March 5, 2025

"Murdaugh" Episode Twenty Three | "The Verdict"

"Murdaugh" Episode Twenty Three | "The Verdict"

In this 23rd episode in the “Murdaugh” series, Jim recounts  the courtroom's tense atmosphere as a juror is unexpectedly removed, raising concerns about trial integrity.   jurors quickly reach a unanimous decision in the trial sparking speculation...

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Season 1

In this 23rd episode in the “Murdaugh” series, Jim recounts the courtroom's tense atmosphere as a juror is unexpectedly removed, raising concerns about trial integrity. jurors quickly reach a unanimous decision in the trial sparking speculation about the dynamics. Jim detail the verdicts for murder and weapon charges, and reflect on the emotional reactions from both sides.

Timestamps
03:21 Juror Removal Controversy
13:34 Jury Deliberation Shock
22:30 Sentencing Discussion
23:14 Jury's Role Acknowledged
44:42 Verdict Reactions
47:44 Closing Statements by Prosecutors
49:42 Judge's Sentencing Speech
1:00:39 Sentencing Announcement
1:08:40 Defense Team's Response
1:10:30 Appeal Strategy Discussion

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WEBVTT

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Hey everyone, and welcome back to Exposed Scandalous Files of

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the Elite. I'm your host, Jim Chapman, and we have

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come a long way to get to this aspect of

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the Murdoll series, and that is the verdict in the

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state of South Carolina versus Alec Murdoch for the murder

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of his wife, Margaret Maggie Murdall and his son Paul Murdoch. Now,

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when I last left you, prosecutors and defense, they had

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completed their closing arguments and something shocking happened just prior

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to those closing arguments that will weigh on the case,

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and that was the removal of a juror, which, hey,

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it's a huge deal. The entire case is nearly complete,

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You're down to closing arguments and a juror has to

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be removed. Not good. And Judge Clifford Newman, he did

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a masterful job of explaining why. And here's that club.

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First off, this morning, we have to deal with the

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issue involving the removal of a jew or. A few

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days ago, I received a complaint from a member of

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the public indicating that a juror had engaged in in

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proper conversations with parties not associated with the case. I

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communicated and provided a copy of the communications to the

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Defense Council after court. We then met with the juror

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on the record, and the juror denied any denied discussing

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the case with anyone not on the jury or with

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anyone on the jury. She provided information that led us

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to the court to contact the persons that she was

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suspected of having conversations with concerning the case. Those individuals

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were interviewed and provided an affid David regarding the contact

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that the jury had juror had with them. We then

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also brought those two individuals in and had a hearing

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in chambers on the record in the presence of Council yesterday,

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in which both of those individuals waffled on the nature

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and the extent of the contact. They also provided recorded

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interview or the State provided a recorded interview with the jurors,

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and I reviewed that interview last night. So the juror

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has had contact or discussions concerning the case with at

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least three individuals. Though it does not appear that the

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conversations were that extensive, it did involve the juror offering

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her opinion regarding evidence received up to that point in

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the trial that the conversation took place, and in order

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to preserve the integrity of the process and the interests

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of both the State and the defense and a fair trial,

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that juror will be removed and replaced by another jew Or.

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I will make a part of the record undersealed. Because

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of maintaining the confidentiality of the identity of the jew Ors,

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I will place underseal the recorded interview Affy Davis received

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and we and both discussions with Council has taken place

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on the record, and all of that will be made

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a part of the record in the case. And we'll

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bring the juror out to inform her that she will

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no longer her services will no longer be needed. We

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will then replace her with an alternate Jewel. Any additional

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comments by the State or the defense must your honor.

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We do not accept from your ruling. I sat through

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everything you sat through, and it's muddled, but we would

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defer to your judgment. However, I think it's important for

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me to note for the record that the interviews of

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these two people were done by Sweat agents, one of

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whom was named as a witness in this case and

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the other who was listed in the notes as being

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one of the investigating officers. Just to note that again

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Swed has made some bad another bad judgment in this case.

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I'm not accepting from your ruling. I'm just pointing out.

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That this is just a continuum of a calamity of errors.

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Thank you. And the court has not had any discussion

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with any sled agents concerning this issue, and all the

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inquiry by the court has been directly with the suspected

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parties involved and with the jew Or. And this is

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a matter that this long trial, with the intense publicity

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is certainly it would be certainly difficult for any individual

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to not have some exposure outside of the courtroom to

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information concerning the case, and to also be at tempted

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to engage your discussions with others. But it is improper.

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It is contrary to my instructions to the jury daily

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multiple times per day, and this dr unfortunately violated that order.

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So if you will bring out your number seven eighty five,

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let's make sure she brings everything with her. Good morning, Yes,

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ma'am up here in your normals, your normal spots. Fine,

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if you just remained standing for me, good morning is

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it okay today, all right? I have, as you know,

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we've had some discussions with you over the past couple

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of days concerning indications of conversations with a few folks

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not on the jury concerning the case and expressing some

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opinion about the case. I have reviewed everything, including statements

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given by individuals and recorded interviews, and concluded that despite

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my order to not discuss the case with anyone that

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intentionally or unintentionally, you've had some discussions with some folks

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not on the jury, and which is going to require

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me to remove you from the jury. You have been,

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by all accounts, great juror, and smiled consistently and seemingly

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been attentive to the case and perform well. And I'm

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sure that with all the time you've invested in it,

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you probably hate not to continue, or maybe you're ready

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to go. I don't know, but I certainly want to

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thank you for your service. I'm not suggesting that you

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intentionally did anything wrong, but that to in order to

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preserve the integrity of the process and in fairness to

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all the parties involved, we're going to replace you with

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one of the other jewels. Have you brought everything that

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you have outside of you left some stuff in there?

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What do you have in there? A dozen eggs?

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Going in?

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Ag alright, well you gonna leave the eggs. You wanna

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leave the eggs or take the eggs? You will take

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the eggs. So mster bail, can you retrieve from the

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jury room her dozen eggs? Uh, her purse and what

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else in a bottle of water? You can get those

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things from the jury room. And as you know, the

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uh Ad, identity of the Jews are confidential, not known

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to the public. And the reason you are still where

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you are is that cameras are not allowed to video

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take the jewers and and we have operated by jury

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numbers throughout the process and we'll continue to do so,

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and your identity will be kept confidential as far as

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the court is concerned. And we trust that in the

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event you decide you want to speak publicly about this case,

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that you wait until after the case is over. You're

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not encouraged at all to do so, but you have

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a right to speak to anyone you want to if

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you decide to do so. No, I have not spoken

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with her today, but no, this is not related to

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I know we also had some conversation was brought up

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concerning your ex husband. But that's not a part of

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this consideration at all. This is totally independent of any

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other conversation that that he might have here it had

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concerning you. That's not part of the order of the court.

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Uh.

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So they're gonna get your things and then and once

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you're removed from the jury, you can't go back in

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the jury room.

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You just.

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We'll have to tell them goodbye for you. Okay, all right, well,

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thank you very much, you can go. Thank you. We

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get a lot of interesting things, but now a dozen eggs,

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that's certain. It's so interesting. We'll give them, give her

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a chance to leave or to take her. She's gone. Okay,

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very good. Anything else before the jury comes Oh right, absolutely.

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When they come out, we'll need to select an alternate,

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and the clerk has you have the remaining alternates in

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a box. Any objection to the a blind selection of

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that alternate out of the box.

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So not good, especially as it relates to the appeals process.

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And it's it's worth mentioning that the jar removed had

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told sources they would not have found murdoal guilty, which remember,

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the guilty verdict would have to be unanimous in order

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to avoid a hung jury and a retrial, so that

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juror is replaced with an alternate, and quickly. An alternate

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is just like a regular jury member. They're there the

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whole time as well, and they sit through everything the

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regular jury sits through, so there's no catching up that

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they have to do or anything like that. So at

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this point the jury, they receive instruction for deliberations, and

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everyone defense prosecution. They're settling in for maybe several days

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of deliberations. Well, to the shock of every one, and

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I mean everyone in that courtroom and around the world,

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just three hours into deliberations, the jury sends a note

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to the judge saying they have come to an agreement

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and a verdict in here.

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Is that matter foliated, if you'll stand for me. Have

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you reached a verdict?

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Yes, yes, sir, we have.

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It's it's unanimous, Yes, sir, it is right. If you

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will pass it up to the clerk who will pass

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it to me, the defendant will rise. Madame Clerk, you

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may publish the verdict.

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Docket number twenty twenty two GS. Fifteen zero zero five

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nine two the State of South Carolina, County of Colleton,

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in the Court of General Sessions in the term of

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twenty twenty two July the State versus Richard Alexander Murdoch, defendant,

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Indictment for murder sc Code sixteen DASH three dash zero

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zero one zero, CDR code zero one one six okay

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guilty verdict signed by the four Lady three two twenty three,

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Docket number twenty twenty two dash GS dash fifteen dash

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zero zero five nine three. The State of South Carolina,

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County of coll Itton, in the Court of General Sessions,

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the July term of twenty twenty two. The State versus

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Richard Alexander Murdoch, defendant, Indictment for murder sc Code sixteen

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DASH three da'sh zero zero one zero, CDR code zero

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one one six Verdict guilty signed by the four Lady,

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Date three two of twenty three, Docket number twenty twenty

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two dash GS fifteen dashes zero zero five nine five.

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The State of South Carolina, County of Calton, Court of

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General Sessions, July Term twenty twenty two. The State versus

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Richard Alexander Murdoch, defendant, Indictment for possession of a weapon

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during the commission of a violent crime sc code DASH

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sixteen dash twenty three dash zero four nine zero CDR

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code zero five four nine. Verdict guilty, signed by the

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four person of the jury. Date three two twenty three,

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Docket number twenty twenty two GS dash fifteen DASH zero

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zero five nine four. The State of South Carolina, County

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of Calton, Court of General Sessions, July Term, twenty twenty two.

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The State versus Richard Alexander Murdoch, defendant Indictment for possession

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of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime

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sc code sixteen DASH twenty three DASH zero four nine.

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Zero c d R code zero five four nine.

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Verdict guilty, signed by the fourth person of the jury

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three two twenty three.

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Thank you, madam, four lady and members of the jury.

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If that is a verdict of each and every jew or,

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please let it be down by raising your right hands.

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All right, thank you. Any individual polling requested, Madam Clerk,

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you'll lead to individually poll the Jew jury according to

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their jewurry Jew R numbers.

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No.

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One three. Was this your verdict?

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Yes?

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Is it still your verdict?

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Yes?

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Juror too two. I'm sorry you're two five to four?

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Is this your verdict yes? Is it still your verdict?

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Yes?

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Jurre three two six. Was this your verdict yes? Is

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it still your verdict?

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Yes?

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Juror six Jurre five three zero. Was this your verdict yes?

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Is this your verdict yes? Jurre five four four yes.

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Was this your verdict yes? Is it still your verdict yes?

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Jurre five seven to two. Was this your verdict yes?

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Is it still your verdict yes? Juror five seven eight.

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Was this your verdict yes? Is it still your verdict yes?

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Jurre five eight nine. Was this your verdict? Is it

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still your verdict yes? Jurre six three zero. Was this

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your verdict yes? Is it still your verdict yes?

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D're seven to nine. Was this your verdict yes? Is

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it still your verdict?

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Yes?

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Jewel eight two six. Was this your verdict yes? Is

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it still your verdict yes? Durre eight six four? Was

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is this your verdict? Is is it still your verdict?

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Yes?

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Your honor the jury.

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Pas faible, thank you. The jury jury has been pulled

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and the verdict is a unanimous verdict. If you will

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bring the oftenate, Je're out and have for have a

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seat in the audience. Please. You can stand there or

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you can sit back there. Whatever you prefer okay, are

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there any post trial motions.

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From the state, Your honor, We would just renew I

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previously argued motions for a directed verdict and at this

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on the grounds. On those grounds, we would make motion

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for a mistrial to show side of.

