"When I came in, he was calling my wife's phone. The cartridges were used in a type of automatic rifle that Alex Murdaugh bought but cant be accounted for, Waters said. Riemer said besides caffeine, Maggie and Paul did not have any other drugs or alcohol in their systems. Proctor's name was crossed out in pen and Randolph Murdaugh III, Maggie Murdaughs father-in law, was handwritten above it. Data includes speeds and other information about the vehicles movements on the night of the double homicide. Alex Murdaugh's attorneys didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. I will continue to pursue my client's interests with the highest degree of honesty and integrity, as I always have," he said. Got a tip? At the time, the photos and video sparked controversy and numerous questions about why Solicitor Duffie Stone whose office has close ties to the Murdaugh family had not yet recused himself from the investigation. I felt like it was the right thing to do. Alex tried to to call his other son, Buster, who lives a couple hours away in the city of Rock Hill, to tell him the news but "broke down and couldn't," according to Randy. As soon as I heard his voice, I knew something bad was going on, he said. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. A forensic accounting firm will be retained to conduct a thorough investigation.". Margaret and Paul Murdaugh were found dead near dog kennels at the family's home near Islandton, South Carolina, police said. In February 2019, 19-year-old Mallory Beach was killed when a boat she was riding on that belonged to the Murdaugh family hit a bridge structure at 2 a.m. "I love my law firm family and also love Alex as my brother. On Dec. 9, Colleton County Probate Judge Ashley Amundson appointed John Marvin Murdaugh, Alexs brother, as the personal representative for Maggie Murdaughs estate, records show. He has been in jail since Oct. 14 and then was arrested on charges of obtaining property by false pretenses, in which he is accused of misappropriating settlement funds from the sons of Gloria Satterfield, the Murdaughs longtime housekeeper and nanny. John, who lives further away in the community of Okatie, west of Hilton Head Island, said he got there about 30 minutes later. Youre not going to hear a single witness say that their relationship was anything other than loving.. Defense attorney Phillip Barber asked if the DNA was submitted to CODIS, the FBIs DNA database, but Zapata said it did not meet the requirements for CODIS because the sample contained only three alleles. Murdaugh officially resigned from the law firm Peters,Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth, & Detrick based in Hampton, South Carolina, on Sept. 3 but publicly announced his resignation days later. Randy Murdaugh and John Marvin Murdaugh speak out for the first time since their brother, Alex, found his 22-year-old son, Paul, and wife, Maggie, shot to death outside their home last week. In September 2021 Murdaugh told police he had been shot in the head by an unknown assailant while attempting to change a flat tire. The gunshot wound was only superficial, though, and within two weeks Murdaugh had been charged with hiring an acquaintance to carry out the purportedly random head-shooting. Alex is fully cooperating with SLED in their investigations into his shooting, opioid use and the search to find the person or people responsible for the murder of his wife and son. "On September 4, it became clear Alex believed that ending his life was his only option. This trial is the bottom of a stunningly far and fast downfall for the man whose family dominated the legal system in tiny neighboring Hampton County for generations, both as prosecutors and private attorneys known for getting life-changing settlements for accidents and negligence cases. Powder and residue left behind from a gun was found in several places Alex Murdaugh was also at, the prosecutor said. He faces charges in connection with a Sept. 4 suicide-for-hire plot. "And I can't imagine the horror that my brother's experiencing.". John Marvin Murdaugh, the alleged killer's younger brother, said he returned to the hunting estate the day after arriving the killings to clean up the horrific scene John A defense lawyer said prosecutors incorrectly locked in on Murdaughs guilt from the start and have spent all that time trying to jam bits of evidence that can be explained away or leave an incomplete picture into a story that frames the wrong man. It made me want to do it longer. Dr. Ellen Riemer, a forensic pathologist with the Medical University of South Carolina, conducted the autopsies for Paul and Maggie Murdaugh. Zapata said it was possible the DNA could have been transferred if the victims were checked for signs of life. Alex Murdaugh was ordered held on a $20,000 personal recognizance bond. Newman said the remaining jurors tested negative for COVID-19 on Monday and will be retested on Wednesday. Read FOX Carolinas full blog of Mondays testimony below: Copyright 2023 WHNS. