Alex Murdaugh trial: Detective explains key crime scene mystery after killer begins appeal
Murdaugh was convicted last week for murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul in June 2021
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
A lead investigator in the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh has offered an explanation for a key mystery from the trial after Alex Murdaugh took the first official step toward an appeal of his conviction.
Detective Laura Rutland, one of the first officers at the Moselle estate crime scene in South Carolina, was asked during trial testimony about hairs found in Maggie’s hand after she was killed. While she was unable to offer much of an explanation on the stand - she now has one.
Ms Rutland explained to Fox News a bullet that struck Maggie’s skull had ripped out much of her scalp, leaving hair not only in her hand but also scattered around her body.
The revelation came hours after Murdaugh’s attorney Dick Harpootlian announced that his defence had filed a notice of appeal.
Meanwhile, Murdaugh has been separated from other inmates and is under round-the-clock surveillance for his own safety at the Kirkland Correctional Institution, where he is awaiting permanent placement in a high-security prison.
South Carolina’s Department of Corrections released his new mugshot on Wednesday, capturing the 54-year-old smiling softly.
Murdaugh still faces charges over botched hitman plot
Alex Murdaugh is also facing charges over a bizarre September 2021 botched hitman plot.
On 4 September 2021 – three months on from the murders and one day after he was ousted from his law firm for stealing funds – Murdaugh was shot on the side of a road in Hampton County.
He survived and called 911, claiming he was ambushed in a drive-by shooting while changing a tire on his vehicle.
He was treated at a hospital for what police called a “superficial gunshot wound to the head,” but his story quickly unravelled.
Curtis Eddie Smith appears in court on charges related to Murdaugh
Mr Murdaugh’s version of events rapidly fell apart and he confessed to asking Curtis Eddie Smith to shoot and kill him in an assisted suicide plot so that his surviving son Buster could get a $12m life insurance windfall.
Mr Smith, 62, is Mr Murdaugh’s alleged drug dealer, distant cousin and former law firm client.
Both men were arrested and charged over the incident and are currently awaiting trial on the charges.
They were both later hit with fresh charges of narcotics and criminal conspiracy over an alleged drug and $2.4m money laundering ring.
Murdaugh held separately from other inmates for own safety
Alex Murdaugh has been separated from other prison inmates for his own safety – due to the high-profile nature of the disgraced attorney’s trial.
The convicted killer has been placed in a single cell in the most secure area of Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina, and he is under round the clock surveillance from prison officials.
The only time he comes into contact with other inmates at the high-security state prison is when he briefly leaves his cell and, even then, he is escorted by a guard, reported TMZ.
South Carolina’s Department of Corrections released his new mugshot on Wednesday, capturing the 54-year-old smiling softly as he begins a lifetime behind bars for the brutal murder of his wife Maggie and son Paul.
Murdaugh’s decision to testify was ‘colossal mistake,’ says prominent attorney
Duncan Levin, the former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DA’s office and a prominent criminal defence attorney at Levin & Associates who has represented clients including Harvey Weinstein and Anna Delvey, spoke to The Independent about the high-profile murder trial this weel.
Mr Levin described Murdaugh’s move to take the witness stand like navigating “a field of landmines” given the other crimes and lies he was confronted with under cross-examination.
“I thought it was a colossal mistake in this case for him to take the stand,” he said.
“First off he had to acknowledge lying to investigators about his whereabouts on the night of the murders.
“He also had to acknowledge years upon years of deceit and lies to his clients from whom he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“He looked them in the eyes like he looked jurors in the eyes and lied to them to take their money… he had to look jurors in the eyes and say I lied to so many people so many occasions but this one time you should trust me that I’m telling the truth.”
Mr Levin added: “His testimony was an abomination and he actually helped prosecutors convict him.”
When he took the stand, Murdaugh confessed to lying about his alibi on the night of the murders.
For the past 20 months, he had claimed that he had never gone to the dog kennels with his wife and son that night.
But he was forced to admit he had lied after jurors were shown a damning cellphone video captured by Paul, which placed Murdaugh at the crime scene minutes before the murders.
BTK killer’s daughter defends Alex Murdaugh’s surviving son Buster
The daughter of the infamous BTK serial killer has called for people to leave Alex Murdaugh’s surviving son Buster alone.
Kerri Rawson told NewsNation that the 26-year-old son of Maggie and Alex Murdaugh is also “a victim” in the brutal murders of his mother and brother Paul and needs to be given space to “process and grieve”.
“He needs to be respected right now. He needs time to process and grieve and when he’s ready to talk, he will,” she said.
“We have to respect that he is a victim. He lost his mother and his brother in a violent and horrific crime and then sat in court for weeks and had to listen to details down to what happened to his brother’s brains.
“And then be on the stand and watch his father go on the stand and now his father has been sentenced to two life sentences.”
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:
BTK killer’s daughter defends Alex Murdaugh’s surviving son Buster
Buster Murdaugh stood by his father during his trial and took the stand in his defence
Maggie’s friend speaks out about Buster
A friend of Maggie Murdaugh has spoken out about the future of her surviving son Buster.
Dana Wilson told NBC’s Today Show on Wednesday that the 26-year-old has a tight support network around him after losing his entire family.
