withdrawals would make him do anything to get rid of them,” he reminded jurors Mr Murdaugh had said.

However, Mr Waters urged jurors to question the extent Mr Murdaugh claims he was consuming drugs – sowing doubts that the accused killer repeatedly lied on the stand.

He questioned whether 1,000mg a day “sounds survivable” let alone whether someone consuming that much could have been a successful lawyer, carried out a complex fraud scheme and lived his life without those around him noticing.

“How many times on the fly did he look you in the eye and didn’t tell the truth?” he asked jurors.

Mr Waters also urged jurors to consider how – as an attorney from a long line of attorneys – Mr Murdaugh understands how the justice system works.

“This is an individual who is trained to understand how to put a case together. Think about whether or not this individual is constructing defences and constructing alibis,” he said.

Motive: ‘A gathering storm’ - part two

06:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Waters said the scheme continued for years but reached a head after the 2019 fatal boat crash.

“This slow burn was continuing and continuing and continuing until the boat crash happened in February 2019,” said Mr Waters.

“That changed everything. That set in motion everything.”

In February 2019, Paul was allegedly drunk driving the family boat when it crashed, killing 19-year-old Mallory Beach.

Paul was facing criminal charges over the incident, while Mr Murdaugh was being sued by the Beach family.

The Beach family attorney Mark Tinsley had testified how in the run-up to the murders he had filed a motion to compel to gain access to Mr Murdaugh’s finances.

The next hearing in the case had been set for 10 June 2021 – three days after the murders.

After the boat crash, Mr Waters said that “the pace of his stealing increased” and he stole every dime of a $4m settlement for the family of his housekeeper Gloria Satterfield (who died in a mystery trip and fall at Moselle in 2018).

But also by the day of the murders, the prosecutor said that Mr Murdaugh’s financial crimes were on the brink of being exposed.

On 7 June 2021, jurors have heard how he was confronted by his law firm CFO Jeanne Seckinger about a payment that he had stolen from the firm and its clients. He was also three days away – 10 June 2021 – from the boat crash lawsuit hearing.

Mr Murdaugh’s father Randolph was also “very, very sick”, said Mr Waters.

The prosecutor said that the Murdaugh’s family legacy – and his place within it – was also under threat by the boat crash case and his financial crimes being exposed.

He was willing to “do anything to keep that hamster wheel going to avoid accountability” saying he had done so for 10 years.

Mr Waters added: “If he can just stay one step ahead one day longer… then he will never have to face that accountability that he never has to face.

“All of these factors are converging on one week and one day. And that day arrives, his father is in the hospital... There is a confrontation with Jeanne… He’s working on the boat case and then the tragedy happens. It’s not the only reason but it’s part of the reason.

“The pressures on this man were unbearable and they were all reaching a crescendo the day his wife and son were murdered by him. All on that day.”

Mr Waters told the jury how the murders of his Maggie and Paul made “all those things go away” with the lawsuit hearing postponed and his law firm putting any probe into missing payments to one side in order to rally around him.

When the financial fraud scheme was finally exposed on 3 September 2021, Mr Murdaugh then orchestrated the botched hitman plot to make himself “a victim” once again, said Mr Waters.

“When accountability was at his door he was a victim. And he told a detailed lie and went as far as to draw a composite sketch with law enforcement,” he said.

“And it worked for a bit... But this time it fell apart even quicker as his own brother figured out he was trying to buy drugs and it fell apart.”

Motive: ‘A gathering storm’ - part one

05:15 , Oliver O'Connell

First, Mr Waters walked jurors through the timeline of the events leading up to the murders, charting a line from Mr Murdaugh’s prominence in the community and his escalating multi-million-dollar fraud scheme to the killings of Maggie and Paul.

“He was a person of singular prominence and respect in his community,” he said.

“But he has also been a person who’s been able to avoid accountability in his life.”

Mr Waters described the “outside illusion” of Mr Murdaugh as a successful attorney but who, in reality, made some “bad deals” during the recession and ended up in financial trouble.

Mr Waters told jurors how Mr Murdaugh became “so addicted to money that he started to steal” from his law firm, he said.

This marked the start of the accused killer’s multi-million-dollar fraud scheme – a scheme which he has confessed to in the courtroom.

Throughout the trial, jurors have heard testimony from his law firm and law firm clients as to how he represented clients in lawsuits and then pocketed the settlement money for himself. The vast scheme even involved launching a fake account posing as the legitimate company Forge to siphon off money to. In total, he stole millions of dollars from his law firm PMPED and its clients and is now charged separately with more than 100 counts in that case.

Means, motive, opportunity

04:15 , Oliver O'Connell

During the state’s dramatic closing statement, prosecutor Creighton Waters said that Alex Murdaugh had “the means, motive and opportunity” to kill his wife and son.

Mr Waters “set the stage” of what he said led up to the moment Mr Murdaugh allegedly took two “family guns” and shot his wife and son dead.

He detailed how the disgraced attorney had long been a prominent figure in the community but was in fact “living a lie”.

A “gathering storm” was building at the time of the murders, said Mr Waters, with Mr Murdaugh’s financial crimes on the brink of being exposed due to both the boat crash lawsuit and his law firm closing in on missing payments.

Mr Waters also went through to the timeline on the day of the murders and how Mr Murdaugh’s actions in the aftermath of the killings – and even on the witness stand – further pointed to his guilt.

“The timeline puts him there. The forensic timeline puts him there. The use of his family weapons supports that,” he said.

