Alex Murdaugh’s defence attorney caused a stir at his murder trial as he cracked a joke while appearing to put a gun at the prosecution table.
Attorney Dick Harpootlian made his daring joke in the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Tuesday during testimony by Mike Sutton, a forensic engineering expert witness for the defence.
“It’s tempting,” Mr Harpootlian remarked as he held a gun indirectly pointed at the state’s table. The .300 Blackout rifle belonged to Mr Murdaugh’s son Buster, and has been used at the trial for demonstrative purposes as it is similar to the one believed to have been used in the murder of the defendant’s wife Maggie.
“I don’t know how to do this without pointing it out at anybody,” Mr Harpootlian added as the courtroom erupted with laughter.
Mr Murdaugh, who stands accused of shooting dead his wife and son Paul on 7 June 2021, could be seen grinning from the defence table during the rare moment of levity in a trial that has been marked by graphic descriptions of the murders.
Viewers following the trial online were less amused by the quip, dozens of them taking to Twitter to question whether they’d heard correctly.
“Imagine a state senator pointing a weapon at state prosecutors in a double homicide trial and with a smile tells them ‘ha…tempting,’” one user remarked, adding: “How on earth is this normal?”
Other critics called the stunt “appalling” and “disgusting”.
Mr Harpootlian was trying to demonstrate Mr Murdaugh could have not possibly gunned down his wife based on his height.
During his testimony, Mr Sutton, who specialises in external ballistics, said that based on the projection of one of the bullets at the crime scene, he believes the assailant that shot Maggie with an AR-15-style rifle had to be 5’2” to 5’4”.
Mr Murdaugh is 6’4”.
Several times during Mr Sutton’s testimony, the prosecution raised objections for speculation that were sustained by the judge.
The trial is now in its fifth week. Mr Murdaugh’s only surviving son Buster was the first witness called to the stand by the defence on Tuesday morning.
Buster has attended every day since the start of the high-profile trial in a show of support for his father.
During calm, controlled testimony, he appeared to water down – but not refute – some key points in the prosecution’s case, including his father’s behaviour on the day of the murders, the clothes he was wearing and the police interview where he appeared to unwittingly confess to killing his wife and son.
Buster said that his father had called him at 9.10pm on 7 June 2021 – just 20 minutes after he allegedly shot and killed Maggie and Paul at the dog kennels of the family’s estate in Islandton. At first, Buster said that he just “sat there in shock”.
Then he and his girlfriend Brooklynn grabbed some stuff and drove down to Moselle, reaching the property in the early hours of 8 June.
“He was destroyed, he was heartbroken,” Buster said of his father, adding that he could barely speak.
“I walked in the door and saw him and gave him a hug... just broke down.”
The 26-year-old testified that his father’s demeanour was “normal” and no different from how he had been earlier in the day.
In one dramatic moment, Buster insisted that his father said “they” and not “I” during a police interview video which prompted speculation that the disgraced legal dynasty heir may have unwittingly slipped up and confessed to the murders.
Video from the 10 June 2021 interview – Mr Murdaugh’s second interview after the murders – was previously played in court, with the sobbing legal scion speaking about the killings.
SLED Special Agent Jeff Croft had previously testified that Mr Murdaugh said: “I did him so bad.”
Buster refuted this testimony, saying that his father said “they did him so bad” after listening to the footage in court.
“He said ‘they did them so bad’,” he said.
Mr Murdaugh, 54, is facing life in prison for the murders of his wife and son. He has pleaded not guilty.
