Anyone following the Murdaugh family murders in South Carolina?

[MissGotRocks]

Anyone following this trial now? Interesting to be sure now that the judge has allowed testimony regarding Mr. Murdaugh’s finances!

 

[RMOO]

I have been tuning in after work to catch what I can in this case. I was impressed by the information they were able to glean from Maggie and Paul's phone. And that video on Paul's phone minutes before the murders with Maggie and Alex's voice on it. The proof that he changed his clothes within the hour of the murder. Showing up at his mother's house the next day with a tarp or raincoat, and asking her caretaker to say he was there for 40 minutes if anyone asked, when he was only there for 15. The state seems to be doing a good job presenting their case, and I would expect that the plethora of financial woes that were about to come to light, will show that he had motive to murder them (or had them murdered and was present) to pause the exposure. I mean, he did the same thing on the side of the road. He said it was to get Buster the insurance money - I personally believe it was to make it look like someone was out to get the whole family, and throw suspicion off of himself.

 

[RMOO]

And just the obvious way he tried to plant the motive to police by volunteering stuff about the boat case and inferring it was someone out to get Paul. Just a repeat of the way he deceived all those clients, duping cops and judges (if they weren't already complicit) along the way. I assume he did it, because it worked. Probably had worked for generations in his family.

 

[MissGotRocks]

The Snapchat video was telling wasn’t it? He probably had no idea that it was Snapchat and not a regular video and that he sent it to a friend! A bit of justice for Paul I would think. I feel sorry for the older son Buster who sits there every day listening to all of it. If Dad is convicted, he has in essence lost his entire immediate family. So sad!

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,
I stopped following this after he was arrested for killing his wife and family.
I need to apologize for being so wrong about this man. I defended him earlier on, when others said they believed he killed his own family. Boy, was I wrong. I thought you all rushed to judgement. But it was my judgement that was in error. I just couldn't believe someone of his standing would do such a thing.

I hope he gets whats coming to him. It is so sad.

Annette

 

[MissGotRocks]

Hi,
I stopped following this after he was arrested for killing his wife and family.
I need to apologize for being so wrong about this man. I defended him earlier on, when others said they believed he killed his own family. Boy, was I wrong. I thought you all rushed to judgement. But it was my judgement that was in error. I just couldn't believe someone of his standing would do such a thing.

I hope he gets whats coming to him. It is so sad.

Annette

It is unbelievable on lots of levels. However, knowing that he sacrificed his own wife and child to purportedly cover up his financial misdeeds is beyond the pale isn’t it? Course he is not the first to choose that path but why do these people think they are smarter than everyone else? I guess it is worth the calculated risk to them to try and save their own neck!

 

[RMOO]

Hi,
I stopped following this after he was arrested for killing his wife and family.
I need to apologize for being so wrong about this man. I defended him earlier on, when others said they believed he killed his own family. Boy, was I wrong. I thought you all rushed to judgement. But it was my judgement that was in error. I just couldn't believe someone of his standing would do such a thing.

I hope he gets whats coming to him. It is so sad.

Annette

No need to apologize for giving someone the benefit of the doubt, after all he is a stranger to (probably) all of us, and it was very early in the case. But can you imagine what his son Buster, and Alex’s siblings must be coming to grips with, hearing all this stuff?

 

[tyty333]

I'm catching bits and pieces here and there. I'd be such a terrible jury person...I feel like, of course, he's guilty. Who else would
have killed both of them?

I feel like if it was associated with the boating accident then why also kill Maggie? They'd just take Paul "out" but Alex had good reason
to get rid of Maggie (divorce and the exposure that would come with it).

I also wonder if Alex is involved with the gay guy that got killed out in the middle of nowhere. Buster's name is associated with
the story but I dont know much about it.

Then there is the housekeeper that fell and died from a relatively innocuous fall. Yep, I think he killed her too .

 

[MissGotRocks]

I'm catching bits and pieces here and there. I'd be such a terrible jury person...I feel like, of course, he's guilty. Who else would
have killed both of them?

I feel like if it was associated with the boating accident then why also kill Maggie? They'd just take Paul "out" but Alex had good reason
to get rid of Maggie (divorce and the exposure that would come with it).

I also wonder if Alex is involved with the gay guy that got killed out in the middle of nowhere. Buster's name is associated with
the story but I dont know much about it.

Then there is the housekeeper that fell and died from a relatively innocuous fall. Yep, I think he killed her too .

I think that Paul was also mentioned as having something to do with that young man’s death. It was thought that he may have taken great offense to him being gay. It was said that his death didn’t appear to be a hit and run but rather someone killed him and then left him out in the road to appear that he had been struck with a car. Their entitlement was just over the top and I guess the family name had a way of making everything go away. Until now!

 

[telephone89]

The netflix special is out today. Only 3 episodes though, doesnt seem like that can possibly cover everything.