Alex Murdaugh prosecutor says storm of crimes made him a killer in closing argument

Is Alex Murdaugh guilty of murder?

03:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Here’s what the defence and prosecution argued over six weeks of trial:

Alex Murdaugh: What the defence and prosecution argued over six weeks of trial

Three bodies, 1,700 acres and a whole lot of hogs: Inside Moselle

02:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Bordering the banks of the Salkehatchie River, 4147 Moselle Road consists of over 1,700 acres of land including a 5,275-square-foot house, a farm, a two-mile stretch of river – and of course the dog kennels.

Explore Moselle and its history:

Three bodies, 1,700 acres and a whole lot of hogs: Alex Murdaugh’s $4m Moselle estate

A minute-by-minute timeline of the night Maggie and Paul were murdered

01:15 , Oliver O'Connell

What happened on 7 June 2021 at Moselle?

Minute-by-minute timeline maps out the night Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were murdered

Murdaugh jury visits Moselle estate where wife and son were murdered

00:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury in Alex Murdaugh’s high-profile murder trial has visited the scene where his wife Maggie and son Paul were brutally murdered, before they decide the disgraced legal scion’s fate.

The panel – of 12 jurors and two remaining alternates – were taken to the family’s sprawling 1,700-acre Moselle estate on Wednesday morning to see for themselves the dog kennels and feed room where Mr Murdaugh allegedly gunned down his loved ones on 7 June 2021.

Rachel Sharp has the details of the case.

Alex Murdaugh jury visits Moselle estate where wife and son were murdered

Murdaugh’s ‘gathering storm’ of crimes turned him into a ‘family annihilator’ says prosecution

Wednesday 1 March 2023 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh’s “gathering storm” of financial crimes, opioid addiction and years of “living a lie” culminated with the moment that he murdered his wife Maggie and son Paul, according to the prosecution’s dramatic closing statement.

In Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Wednesday, prosecutor Creighton Waters described how the once-powerful attorney had spent years “on the hamster wheel” avoiding accountabilty as he stole millions of dollars from his law firm and its clients.

While keeping up the pretence of a respected attorney and carrying on his prominent family’s legacy, he had actually been “living a lie” for the last decade and the “pressure became overwhelming”.

Rachel Sharp reports on a thorough and dramatic closing argument from the state.

Alex Murdaugh prosecutor says storm of crimes made him a killer in closing argument

Wednesday 1 March 2023 22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Once the defence has presented their closing argument on Thursday, the prosecution will be given the right to respond.

The jury will then be given its instructions and any alternates will be excused.

Deliberations will then begin in what has been an extraordinarily complex case.

During his closing argument, Waters referred to Murdaugh as a “master liar”.

Wednesday 1 March 2023 21:52 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Newman excuses the jury for the day.

They will be back at 9.30am tomorrow to hear the closing argument from Murdaugh’s defence team presented by attorney Jim Griffin.

Wednesday 1 March 2023 21:51 , Oliver O'Connell

In closing, he says to the jury that Murdaugh fooled everyone in his life including Maggie and Paul and they paid for it with their lives.

“Don’t let him fool you too.”

He asks the jury to find Murdaugh guilty.

Wednesday 1 March 2023 21:49 , Oliver O'Connell

Addressing the jury, Waters says that Murdaugh lied to them, just like he lied to everyone in his life.

“And he was good at it.”

He adds that Murdaugh had the “motive, the means, the opportunity, and ample evidence of guilty conduct and a guilty conscience. All four factors are present.”

Waters reiterates that Maggie and Paul need a voice because they can no longer speak.

“This has been a tough job. But the system depends on people who take that oath as jurors, and they’re willing to honor that oath and make the tough decision to vindicate these victims, to vindicate Maggie and Paul, who were cut down in the prime of their lives.”

He shows a sealed exhibit to the jury.

“This is what he did. This is what he did right here.”

Wednesday 1 March 2023 21:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Waters brings it back to the new lie and the old lie as captured on Deputy Daniel Greene’s body camera.

Moment Alex Murdaugh is accused of lying on the stand

Wednesday 1 March 2023 21:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Waters accuses Murdaugh of doing everything he could to frustrate forensics by deleting phone logs, moving Maggie’s phone, changing clothes etc.

Murdaugh “controlled these crime scenes issues”, says Waters.

He says he agrees with Murdaugh that whoever did this had “anger in their heart” and had “planned this for a long time”.

Waters also agreed with Murdaugh when he said “he hurt the ones he loved”.

Wednesday 1 March 2023 21:41 , Oliver O'Connell

Waters says there are no eye witnesses as they are dead.

No one can speak for Maggie and Paul.

But common sense and human nature can speak on behalf of them.

“They deserve a voice.”

Wednesday 1 March 2023 21:39 , Oliver O'Connell

Waters comes full circle to the motives for Murdaugh’s descent into becoming a family annihilator.

“No one knew who he was. No one knew who this man was. He avoided accountability his whole life. He relied on his family name. He carried a badge and authority. He lived a wealthy life.”

He knew he was about to be exposed for all of his lies and schemes.

“His ego couldn’t stand that, and he became a family annihilator.”

Wednesday 1 March 2023 21:37 , Oliver O'Connell

Waters moves on to incredulously describe the circumstances the jury would have to accept to believe Murdaugh’s version of events.

This involved 5’2” boat crash vigilantes arriving between 8.49pm and 9.02pm to ambush Maggie and Paul with family weapons they found on the property while locking up the dogs and rolling up the hose at the dog kennels.

“That’s if you believe every bit of AM’s new story, which was sprinkled in with lies as well.”

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