Murdaugh jurors come from all walks of life. One thing in common? Most know about the murders

An 81-member panel of prospective jurors for the Murdaugh murder trial had been summoned from all walks of life — teachers, truck drivers, homemakers, carpenters, students, the retired and the disabled.

One question from Judge Clifton Newman revealed what they had in common:

“If you have heard about this case, read about this case or know anything about it, please stand,” Newman asked after the initial panel had been cut to about 50.

Every potential juror stood.

They all knew the story: That Alex Murdaugh, a former millionaire prominent lawyer is charged with the murders of his wife, Maggie, 52, and youngest son Paul, 22, on the night of June 7, 2021, at the family estate in rural Colleton County.

That Monday morning exchange between Newman and the jury panel was the first dramatic moment in a trial expected to have more than its share of dramatic moments as prosecutors try to prove — without the benefit of a confession, eyewitness testimony or a video that captured the killings — that Murdaugh killed his wife and son.

It’s a story that’s been aired widely for months in national broadcasts, social media and state and local publications.

Hundreds of jurors were summoned Monday and Tuesday in successive panels to the 202-year-old Colleton County Courthouse. The goal: To pick a jury of 12 and up to six alternates who can — even though they have heard of the case — be fair and impartial and base a decision of guilt or innocence on testimony from the witness stand and the law as stated by the judge.

Newman wrapped up his questioning of the fourth jury panel shortly before noon Tuesday.

More than 100 — an exact number was not available — qualified jurors have been asked to return to the courthouse at 11 a.m. Wednesday. From this pool, the 12 will be selected to serve on the jury. An additional six will be chosen as alternates.

On Monday, after the 50 or so potential jurors acknowledged they had heard of the case, Newman asked each one to tell him where they had heard about it.

Local news, documentaries, talk from coworkers, Facebook, social media and podcasts were common answers.

“My wife,” one man said Tuesday, when asked where he learned about the Murdaugh deaths.

In one panel, on Monday, seven people indicated they had an opinion about the guilt or innocence of Murdaugh. Three of those seven said — without saying what their opinion was — that their opinion was so fixed they could not change it. The judge excused them.

On Tuesday, 18 of approximately 80 people summoned for the fourth panel said they had a fixed opinion. Of those, 15 were excused when they said their opinion was so fixed they could not give a fair and impartial verdict.

But the majority of the Colleton County residents assembled in court affirmed they would be able to give Murdaugh a fair trial despite having heard about allegations in the case from numerous sources, including “the grapevine” and “gossip.”

Over the two days, Newman excused numerous potential jurors for a variety of reasons.

One man had severe anxiety, another had an important surgery scheduled for next week. Two were allowed to leave because they were older than 65. Others were sole caregivers for small children or elderly family members. Another man had a prepaid hunting trip that was to begin next week.

Others said they had recently served on a jury and didn’t have to be on another jury for several years, given this trial will last at least three weeks or more. And others claimed financial hardship if they were to lose three weeks of work.

Jurors were also asked whether they had ever been arrested for a crime that might might have put them in prison for a year.

That question, from Newman, brought confessions from some.

One man stood and said he had spent four months in a military prison for being absent without leave. A young woman said she had been arrested for shoplifting. An older man with a mane of white ringlets admitted to serving time for selling “speed pills” in 1971.

In addition to inquiring about their jobs, Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill and her assistants asked each juror whether they were married and what their spouse did — eliciting answers that might shed light on what a prospective juror’s leanings in a case might be.

After more than six hours of questioning of close to 200 potential jurors in three panels Monday, the judge found about 60 who were qualified to be selected to be on the Murdaugh jury. It was hard to tell the exact number because final questioning and disqualifications of up to 20 people who had confidential situations took place behind closed doors.

The questioning revealed just how personal the Murdaugh case is for the 38,000 residents of Colleton County.

The Murdaugh family touched the lives of thousands of residents through their family law firm and nearly century-long political control of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office and other local political offices.

“Murdaugh sued my dad,” said one prospective juror. He was dismissed.

One juror was a friend of Paul Murdaugh.

Multiple jurors claimed distant kinship to the Murdaughs.

“Could this affect your ability to judge the case fairly?” Newman asked one juror who explained his mother’s family tree.

“It could,” he nodded earnestly.

Throughout, attorneys turned their chairs to face the back of the courtroom, taking notes and carefully appraising the jury’s answers.

When court resumes Wednesday, lawyers for defense and prosecution will exercise “peremptory strikes,” meaning as jurors’ numbers are called the lawyers for each side get to dismiss them without saying why.

Witness list made public

Colleton County court officials also released a potential witness list with more than 250 people on it. Most won’t be called, but the list includes Murdaugh’s surviving son, Buster, and brothers, John Marvin Murdaugh and Randy Murdaugh, who is an attorney in Murdaugh’s old law firm. Other former colleagues Ronnie Crosby and John Parker also were listed among the potential witnesses.

Newman read the list out loud to potential jurors before asking them if they knew anyone on the list. Each reading took close to 15 minutes.

Also on the witness list is Russell Laffitte, the former CEO of Palmetto State Bank and accomplice in some of Murdaugh’s alleged financial crimes. Laffitte was found guilty in November of multiple counts of financial fraud he committed, witnesses at his trial said, on Murdaugh’s behalf.

Another potential witness is lawyer Chris Wilson, a longtime Murdaugh friend and law school classmate who is alleged to have been duped by Murdaugh of more than $700,000 in legal fees.

The list also includes Tom Bevel, the state’s technical witness whose blood spatter analysis, which places Murdaugh at the scene of the shooting, the defense is trying to have thrown out of the trial. The defense is also trying to exclude testimony from Dr. Kenneth Kinsey, chief deputy at the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office. In a last-minute motion filed Monday, the defense has alleged that an analysis Kinsey performed on Bevel’s work should also not be allowed in front of the jury. Kinsey is also on the witness list.

Whether evidence of a pattern of blood spray allegedly found on the T-shirt Murdaugh wore the night of the murders will be admitted is just one of the outstanding legal questions that need to be resolved before opening arguments.

In other action Monday, Newman asked the lawyers for each side to introduce themselves to prospective jurors.

State Attorney General’s Office attorneys stood, including lead prosecutor Creighton Waters, Don Zelenka, John Meadors, David Fernandez, Johnny James, Savanna Goude and John Conrad.

Murdaugh’s lead defense attorney, Dick Harpootlian, stood, introduced himself as a lawyer from Columbia and introduced what he emphasized was a smaller team: Jim Griffin, Phil Barber and Maggie Fox.

Murdaugh, who wore a navy blazer, gray slacks and a white dress shirt without a tie, sat quietly through the day at the defense table. He grew more relaxed as the day wore on. On Monday morning, he stood impassively when Judge Newman asked him to stand and face the jury. He greeted the third panel that afternoon with a direct and chummy “good afternoon.”

This story may be updated with additional details as the trial progresses.