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The purpose by the state response.

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Your honor, based on our pre dis arguments, we would

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submit that the.

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Case properly went to the jury and the verdict is

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proper and would rely on those arguments.

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We've been here now twenty eight days, first few days

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of jury selection and the remainder receiving testimony, an overwhelming

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amount of testimony and evidence that was presented to the

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jury for the jury's consideration. As I indicated to the

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00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:27.920
jury doing the jury charge or the charge on the

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00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:31.759
law that this was a matter solely for the jury

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to determine. The court found at the end of the

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state's case that their sufficient evidence to find the defendant

254
00:20:41.640 --> 00:20:48.079
guilty if the evidence was believed by the jury. Likewise,

255
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at the end of the defense's case, when the motion

256
00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:58.039
was renewed, the court found that the evidence was sufficient

257
00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:02.599
for the jury to find the defendant guilty. The jury

258
00:21:02.680 --> 00:21:09.119
is now considered the evidence for a significant period of time,

259
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and the evidence of guilt is overwhelming, and I deny

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the motion. Mister murder, you now having been found guilty

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00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:30.559
of two counts of murder involving your wife and your son,

262
00:21:32.119 --> 00:21:35.480
two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission

263
00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:41.680
of a violent crime. The burden now comes upon the

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00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:49.359
court to impose a sentence, given the lateness of the hour,

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and the victims' rights that must be taken into consideration

266
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and complied with under the Victims Bill of Rights. And

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consider what I anticipate to be a number of people

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00:22:09.559 --> 00:22:14.960
who might have something to say regarding sentencing. We will

269
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the first sentencing to a later date. Of course, the

270
00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:26.000
minimum sentence for murder is thirty years. The maximum sentence

271
00:22:26.119 --> 00:22:32.240
is life. Imprisonment has to each count, and on the

272
00:22:32.279 --> 00:22:39.119
weapons charge, the sentences up to five years or five years,

273
00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:45.319
which has to be concurrent if a life sentence is imposed.

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When would you I like to reconvene for sentencing. I

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would like to give everyone an adequate opportunity to care

276
00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:02.359
for it. So I'll be ready, and I'm thirty in

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the morning, drown.

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We could do it at nine thirtymorrow morning.

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Alsho, all right? The defendant is remanded to the custody

280
00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:28.720
of the Collegeton County Sheriff's Apartment. Man of Folian members

281
00:23:28.759 --> 00:23:31.079
of the jury, I want to thank you on behalf

282
00:23:31.160 --> 00:23:35.680
of the citizens of the state of South Carolina, and

283
00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:42.240
you're fellow citizens of Colleton County. You did not volunteer

284
00:23:42.599 --> 00:23:49.000
for this service. You were called upon by the being

285
00:23:49.079 --> 00:23:52.920
summoned to a peer and providence have brought you to

286
00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:56.400
this moment in time and these weeks in time. I

287
00:23:56.440 --> 00:23:59.119
know that all of you have been here at a

288
00:23:59.119 --> 00:24:06.519
great sacrifice, particularly the juror whose job was on the

289
00:24:06.599 --> 00:24:11.599
line until a miracle happened. I guess that allowed him

290
00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:14.240
to be able to leave rather than to stay at

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00:24:14.359 --> 00:24:18.359
rather than leave after two or three weeks. But I

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00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:21.920
want to thank each one of you, all individually and collectively.

293
00:24:22.839 --> 00:24:26.440
It's not often that you're called upon to sit in

294
00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:29.359
judgment of the actions of your fellow man. That you

295
00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:38.200
all responded and it gave due consideration to the evidence.

296
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I will make no comment now as to the extent

297
00:24:50.200 --> 00:24:56.359
or the overwhelming nature of the evidence, but certainly the

298
00:24:56.440 --> 00:25:05.200
verdict that you've reached is supported by the evidence, circumstantial evidence,

299
00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:10.680
direct evidence, all of the evidence pointed to only one conclusion.

300
00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:14.240
That's the conclusion that you all reach. So I applaud

301
00:25:14.359 --> 00:25:20.119
you all for as a group and as a unit

302
00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:27.960
and individually evaluating the evidence and coming to a proper

303
00:25:29.880 --> 00:25:35.440
conclusion as you saw the law, as you saw the facts.

304
00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:40.200
Now that you've served for the next year, you're not

305
00:25:40.279 --> 00:25:43.480
eligible to serve again. Now, of course, many people never

306
00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:46.640
get called upon. You're not eligible for the next year,

307
00:25:46.680 --> 00:25:50.680
and for two additional years. You can be exempted from

308
00:25:50.759 --> 00:25:54.400
service because no person is required to serve on jury

309
00:25:54.480 --> 00:26:00.640
duty in discourt more often than once every three years.

310
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Tomorrow morning, at nine point thirty, we will reconvene for sentencing.

311
00:26:07.160 --> 00:26:09.839
You all have no role in that because that's solely

312
00:26:09.960 --> 00:26:14.119
up to the judge. To me, you're welcome to come

313
00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:17.160
back if you want to and be a part of

314
00:26:17.160 --> 00:26:21.200
the audience if you like. I also want to thank

315
00:26:21.240 --> 00:26:25.640
the ultimate jewor who was locked away in a room

316
00:26:25.640 --> 00:26:29.839
by herself for these hours.

317
00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:30.559
Who.

318
00:26:34.279 --> 00:26:36.160
Who's hung in there during that period of time, and

319
00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:40.200
to thank you as well, Madam Clerk. What do you

320
00:26:40.279 --> 00:26:42.319
have to tell your jew ors?

321
00:26:45.400 --> 00:26:49.039
Thank you for your service and what the judge said

322
00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:53.799
as well, And I think we can release them tonight

323
00:26:54.200 --> 00:26:55.160
and bring them back.

324
00:26:55.079 --> 00:26:55.640
In the morning.

325
00:26:56.000 --> 00:27:02.039
No, they're off jury duty. They can come back, and

326
00:27:02.200 --> 00:27:06.559
you don't have to if you don't want to. Typically,

327
00:27:06.640 --> 00:27:13.480
i've seen jewrs wanting to see the end result of

328
00:27:13.720 --> 00:27:17.240
a case once they've invested a lot into it. It's

329
00:27:17.240 --> 00:27:22.160
really an amazing thing. With juries. Quite often at the

330
00:27:22.200 --> 00:27:26.519
start of the case, yours are really like, WHOA why

331
00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:30.160
am I here? I wish I wasn't selected. But as

332
00:27:30.200 --> 00:27:35.359
time passes and the Jewrs jewors become invested and really

333
00:27:35.400 --> 00:27:38.640
commit it to the case and committed to seeing it

334
00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:44.400
through and are very disappointed when they are not able

335
00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:48.279
to see it to a conclusion. And then along the

336
00:27:48.279 --> 00:27:52.000
way of serving you end up finding out quite a

337
00:27:52.039 --> 00:27:57.599
bit about our judicial system, uh and learning quite a

338
00:27:57.680 --> 00:28:03.839
bit well about human beings, for sure, but also about

339
00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:10.000
the presentation of evidence and hearing from expert witnesses, and

340
00:28:10.480 --> 00:28:14.920
really learning a lot of things that you'll be able

341
00:28:14.920 --> 00:28:17.960
to take with you when you leave jury duty. And

342
00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:22.920
Madame four lady, I don't know if you're hesitant initially

343
00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:25.640
or not, but you have stepped up to the plate

344
00:28:25.680 --> 00:28:29.799
and done a great job of leading the jury as well.

345
00:28:30.640 --> 00:28:37.240
And think all of you so the jury is dismissed.

346
00:28:37.599 --> 00:28:41.000
If now one thing before you go. Of course, we

347
00:28:41.119 --> 00:28:47.519
have invested a lot in maintaining the privacy of the

348
00:28:47.599 --> 00:28:52.960
jury of each one of you, and you are freed

349
00:28:53.480 --> 00:28:58.039
at this point to discuss the case with anyone. And

350
00:28:58.200 --> 00:29:00.920
given the high profile nature of the case, I'm certain

351
00:29:00.960 --> 00:29:05.319
that the many people in the media would like will

352
00:29:05.480 --> 00:29:12.240
probably want to communicate with you, but they have no

353
00:29:12.440 --> 00:29:17.799
means of contacting you because under order that I issued,

354
00:29:18.039 --> 00:29:24.000
the identity of the jurors must be kept private. And

355
00:29:24.839 --> 00:29:34.359
if you decide that you want to speak with anyone

356
00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:41.400
a local, state, nationally or internationally, that's your prerogative. However,

357
00:29:41.799 --> 00:29:45.440
should anyone harass you, please let me know and I

358
00:29:45.440 --> 00:29:53.079
will addrust those issues. If anyone through the somehow or

359
00:29:53.079 --> 00:29:59.640
another discover your identity and harass you and arrest, assured,

360
00:29:59.680 --> 00:30:03.680
I will intercede on your behalf. That having been said,

361
00:30:04.200 --> 00:30:07.799
you are free to communicate with whomever you might want

362
00:30:07.839 --> 00:30:13.160
to concerning the case from now on. And so with that,

363
00:30:13.400 --> 00:30:15.640
thank you, and you are free to go.

364
00:30:16.920 --> 00:30:21.640
Now. I'm going to reference two articles here from fit News.

365
00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:25.799
They really did an amazing job of covering the verdict

366
00:30:25.880 --> 00:30:30.599
and its implications, and here is how those two arratcles read.

367
00:30:30.759 --> 00:30:35.200
The first is titled Disboard. South Carolina attorney Alex Murdahl

368
00:30:35.359 --> 00:30:39.359
found guilty on all counts in the brutal double homicide

369
00:30:39.359 --> 00:30:43.279
of his wife and son in Collington County on Thursday evening,

370
00:30:44.160 --> 00:30:46.720
and it goes on to say, after less than three

371
00:30:46.759 --> 00:30:51.319
hours of deliberations, twelve jurors returned the unanimous murder verdicts,

372
00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:57.759
along with two guilty verdicts on associated weapons charges. I'm sorry,

373
00:30:58.079 --> 00:31:01.720
Murderall mal to his surviving son, Buster Murdall, as he

374
00:31:01.839 --> 00:31:05.160
was handcuffed and led out of the courtroom. I love you,

375
00:31:05.559 --> 00:31:09.480
I love you. Buster Murdall, who testified on his father's behalf,

376
00:31:09.640 --> 00:31:13.519
offered no visible response to his father. Murder All will

377
00:31:13.559 --> 00:31:18.440
be sentenced tomorrow by South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman,

378
00:31:18.519 --> 00:31:21.640
who's expected to impose back to back life sentences on

379
00:31:21.720 --> 00:31:25.279
two murder charges and additional years behind bars on the

380
00:31:25.319 --> 00:31:29.839
two weapons charges. Upon being sentenced, Murdall will be transferred

381
00:31:29.839 --> 00:31:32.400
at some point to the custody of the South Carolina

382
00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:36.200
in the Department of Corrections. Murdall will be handcuffed, shackled,

383
00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:39.720
and dressed in prison guard upon his arrival at the

384
00:31:39.759 --> 00:31:44.759
Collington County Courthouse on Friday, representing a stark visual departure

385
00:31:44.839 --> 00:31:48.319
from his appearance over the past six weeks in jackets,

386
00:31:48.440 --> 00:31:53.279
dress shirts and slacks. Why the change because Murdall is

387
00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:57.759
now a convicted murderer, not an accused killer. The dramatic

388
00:31:57.799 --> 00:32:01.160
conclusion to the Palametto states the trial of the century

389
00:32:01.319 --> 00:32:05.119
almost didn't happen, though, prior to the removal of a

390
00:32:05.240 --> 00:32:09.039
juror earlier in the day, sources familiar with the deliberations

391
00:32:09.079 --> 00:32:14.559
indicated Mardoll's trial, which drew international attention, would likely have

392
00:32:14.759 --> 00:32:17.880
ended in a hung jury. Newmen removed the juror in

393
00:32:18.039 --> 00:32:22.839
question for having improper conversations with three individuals about the case.