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Buster and I, along with Maggie's mother, father and our entire family, ask that anyone with helpful information should immediately call the SLED tip line or Crime Stoppers. The boating accident led some to question whether Paul's family's legal ties affected the probe. Barber said Maggie Murdaugh went to the nail salon on the day she was killed so her nails should have been clean. "I see words like 'dynasty' used, and 'power,'" Randy said. Prosecutors are expected to rest their case this week. A male driver in a blue pickup asked him if he had car troubles, as soon as Alex replied, he was shot. Both shots to her head would have been immediately fatal, so the final one, which Riemer testified was to the back of Maggies head, was fired after an already-fatal shot. He has maintained his innocence, and his lawyers said he has an alibi, as he was caring for his mother, who has dementia, the night of the killings. State law enforcement officials also announced, none of the proceeds from a $4.3 million settlement. Sarah Zapata, an agent with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, testified in detail about DNA and Hematrace analysis she performed on evidence from the scene. But you don't think it's going to happen in your small community, to your family.". In this June 11, 2021, file photo, Buster Murdaugh, center, receives a hug in the rain during the funeral service for his brother, Paul, and mother, Maggie, in Hampton, S.C. Kacen Bayless/The Island Packet via AP, FILE. The prosecution said ammunition cartridges found around Maggie Murdaughs body had markings that matched other cartridges fired at a range on the property and other locations. Alex was standing at a distance from the crime scene, looking on "in disbelief, crying and sobbing, and unable to talk," Randy said. "We are part of the community. Marian was like, No, John, I want you to handle it. So Im going to do whatever the court asked me to do, and Im also going to do what I think is best for Maggie," John Marvin Murdaugh said. South Carolina attorney "He has pledged his full cooperation to the firm. Asked about the photos this month, John Marvin Murdaugh said they show him and the investigators trying to find Maggie Murdaughs cell phone using an app on Maggies remaining son Buster Murdaughs phone. The defense in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial rested their case Monday. ", "I can tell you he was willing and still is willing to do anything that's asked of him," John added. Murdaugh also took the stand on Thursday and Friday, revealing that he lied to law enforcement about his whereabouts the night of the murder and admitting to stealing from clients and his law firm for years. Alex Murdaughthe attorney from a prominent South Carolina family who is suspected of committing a staggering number of crimes that were revealed after of a fatal 2019 boat crashwas indicted Thursday for murder. Randy and John described their late nephew as a "carefree spirit" who loved being outdoors. Few other details regarding the deaths have been released. Sept. 7: Law firm says Murdaugh left due to money misuse, Alex Murdaugh's former law firm, PetersMurdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick, released a statement saying Murdaugh formally resigned Sept. 3 and that "he is no longer associated with PMPED in any manner. Maggie Murdaugh, the wife of embattled South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh, left her property to him in her will before she and their son were mysteriously killed in June, according to a copy of her last will and testament. Both sides finished picking a 12-person jury with six alternates Wednesday. A swab of suspected blood taken from the steering wheel of the Suburban also showed a mixture of DNA likely belonging to Alex and Maggie Murdaugh. ABC News' Eva Pilgrim, Alexandra Faul, William Gretsky, Janice McDonald, Jen Leong and Mike Repplier contributed to this report. He told authorities he had been out at the time of the shooting and found his wife and son dead when he arrived home, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said in a later news release. "Alex intends to fully cooperate with this investigation, as he has with the investigation into the murder of his wife and son," his lawyers said in a statement. Most of the testimony was focused on detailed forensic evidence in the investigation into the deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh. And they still have not announced a suspect in their deaths. Waters said a video on Paul Murdaughs cellphone has the voices of him, Maggie and Alex Murdaugh in it. The Murdaughs, a prominent Democratic family, had wielded enormous judicial and political power for over a century. In this booking photo released on Sept. 16, 2021, by the Hampton County Detention Center, Alex Murdaugh is shown. He later stepped away from the double homicide