 

[MissGotRocks]

I watched a three part series on Sunday night on CNN. Nothing earth shattering in terms of new info but still interesting. I think that most of the known facts have been discussed - the rest we may never know. Just doesn’t seem plausible that some person or persons would have come to the dog kennels at that hour of the evening to kill those two. Maggie wasn’t living there at the time and both had been summoned by Alex to be there that night. Circumstantial yes, but rather compelling too.

 

[Calliecake]

@MissGotRocks Alex Murdaugh is on the stand. CNN is broadcasting it.

I always have a hard time believing anyone could kill their child.

 

[Ionysis]

@MissGotRocks Alex Murdaugh is on the stand. CNN is broadcasting it.

I always have a hard time believing anyone could kill their child.

Casey Anthony

 

[rainydaze]

He makes my stomach turn.

My understanding is that it is rare to put the defendant on the stand (especially in a murder trial). I think the reason his lawyers (and Alex) have made the choice for him to take the stand is because he is a lawyer that comes from a long line of a lawyers... He is well-acquainted with how one should present on the stand to persuade a jury of whatever image will benefit their case.

Don't we all know by now that defense teams employ all kinds of tactics (bland hair, saggy/boring/prim&proper clothes, no makeup or makeup making them look haggard, glasses, wheelchairs, casts, etc) to make the defendant look like they are anything but the person they were when they allegedly committed the crime. To make them appear sympathetic to a jury. Or like there is no way they could have done it - 'look how fragile/innocent/sweet/handsome/clumsy they are!'

He has been deceiving/charming/manipulating people for most of his life (adult life, anyway). He is trained in it. He comes from a long line of family trained in it. He and his lawyers are confident he can 'put on a show' of appearing upset, sympathetic, pathetic, a victim, humble, honest, etc.

The very fact that he has taken the stand speaks volumes to me about his guilt. It serves the opposite of the intended purpose. To me it screams that he is so capable of deceit that he can go on the stand when others can't.

 

[MissGotRocks]

He makes my stomach turn.

My understanding is that it is rare to put the defendant on the stand (especially in a murder trial). I think the reason his lawyers (and Alex) have made the choice for him to take the stand is because he is a lawyer that comes from a long line of a lawyers... He is well-acquainted with how one should present on the stand to persuade a jury of whatever image will benefit their case.

Don't we all know by now that defense teams employ all kinds of tactics (bland hair, saggy/boring/prim&proper clothes, no makeup or makeup making them look haggard, glasses, wheelchairs, casts, etc) to make the defendant look like they are anything but the person they were when they allegedly committed the crime. To make them appear sympathetic to a jury. Or like there is no way they could have done it - 'look how fragile/innocent/sweet/handsome/clumsy they are!'

He has been deceiving/charming/manipulating people for most of his life (adult life, anyway). He is trained in it. He comes from a long line of family trained in it. He and his lawyers are confident he can 'put on a show' of appearing upset, sympathetic, pathetic, a victim, humble, honest, etc.

The very fact that he has taken the stand speaks volumes to me about his guilt. It serves the opposite of the intended purpose. To me it screams that he is so capable of deceit that he can go on the stand when others can't.

I must say that in listening to him testify, he sounds like a very bereaved man. I cannot imagine having to return to the scene of the crime to see again the horror of it all. However, and while it in and of itself proves nothing, there just cannot be anyone else that was there at that time to have killed them. If someone else had done this, I would imagine they would have been after he and Paul - not the mother. Additionally, even if he were found not guilty of the murders, he still has years of time ahead for the financial crimes that he will surely be convicted of in days to come.

 

[rainydaze]

I don't believe the emotion his is showing is genuine. If it is, I believe he is adept at drawing upon his own self-pity to use in place of grief, horror, etc. In other words, if any of that is genuine human emotion I believe it stems from his fear and sadness at being imprisoned, from losing his possessions and freedom, from being exposed as addicted to drugs, a thief, and being disbarred and fired, from the image he carefully crafted being exposed, etc.

I believe he has one or more pathologies. If so, people with such disorders can be masters at studying others to mimic human behaviors and emotions. They are masters at presenting a likable, sympathetic, normally-functioning and normally-feeling person to society. They carefully craft lives and personas that are acceptable - oftentimes admirable - to society. This masks their true selves, and allows them to manipulate others to server their own interests....which the only thing that genuinely matters to them (their own needs/desires). Right now what matters to him is not going to jail. He will do what it takes to make sure his needs and wants are met, i.e. give a convincing performance of grief and humanity.

ETA: So many actresses and actors have drawn me in and captivated me - left me in tears, or had me wandering around with unresolved emotions for days. Their skills and performances were so believable that I forgot I was watching a professional actor do what they do. One of the ways they do this is to things unrelated to their character or performance that trigger their own emotions, and channel that into the performance (what I think Alex is doing on the stand). It is not a stretch for me that others can learn to do this, whether intentionally or not, to protect and serve their own dark needs and purposes. I think he and his lawyers know he has this skill and capability, hence why he's up there on the stand. Precisely so he can persuade people to believe he is bereaved and horrified by this terrible thing that happened to his wife and son.