394
00:32:23.319 --> 00:32:27.480
The juror allegedly lied to Newman about these communications, which

395
00:32:27.599 --> 00:32:31.279
violated his order the jurors are not to discuss the

396
00:32:31.319 --> 00:32:35.119
case with anyone or each other. Newmen removed her in

397
00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:38.680
order to protect the integrity of the process. Quote, you

398
00:32:38.720 --> 00:32:41.759
have been, by all accounts a great juror, Newman said,

399
00:32:41.839 --> 00:32:45.240
telling her she had been attentive to the case. Newman

400
00:32:45.359 --> 00:32:49.839
added he was not suggesting she intentionally did anything wrong,

401
00:32:50.279 --> 00:32:53.559
and thanked her for her service. Her removal paved the

402
00:32:53.599 --> 00:32:57.160
way for a guilty verdict. Just hours later, she was

403
00:32:57.240 --> 00:33:01.880
dug in. A source familiar with the deliberations confirmed she

404
00:33:01.960 --> 00:33:04.920
said he was not guilty and there was nothing anyone

405
00:33:04.960 --> 00:33:08.079
could do to change her mind. She would have hung

406
00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:11.680
the jury. Another source confirmed, yallin, that's huge.

407
00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:12.240
Now.

408
00:33:12.279 --> 00:33:15.960
At approximately six pm, the jurors indicated the court officials

409
00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:18.599
they would not need to have dinner delivered to them.

410
00:33:18.720 --> 00:33:21.839
This was the first indication that the loan hold out

411
00:33:21.920 --> 00:33:25.000
on the panel had been swayed. The next indication came

412
00:33:25.039 --> 00:33:27.960
as one of the bailiffs in the courtroom instructive members

413
00:33:27.960 --> 00:33:30.559
of the gallery at around six point fifty pm to

414
00:33:30.680 --> 00:33:33.720
refrain from making any sounds whether you agree with the

415
00:33:33.799 --> 00:33:38.160
verdict or not. After that, things moved fast. Judge Newman

416
00:33:38.200 --> 00:33:41.000
into the courtroom announced the verdict had been reached, and

417
00:33:41.079 --> 00:33:44.720
three minutes later he addressed the fore woman and of

418
00:33:44.799 --> 00:33:48.799
course we played that verdict for you. And I'm just

419
00:33:48.880 --> 00:33:51.640
going to read this other article they put out there

420
00:33:51.680 --> 00:33:56.319
at FIT News that references Alex Mardaf's decision to actually

421
00:33:56.440 --> 00:33:59.160
testify in his own defense, and it says a South

422
00:33:59.200 --> 00:34:03.680
Carolina jury convicted former lawyer Alex Murdoch of murdering his

423
00:34:03.839 --> 00:34:07.279
wife and son after less than three hours. Jurors did

424
00:34:07.279 --> 00:34:10.280
not ask to have any testimony re read or see

425
00:34:10.320 --> 00:34:13.920
any evidence again. Quote, it was one thing for them

426
00:34:13.960 --> 00:34:16.719
to come to a rather quick decision, meaning a day

427
00:34:16.800 --> 00:34:19.840
or two if they were going to find Alec Murdoch guilty.

428
00:34:20.360 --> 00:34:24.599
It's another thing to come to the decision within three hours,

429
00:34:24.920 --> 00:34:27.400
a legal analyst said. And then it goes on to

430
00:34:27.400 --> 00:34:31.280
say the most likely explanation was Murdall's decision to take

431
00:34:31.320 --> 00:34:35.199
the stand. While testifying, the embattled lawyer admitted that he

432
00:34:35.320 --> 00:34:38.079
lied about his whereabouts the night of the murders. The

433
00:34:38.159 --> 00:34:42.000
prosecution also had a video for Murdoch's son's phone that

434
00:34:42.119 --> 00:34:44.639
proved that Mardall was at the side of the murders

435
00:34:44.679 --> 00:34:47.679
with his wife and son just minutes before they were killed.

436
00:34:47.760 --> 00:34:51.800
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who was one of

437
00:34:51.840 --> 00:34:55.199
the prosecutors in the case, also said that Murdoch's decision

438
00:34:55.280 --> 00:34:57.679
to take the stand hurt him. I think it hurt

439
00:34:57.760 --> 00:35:00.679
him one hundred percent. I think ultimately he had heard

440
00:35:00.760 --> 00:35:03.360
him in the end. This is a person who has

441
00:35:03.360 --> 00:35:07.400
spent his entire career was very successful making millions of

442
00:35:07.440 --> 00:35:10.599
dollars making closing arguments to a jury. And I guess

443
00:35:10.679 --> 00:35:13.199
in the back of his mind he probably believed this

444
00:35:13.280 --> 00:35:17.239
is his opportunity to make this final closing argument. He's

445
00:35:17.280 --> 00:35:21.239
been manipulating people for decades, lying and manipulating to get

446
00:35:21.239 --> 00:35:23.920
his way, and I feel like he thought he could

447
00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:27.639
do this to a jury. That's probably what he was thinking.

448
00:35:27.800 --> 00:35:33.760
But it blew up in his face, and so I

449
00:35:33.800 --> 00:35:36.760
could not agree with that anymore. I think that was

450
00:35:36.800 --> 00:35:43.519
a major mistake on Murdoch's part. Now, honestly, no one

451
00:35:43.719 --> 00:35:47.440
was happier with this verdict than the State of South Carolina,

452
00:35:47.519 --> 00:35:51.400
the Attorney General of South Carolina, and of course Creighton Waters,

453
00:35:51.400 --> 00:35:55.800
who took on a titan and destroyed him. Quite frankly,

454
00:35:56.760 --> 00:36:00.639
here is what he in that Attorney General said immediately

455
00:36:01.119 --> 00:36:02.719
following that verdict.

456
00:36:03.639 --> 00:36:10.039
Wow, what a great day for the people of South Carolina.

457
00:36:10.320 --> 00:36:12.079
I want to thank every one of you for being

458
00:36:12.119 --> 00:36:14.480
here tonight. Is there's a lot of emotion here tonight

459
00:36:14.519 --> 00:36:17.159
at this courthouse, a lot of a year and a half,

460
00:36:17.239 --> 00:36:20.199
nearly two years of blood, sweat and tears. It feels

461
00:36:20.360 --> 00:36:22.280
like a lot of hard work from so many people.

462
00:36:22.320 --> 00:36:24.559
So if you will just bear with me. There's a

463
00:36:24.559 --> 00:36:26.559
couple of not a couple. There's a lot of people

464
00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:29.280
I have to think. But first, those of you don't know,

465
00:36:29.519 --> 00:36:32.519
I'm Alan Wilson. I'm South Carolina's Attorney General, and I

466
00:36:32.599 --> 00:36:34.719
got the best staff of any attorney general in the

467
00:36:34.800 --> 00:36:39.159
United States of America. I want to start by thanking

468
00:36:39.199 --> 00:36:41.320
our prosecution team. I want to tell you I've been

469
00:36:41.360 --> 00:36:43.760
here for six nearly six weeks with this team, living

470
00:36:43.800 --> 00:36:47.119
in a hotel, and it felt almost like being in

471
00:36:47.159 --> 00:36:51.440
a dorm environment in college. Late nights, cramming, studying, little sleep,

472
00:36:51.639 --> 00:36:54.760
away from our families, getting up early, getting here to

473
00:36:54.840 --> 00:36:58.440
the courthouse, working long hours, getting on each other's nerves

474
00:36:58.440 --> 00:37:01.760
at times. But it was all worth it. It was

475
00:37:01.800 --> 00:37:03.880
all worth it because we got to bring justice and

476
00:37:03.920 --> 00:37:06.840
be a voice for Maggie and Paul Murdoch and bring

477
00:37:06.920 --> 00:37:09.920
justice for the people of South Carolina. I let to

478
00:37:09.920 --> 00:37:14.199
start real briefly by thanking our team. First, excuse me

479
00:37:14.360 --> 00:37:17.679
and put my glasses on our chief prosecutor. I tell

480
00:37:17.679 --> 00:37:20.679
you I appointed Creighton Waters to be the chief prosecutor

481
00:37:20.719 --> 00:37:22.519
of this case nearly a year and a half ago,

482
00:37:23.360 --> 00:37:24.960
and I want to say I'm pretty brilliant because I

483
00:37:25.360 --> 00:37:26.199
picked the right guy.

484
00:37:26.519 --> 00:37:29.199
And I want to say thank you to Craven Watts Creighton.

485
00:37:29.239 --> 00:37:30.480
You did a fantastic job.

486
00:37:30.480 --> 00:37:32.079
I don't think there's another attorney in to say as

487
00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:36.000
South Carolina could have led this herculean effort. But Creighton

488
00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:37.519
will be the first to tell you he didn't do

489
00:37:37.559 --> 00:37:40.079
it alone because you had a team of people. I

490
00:37:40.119 --> 00:37:44.519
want to first thank Don Zalinka, who is actually Creighton's boss.

491
00:37:44.559 --> 00:37:46.719
He is the Deputy Attorney General, been in the Attorney

492
00:37:46.719 --> 00:37:49.559
General's office for over forty years. Sitting here to my

493
00:37:49.599 --> 00:37:53.000
immediate left, Don Zealinka, thank you so much. John Metters.

494
00:37:53.079 --> 00:37:54.760
Many of you got to see him do the closing

495
00:37:54.840 --> 00:37:58.679
argument today. John, thank you. You've been a phenomenal ad

496
00:37:58.719 --> 00:38:03.639
to our team. I'm gonna go quickly through the names,

497
00:38:03.679 --> 00:38:06.039
but as I read the names, please raise your hand.

498
00:38:06.119 --> 00:38:08.440
You know Creighton, you saw Don and you see John,

499
00:38:08.840 --> 00:38:18.760
David Fernandez, John Conrad, Johnny James Savannah, gal Ozzie Toledo,

500
00:38:20.159 --> 00:38:27.880
Shane Acito, Carly Jewel Carson, Bernie Danielle Cologne, and.

501
00:38:27.840 --> 00:38:29.679
Our victims Advocate Tricia Allen.

502
00:38:31.039 --> 00:38:33.719
I also want to say thank you to the South

503
00:38:33.719 --> 00:38:38.480
Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Mark Keel assigned some amazing men

504
00:38:38.519 --> 00:38:41.199
and women. And when I said it was an agency

505
00:38:41.280 --> 00:38:44.000
wide effort on behalf of SLED, I can't underscore that

506
00:38:44.039 --> 00:38:47.239
part enough. Every time I called Chief Keel, every time

507
00:38:47.280 --> 00:38:49.679
I reached out to the lead agents, every time Creighton

508
00:38:49.800 --> 00:38:52.159
was asking me, hey, General, we need something from SLED,

509
00:38:52.440 --> 00:38:54.920
we would reach out to SLID and they were there.

510
00:38:55.039 --> 00:38:56.280
They busted their butts.

511
00:38:56.840 --> 00:39:01.880
I can't begin to list free agent and some can't

512
00:39:01.880 --> 00:39:05.239
be listened for obvious reasons. Some are standing up here tonight.

513
00:39:05.639 --> 00:39:08.159
I told them I wasn't gonna mention their names, but

514
00:39:08.199 --> 00:39:10.599
we would not be here if it wasn't for SLID.

