GUILTY SC - Paul Murdaugh & mom Margaret Found Shot To Death - Alex Murdaugh Accused - Islandton #40

[turaj]

Wow, would you have the video? Did they show at the trial?

yes I recall it was drone footage I believe.

 

[turaj]

I don't think it was about hiding drugs that day and I don't think he snapped. I think there was planning involved -- getting them both to Moselle and then seemingly not being happy that Maggie stopped for a pedicure, thereby delaying her arrival. I think her delay threw his plans off. To get them down to the kennels he probably wanted her to get home with a fair amount of daylight still left. With her getting home late, I think he rushed them through dinner to get them to the kennels. Also, the later it happened the more suspicious his visit to his mother would be. Despite his mistakes, he got too many things right (weapons and clothes disposal) for me to think he did this in the heat of the moment. JMO.

that visit to the mother is so bogus!!! First he was called much earlier about her agitation. Understanding Alzheimer's and advanced dementia the worst time for visiting would be later after dinner and at bedtime. As a caregiver she wanted some help in the afternoon not when she was sleeping. Just an alibi.

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

Loved everything about him!sin

Loved everything about him!

So true. And I posted earlier too in another thread, his speaking demeanor, dialect, accent, and manner reminds me much of the late Shelby Foote. A prominent historian on topics including the Civil War. Loved to hear him speak in Ken Burn’s documentary on the Civil War.

And Dr. Kinsey’s testimony was very good and precise, and I found it quite compelling. An excellent late or closing witness for the prosecution. He was outstanding. As was Creighton Water’s close and Jim Meadors final closing rebuttal. Quite an effort and trial.
MOO.

 

[turaj]

How can we be SURE he had a drug problem? Because he had drugs on him? Were any hospital, rehab reports available and entered into evidence to say he was a drug addict and/or to the magnitude he claimed? He was into drugs..how many he took is wildly overstated by him..60 a day, then he said, i dont know? He had drugs around..for what real purpose, in the quantities he alleges he spent money on, were NOT for personal use. He took drugs for over a decade and NO ONE KNEW? No way... One other thing...Almost universally, pill addicts, when confronted with the huge cost of maintaining or the difficulty of OBTAINING, turn to heroin.

yes agree 100%...said similar some posts up. No one questioned anything about this or confirmed anything. Just because he bought drugs does not mean he ingested all of those and not one law partner, friend catching on? Yes good point he never moved on to some other drug of choice.

 

[turaj]

IMO the pedi message with exclamation points was because he was angry that she had taken the time to do that and she would get to Moselle later. Cut into the daylight hours left to get them to kennels for his attack. JMO.

ok that makes more sense than my first thought which was cost. Yes of course screwed up his timeline

 

[Edvis]

How can we be SURE he had a drug problem? Because he had drugs on him? Were any hospital, rehab reports available and entered into evidence to say he was a drug addict and/or to the magnitude he claimed? He was into drugs..how many he took is wildly overstated by him..60 a day, then he said, i dont know? He had drugs around..for what real purpose, in the quantities he alleges he spent money on, were NOT for personal use. He took drugs for over a decade and NO ONE KNEW? No way... One other thing...Almost universally, pill addicts, when confronted with the huge cost of maintaining or the difficulty of OBTAINING, turn to heroin.

Agreed and the drug addiction problem AM had was overplayed as if he was walking around with a large tic tac container, popping it open every 5 minutes and munching on em like he showed with the mints during the trail. The defense wanted it to play a big part in his decision making but boy did AM perform great when he hoodwinked everyone out of their deserved money.

 

[passionflower]

I was thinking last night why Maggie? Why did he want to kill her? Only thing I could think was once she found out what all AM had done, she would leave him. This would also cost AM money and another lawyer looking into the assets. Seems he did put a lot of thought into who he wanted out of the way.

According to a psychologist PM and MM WERE disposable for the family to get the FAMILY back on track. Never honored them or give them head stones. Very sad!

 

[Simply Southern]

I believe there was much press coverage of the events long before jury selection...they simply could not get a jury that had not heard about the family and the case...DH of defense said that and was concerned that each side could not individually voir dire each juror. They were probably asked if they can set aside any opinions and judge strictly based on evidence presented during trial. I remember thinking jury selection went super fast. We know very little about each juror and their background. But I do think no matter what jury saw press in advance of the case and probably saw the worldwide media attention outside the courthouse. Both were hard to escape.

