SC - Paul Murdaugh & mom Margaret Found Shot To Death - Alex Murdaugh Accused - Islandton #32

[Carolina Girl]

What if Paul knew something extra about the death of Stephen Smith, and Maggie knew something extra about the death of Gloria Satterfield. They would be liabilities when Alex's financial fraud was investigated, and their deaths eliminated the witness while eliciting a poor me distraction.

Drone video shows Murdaugh's brother, son removing guns after murders

In a new Netflix show drone footage taken by an amateur sleuth showed John Marvin and Alex's surviving son Buster removing eight weapons from the 1,800-acre estate in Moselle, South Carolina.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Carolina Girl]

Yes it was a few shared somethings.. (not sure if stands or alleles or whatever it is) and I feel like they probably had a match to him because he was one that was being compared to. If they compared anyone else with shared parts, they also would come up as a match for those shared bits, but that doesn't mean it's a DNA match. I wish I understood it all better, but it was my understanding it was so many many times likely not to be him even though they had the shared strands.

That was my understanding also. She had had a pedi that day, probably a mani too.

 

[Seattle1]

I think he sounded scared of the Laffittes and was in damage control mode when talking about them...maybe too many things known that can still come to light? Just my take on it, by AM's demeanor.

Russell Laffitte also testified at his trial in US District Court (federal) and his defense was that AM bamboozled him like he did his entire law firm, bah, blah.

I think RL, age 51, and AM had in common that they both worked for family heritage businesses as RL was CEO of his long-time family-owned bank and AM worked for the old family law firm.

Both men took advantage of family trust and the limited eyes watching them. Convicted of 6 charges and facing up to 30 years, he knows a jury found him guilty once before and if given a do-over, he might feel differently about the Murdaughs.

He recently hired a new legal team -- no decision yet on whether he will be granted a new trial. MOO

 

[justtrish]

I just watched Ms. Shelly's testimony again. I encourage anyone that is on the fence or wondering if they have enough to go listen to her. She has 100% no reason to lie and probably many reasons to lie actually. She saw what she saw and felt what she felt. This is a smart woman. She's worked in schools for all these years and several years as a caregiver. She is used to interacting with people. She LOVED this family and even said so on the stand.. they were such a good family I don't think we can fully understand the bond between a caregiver and someone that is sick like that. She loves Ms Libby and it sure sounds like she thought highly of the entire family. She didn't want Alex to be the one that did this.. you could see her pain and the fear she had to speak the truth. Alex absolutely intimidated her or attempted to by saying he was there for 30-40 minutes.. then the following day asking about her wedding and saying he'd help and also mentioning his friend that worked at the school she worked at (I believe she said he's the principle). She was letting her know she needed to say 30-40 minutes, and then he was letting her know I'll help with your wedding and oh by the way, I know your boss.. that can be taken many ways, but clearly however he said it really scared her. She called her brother.

He is disgusting and he doesn't care who he hurts or who he needs to manipulate or control and I think he just thought all these people would roll over. THIS is how manipulators work. Say something that makes the hair on your neck stand up, then sugar it up with a bribe and then follow that with an implied threat to ensure you get the hint.

 

[mickey2942]

I'd say they'll get it Tues or Wed.

Hopefully there will be enough jurors left.

 

[otto]

So we know according to Maggie’s sister, Paul lured her back to Moselle that day. What have we heard of him making sure Paul would be there as well? Paul shared a place with Will Loving although Will did testify that Paul was often in various locations.

Not sure.

Paul and his uncle switched vehicles because Paul's grandfather was going to hospital. The uncle drove Paul's truck to Almeda, Paul drove his uncle's truck to Moselle. Paul's truck broke down on the side of the road around Almeda/Moselle. Where was the uncle's truck parked in the morning? That's the truck that Paul had, and the truck that should have been at the kennels - since Paul always drives to the kennels. Was the uncle's truck at the cabin? That might explain 283 steps. Did I read upthread that Paul didn't have a truck at the kennels?

How was Paul lured to Moselle? Perhaps the plan was for Paul to have dinner with mom and sleep at the Moselle cabin, switch trucks in the morning when he went to work for his uncle? or Paul went to Moselle because his mother would be there? or Alex told Paul to show up to discuss his fat feet?

Maggie was asked to go there that day, there was no pre-plan. Maggie was unsure, and discussed it with her sister before deciding to go. Her sister encouraged her to go, which means that Maggie was reluctant to go. That means that Paul had to be arranged first, then Alex had to guilt Maggie into showing up using Paul as incentive.

... trying to make it make sense

 

[Luna20]

^^rsbm

Under cross-examination of two State witnesses, seemed to me CCSO and SLED pointed fingers at each other on who made and/or authorized the statement there was no danger to the public, and the prosecutor seemed not to want to touch it.

While CCSO witnesses both opined it had to be by SLED, DH wanted it on the record that the first network announcement cited a CCSO spokesperson as the source.

Clear as mud why this announcement was made other than the belief the victims appeared to be targeted. IMO, given the politics here, I think the statement was first authorized by SLED.