515
00:39:10.599 --> 00:39:12.719
And I want to thank Mark Keeling, his team, and

516
00:39:12.840 --> 00:39:15.480
all of the men and women across the entire State

517
00:39:15.559 --> 00:39:18.960
Law Enforcement Division for what they did to make tonight

518
00:39:19.039 --> 00:39:23.559
a possibility. I also want to thank the FBI and

519
00:39:23.599 --> 00:39:26.360
the Secret Service, our federal partners. We had to utilize

520
00:39:26.400 --> 00:39:29.280
many of their assets and resources. We couldn't do all

521
00:39:29.320 --> 00:39:32.280
the things that we did without our federal partners. We

522
00:39:32.320 --> 00:39:35.719
had a lot of local partners. We had the Carlton

523
00:39:35.760 --> 00:39:39.320
County Sheriff's Department, Buddy Hill, Sheriff Hill and his team

524
00:39:39.719 --> 00:39:40.800
providing the security.

525
00:39:40.840 --> 00:39:42.559
They did a phenomenal job and they were there.

526
00:39:42.639 --> 00:39:45.239
They were the first responders the night on June seventh,

527
00:39:45.280 --> 00:39:48.599
twenty twenty one, when Maggie and Paul were butchered brutally.

528
00:39:48.920 --> 00:39:51.239
They were the first responders and they were the first

529
00:39:51.239 --> 00:39:55.400
ones to be there. The Charleston County Sheriff's Office, the

530
00:39:55.440 --> 00:39:59.639
Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office were instrumental in supporting our investigative efforts.

531
00:40:00.079 --> 00:40:03.679
All know Kenny Kenzie, our chief crime scene expert, was

532
00:40:03.760 --> 00:40:05.320
was the Arrangebrook Sheriff's Office.

533
00:40:05.639 --> 00:40:07.599
I also want to thank the City of Walterborough.

534
00:40:07.679 --> 00:40:10.320
I think the mayor is here somewhere, and the police

535
00:40:10.320 --> 00:40:12.000
department they provided security.

536
00:40:12.599 --> 00:40:12.920
Thank you.

537
00:40:12.960 --> 00:40:17.159
This is the This whole community has embraced our entire

538
00:40:17.519 --> 00:40:19.440
team and I cannot thank you enough.

539
00:40:20.199 --> 00:40:21.159
We've all been away.

540
00:40:21.000 --> 00:40:23.119
From our families, two hours away from our families for

541
00:40:23.159 --> 00:40:26.519
the past two months, and it's this community that made us.

542
00:40:26.559 --> 00:40:28.800
We would walk into restaurants and people would come up

543
00:40:28.840 --> 00:40:31.280
and fake us. You know, you don't have any idea

544
00:40:31.960 --> 00:40:34.039
how good that makes people feel when dur under an

545
00:40:34.079 --> 00:40:38.159
incredible amount of stress, an incredible amount of scrutiny, and

546
00:40:38.239 --> 00:40:44.480
this community really embraced us. I want to thank the

547
00:40:44.519 --> 00:40:47.639
Carleton County Clerk of Court, Becky Hill, and her entire

548
00:40:47.719 --> 00:40:55.960
team and their staff. I I call her Becky Booth,

549
00:40:56.000 --> 00:40:58.760
that's her nickname. But Matt and Clark, wherever you are tonight,

550
00:41:04.280 --> 00:41:08.559
I'm sorry that's my pet name for But I want

551
00:41:08.559 --> 00:41:11.079
to thank you, Madam Clerk, for you, the entire team,

552
00:41:11.159 --> 00:41:14.599
the bailiffs, the court security, the staff here.

553
00:41:14.360 --> 00:41:15.679
There was no role.

554
00:41:15.519 --> 00:41:17.639
That was too small that they weren't willing to do

555
00:41:17.760 --> 00:41:21.159
for us. The security team here. It was a herculean

556
00:41:21.239 --> 00:41:25.119
air effort by everybody. And I can't thank enough people.

557
00:41:27.920 --> 00:41:30.079
I don't know if I mentioned the bailiffs, but I

558
00:41:30.079 --> 00:41:31.920
want to thank them. And there's another group of people

559
00:41:32.039 --> 00:41:35.920
who you don't know who they are, but that's the jurors.

560
00:41:36.679 --> 00:41:38.760
And not just the jurors, but the alternance, the ones

561
00:41:38.760 --> 00:41:40.840
who didn't even get to serve to the very end,

562
00:41:40.880 --> 00:41:43.400
but people who were taken away from their families. And

563
00:41:43.400 --> 00:41:45.599
I want to thank the families of our jurors who

564
00:41:45.679 --> 00:41:50.360
sat here every single day for what seemed like long

565
00:41:50.400 --> 00:41:55.199
amounts of tedious, monotonous information and evidence. Sometimes people didn't

566
00:41:55.239 --> 00:41:57.480
know what it meant. They didn't understand it, and they

567
00:41:57.480 --> 00:41:59.880
had to sit there and process it and hear it

568
00:42:00.079 --> 00:42:02.760
over and over and over again. And I want to

569
00:42:02.760 --> 00:42:07.239
thank these nameless jurors whose identities have been protected. They

570
00:42:07.280 --> 00:42:09.239
may make their identities available to all of you at

571
00:42:09.239 --> 00:42:12.880
some point, but they sat there and they delivered justice tonight,

572
00:42:12.920 --> 00:42:15.519
and I want to thank them for their role in

573
00:42:15.559 --> 00:42:16.360
this process.

574
00:42:17.199 --> 00:42:19.000
You know, Winston Churchill said.

575
00:42:22.079 --> 00:42:24.920
Democracy is the worst form of government except for every

576
00:42:24.960 --> 00:42:27.159
other kind. I kind of want to adopt that and say,

577
00:42:27.199 --> 00:42:29.639
we may have the worst criminal justice system in the world,

578
00:42:29.679 --> 00:42:31.599
but it's better than every other kind that there is.

579
00:42:31.880 --> 00:42:34.079
And our criminal justice system worked tonight.

580
00:42:34.519 --> 00:42:39.679
It gave a voice to Maggie and Paul Murdoch, who

581
00:42:39.760 --> 00:42:43.239
were brutally mowed down and murdered on the night of

582
00:42:43.320 --> 00:42:47.079
June seventh, twenty twenty one, by someone that they loved

583
00:42:47.079 --> 00:42:50.119
and someone that they trusted, and they couldn't be here

584
00:42:50.159 --> 00:42:54.320
to testify for themselves tonight. Their testimony came through the

585
00:42:54.320 --> 00:42:56.719
evidence and the information that was gathered by the men

586
00:42:56.760 --> 00:42:59.760
and women of the agencies I've just mentioned. It came

587
00:43:00.519 --> 00:43:04.840
from the testimony of the agents and the investigators and

588
00:43:04.960 --> 00:43:07.679
the attorneys and the folks and our staff who were

589
00:43:07.719 --> 00:43:10.000
able to get it to the court record, and so

590
00:43:10.119 --> 00:43:13.320
I want to say tonight their voice was heard tonight

591
00:43:13.639 --> 00:43:14.960
and justice was brought for them.

592
00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:17.360
We can't bring them back, but we can bring him justice.

593
00:43:19.480 --> 00:43:24.519
I started off my remarks by saying, it is a

594
00:43:24.559 --> 00:43:25.960
good day in South Carolina.

595
00:43:27.800 --> 00:43:29.840
Today's verdict proves that no.

596
00:43:29.719 --> 00:43:34.079
One, no one, no matter who you are in society,

597
00:43:34.239 --> 00:43:40.239
is above the law. A lot of people doubted that

598
00:43:40.280 --> 00:43:43.800
this process would work, and hopefully for those who did

599
00:43:43.880 --> 00:43:47.960
doubt the process, hopefully we have instilled and put a

600
00:43:47.960 --> 00:43:50.880
little bit of faith back into you and your lives

601
00:43:50.920 --> 00:43:55.119
as you view this process as it unfolds. I'm proud

602
00:43:55.519 --> 00:43:57.920
of this team. I am proud of the men and

603
00:43:57.960 --> 00:44:01.199
women standing behind me tonight, and there's been a lot

604
00:44:01.199 --> 00:44:03.559
of emotion, and I just want to stay from the

605
00:44:03.599 --> 00:44:06.400
bottom of my heart, I saw firsthand for the last

606
00:44:06.480 --> 00:44:10.199
five or six weeks, the countless nights where you were

607
00:44:10.239 --> 00:44:12.679
up beyond midnight and you were getting up before dawn,

608
00:44:13.599 --> 00:44:17.679
not eating. Was watching Nancy Grace the other night and

609
00:44:17.679 --> 00:44:22.559
I heard her called Creighton pale and gaw because Creighton

610
00:44:22.679 --> 00:44:26.159
wasn't eating and sleeping. He really wasn't, folks. I'm serious,

611
00:44:26.159 --> 00:44:27.840
so you know we would have to bring in kind

612
00:44:27.920 --> 00:44:31.239
bars and things to eat during breaks. But Creighton herculean effort,

613
00:44:31.280 --> 00:44:34.119
my friend, and I am truly honored to have you

614
00:44:34.119 --> 00:44:35.760
on our team. Thank you for being a great leader

615
00:44:35.800 --> 00:44:37.519
and a great chief prosecutor. And I would like to

616
00:44:37.519 --> 00:44:39.800
invite you to come up here and make some remarks

617
00:44:39.800 --> 00:44:40.719
for the folks here tonight.

618
00:44:43.119 --> 00:44:54.639
Thanks everybody, and let's start by thanking this guy who's

619
00:44:54.719 --> 00:44:58.760
given me and all these folks behind us opportunities to

620
00:44:58.840 --> 00:45:00.400
do justice, which is what we want.

621
00:45:00.320 --> 00:45:01.320
To do with our careers.

622
00:45:02.480 --> 00:45:07.079
It is very tough and demanding, but it's rewarding for

623
00:45:07.199 --> 00:45:08.199
moments like these.

624
00:45:09.079 --> 00:45:10.840
The General stole a lot of my lines.

625
00:45:10.880 --> 00:45:14.320
But I also want to thank the jurors for their

626
00:45:14.360 --> 00:45:17.800
long and arduous service. And we had no doubt that

627
00:45:17.840 --> 00:45:20.239
if we had a chance to present our case in

628
00:45:20.280 --> 00:45:22.880
a court of law, that they would see through the

629
00:45:22.920 --> 00:45:26.320
one last con that Alec Murdau was trying to pull,

630
00:45:26.480 --> 00:45:29.320
and they did, and we're so grateful for that. I

631
00:45:29.360 --> 00:45:33.000
get to lead the State Grand Jury Section in the

632
00:45:33.039 --> 00:45:36.079
Attorney General's Office. This particular case is not a state

633
00:45:36.119 --> 00:45:38.400
grand jury case. There are other indictments that our state

634
00:45:38.400 --> 00:45:40.960
grand jury but the one thing about that is is

635
00:45:41.000 --> 00:45:43.039
that I have an amazing team, and I want to

636
00:45:43.039 --> 00:45:45.920
be clear, this was a team effort. Y'all saw all

637
00:45:45.960 --> 00:45:50.840
of these folks behind me doing amazing work, and I

638
00:45:50.880 --> 00:45:54.119
can't be prouder of a team in my life.

639
00:45:54.519 --> 00:45:56.320
We called this our super.