Absolutely. Even the Netflix release during tne trial.

The town was crawling with media, bloggers, podcasters, etc, long before the trial.
Moo

 

[Diddian]

exactly. also if using the term 'babe' when texting his wife, was normal. after all, the babe text to MM was AFTER the murders at 9:47pm.

In the video of the birthday party, where PM comes out with a cake for Alex, Alex looks at and says, “Thanks Babe“ to MM.

 

[Kembo]

Why were the murder weapons not found? I'm sure this was discussed, but I'm just coming around to this.
Presumably, AM took them away from the kennels and secreted them sometime during the travels to and from Mom's house. But, how could have he been so effective in hiding them? Did a conspirator take them away from the scene? I presume LE extended every effort. Somebody please help me! I'm sure excellent WS thought has been applied.

I don't live in the Low Country, but many contributors here who do have suggested how easy it is to rid evidence in one of the many thousands of swamps, one of which will one day, hopefully, spit out the guns.

 

[Napoli]

According to a psychologist PM and MM WERE disposable for the family to get the FAMILY back on track. Never honored them or give them head stones. Very sad!

He had funerals. Takes time to have headstones made. You have to go and have the style, lettering etc approved by the family, approved by the owner of the plot, then it's made and then it has to be placed in the cemetery according to the weather (for example in New England nothing is put down until spring). By then, AM was in jail. What "psychologist said this? He sounds like a jerk..jmo

 

[Edvis]

IDK for sure what video the OP is mentioning but I believe it's the drone video and it's on here somewhere..maybe in the media thread. In that drone video JMM and BM are seen removing 8 guns from Moselle however, that video was taken in September right after AM was arrested..not 2 days after the murders. IRRC, Blanca and her husband were going to no longer be staying at Moselle and to leave those weapons there in an unoccupied house would be an extremely irresponsible thing to do. jmo

Got a peek at that vid and watched as they loaded up weapons and then jumped in the rig and on down the road. Could be nothing but would look fishy to one if done during the times of the murders.

 

[Cindizzi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1632428239212666880

 

[sunshineray]

Actually, he said that yes, he had done this many times, he just couldn't recall details.

He remembers which trees that Bubba peed on, the morning of the murders. He remembers lots of things. Just not the details of his stealing from clients and partners.

The one detail I remember him mentioning involved a phone call. And frankly, while I believe he looked at the jury, I do not believe he locked eyes with individual jurors and tried to show that he was telling the truth. He remained shifty even on the stand. In the courtroom (and he should know this), you lock eyes with the person asking the questions in a particular way to show that you are truthful. Innocent people desperately want the world to truly understand they are not lying. Innocent people remain in a kind of state of shock that others are not believing them. That's why they try to make sure the other person is truly listening and feeling their own emotional states.

There's still a lot to learn about how people transmit emotional states to others (we know that they do; we just don't know all the how's of it). I believe that Alec's method of lying involves convincing himself he's not lying (somewhat like a kid might do - but it's also one definition of what I'd call crazy or crazy-making behavior). He's used to being believed - but I think a lot of people's hinky detectors would be activated by him (he was preying upon the old, the infirm, the bereaved, the injured).

And from now on, any reasonable person who knows his situation will just assume he's a lying liar.

BTW, to me it looks like he *might* be indicted in the drug ring charges and of course, the 20 financial indictments and some 110+ charges (and counting) still have to be tried. Judge Newman will likely have to try 20 cases with over 100 charges. Of course, Alec is likely set to plead out on most of them because, well, he's in prison for life and doesn't have a lot of money left. But he still might be indicted and basically forced to plead - and perhaps bear witness.

IMO.

You nailed it with the, " He's used to being believed". I would extend that with...He's used to not being questioned. His whole attitude on the stand, like you mentioned, was not to convince but to be contrary. It didn't hold water because his manner screamed deception and superiority. AJMO

 

[Edvis]

You nailed it with the, " He's used to being believed". I would extend that with...He's used to not being questioned. His whole attitude on the stand, like you mentioned, was not to convince but to be contrary. It didn't hold water because his manner screamed deception and superiority. AJMO

As if his hypnotic sway would still have the power to touch the hearts and minds of the jurors.