From the LIVE TRIAL BLOG:

Pointing fingers to get out from under the Murdaugh wrath.

It seems they took what AM said about Paul being harassed for the accident as logical and ran with it.

Unless you have the murderer in shackles there is still a threat to the public.

 

[Seattle1]

I thought Roger Dale Davis was the kennel caretaker who came twice a day, was OCD about wrapping up the hose, took the stand, etc.

if CB Rowe mistakenly sprayed the sunflowers I wonder how he messed that up!

Yes, you are correct. I heard AM say nobody else to clean as to why he could not fire CBR yet and I assumed it was cleaning the kennels.

Earlier, I recall something about CBR contaminating the seeds with chemicals for the sprayer versus spraying the field but the result was the same-- dead plants that needed to be plowed over and replanted so they'd be ready for autumn and the doves. JMO

 

[Gardenista]

I just watched Ms. Shelly's testimony again. I encourage anyone that is on the fence or wondering if they have enough to go listen to her. She has 100% no reason to lie and probably many reasons to lie actually. She saw what she saw and felt what she felt. This is a smart woman. She's worked in schools for all these years and several years as a caregiver. She is used to interacting with people. She LOVED this family and even said so on the stand.. they were such a good family I don't think we can fully understand the bond between a caregiver and someone that is sick like that. She loves Ms Libby and it sure sounds like she thought highly of the entire family. She didn't want Alex to be the one that did this.. you could see her pain and the fear she had to speak the truth. Alex absolutely intimidated her or attempted to by saying he was there for 30-40 minutes.. then the following day asking about her wedding and saying he'd help and also mentioning his friend that worked at the school she worked at (I believe she said he's the principle). She was letting her know she needed to say 30-40 minutes, and then he was letting her know I'll help with your wedding and oh by the way, I know your boss.. that can be taken many ways, but clearly however he said it really scared her. She called her brother.

He is disgusting and he doesn't care who he hurts or who he needs to manipulate or control and I think he just thought all these people would roll over. THIS is how manipulators work. Say something that makes the hair on your neck stand up, then sugar it up with a bribe and then follow that with an implied threat to ensure you get the hint.

I second this. I listened to it earlier today as well and it re-cemented my guilty verdict

 

[HawthorneJuniper]

He's the >>>ONLY CONFIRMED PERSON<<< present in the time frame of the killings, phantom *hit men* notwithstanding. This person then LIED about being there. That's the entire case in a nutshell. I rest my case.

Every single phone ping was also identified and cleared. So tiny assassins with no devices or weapons stumbles upon some dog kennels etc etc. This is honestly one of the worst stories ever.

 

[justtrish]

@Seattle1 or anyone that might know. Was it ever said WHEN CBR requested off for that day? Was this known in advance or the day of? I am curious with Alex staying at Moselle till noon or so, maybe this is when he decided today was the day. The guy who is normally there wouldn't be so he could prepare anything he needed to that morning after Maggie left. Makes me wonder how far in advance Alex knew CBR wouldn't be around the property that day.

 

[aafromaa]

AM's life was already at its worst, addicted and money trouble. Both of these issues could have put him in Federal prison for decades. What does he, the narcissist, gain from killing them? How does he benefit? He didn't hate his wife or his boys.

Anyone doing all the shady deals he was doing, means he is surrounded with shady people and angry shady people and angry people. No one can convince me that AM and Uncle Eddie were good friends. Where were those drugs coming from?

What did he gain from killing them? I’ve wondered that too. If he had insurance on either of them then I could get a financial motive to get him out of the hot water he knew was coming. But apparently he didn’t - by the way am I the only one that thinks that not having insurance at least on Maggie is odd? But i digress….back to possible motive…

I also found it odd that he killed Maggie and Paul but did not seem to attempt to get Buster out there that day. So is it possible that Maggie had enough of the drugs and began to suspect issues with the finances and Paul (the little detective) was supporting her decision to put her foot down? Or that when he said “when Maggie asked me to leave” before correcting himself to say when she asked me to go to the kennel that she really had asked him to leave and that he knew he would lose everything? Or perhaps they threatened to bring his family and his law partners in on what they knew? Buster didn’t seem to be as involved in the “caught you with drugs again” thing as Maggie & Paul - is that why he wasn’t included?

<modsnip>

 

[otto]

Drone video shows Murdaugh's brother, son removing guns after murders

In a new Netflix show drone footage taken by an amateur sleuth showed John Marvin and Alex's surviving son Buster removing eight weapons from the 1,800-acre estate in Moselle, South Carolina.

www.dailymail.co.uk

After the crime scene was released, no one was living in the house. The responsible decision is to remove all weapons from the house; put them in a safer place? This might be nothing more than the family removing accessible weapons from the house, since the property was going to be unoccupied ... and possibly seized.

I'm guessing the crime scene was released before weapons were removed from the house, and before the sensational drone footage chasing the truck down the driveway.