640
00:45:56.039 --> 00:45:58.760
Bowl, and not because of the media attention, but just

641
00:45:58.800 --> 00:46:00.800
because of the effort that he knew that we would

642
00:46:00.840 --> 00:46:03.440
have to put into this. And we didn't really get

643
00:46:03.480 --> 00:46:05.199
to watch much of the super Bowl that went on

644
00:46:05.280 --> 00:46:07.039
because when we arrived, I think it was winter and

645
00:46:07.039 --> 00:46:10.760
it feels like spring now. But every single member of

646
00:46:10.800 --> 00:46:14.800
this team, every single member of the State Grand Jury staff,

647
00:46:14.880 --> 00:46:17.440
what we do well is work together as a team

648
00:46:17.480 --> 00:46:20.239
in complex investigations. And who we work with is my

649
00:46:20.320 --> 00:46:23.719
partners that's sled and I can't thank them enough as well,

650
00:46:23.760 --> 00:46:26.840
because we're used to working on these complex cases and

651
00:46:26.880 --> 00:46:31.079
working together. And I'm not leaving out Sheriff Hill in

652
00:46:31.159 --> 00:46:34.719
the Coleton County Sheriff's Office, and our federal partners in

653
00:46:34.800 --> 00:46:39.079
Orangeburg and Charleston Sheriff's Office and all the other agencies

654
00:46:39.119 --> 00:46:41.320
that have worked on this case. I also want to

655
00:46:41.320 --> 00:46:43.880
thank Miss Becky, if she's still up there, because she's

656
00:46:43.920 --> 00:46:48.039
been amazing. The clerk staff has been amazing, the court

657
00:46:48.039 --> 00:46:50.880
staff has been amazing, the bailiffs have been amazing. And

658
00:46:50.960 --> 00:46:53.719
again I also want to thank this community who really

659
00:46:53.760 --> 00:46:57.039
has embraced us and has been so great to us

660
00:46:57.280 --> 00:47:01.639
and made us able to survive this process that has

661
00:47:01.719 --> 00:47:04.320
been long and arduous. And I have been sleeping, I

662
00:47:04.360 --> 00:47:07.079
haven't done, and I have been eating more than cond

663
00:47:07.119 --> 00:47:09.800
bars every now and then. But and I'm sure that's

664
00:47:09.800 --> 00:47:14.320
a nice plug for kind But anyway, it really has

665
00:47:14.400 --> 00:47:16.159
been a great process.

666
00:47:16.239 --> 00:47:17.480
We will have senacing tomorrow.

667
00:47:17.599 --> 00:47:20.519
Obviously we're not gonna comment on sentencing because that's still pending.

668
00:47:21.320 --> 00:47:26.719
But justice was done today. It doesn't matter who your

669
00:47:26.760 --> 00:47:30.400
family is. It doesn't matter how much money you have

670
00:47:30.599 --> 00:47:35.320
or people think you have. It doesn't matter what you think,

671
00:47:35.360 --> 00:47:38.840
how prominent you are. If you do wrong, if you

672
00:47:38.960 --> 00:47:43.559
break the law, if you murder, then justice will be

673
00:47:43.599 --> 00:47:46.559
done in South Carolina. And I think South Carolina has

674
00:47:46.599 --> 00:47:49.559
shown the nation in the world how a process can

675
00:47:49.599 --> 00:47:50.480
work and work well.

676
00:47:51.000 --> 00:47:51.599
Thank y'all.

677
00:47:55.119 --> 00:47:58.400
And also I want to thank Creighton.

678
00:47:58.440 --> 00:48:00.280
I told Crateon, I said, create them, We'll come and

679
00:48:00.320 --> 00:48:02.519
I'm gonna I'm gonna be just a staff attorney. I know,

680
00:48:02.559 --> 00:48:05.440
I'm your boss, I'm your boss's boss's boss. But I said,

681
00:48:05.440 --> 00:48:07.639
I'm gonna come down and I'm gonna help. And uh,

682
00:48:08.079 --> 00:48:10.960
I said, uh, I'm gonna I'm gonna follow instruction. And

683
00:48:11.360 --> 00:48:12.960
I hope, I hope I was true to my word

684
00:48:14.159 --> 00:48:16.280
this past weekend. I'll say, what can I do to help?

685
00:48:16.320 --> 00:48:18.119
I said, Uh, I'm willing to take a witness if

686
00:48:18.119 --> 00:48:20.760
it will help. He said, actually it would so.

687
00:48:20.960 --> 00:48:21.119
Uh.

688
00:48:21.159 --> 00:48:23.960
He he let an old prosecutor dust off his cleats

689
00:48:23.960 --> 00:48:26.280
and get back in the game and and to help

690
00:48:26.320 --> 00:48:26.960
the team out.

691
00:48:27.280 --> 00:48:28.800
And I got to be the boss of the boss

692
00:48:28.800 --> 00:48:33.760
for a while. Yeah, don't get used to it. Uh No.

693
00:48:33.840 --> 00:48:37.360
But in all seriousness, I'm I'm I'm proud of the

694
00:48:37.360 --> 00:48:40.280
decisions that I made and putting the people behind me

695
00:48:40.320 --> 00:48:42.119
into the left and right of me in charge of

696
00:48:42.159 --> 00:48:43.800
this case. And I was honored to be part of

697
00:48:43.800 --> 00:48:46.599
this team, just another member, just another worker be in

698
00:48:46.639 --> 00:48:48.480
the trench. Is trying to bring justice to the people

699
00:48:48.480 --> 00:48:51.199
of uh of this of this state, and to bring

700
00:48:51.280 --> 00:48:53.119
justice to the people who couldn't be here tonight because

701
00:48:53.119 --> 00:48:55.039
they were brutally murdered by someone they trusted.

702
00:48:55.559 --> 00:48:56.559
Now with that being.

703
00:48:56.400 --> 00:48:58.800
Said, I know a lot of people want to talk

704
00:48:58.840 --> 00:49:00.480
to us, A lot of people want to talk to

705
00:49:00.519 --> 00:49:02.760
some of the attorneys and the support staff and the

706
00:49:02.760 --> 00:49:04.559
agents investigators here tonight.

707
00:49:04.920 --> 00:49:07.280
Some of you want to talk to me and others.

708
00:49:07.639 --> 00:49:10.760
We're gonna make ourselves available to you, But like mister

709
00:49:10.800 --> 00:49:14.280
Waters just said, tomorrow, there's a sentencing hearing and we

710
00:49:14.280 --> 00:49:16.000
don't want to get out in front of our skis,

711
00:49:16.039 --> 00:49:18.159
and plus I'm starting to feel the rain come down.

712
00:49:18.760 --> 00:49:21.599
But I promise you we're gonna make ourselves available to

713
00:49:21.679 --> 00:49:23.840
talk to members of the media, to talk to all

714
00:49:23.880 --> 00:49:25.239
of you out there that have questions.

715
00:49:25.280 --> 00:49:27.719
We'll answer any questions that we ethically can.

716
00:49:28.119 --> 00:49:31.039
So there you have it, and all that is left

717
00:49:31.199 --> 00:49:36.000
for Mardall is the sentencing phase. And it is at

718
00:49:36.039 --> 00:49:40.719
this point that we really hear how much thought Judge

719
00:49:40.760 --> 00:49:44.760
Clifford Newman put into this case when he sentences Mardall.

720
00:49:45.559 --> 00:49:50.079
It is really an amazing speech that you've got to hear.

721
00:49:50.639 --> 00:49:51.920
This is what it sounded like.

722
00:49:55.679 --> 00:50:00.559
This has been perhaps one of the most troubling cases,

723
00:50:01.000 --> 00:50:07.079
not just for me as a judge, for the state,

724
00:50:07.440 --> 00:50:11.800
for the defense team, but for all of the citizens

725
00:50:11.840 --> 00:50:15.719
in this community, all the citizens in this state, and

726
00:50:15.800 --> 00:50:21.559
as we have seen based on the media coverage there

727
00:50:21.599 --> 00:50:30.480
throughout the nation, you have a wife who's been killed murdered,

728
00:50:31.679 --> 00:50:45.199
a son savage savages, savagely murdered, a lawyer, a person

729
00:50:45.440 --> 00:50:51.039
from a respected family who has controlled justice in this

730
00:50:51.119 --> 00:51:01.119
community for over a century, a person who's grandfather's portrait

731
00:51:02.960 --> 00:51:09.199
hang at the back of the courthouse that I had

732
00:51:09.199 --> 00:51:16.000
to have ordered removed in order to ensure that a

733
00:51:16.119 --> 00:51:19.960
fair trial was had by both the state and the defense.

734
00:51:22.079 --> 00:51:28.719
And I've sat through the trial. Not only have set

735
00:51:28.760 --> 00:51:34.920
through the trial, but also as the presiding judge of

736
00:51:34.960 --> 00:51:42.480
the state grand jury, sat through and participated in the

737
00:51:42.519 --> 00:51:50.239
issuance of search warrants of various sorts, bond hearings, and

738
00:51:52.159 --> 00:51:59.719
have had to consider many things. And we have this case,

739
00:52:01.039 --> 00:52:08.039
and I'm also assigned to preside over ninety nine others,

740
00:52:09.360 --> 00:52:16.960
at least ninety nine other cases. Though testimony has come

741
00:52:17.039 --> 00:52:20.880
up regarding many of those other cases. I will not

742
00:52:21.239 --> 00:52:24.880
make any comment with regard to any other pending matter,

743
00:52:25.559 --> 00:52:32.480
as I have been assigned those cases as well. It's

744
00:52:32.519 --> 00:52:40.199
also particularly troubling, mister Murdoch because as a member of

745
00:52:40.239 --> 00:52:42.800
the legal community and a well known member of the

746
00:52:42.920 --> 00:52:50.480
legal community. You've practiced law before me, and we've seen

747
00:52:50.519 --> 00:52:59.039
each other at various occasions throughout the years, and it

748
00:52:59.239 --> 00:53:07.440
was especially heartbreaking for me to see you gone go

749
00:53:07.599 --> 00:53:13.719
in the media from being aggrieving father who lost a

750
00:53:13.920 --> 00:53:21.119
wife and a son to being the person indicted and

751
00:53:21.199 --> 00:53:30.599
convicted of killing them. And you've engaged in such duplicitous

752
00:53:30.679 --> 00:53:39.079
conduct here in the courtroom, here on the witness stand,

753
00:53:42.159 --> 00:53:51.519
and as established by the testimony throughout the time leading

754
00:53:51.559 --> 00:53:54.760
from the time of the indictment and prior to the indictment,

755
00:53:54.800 --> 00:54:00.599
throughout the trial to this moment in time, certainly you

756
00:54:01.760 --> 00:54:09.679
have no obligation to say anything other than saying not guilty.

757
00:54:10.800 --> 00:54:18.440
And obviously, as appeals are probably expected or absolutely expected,

758
00:54:19.559 --> 00:54:29.960
I would not expect a confession of any kind. In fact,

759
00:54:30.000 --> 00:54:35.119
as I've presided over murder cases over the past twenty

760
00:54:35.159 --> 00:54:40.480
two years, I have yet to find a defendant who

761
00:54:40.519 --> 00:54:43.920
could go there, who could go back to that moment

762
00:54:43.960 --> 00:54:49.599
in time when they decided to pull the trigger or

763
00:54:49.639 --> 00:54:52.480
to otherwise murder someone. I have not been able to

764
00:54:52.519 --> 00:54:59.679
get anyone, any defendant, even those who have confessed to

765
00:54:59.760 --> 00:55:05.360
being guilty, to go back and explain to me what

766
00:55:05.599 --> 00:55:12.559
happened at that moment in time when they opted to

767
00:55:12.679 --> 00:55:18.480
pull the trigger, when they opted to commit the most

768
00:55:19.880 --> 00:55:29.800
hinous crime known to man in this case qualifies under

769
00:55:29.880 --> 00:55:36.320
our death penalty statue based on the statutory the statutory

770
00:55:36.360 --> 00:55:44.320
aggravating circumstances of two or more people being murdered by

771
00:55:44.400 --> 00:55:48.719
the defendant by one act or pursuant to one scheme

772
00:55:48.960 --> 00:55:59.360
or course of conduct. I don't question at all the

773
00:55:59.400 --> 00:56:04.519
decision of the state not to pursue the death penalty.