investigation in August 2021, citing an undisclosed conflict. A bond hearing was scheduled for Oct. 15 in Beaufort County, South Carolina, his lawyers said. Id never seen anything like it. Harpootlian told the jury he would love to be able to tell them why someone so brutally killed Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, but investigators ignored all other suspects and scenarios. Randy and John said their father, whom they described as "a wonderful person," had been "sick" for a while and that they would have liked his death to be more a celebration of life, but their tight-knit family was reeling from the unsolved murders. He was only able to tell me it was very, very bad. She took the stand to explain graphic photographs from her investigation to the jury and said the gunman was likely within three feet of Paul Murdaugh. Sept. 14: Police charge man in Alex Murdaugh shooting. SLED confirmed they are the law enforcement agency investigating the missing money from the law firm. He has also since been charged with executing multiple fraud and embezzlement schemes that were ongoing at the time of the crash; these included an alleged attempt to commit insurance fraud in order to benefit from the 2018 death of a housekeeper at one of the Murdaugh familys properties. Published: Feb. 13, 2023 at 2:47 PM PST WALTERBORO, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The fourth week of the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh began on Monday. Alex is not without fault but he is just one of many whose life has been devastated by opioid addiction," the lawyers' statement continued. After 19 months of speculation, prosecutors finally laid out their evidence Wednesday that Alex Murdaugh killed his wife and son as they opened the double murder trial for the disgraced South Carolina attorney. Maggie Murdaughs cellphone, for which her husband provided the code investigators used to find it the next day, showed it was being dumped on the side of the road off the property at the same time Alex Murdaughs phone showed he started his truck just outside his home, the defense attorney said. The shot to her abdomen was from further away. The photographs were taken when he and the investigators were looking at Busters phone and began walking toward where Maggies phone was located, he said. The affidavit said Murdaugh provided a statement to SLED on Sept. 13: "Admitting to the scheme for the purpose of his son collecting a life insurance policy valued at approximately $10 million." But I guess maybe I made a mistake.. His attorney, Richard Harpootlian, previously said on NBCs TODAY show that Alex Murdaugh arranged for a man to kill him during a fake car breakdown. He said he believed his insurance policy had a suicide clause, which would leave $10 million for his son, according to Harpootlian. Anything that the boys were doing, Alex wanted to do.. In the will, Maggie Murdaugh listed her sister, Marian Proctor, as the person to handle the estate. The defense in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial rested their case Monday. John Marvin Murdaugh and his wife Liz Murdaugh, Brooklynn White and Buster Murdaugh, from left, attend the opening day of Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial on Wednesday. "I could see the white sheets across the way," he said. While I will support him in his recovery, I do not support, condone, or excuse his conduct in stealing by manipulating his most trusted relationships. Social distancing and masking will not be required. This is not the first time John Marvin has spoken out in defense of his older brother. Law enforcement agents who testified in the trial also noted that Murdaugh also touted the theory that the boat crash was the possible motivation for the murders moments after they were called to the scene. In 2006, he rejoined the Hampton-based law firm that his father had started more than 100 years ago. He was also the second family member to testify on behalf of Murdaugh. Theres a lot of aspects to this case, Waters said. Attorneyssaid at the bond hearing that they were nearing a resolution with Alex Murdaugh and that he had agreed to a $4.3 million judgment, subject to the approval of court-appointed receivers who nowcontrol his assets, The Associated Press reported. The next morning, John Marvin told jurors while several people were at the propertys main house, he felt the need to go down to the crime scene to see for himself what had gone on and just kind of take it in.. He said, Come as fast as you can. State investigators allege that about $3.4 million was stolen after legal fees were paid. I took so much just to not backslide.. No arrests have been made and no suspects have been named. Theres nothing on camera. "But we're just regular people that are working hard and trying to do right. He was arrested in connection to the Sept. 4 shooting incident "in which he conspired with Curtis Edward Smith to assist him in committing suicide for