Closing arguments set for Murdaugh South Carolina murder trial
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[March 01, 2023]
By Nathan Layne
(Reuters) - Closing arguments are set to start on Wednesday in the trial
of Richard "Alex" Murdaugh, the now-disbarred South Carolina lawyer
charged with gunning down his wife and son in a complex and grisly case
that has garnered international attention.
After sitting through more than a month of testimony, jurors on
Wednesday morning will visit the Murdaugh family estate for a "jury
view" of the crime scene before returning to the courtroom to hear final
remarks from the prosecution and the defense.
"After the jury view you will return for closing arguments, then I will
instruct you as to the law that you are to apply, then you will
deliberate in an effort to reach a verdict," Judge Clifton Newman told
jurors before adjourning on Tuesday.
Newman said he expected the jury would be back in court for closing
arguments around 11 a.m. ET.
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Murdaugh, the 54-year-old scion of an influential legal family in an
area west of Charleston, has been charged with killing his wife Maggie,
52, and youngest son, Paul, 22, at dog kennels on their estate, known as
Moselle, on the night of June 7, 2021.
Prosecutors have argued that Murdaugh committed the murders in an effort
to generate sympathy at a time when his life was collapsing amid
allegations that he had stolen huge sums from clients and his law
partners, partly to feed a drug habit. They have painted him as a serial
liar throughout the trial.
Murdaugh, who has said he had nothing to do with the murders, faces 30
years to life in prison if he is found guilty.
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![](../images/030123PIX/news_a26.jpg)
Alex Murdaugh gives testimony in his
murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South
Carolina, U.S., February 23, 2023. Grace Beahm Alford/Pool via USA
TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Mar/01/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png)
The case has drawn intense media coverage given the family's immense
judicial and political power in and around Colleton County, where
the trial is taking place. For decades until 2006, family members
served as the leading prosecutor in the area, and Murdaugh was a
prominent personal injury attorney in the state.
In addition to the murders, Murdaugh has been charged with dozens of
financial crimes, including an alleged scheme to have himself killed
so that his older son, Buster, could collect a $10 million insurance
payout. During the trial, Murdaugh admitted to stealing from clients
and his law firm.
Murdaugh's lawyers have sought to portray him as a loving family man
who, while facing financial troubles and suffering from a years-long
addiction to opioids that led him to lie and steal, would never harm
his wife and child.
Last week Murdaugh testified that he had lied about his whereabouts
on the night the killings, changing his account after the jury was
presented with video evidence placing him at the scene minutes
before investigators say the murders occurred.
Murdaugh said he lied to investigators about his alibi that night
because of paranoid thoughts tied to his drug habit and because he
did not trust the police.
(Reporting by Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut; Editing by Leslie
Adler)
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