774
00:56:06.920 --> 00:56:09.599
But as I sit here in this courtroom and look

775
00:56:09.880 --> 00:56:18.599
around the many portraits of judges and other court officials,

776
00:56:19.840 --> 00:56:23.719
and reflect on the fact that over the past century,

777
00:56:24.360 --> 00:56:30.559
your family, including you, have been prosecuting people here in

778
00:56:30.599 --> 00:56:39.119
this courtroom, and many have received the death penalty, probably

779
00:56:39.239 --> 00:56:53.840
for lesser conduct. Remind me of the expression you gave

780
00:56:53.880 --> 00:57:01.440
them the witness stand. Was it tangled? We oh? What

781
00:57:01.639 --> 00:57:05.840
tangle web we weave? What did you mean by that?

782
00:57:08.280 --> 00:57:09.840
Meant? When I lied?

783
00:57:09.880 --> 00:57:11.119
I continue to lie.

784
00:57:14.360 --> 00:57:17.519
And the question is when will it end? When will

785
00:57:17.519 --> 00:57:23.519
it end? And it's ended already for the jury because

786
00:57:23.920 --> 00:57:29.760
they've concluded that you continue to lie and lie throughout

787
00:57:29.800 --> 00:57:37.440
your testimony and perhaps with all the throng of people here,

788
00:57:37.519 --> 00:57:44.480
they for the most part, all believe or believe that

789
00:57:44.519 --> 00:57:48.320
you continue to lie. Now when you your statement of

790
00:57:48.400 --> 00:57:56.440
denial to the court, perhaps you believe that it's it

791
00:57:56.480 --> 00:58:03.159
does not matter that there's nothing that can mitigate a

792
00:58:03.280 --> 00:58:12.920
sentence given the crime, the crimes that were committed. You know,

793
00:58:12.960 --> 00:58:17.360
a notice of alibi was filed in this case by

794
00:58:17.480 --> 00:58:21.719
council in November, and we conducted a hearing pre try

795
00:58:21.800 --> 00:58:30.000
hearing in which you claimed to have been someplace else

796
00:58:30.079 --> 00:58:36.119
at the time the crime was committed. Then after all

797
00:58:36.119 --> 00:58:38.360
of the witnesses placed you at the scene of the

798
00:58:38.400 --> 00:58:46.039
crime at the last minute or last minutes or days,

799
00:58:46.199 --> 00:58:53.800
you switch courses and admit it to being there. And

800
00:58:53.800 --> 00:58:59.639
then that necessitated more lies and continue to lie. And

801
00:59:02.760 --> 00:59:05.519
I said, will it end? It's already ended for many

802
00:59:05.599 --> 00:59:10.159
who have heard you and concluded that it will never end.

803
00:59:11.519 --> 00:59:13.920
But within your own soul you have to deal with that.

804
00:59:16.280 --> 00:59:22.039
And I know you have to see Paul and Maggie

805
00:59:22.079 --> 00:59:24.800
during the night time when you're attempting to go to sleep.

806
00:59:25.760 --> 00:59:34.280
I'm sure they come and visit you. I'm sure, and

807
00:59:34.400 --> 00:59:39.679
every night, I'm sure, and they will continue to do so.

808
00:59:41.239 --> 00:59:45.559
And reflect on the last time they looked you in

809
00:59:45.599 --> 00:59:54.079
the eyes as you look the jury and eyes I

810
00:59:54.119 --> 01:00:00.840
don't know person who's always been such a gregarious, friendly

811
01:00:01.480 --> 01:00:08.239
person and cause your life to be tangled in such

812
01:00:08.239 --> 01:00:13.000
a weave web, such a situation that you yours have

813
01:00:13.440 --> 01:00:23.159
spun into, and it's so unfortunate because you have such

814
01:00:23.159 --> 01:00:30.960
a lovely family of such friendly people, including you, and

815
01:00:31.159 --> 01:00:41.840
to go from that to this. You know, your license

816
01:00:41.960 --> 01:00:48.280
to practice law has been stripped away from you. You

817
01:00:48.320 --> 01:00:55.800
turned from lawyer to witness and now have an opportunity

818
01:00:55.880 --> 01:01:05.159
to make your final appeals as an ex lawyer. And

819
01:01:05.199 --> 01:01:11.039
it's almost it's really surprising that you're waiving this right

820
01:01:11.880 --> 01:01:15.760
at this time and if you ought to do so,

821
01:01:16.920 --> 01:01:20.159
that it's on you. You're not compelled to say anything,

822
01:01:22.639 --> 01:01:24.239
but you have the opportunity to do so.

823
01:01:28.000 --> 01:01:32.760
As I tell you again, I respect this court, but

824
01:01:32.800 --> 01:01:38.400
I'm innocent. I would never, under any circumstances hurt my wife, Maggie,

825
01:01:38.880 --> 01:01:42.039
and I would never, under any circumstances hurt my son

826
01:01:42.079 --> 01:01:44.000
put Paul well.

827
01:01:44.199 --> 01:01:46.639
And it might not have been you. It might have

828
01:01:46.760 --> 01:01:57.039
been the monster you become when you take fifteen twenty thirty,

829
01:01:57.079 --> 01:02:02.480
forty fifty sixty opioid pills. Maybe you become another person.

830
01:02:05.559 --> 01:02:10.360
I've seen that before. The person standing before me was

831
01:02:10.400 --> 01:02:13.480
not the person who committed the crime, though it's the

832
01:02:13.519 --> 01:02:24.840
same individual. We will leave that at that before announcing

833
01:02:24.920 --> 01:02:29.480
sentence on these cases. With regard to all of the

834
01:02:29.559 --> 01:02:37.039
other pending cases, are any of them here in Collagen

835
01:02:37.239 --> 01:02:40.360
or I'm sure some of them are half of them,

836
01:02:40.440 --> 01:02:42.599
or I don't.

837
01:02:42.360 --> 01:02:44.400
Have that in Froy, But there are a substantial number

838
01:02:44.400 --> 01:02:45.039
of charges here.

839
01:02:45.079 --> 01:02:50.840
There're some of Hampton, ardferd Ufort, allen Dale.

840
01:02:51.760 --> 01:02:53.599
There may be others that I'm not thinking of right now.

841
01:02:54.920 --> 01:02:57.239
We might have worn out our welcome here in Collating

842
01:03:00.079 --> 01:03:03.880
right they they have been, and I'll take this opportunity

843
01:03:04.000 --> 01:03:08.679
to thank Sheriff Hill and all of the court officials

844
01:03:08.760 --> 01:03:12.480
and and really everyone I've met and and dealt with

845
01:03:12.960 --> 01:03:19.519
while here in College and County just been great. But

846
01:03:19.719 --> 01:03:22.800
without any delay, we're gonna schedule some of the other matters.

847
01:03:24.119 --> 01:03:28.880
I know mister Harpulian's scheduling is complicated and you sacrifice

848
01:03:28.960 --> 01:03:32.119
quite a bit to be able to hear be here

849
01:03:33.360 --> 01:03:39.159
defending uh mister Murdall, as well as the Attorney General's

850
01:03:39.159 --> 01:03:44.199
office with all the other many many things and obligations

851
01:03:44.199 --> 01:03:47.440
you have. And to be able to have the Attorney

852
01:03:47.480 --> 01:03:52.559
General here, Alan Wilson for the period of time that

853
01:03:52.599 --> 01:03:57.440
he's uh devoted to being here along with everyone else.

854
01:03:57.480 --> 01:04:05.440
It's it's it's been uh quite a sacrifice. But there

855
01:04:05.480 --> 01:04:12.800
are other victims whose cases deserve to be heard, and

856
01:04:13.079 --> 01:04:19.079
this case has jumped some of those other cases, perhaps

857
01:04:19.840 --> 01:04:27.079
jumped it because of the this case resulting in an

858
01:04:27.119 --> 01:04:31.280
assault on the integrity of the judicial system in our state,

859
01:04:34.440 --> 01:04:42.800
law enforcement in our state, even during this trial, law

860
01:04:42.880 --> 01:04:47.199
enforcement has been aligned for the past five or six

861
01:04:47.280 --> 01:04:59.159
weeks by one who had access to to the wiels

862
01:04:59.159 --> 01:05:11.840
of justice to be able to deflect the investigation and

863
01:05:11.880 --> 01:05:15.000
as a evidence has pointed out in this case, the

864
01:05:15.119 --> 01:05:22.559
looming storm that mister Waters talked about. I can just

865
01:05:22.599 --> 01:05:27.119
imagine on that day, Jim Seventh, when a lawyer is

866
01:05:27.159 --> 01:05:31.480
confronted and confesses to having stolen over a half a

867
01:05:31.519 --> 01:05:40.039
million dollars from a client, and he has a tagger

868
01:05:40.159 --> 01:05:47.360
like marked tensely on his tail, pursuing discovery in the

869
01:05:47.400 --> 01:05:54.880
case involving the death of Mallory Beach and having a

870
01:05:54.920 --> 01:06:02.079
father for the most part on his death dead, I

871
01:06:02.119 --> 01:06:09.159
could imagine. I really can't imagine, but I know it

872
01:06:09.199 --> 01:06:14.280
had to have been quite a bit going through your

873
01:06:14.360 --> 01:06:19.480
mind on that day. But amazingly to have you come

874
01:06:19.519 --> 01:06:27.760
and testify that it was just another ordinary day, that

875
01:06:28.440 --> 01:06:32.480
my wife and son and I were out just enjoying life.

876
01:06:34.519 --> 01:06:42.599
Not credible, not believable. You can convince yourself about it that.

877
01:06:42.639 --> 01:06:47.559
Obviously you have the inability to convince anyone else about that.

878
01:06:49.639 --> 01:06:53.880
So if you made any such arguments as a lawyer,

879
01:06:53.920 --> 01:06:56.800
you would lose every case. So that, like that cases,

880
01:06:56.840 --> 01:07:01.480
you will never have an opportunity to argue anymore, except

881
01:07:01.480 --> 01:07:06.000
perhaps your own as you sit in the Department of Corrections.

882
01:07:11.400 --> 01:07:19.199
Anything further, all right, mister Murdall, I sentence you to

883
01:07:19.280 --> 01:07:22.960
the State Department of Corrections on each of the murder

884
01:07:23.039 --> 01:07:30.039
indictments in the murder of your wife, Maggie Murdall. I

885
01:07:30.159 --> 01:07:33.119
sentence you for the term or the rest of your

886
01:07:33.199 --> 01:07:43.480
natural life. For the murder of Paul Murdaal, whom you

887
01:07:43.639 --> 01:07:50.320
probably love so much. I sentence you to prison for

888
01:07:50.480 --> 01:07:55.679
murdering him for the rest of your natural life. Those

889
01:07:55.719 --> 01:08:02.800
sentences will run consecutive under the statute involving possession of

890
01:08:02.840 --> 01:08:06.280
a weapon during a violent crime. There is no sentence

891
01:08:07.119 --> 01:08:11.039
where life. A life sentence is imposed on other indictments.

892
01:08:14.800 --> 01:08:16.560
That is the sentence of the court. And you are

893
01:08:16.600 --> 01:08:26.520
remanded to the State Department of Corrections and officers may

894
01:08:27.439 --> 01:08:29.960
carry forth on the emposition.

895
01:08:31.119 --> 01:08:34.279
Now after the sentencing, the defense in this case, they

896
01:08:34.279 --> 01:08:37.800
had a few words to say outside of the courtroom themselves.

897
01:08:37.840 --> 01:08:42.359
And here's what that sounded like out of Dick Carpilion.

898
01:08:42.399 --> 01:08:47.119
This is Jim Griffin as Emmi Dale, that's Maggie Fox,

899
01:08:48.800 --> 01:08:51.960
that's Holly Miller, and this is Phil Barber. We are

900
01:08:52.439 --> 01:08:58.159
Alec Murdo's defense team. We're able to answer your questions.

901
01:08:58.560 --> 01:09:00.640
We're not going to make a statement. I know y'all

902
01:09:00.680 --> 01:09:05.279
don't want one. So anybody got a question?

903
01:09:06.079 --> 01:09:09.000
Do you think he was mistake with Alex ort Off

904
01:09:09.000 --> 01:09:09.479
on the sand?