“I can’t even imagine – to lose everything in your life that you’ve ever known,” she said.
Buster is the only surviving son of Maggie and Alex Murdaugh after both his brother Paul and mother were shot dead by his father at the family’s hunting estate in Islandton in the summer of 2021.
He stood by his father throughout his murder trial, taking the stand in his defence to describe how he was “destroyed” in the aftermath of the slayings.
Alex Murdaugh’s desperate confession likely sentenced him to 700 extra years
Alex Murdaugh has left himself with no escape from a lifetime behind bars after he admitted to a string of financial crimes under oath at his murder trial.
Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul at the family’s $4m Moselle estate in Islandton and has been sentenced to life in prison in South Carolina.
Despite his conviction, Murdaugh continues to profess his innocence – even when given a last-ditch chance to confess at his sentencing hearing.
His legal team of State Senator Dick Harpootlian and friend Jim Griffin have already vowed to fight the guilty verdict, by appealing the case all the way up to the US Supreme Court.
But, as prominent attorney Duncan Levin told The Independent’s Rachel Sharp this week, it won’t make any difference.
Read more from our exclusive interview:
Alex Murdaugh’s desperate confession likely sentenced him to 700 extra years
Exclusive: Prominent attorney Duncan Levin tells Rachel Sharp that even if Murdaugh’s planned appeal of his murder conviction is successful, he’s still destined to spend his life behind bars
What’s next for Buster Murdaugh?
Following his father’s conviction for the murders of his wife and son, Buster Murdaugh has fallen under the spotlight.
As the eldest – and now only surviving – son of Maggie and Alex Murdaugh, the 26-year-old stood by his father throughout the growing number of allegations against him – even after his arrest for the murders of his brother and mother.
Buster’s name has also cropped up in connection with the mysterious death of Stephen Smith – a 19-year-old who was found dead at the side of a road in Hampton County in 2015.
At the time, Smith’s death was officially ruled a hit-and-run but the victim’s family – and investigators who worked on the initial case – have long doubted this version of events.
There have long been murmurings in the community that a “Murdaugh boy” may have been involved and the Murdaugh name came up 40 times in documents in the initial case, reported Live5News.
Just days after the murders of Maggie and Paul, SLED announced that the investigation into their murders had led them to reopen an investigation into Smith’s death.
Now that Murdaugh has been convicted, the spotlight has turned to Buster and rumours about Smith’s death.
Infamous ‘egg juror’ in Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial asks to be left alone
The juror who earned the infamous nickname of the “egg juror” in Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial has asked to be left alone.
The woman, identified as juror 785 in South Carolina’s so-called “trial of the century”, said that it is “not her desire” to speak publicly about the case and is requesting that the public and the media refrain from trying to contact her.
“While other jurors have chosen to comment, which is their prerogative, that is not her desire at this time,” her attorney Joe McCulloch said in a statement.
“Given her public service for the weeks of trial, she earned through her public service the right to have her wishes respected. She wishes you to know that she took the juror oath and all of the subsequent court’s instructions seriously and believes she followed them appropriately.”
The statement added that the juror “now wishes freedom from contact and harassment” and asked that efforts to contact her at home and at her place of work “come to an end”.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:
Infamous ‘egg juror’ in Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial asks to be left alone
Female juror hit headlines when she was dismissed from the panel just hours before deliberations began and the jury reached a unanimous verdict of guilty in the high-profile trial
Gloria Satterfield’s son breaks silence
The son of the Murdaugh family’s housekeeper who died in a mystery trip and fall at Moselle in 2018 has spoken out after the disgraced attorney was convicted of Maggie and Paul’s murders.
Gloria Satterfield’s son Tony Satterfield told Chris Cuomo on Tuesday that he does not believe his mother’s death was foul play – but does support an exhumation of her body.
Satterfield worked for the influential Murdaugh family for more than 20 years when she was found at the bottom of the steps leading up to the family’s home. She died weeks later from her injuries.
At the time, her death was regarded as an accidental fall – though her death certificate cited her manner of death as “natural” and no autopsy was performed.
After her death, Murdaugh reached an agreement to pay her family $4m in a wrongful death settlement – but then allegedly stole the money as part of his fraud scheme.
Mr Satterfield said he felt “betrayed, shocked” when he learned what Murdaugh had done.
In September 2021 – three months after the murders of Maggie and Paul and days after Murdaugh’s financial crimes came to light – SLED announced it was reopening an investigation into Satterfield’s death. In early 2022, officials announced plans to exhume her body.
Alex Murdaugh’s attorney Dick Harpootlian says people sending him hate mail ‘don’t understand justice system’
Alex Murdaugh’s defence attorney has claimed that his critics don’t understand the criminal justice system as he said that members of the public who camped outside to get into the infamous murder trial need to “get some help”.
Dick Harpootlian, who is also a Democratic state senator, spoke about the case on the South Carolina Senate floor on Tuesday – four days after his client was sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murders of his wife and adult son.
Mr Harpootlian claimed that he had received hate mail from people calling him a “piece of scum” or wishing him death by “rectal cancer”.
Read the full story here:
Alex Murdaugh attorney attacks critics sending him hate mail
Dick Harpootlian claims he has received hate mail from people calling him a ‘piece of scum’ or wishing him a death from ‘rectal cancer’
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.