Bodycam shows Alex Murdaugh as first officers arrive on scene of wife and son’s murders
It was a dramatic day at Alex Murdaugh’s double-murder trial in South Carolina with the judge ruling that a major plank of the prosecution case is not admissible as evidence before reversing the decision.
Judge Clifton Newman ruled that jurors cannot hear testimony about the bizarre September 2021 roadside shooting – which later turned out to be a botched hitman plot.
Three months on from the June 2021 murders of wife Maggie and son Paul Murdaugh, the disgraced attorney was ambushed in what he claimed was a drive-by shooting. He later confessed to orchestrating the plot with alleged co-conspirator Curtis “Cousin Eddie” Smith so his surviving son Buster would inherit a $10m life insurance windfall.
Judge Newman ruled that the defence team opened the door to testimony about the plot being admitted in their own questioning of the lead investigator into the murders, David Owen.
The court was gripped by video of Murdaugh being interviewed by Owen in which the defendant contradicted witness evidence heard so far at trial. His answers did much to tie together the prosecution’s case against him, though the defence aggressively challenged police procedure relating to the investigation.
The trial resumes on Thursday at 9.30am.