 

[Boodles]

Yes, he’s not going to plea to anything. Road trip!

Definitely! If AM thought the food at the detention center was awful, wait until he experiences the cuisine at the state prison. From all accounts, SC state prisons are rough. And right now he’s in the (ironically named, IMO) “Reception and Evaluation Center.”

I read he can’t have visitors for the first 30 days. I hope his phone calls are extremely limited as well. Seems he spent a lot of time on the phone at the detention center. Can you imagine Mr. Schmooze having no one to talk to to finagle his schemes? He’ll go nuts. Or maybe he’ll bond with the correction officers.

 

[Simply Southern]

The problem I have with AM killing MM for money, just didn't add up to me. AM had more than enough assets to cover everything he owed to the firm. Families in the south generally help each h
other out financially. We had an in law embezzle from the bank she worked. It was a big secret. The family paid the bank back in full, and the in law repaid the family. The family was shocked our nephew married such a woman.

I do think MM was trying to hide his assets in the wrongful death boating accident. This is why his assets were frozen.

I keep in mind, all of the accident victims were compensated by the boat insurance. The families were suing MM, BM, MM, PM and the bar for compensation, as well.

Alex Murdaugh has millions in 'protected' assets, but who will be compensated?

Alex Murdaugh's assets include retirement funds and an 'island' property in Beaufort County.

www.greenvilleonline.com

...Murdaugh's current assets:

• Three bank accounts, containing a total of $10,000 in cash.
• A retirement account worth somewhere between $2.1 and $2.2 million
• An IRA retirement fund worth somewhere between $350,000 and $400,000
• Real estate that Murdaugh has an interest in, along with other individuals, but can’t liquidate without court action, including a hunting club and some “small islands” around Beaufort County. Some of this real estate is owned through LLCs, Lay said.

Property records indicate that Murdaugh is listed as a co-owner of three wooded tracts totaling 30 acres amid the waterways of St. Helena Island. These tracts have a total estimated appraised value of $687,000, Beaufort County public records show.

Murdaugh's future assets:​

• An estate trust that is expected to come to Murdaugh following the June 2021 death of his father, Randolph Murdaugh III. The amount of this trust and when it will transfer to Murdaugh isn’t known at this time, Lay said.
• Probate assets that are expected to come to Murdaugh following the June 2021 death of his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, who was shot and killed at their Colleton County home along with their younger son, Paul.

These assets include a beach house on Edisto Island and the “Moselle” property where Murdaugh was living with his wife and younger son at the time of the double homicide. The Moselle property, which contains 11 parcels of land totaling 1,772.2 acres in both Colleton and Hampton counties, has a total appraised value of $934,800, according to Hampton and Colleton property tax records.

 

[geevee]

I think it was about his pills too. I believe he thought Paul or Maggie had them, he was going through withdrawal and desperate. I also believe he found them, maybe Maggie had them in her travel bag, hence the pj's and underwear placed in an odd spot. We will never know but I agree it was most likely about the pills.

Agreed about the pills, I think that's what he meant when he said 'but I figured it out' in the first car interview that night.

 

[Kembo]

I just can’t see/hear anything hostile in that kennel video tho. They all sound normal. Someone upthread used the word “snapped” and I tend to agree.

IMO, although I too see it makes the most sense based on AM's demeanor moments prior, I see holes in the "snapped" theory, since I believe AM left his phone purposely at the house before he drove down to the kennels, that he made sure they were both at Moselle that night, and that he took guns with him to the kennels. The defense implied throughout that AM had planned the whole thing in advance, most likely that afternoon.

 

[geevee]

Iirc from testimony Paul was said to carry phone in front pocket, so not sure what to make of that. Could Paul have had AM’s pills in the back pocket and the phone was out from impact of being shot?

I don't recall hearing during trial that he usually carried it in a front pocket, but it's certainly possible. From the timeline of his cell usage that night, I do tend to think he had the phone in his hand when he was first shot, and not in his pocket.