The line of questioning about his PawPaw's funeral had no bearing on the trail IMO - I think the goal of that was to give him a stage to pull on the heartstrings of the jurors and cloud their judgement of him.

 

[telephone89]

How is anyone supposed to believe him now after he lied to the cops for months? And his only defense to everything is that everyone ELSE is lying (tarp, jacket, blood spatter etc)?? So bizarre.

 

[rainydaze]

How is anyone supposed to believe him now after he lied to the cops for months? And his only defense to everything is that everyone ELSE is lying (tarp, jacket, blood spatter etc)?? So bizarre.

Totally agree!

He's shown who he really is, and I believe him. Not the him that he wants us to believe; the him that he has shown through his actions. He stole millions from his clients and partners. He provided his teen sons and their friends with alcohol, encouraged and enabled excessive drinking and partying, did nothing to protect his sons' friends or the public from their drunken driving/boating. He covered up his sons' dangerous and criminal behaviors and tragedies (crashing truck with friends inside, while drunk; crashing boat which killed another family's child, also drunk).

Again, if certain pathologies are at play, his brain is defective such that he is incapable of perceiving himself realistically. He believes in a fantasy version of himself. That is often why people like him are believable - they cannot perceive their own wrongdoing so when he says it's someone else's fault, he really believes it is. It is convincing because he's convinced. I think one has to look beyond his performances and listen beyond what comes out of his mouth.

 

[MissGotRocks]

And I think the jury will see beyond all of that and convict him. All of the dirt has or will eventually come to light so the murders of those two people was so totally unnecessary. Desperate people do desperate things I guess and the victims are just the poor, helpless victims. So terribly sad. Very sad too for Buster who has to not only deal with these losses, but the reasons for his losses. They were all living lives of extravagance and privilege to an extent; not knowing that Alex was carefully and purposefully unraveling it all.

 

[telephone89]

Totally agree!

He's shown who he really is, and I believe him. Not the him that he wants us to believe; the him that he has shown through his actions. He stole millions from his clients and partners. He provided his teen sons and their friends with alcohol, encouraged and enabled excessive drinking and partying, did nothing to protect his sons' friends or the public from their drunken driving/boating. He covered up his sons' dangerous and criminal behaviors and tragedies (crashing truck with friends inside, while drunk; crashing boat which killed another family's child, also drunk).

Again, if certain pathologies are at play, his brain is defective such that he is incapable of perceiving himself realistically. He believes in a fantasy version of himself. That is often why people like him are believable - they cannot perceive their own wrongdoing so when he says it's someone else's fault, he really believes it is. It is convincing because he's convinced. I think one has to look beyond his performances and listen beyond what comes out of his mouth.

Absolutely. I don't think his emotions are genuine at all, and it also doesnt sound like his lawyers wanted him to take the stand - he thinks he is smarter than everyone else and can put on this show. Twitter is not buying it either, which is providing some great entertainment.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Imagine though, having done such a thing and it ended up being for nothing. He thought he wouldn’t get caught I guess but he did - and Paul’s video turned out to be instrumental. Always some little detail that hangs people up! If the prosecution is correct in that he wanted to buy some time, he did that I guess but don’t think he had access to enough money to make those he stole from whole. Still would have been prosecuted for it anyway I presume so what good did time do him? I always thought that maybe he knew Paul would go to prison and he and his big law firm couldn’t stop it. He didn’t want that to happen to Paul and didn’t want Maggie to witness it. However, it would have all played out the way it was meant to and those two people would still be alive. I just can’t imagine being him at this point and realizing that their lives were sacrificed for naught.

 

[mom2dolls]

Maggie had found the pill bags in his computer bag, Paul questioned him about it. Paul was such a liability because what had happened but also Paul was curious, he asked questions. Paul didn’t fall in line like Buster. If you watch the new Netflix series, it goes into how Maggie did not nurture Paul like she did Buster. That is where Gloria Satterfield came in, she was Paul’s second Momma.
I think there is a chance Alex gets a hung jury or acquitted. The jury doesn’t know everything the public does. They have maybe half the info. Thankfully he isn’t going anywhere because of the financial crimes. I pray he is found guilty but not sure.

 

[Slickk]

Jury has reached a verdict. Very quickly. Nervous …

 

[Slickk]

Guilty on all counts.

 

[Beagles]

Justice is served.

 

[MissGotRocks]

It was quicker than I expected. They clearly weren’t swayed at all by his defense.

 

[Calliecake]

I’m stunned the verdict came back so quickly.

 

[kenny]

 

[RMOO]

I'm so relieved that the jury wasn't fooled by the performance he gave while on the stand. I saw an interview of one of the jurors this morning, who indicated that he watched Alex's mannerisms very closely: no actual tears, "just blew snot."

Even my husband (who had no real interest in this case) noticed Alex's contrived effort to appear like Joe Average by never wearing a tie in court.

 

[RMOO]

Two life sentences, to run consecutively.