905
01:09:09.800 --> 01:09:10.000
No?

906
01:09:10.680 --> 01:09:15.920
Next, why do you object sport the sins can her page?

907
01:09:16.720 --> 01:09:22.000
Why didn't I? Why did well? For two reasons? One,

908
01:09:22.239 --> 01:09:24.520
she admit well, she admitted she talked to.

909
01:09:26.680 --> 01:09:31.000
Other people about the case, but not specifically. But technically

910
01:09:31.840 --> 01:09:35.319
I think the judge had leeway to excuse her. But

911
01:09:35.640 --> 01:09:38.920
she clearly and after we interviewed her back in chambers.

912
01:09:39.079 --> 01:09:41.319
In my mind had not made up her mind, and

913
01:09:41.359 --> 01:09:43.560
I thought that was important her faith.

914
01:09:44.159 --> 01:09:47.560
I don't know. She didn't express an opinion to us.

915
01:09:48.119 --> 01:09:58.800
She said she was open, she had made up her mind.

916
01:09:58.800 --> 01:09:59.319
Well, but.

917
01:10:00.960 --> 01:10:07.680
Years to address that.

918
01:10:09.680 --> 01:10:11.640
I think there were significant issues. But I won't be

919
01:10:11.680 --> 01:10:13.720
addressing that in the Senate unless it comes up in

920
01:10:13.800 --> 01:10:16.800
a bill. I'm not going to mix this role with

921
01:10:16.960 --> 01:10:17.920
my role as a senator.

922
01:10:18.000 --> 01:10:31.039
I would not do that. And good comment. But wasn't it.

923
01:10:31.479 --> 01:10:33.399
That's a good question. What was the question again?

924
01:10:33.399 --> 01:10:37.600
I'm sorry, Well, you know, I'm somebody that's prosecuted and

925
01:10:37.640 --> 01:10:40.760
defended a bunch of death ponalty cases, and clearly if

926
01:10:40.880 --> 01:10:44.479
you never do it in a circumstantial case all again,

927
01:10:44.600 --> 01:10:47.399
because you're not ninety nine times out one hundred of

928
01:10:47.520 --> 01:10:50.159
juris not going to sentence somebody to death without I

929
01:10:50.239 --> 01:10:54.600
saw him do it, he confessed, or you know, great

930
01:10:54.720 --> 01:10:58.359
forensic evidence at the minimum, they had none of that here. Secondly,

931
01:10:59.279 --> 01:11:02.960
in a death ponty case, it gives us the ability

932
01:11:03.000 --> 01:11:06.239
to individually wader jurors, which would have been very helpful here,

933
01:11:07.359 --> 01:11:10.760
and the prosecution obviously didn't want that. So I don't

934
01:11:10.800 --> 01:11:13.399
disagree with I mean, if I had been prosecuting this case,

935
01:11:13.920 --> 01:11:17.079
I probably wouldn't have brought it, but based on you know,

936
01:11:17.199 --> 01:11:19.319
what we heard was presented to the Coleton County grand

937
01:11:19.399 --> 01:11:24.960
jury by Detective Owen that Jim crossed bod spatter that

938
01:11:25.039 --> 01:11:27.439
didn't exist, testimony.

939
01:11:27.039 --> 01:11:28.840
About guns that was wrong. I mean, I can go

940
01:11:28.880 --> 01:11:29.720
through the litany with you.

941
01:11:30.039 --> 01:11:33.399
Going back to his question, I think SWED needs to

942
01:11:34.119 --> 01:11:37.359
do some self examination on the forensic processing they did not.

943
01:11:37.880 --> 01:11:40.760
One of the things we complained about was that Maggie's phone.

944
01:11:40.960 --> 01:11:43.359
Would have had all her GPS date on it if

945
01:11:43.399 --> 01:11:49.359
they processed it within five days, and they because they didn't,

946
01:11:49.479 --> 01:11:51.760
the GPS datea got overridden. I mean it was just

947
01:11:51.920 --> 01:11:56.840
one which would have been helpful to alecaus fingerprints, footprints

948
01:11:57.439 --> 01:11:59.479
and all kinds of forensics things that weren't done.

949
01:12:01.319 --> 01:12:03.359
So what was the question about the judgment?

950
01:12:03.680 --> 01:12:06.159
About the judgment comment after the bird that he agreed with.

951
01:12:06.199 --> 01:12:07.520
It, thought it was the right of prove.

952
01:12:08.239 --> 01:12:14.239
He's entitled to his opinion. A times ten days will

953
01:12:14.239 --> 01:12:15.039
be follow an appeal.

954
01:12:15.119 --> 01:12:17.399
What do you believe the strongest grounds for an appr R?

955
01:12:17.960 --> 01:12:20.319
What you say, what do you believe the strongest grounds

956
01:12:20.359 --> 01:12:21.039
for an IMPRR?

957
01:12:22.000 --> 01:12:25.239
Yeah? It was the mission of all the financial crime evidence.

958
01:12:25.960 --> 01:12:28.720
Uh and and that was offered up, you know, as

959
01:12:28.760 --> 01:12:32.760
having to some motive that because he was confronted about

960
01:12:33.000 --> 01:12:38.399
uh one financial transaction involving attorney's fees by the chief

961
01:12:38.439 --> 01:12:42.199
accountant of the law firm that hope, and that was

962
01:12:42.279 --> 01:12:44.359
being offered as motive for why he would go home

963
01:12:44.439 --> 01:12:46.640
and kill his wife and son, which we thought was

964
01:12:46.720 --> 01:12:51.560
illogical and ludicrous and and and there really was no

965
01:12:51.640 --> 01:12:54.640
evidence linking one to the other, and we did not

966
01:12:54.720 --> 01:12:58.600
think it should come in the No did that come in,

967
01:12:58.800 --> 01:13:03.199
But every other financial misdeed that they could bring in

968
01:13:03.680 --> 01:13:05.640
over the last ten or fifteen years was allowed in.

969
01:13:06.239 --> 01:13:10.399
And we think that we strongly objected. We respect the

970
01:13:10.479 --> 01:13:14.560
judge's decision, but we believe that that was erroneous decision.

971
01:13:14.880 --> 01:13:19.199
And we believe that the judge was somewhat misled because

972
01:13:19.720 --> 01:13:23.239
at the conclusion of the case, when mister Matters is

973
01:13:23.319 --> 01:13:26.520
up on his rebuttal argument in front of the jury,

974
01:13:27.319 --> 01:13:30.680
he says to the jury, Oh, forgive about all that

975
01:13:30.800 --> 01:13:32.920
motive evidence. We don't have to prove motive. We just

976
01:13:33.000 --> 01:13:36.439
have to prove malice, which is right. But why did

977
01:13:36.479 --> 01:13:39.199
they go to all the effort to prove motive when

978
01:13:39.600 --> 01:13:42.119
at the end they say, you don't have to believe

979
01:13:42.199 --> 01:13:44.960
us on our motive theory. But by then they had

980
01:13:45.079 --> 01:13:48.680
cast Alec as a despicable human being, and that was

981
01:13:49.039 --> 01:13:51.079
the reason they offered it in the first place. And

982
01:13:51.159 --> 01:13:53.439
we think that Pelic course will take a strong look

983
01:13:53.479 --> 01:13:56.880
at that. We feel like that is a very solid

984
01:13:57.359 --> 01:13:59.960
ground for an appeal, and we're going to pursue that.

985
01:14:00.760 --> 01:14:03.439
You got the last six years long trial.

986
01:14:03.520 --> 01:14:05.000
Would you guys do anything different?

987
01:14:06.479 --> 01:14:06.520
No?

988
01:14:07.640 --> 01:14:09.960
No, I mean, look once the judge.

989
01:14:10.359 --> 01:14:12.439
First of all, we believe if the judge was going

990
01:14:12.479 --> 01:14:13.960
to let that stuff in, it should have been limited

991
01:14:14.000 --> 01:14:16.640
to the Ferris case, which is what they were asking

992
01:14:16.760 --> 01:14:19.600
him about on Monday on the fee number two. Tensely,

993
01:14:20.920 --> 01:14:22.920
the person has made the motion that compelled to be

994
01:14:22.960 --> 01:14:26.960
heard on Thursday. DAWs Cook Alex's lawyer, both agreed it

995
01:14:27.119 --> 01:14:29.600
wasn't going to be any storm or armageddon or anything

996
01:14:29.640 --> 01:14:31.760
that was going to happen that Thursday. The judge might

997
01:14:31.800 --> 01:14:34.039
have issued order which once down the line, might have

998
01:14:34.560 --> 01:14:39.439
posed a problem. So once they got that character in

999
01:14:40.119 --> 01:14:43.600
character information is he's a thief, he's a liar, then

1000
01:14:45.119 --> 01:14:47.520
it dictated this jury had to think he was a

1001
01:14:47.760 --> 01:14:51.199
sspicable human being and not to be believed. So it

1002
01:14:51.359 --> 01:14:56.640
was about character, it wasn't about motive. So as a result,

1003
01:14:56.760 --> 01:14:59.840
our options were limited. Should he take the stand? Well,

1004
01:15:00.760 --> 01:15:02.800
you know we debated that he always wanted to take

1005
01:15:02.840 --> 01:15:06.720
the stand, but once that information was in, I mean,

1006
01:15:06.760 --> 01:15:09.800
if he had to take the stand to explain.

1007
01:15:11.000 --> 01:15:14.880
The Cannel video the lie, if you will, he had to, but.

1008
01:15:14.920 --> 01:15:17.439
He had no credible his credibility have been stripped away

1009
01:15:18.000 --> 01:15:20.840
by by the uh the financial Uh.

1010
01:15:24.880 --> 01:15:26.119
Yes, how was.

1011
01:15:26.159 --> 01:15:29.079
Fuster doing and why she got to see the sis?

1012
01:15:32.479 --> 01:15:36.359
We could have had uh mother Teresa up there speaking

1013
01:15:36.439 --> 01:15:38.159
on behalf of Alec at sentencing.

1014
01:15:38.880 --> 01:15:41.319
I mean he was getting a double life sentence.

1015
01:15:41.680 --> 01:15:44.119
That that was that was expected.

1016
01:15:44.159 --> 01:15:47.239
I mean this is Judge Newman, he he has he's

1017
01:15:47.279 --> 01:15:51.279
a very uh stringent uh kinnis sher when it comes

1018
01:15:51.319 --> 01:15:53.479
to crimes and sentences.

1019
01:15:53.800 --> 01:15:55.840
I mean that that was never in dispute.

1020
01:15:56.279 --> 01:15:59.159
And so for Buster to get up and and speak

1021
01:15:59.199 --> 01:16:01.520
on his Das's behalf was not animated difference And why

1022
01:16:01.560 --> 01:16:03.640
do you want to why do you want to put

1023
01:16:03.680 --> 01:16:07.119
that kid through more trauma than than anybody that we

1024
01:16:07.359 --> 01:16:09.239
you know can imagine has ever been through.

1025
01:16:09.520 --> 01:16:12.720
How does seal the beast at what's.

1026
01:16:12.600 --> 01:16:14.520
That feelings bat act?

1027
01:16:15.199 --> 01:16:18.439
You know, I can't speak to Buster's feelings. I can

1028
01:16:18.479 --> 01:16:18.840
tell you this.

1029
01:16:19.399 --> 01:16:22.119
There's a lot of effort by the state to convince

1030
01:16:22.199 --> 01:16:27.000
the family that Alex is the murderer. The family came

1031
01:16:27.079 --> 01:16:31.279
to trial every day for six weeks expecting to hear

1032
01:16:32.600 --> 01:16:36.039
proof positive that he killed Maggie and Paul, something that they.

1033
01:16:35.960 --> 01:16:37.319
Had not heard before.