 

[sunshineray]

He's the >>>ONLY CONFIRMED PERSON<<< present in the time frame of the killings, phantom *hit men* notwithstanding. This person then LIED about being there. That's the entire case in a nutshell. I rest my case.

Then when you stuff that nutshell just a little bit more with the Shelley/Almeda time frame lies and the Blanca what he was wearing lies..."telling" two witnesses, who worked for him, what they really heard and saw...well goodness, my oh my

 

[Boodles]

He is the person whose DNA was found under Maggie's fingernails.

You state that as fact, which is not accurate.

“Fingernail clippings from Maggie Murdaugh’s left hand contained DNA from an unidentified, unrelated male. Zapata said family members of Mallory Beach, the Cooke brothers, Alex Murdaugh, John Marvin Murdaugh and Buster Murdaugh were excluded as possible sources for the DNA. SLED compared the sample to C.B. Rowe, who worked at the property. They said he could not be visually excluded but it is “11 times more likely” the sample was from someone else.”

Murdaugh trial, Day 16: A jury shakeup and new evidence

Most of the testimony was focused on detailed forensic evidence in the investigation into the deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.

www.foxcarolina.com

 

[makayla]

Forgive me, for I struggle to be brief.

The central theme of AM's life is greed. He appears to be fine with draining people who have so little in the way of resources socially, physically, or financially if it benefits him in any small way.

Relationships are the currency of the poor. If your truck breaks down, you don't call a tow truck, you call a friend or neighbor to help you. If there is a tragedy, people rally around you and bring you food, or donate $ to help you out. Affluent people pay for all of the services that are typically provided by the friends and family of the poor. People living in poverty protect their relationships fiercely, and will give up many of their limited worldly items and $ to help a friend out.

AM can take advantage of the people around him because they are playing with two different sets of values and rules, and he seems to straddle the worlds of the advantaged and the disadvantaged. The poor people around him are operating under the assumption that you help a fella out whenever you can. He is operating under the principle that you always take the biggest slice of the cake that you can secure. It is a recipe for imbalance and predation.

AM loves to sidle up to someone with the 'ol "Hey Bo, can you do me a favor?" You can hear him working on Buster in this way in the jail calls. AM uses the kindness of others to get them to do what he wants, and he is not encumbered by the principles of fairness. He makes unreasonable requests, but he does it the folksy tone of the poor, and people feel obligated to help him out. He has really mastered how to get people to feel sorry for him in circumstances where he has no business requesting anything, and as I have said before, this is how he operates as a predator. His lies are almost always about garnering sympathy, and he knows how to tap the sympathy vein for $ and pity.

Anyone entering into a relationship with AM needs to ask themself, where am I being punctured, and what is he draining from me?

Relationships are his weapon. Does that make sense?

This totally makes sense! I think you’ve explained it very clearly. One of the thoughts I had today while reading about this case was that the Murdaugh family may never have become so prominent in a different town or state. Their positions in prosecution and other branches worked because the local people appreciated having someone help them with their lawsuits because they didn’t have the money to sue on their own. Along comes a wealthy, powerful, successful family with backgrounds in law saying “we can help you”, “we can get lots of money for you” (whatever the case may be). I believe they knew they could become successful because there were so many people who were less fortunate. The family charmed their way into people’s hearts and their clients truly believed the Murdaughs cared about them. I would guess that the family even way back took advantage of people and attached themselves to enough people in law enforcement and politics to help them become so prominent and successful. In my opinion, that would be easier to accomplish in a small town in South Carolina. It reminds me in a way of a mafia type situation you would see in NY or Chicago. I love the way you laid out your thoughts on relationships vs money!

 

[Love Never Fails]

He is the person whose DNA was found under Maggie's fingernails.

Ah so he’s unimportant in this really. He worked in the yard and his dna is easily explainable.

 

[sunshineray]

After the crime scene was released, no one was living in the house. The responsible decision is to remove all weapons from the house; put them in a safer place? This might be nothing more than the family removing accessible weapons from the house, since the property was going to be unoccupied ... and possibly seized.

I'm guessing the crime scene was released before weapons were removed from the house, and before the sensational drone footage chasing the truck down the driveway.

Blanca and her husband were living at Moselle...until AM spooked her big time trying to telling her what she really saw etc...according to her testimony. Isn't that when they said we're outta Moselle , they left right away?

 

[Fidobell]

I just would like to say that as a lifelong South Carolinian, that I don’t know a soul that pronounces Alex Murdaugh’s name as “Elick Murdock”. I even have a friend with that same last name and it is pronounced exactly like you would think.
Granted I don’t live in the lowcountry but I have friends down that way too, and nobody says Murdock. Just another way that family tried to set themselves apart from the rest of us rabble I guess.

FWIW, I'm from central Scotland so familiar with AM name . I would pronounce his name Alick Murduck . But I understand different dialects pronounce differently, probably how his family chose to pronounce it .

 

[Luna20]

Does anyone have the animation video of AM shooting PM and MM (kennels) that I posted yesterday or day before handy?

They were regular size people and I think the color was blue.

TIA