the explicit purpose of allowing a beneficiary to collect life insurance," SLED said in a statement. Prosecutors said over the weekend they received new evidence from General Motors about data from Alex Murdaughs Chevy Suburban. He married his wife, Elizabeth Arnett in 2008 and they have three children. John and his family reside in Okatie, South Carolina. John Marvin is the brother-in-law and uncle of 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh, and 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh who were murdered on June 7, 2021 near the dog kennels on the familys hunting property, known locally as Moselle. It was the start of what is expected to be a three-week trial at the Colleton County Courthouse. Alex Murdaugh sits in the Colleton "So I got on the phone with him," Randy said. Zapata testified that no useful DNA was found on the blue raincoat discovered at the home of Alex Murdaughs mother during the investigation. John Marvin Murdaugh said he does not believe Alex Murdaugh killed his wife and son, but acknowledged that police may know more than he does. Prosecutors released little information about their case before Wednesday. Since the wreck, Paul had been receiving online threats from strangers that were "bothersome" but weren't believed to be "credible," according to Randy and John. ", June 22: Authorities reopen probe into 2015 death of Stephen Smith. Alex Murdaugh was the person who reported their deaths to police, saying he had discovered them dead on a 1,700-acre hunting property belonging to the family. The Colleton County sheriff's department said both victims suffered multiple gunshot wounds. A family spokesperson told ABC News at the time that he was changing a tire when a car passed him. He added that the feed room was still covered with brain fragments, pieces of Pauls skull, and lots of blood. In April 2019 Paul Murdaugh was charged with operating the boat while intoxicated. ET to report that he had returned to his family's estate in Islandton, a rural community in South Carolina's Colleton County, to find the bullet-ridden bodies of his 52-year-old wife, Margaret "Maggie" Branstetter Murdaugh, and his 22-year-old son, Paul Terry Murdaugh. The truth is he did graduate from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelors in Criminal Justice in the early 1990s, but he ultimately chose to evolve into an entrepreneur decently self-employed. Alex Murdaughthe attorney from a prominent South Carolina family who is suspected of committing a staggering number of crimes that were revealed after of a fatal 2019 boat crashwas indicted Thursday for murder. Alex Murdaugh cried when the autopsy photos, which have been sealed, were shown in court. Press J to jump to the feed. State law enforcement officials also announcedthat they were looking into those allegations. Lawyer Alex Murdaugh walks into his bond hearing, Sept. 16, 2021, in Varnville, S.C. In a bond hearing in Hampton County court on Thursday, Sept. 18. ", "I missed some phone calls from him. John Marvin Murdaugh and Randolph "Randy" Murdaugh IV spoke with "Good Morning America" about the deaths of Maggie and Paul, saying they didn't believe their brother was involved in their killings. John Marvin is the brother-in-law and uncle of 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh, and 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh who were murdered on June 7, 2021 near the Her husband, Alex Murdaugh, 53, has faced months of public scrutiny since his wife, 52, and their son Paul Murdaugh, 22, were found shot multiple times on June 7 at the familys home in rural Islandton, South Carolina, about 65 miles west of Charleston. "So there's no possible way he could have anything to do with this, I can assure you. Though the most significant aspect is that Johns connection with his loved ones ostensibly "And so we said our goodbyes and tried to be in a celebratory way to my dad, but we're all hurting because of Maggie and Paul.". Earlier on Sept. 16, Curtis Edward Smith appeared in front of a Hampton County Judge for a bond hearing on charges where he agreed to a public defender and had his bond set at $55,000 for the attempted assisted suicide of Alex Murdaugh. "I don't know of anybody that would truly be an enemy or truly want to hurt them," Randy noted. Alex was the loving father of Paul and the loving husband of Maggie, Harpootlian said. On Thursday, Murdaugh briefly described the roadside shooting, saying that he intended to die that day. Four generations served as the local prosecutor, In this undated file photo, Alex Murdaugh, fourth generation of a powerful South Carolina dynasty and owner of a boat involved in a fatal accident, leaves a hearing in a personal injury lawsuit at the Richland County Courthouse. The documents released by authorities do Alex Murdaugh publicly announced that he resigned from his law firm and will enter rehab. IE 11 is not supported. 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