1034
01:16:37.920 --> 01:16:41.640
After six weeks of trial, they came away more convinced

1035
01:16:41.720 --> 01:16:45.479
that he did not do this, and they steadfastly in

1036
01:16:45.680 --> 01:16:47.439
his camp and support him.

1037
01:16:48.079 --> 01:16:50.119
And that's that's that's where they stand.

1038
01:16:50.600 --> 01:16:56.399
What's that out? Well, Alex will be leaving shortly to

1039
01:16:56.520 --> 01:16:59.239
go to Columbia to Rne's call, where he will be

1040
01:16:59.800 --> 01:17:00.239
at the.

1041
01:17:00.399 --> 01:17:03.000
Southline Department of Corrections. He'll be evaluated.

1042
01:17:03.359 --> 01:17:05.520
That's about a thirty day process, and then he will

1043
01:17:05.560 --> 01:17:10.119
be sent to wherever the correctional facility that that they

1044
01:17:10.199 --> 01:17:10.880
assigned him to.

1045
01:17:12.359 --> 01:17:14.039
Really got a security measures for him.

1046
01:17:14.680 --> 01:17:19.039
No, I don't. I don't think you know, Alec was

1047
01:17:19.159 --> 01:17:23.239
not optimistic that with all of the.

1048
01:17:25.199 --> 01:17:27.560
Scrutiny and press and and all of his bad acts

1049
01:17:27.640 --> 01:17:30.119
being out in the public in the world, you know,

1050
01:17:31.199 --> 01:17:34.479
media domain that he could get, you know, a jury

1051
01:17:35.079 --> 01:17:38.760
to put out all the noise and and just focus

1052
01:17:38.840 --> 01:17:43.239
on the murder. And so coming in he was somewhat pessimistic.

1053
01:17:43.479 --> 01:17:46.600
He became optimistic as we got through the process. But

1054
01:17:47.119 --> 01:17:49.800
but I gotta tell you, in all your reporters, you know,

1055
01:17:50.000 --> 01:17:52.479
you know the whole story, I'm sure, and if you're

1056
01:17:52.479 --> 01:17:56.119
sitting on that jury, they heard everything that would be

1057
01:17:56.239 --> 01:18:00.359
in an HBO documentary, a Netflix documentary about the Garadoch

1058
01:18:00.439 --> 01:18:02.319
family dynasty downfall.

1059
01:18:02.279 --> 01:18:06.720
Except the suit the Steven smith Man. I mean, so

1060
01:18:07.279 --> 01:18:08.840
we were hoping to get a jury to.

1061
01:18:08.880 --> 01:18:11.399
Put all you know that that could ignore the noise,

1062
01:18:11.800 --> 01:18:14.199
focus on the murder, and end up trying a case

1063
01:18:14.479 --> 01:18:17.279
that that they could have watched on Netflix.

1064
01:18:22.000 --> 01:18:26.239
Trying to feel like he did feel about that, Oh.

1065
01:18:26.159 --> 01:18:29.079
Absolutely not, I mean not outmatched.

1066
01:18:29.119 --> 01:18:32.960
I mean, look, they won this case the day the

1067
01:18:33.119 --> 01:18:37.159
judge bought into letting them put every piece of you know,

1068
01:18:37.359 --> 01:18:41.800
stealing from kids who lost their mother, from somebody with

1069
01:18:41.920 --> 01:18:45.159
pancreatic cancer, somebody that's a paraplegic, I mean, all of

1070
01:18:45.239 --> 01:18:45.600
that two and.

1071
01:18:45.600 --> 01:18:46.159
A half weeks.

1072
01:18:46.199 --> 01:18:48.560
By the time they got done with it, it didn't

1073
01:18:48.600 --> 01:18:51.279
matter about final argument. It didn't matter about what we

1074
01:18:51.399 --> 01:18:55.239
put up. He was there, would never ever ever acquit him.

1075
01:18:55.279 --> 01:19:03.119
After that last last question, we'll file something, not in

1076
01:19:03.239 --> 01:19:05.800
ten days, but we'll file a notice in attention to appeal.

1077
01:19:05.880 --> 01:19:08.279
Then we've got thirty days I think to file a brief.

1078
01:19:08.640 --> 01:19:11.279
Yeah, so you file the notice within ten days. You

1079
01:19:11.359 --> 01:19:12.399
got to get a transcript.

1080
01:19:12.640 --> 01:19:13.560
Oh, that'll take a while.

1081
01:19:13.640 --> 01:19:14.720
That'll take months.

1082
01:19:14.520 --> 01:19:17.399
Before they type up everything. And then then then we

1083
01:19:17.479 --> 01:19:18.039
start briefing.

1084
01:19:18.159 --> 01:19:20.479
Are you all going to handle deep field, Yes, and

1085
01:19:20.720 --> 01:19:24.279
arguing you know, the Supreme Court and the US and

1086
01:19:24.319 --> 01:19:26.159
the US Supreme Court is necessary. That's correct.

1087
01:19:26.680 --> 01:19:27.399
Federal issue.

1088
01:19:27.960 --> 01:19:28.279
Doyle.

1089
01:19:28.359 --> 01:19:31.079
Oh, there's a huge federal issues. That's why I got

1090
01:19:31.159 --> 01:19:33.199
so animated, and Judge told me to sit down.

1091
01:19:34.000 --> 01:19:37.359
Part of the trial is the state and listening and

1092
01:19:37.479 --> 01:19:41.359
listening for asking questions on Alec about why he did

1093
01:19:41.439 --> 01:19:46.359
not come forward until law enforcement where he was at,

1094
01:19:46.640 --> 01:19:48.680
you know, at the time of the kennel video, and

1095
01:19:48.800 --> 01:19:52.079
that was after he was arrested. And there's US Supreme

1096
01:19:52.159 --> 01:19:55.399
Court cases are clear that post arrest.

1097
01:19:55.239 --> 01:19:57.880
Silence cannot be used against you, and that I mean.

1098
01:19:57.800 --> 01:20:00.800
That is a classic black violation on the Fifth Amendment

1099
01:20:00.880 --> 01:20:03.760
and and we feel strongly that if we lose at

1100
01:20:03.800 --> 01:20:08.760
the state courts, we will have success with feltmats throw.

1101
01:20:09.000 --> 01:20:11.239
No, there were no plea negotiations.

1102
01:20:11.239 --> 01:20:11.720
There weren't any.

1103
01:20:11.840 --> 01:20:14.520
They never offered him anything.

1104
01:20:17.399 --> 01:20:18.680
Maybe find the real.

1105
01:20:18.600 --> 01:20:19.279
Killer or whatever.

1106
01:20:19.600 --> 01:20:22.960
El not our job to find the real killer.

1107
01:20:23.319 --> 01:20:27.279
If they had taken fingerprints, if they gotten footprints, if

1108
01:20:27.279 --> 01:20:31.079
they hadn't destroyed, if they preserve Maggie's phone with their GPS,

1109
01:20:32.159 --> 01:20:36.439
if they had not, I mean they misrepresented to the

1110
01:20:36.520 --> 01:20:38.520
grand jury that they had a shirt with his blood

1111
01:20:38.560 --> 01:20:42.680
on it when they if they if you know, if

1112
01:20:42.720 --> 01:20:45.079
Owen and opened his email he says he didn't get

1113
01:20:45.239 --> 01:20:47.840
would have told him a year before that was there

1114
01:20:47.920 --> 01:20:49.920
was no human blood on that T shirt. I mean,

1115
01:20:50.000 --> 01:20:52.840
it was a comedy of errors in terms of forensics

1116
01:20:52.880 --> 01:20:55.159
on this. So do I have faith if they would

1117
01:20:55.199 --> 01:20:56.079
find the real killer?

1118
01:20:56.319 --> 01:20:56.359
No?

1119
01:21:01.800 --> 01:21:02.079
I don't.

1120
01:21:02.199 --> 01:21:06.760
We don't know what last question? Last question, say that

1121
01:21:06.880 --> 01:21:11.119
one more time. There was no choice.

1122
01:21:11.760 --> 01:21:11.960
Why?

1123
01:21:14.119 --> 01:21:17.359
Because he had been made out to be a monster

1124
01:21:17.560 --> 01:21:20.279
who stole from children and crippled people.

1125
01:21:20.399 --> 01:21:23.640
And he's crippled, not my son plus the correct word.

1126
01:21:25.760 --> 01:21:29.479
I'm sorry, I'm an old guy, crippled people. He was

1127
01:21:29.600 --> 01:21:33.359
just done horrible, despicable things, and he had to try

1128
01:21:33.399 --> 01:21:34.359
to push back on that.

1129
01:21:35.119 --> 01:21:38.119
And and I mean, if he'd left that way without

1130
01:21:38.199 --> 01:21:41.479
taking the stand, he was toast taking the stand.

1131
01:21:42.600 --> 01:21:46.600
You know, he could he pull it off. Apparently didn't.

1132
01:21:46.960 --> 01:21:49.439
In hindsight. Do you regret not asking for a change of.

1133
01:21:49.479 --> 01:21:50.279
Venue in this case?

1134
01:21:50.520 --> 01:21:52.760
Not really, because we checked. I mean, we did focus

1135
01:21:52.840 --> 01:21:54.760
groups in this case in a county way far away

1136
01:21:54.760 --> 01:21:57.439
from here. Eight of the ten people on the two

1137
01:21:57.479 --> 01:22:00.359
focus groups knew all about this case. I mean, there

1138
01:22:00.399 --> 01:22:03.520
was nowhere you could go that you could find. We

1139
01:22:03.720 --> 01:22:06.840
believe you could find a jury that knew, that didn't know,

1140
01:22:07.640 --> 01:22:11.399
hadn't watched TV, hadn't read the stuff you write or

1141
01:22:11.720 --> 01:22:12.279
the stuff the.

1142
01:22:13.880 --> 01:22:14.560
Twitter stuff.

1143
01:22:15.560 --> 01:22:18.600
And by the way, one of the good, good piece

1144
01:22:18.640 --> 01:22:21.720
of information. As this trial is over, Griffin can start

1145
01:22:21.720 --> 01:22:22.359
tweeting again.

1146
01:22:22.760 --> 01:22:24.399
Yes, all right, thank you guys.

1147
01:22:25.880 --> 01:22:27.600
So they you have it.

1148
01:22:28.199 --> 01:22:32.079
Murdog is jail story over right, of course, not not

1149
01:22:32.199 --> 01:22:38.399
by loan shot. Becky Hill, the Clerk of Court for

1150
01:22:38.640 --> 01:22:43.319
South Carolina, is about to play a big part in

1151
01:22:43.479 --> 01:22:47.479
this case. And it seems that jury tampering is in

1152
01:22:47.560 --> 01:22:50.880
her future as it relates to this trial. And next

1153
01:22:51.000 --> 01:22:54.920
week you were going to hear what she did and

1154
01:22:55.079 --> 01:22:58.720
how it could possibly lead to the release. You heard

1155
01:22:58.800 --> 01:23:07.520
me right, release of Alec Murdoch. You just won't believe it.

1156
01:23:08.319 --> 01:23:24.239
But that's all I got for today. Tomorrow look for

1157
01:23:24.359 --> 01:23:28.439
those murd All jailhouse phone calls at volume five to

1158
01:23:28.560 --> 01:23:30.920
be released. Y'all love those, so I'm going to bring

1159
01:23:30.960 --> 01:23:34.399
you another volume. Check out the Patreon for commercial, free

1160
01:23:34.560 --> 01:23:38.920
early releases, bonus episodes, files, and even quarterly gifts at

1161
01:23:39.000 --> 01:23:45.039
patreon dot com. Slash exposed podcast files and until next

1162
01:23:45.159 --> 01:23:50.840
time for exposed scandalous files of the elite. I'm your host,

1163
01:23:51.239 --> 01:23:52.039
Jim Chapman.

1164
01:23:53.159 --> 01:23:53.760
Much you love