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{\an8}[telephone rings]
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[dispatcher] Hampton County 911,
{\an8}where is your emergency?
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[woman] Yes, um,
we're on Salkehatchie Road,
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and there is a man on the side of the road
with blood all over him
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and he's waving his hands.
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He looks fine,
but it kind of looks like a setup,
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so we didn't stop.
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[dispatcher] I don't blame you. Let me
get my deputies to see what's going on.
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[officer] The female says he was driving
a Mercedes-Benz SUV kind of truck.
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[chatter on the radio]
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-[officer] How are you doing?
-Hey, how are you?
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[officer] Good. What happened?
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[Becky] It was Labor Day weekend,
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and I got a phone call
from a friend of mine in Hampton
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who said that Alex had been shot.
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And the first thing I thought was,
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well, the person who shot
Maggie and Paul had found Alex.
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Alex had gone to the hospital,
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and they're not quite sure who shot him.
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{\an8}A mystery in South Carolina
gets even deeper.
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{\an8}Officials telling Fox News
53-year-old attorney Alex Murdaugh
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{\an8}was shot and wounded today
in Hampton County, South Carolina.
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{\an8}No word on his condition.
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[reporter] Alex was airlifted
to the hospital.
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He'd been shot in the head
in broad daylight
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while he was changing a tire
on the side of the road.
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[Becky] Alex's story kept changing
all in one day.
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I believe we found out
that Cousin Eddie was involved.
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[Eddie] Yeah.
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I never was a quiet person.
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Name's Curtis Edward Smith.
Everybody calls me Eddie.
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Come on, baby.
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Damn.
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{\an8}I met Alex in the late '80s,
you know, uh, early '90s.
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{\an8}I knew his father,
which I'm half Murdaugh.
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Don't tell nobody. [laughs] Really, don't.
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I was friends with Alex, and I also done
a bit of work for Alex over the years.
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Running errands for him
or doing a little minor work,
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like general land clearing type of work,
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cutting canals or waterways
through properties
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so it gets proper drainage.
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He called me about 10, 10:30
in the morning, asking what I was doing.
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I said, "Nothing, just worked late."
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He said, "Can you
run over this way a minute?"
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He told me to meet him
at the funeral home in Varnville.
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Looked up, he's coming down the road.
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He pulled the sun visor around
to where it was in his window, you know,
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and he rolls his window up,
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so I'm looking at him
through a hole like this.
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I said, What are you doing?"
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He goes, "Well...
I don't need to be seen in town."
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And he said, "Well, I'm being watched."
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I said, "Well, who's watching you?"
He said, "SLED."
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And I said,
"Why are they watching you for?"
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He said,
"Well, you know, about what happened."
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I said, "You mean out at Moselle?"
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He said, "Yeah."
I said, "Man, what did happen?"
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He said, "Things just got all fucked up."
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Just like that.
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He said, "You love me?"
I said, "Yeah, like a brother."
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"I'd do most anything for you."
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He said, "I need you
to shoot me and kill me."
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"That ain't happening. Not today,
not tomorrow. It ain't happening."
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And he just... So he just, "Well,
I guess I got to try to do it myself."
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He takes off.
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I went after him.
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I just... I just followed him
out of just pure concern,
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you know, as much as anything else is.
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Good Lord, Maggie and Paul
was already dead.
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Mr. Randolph died
three or four days later.
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The family don't need
a whole lot more going on.
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And when I pulled up there,
and I rolled the window down,
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he's coming up to my window with a gun.
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I figured I'd scare some sense into him.
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I fired it up in the air.
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All 6'5" or 6'7" of him just
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hit the asphalt like that.
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That's where that spot
on the head comes from,
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from the rocks sticking up
on the side of the road,
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not from a bullet bounced off his head
from less than six foot behind.
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But he had told me...
I said, "Why'd you want me to shoot you?"
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"Because they're gonna be able to prove
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that I was responsible
for Maggie and Paul."
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And I knew I hadn't shot him.
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I knew there wasn't no blood on him,
there wasn't no blood on me,
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so I went home.
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[mysterious music plays]
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[chatter on radio]
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-[officer] How are you doing, sir?
-Hey, how are you?
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-[officer] What happened?
-I got shot.
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[officer] Tell me more about what...
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[Alex] I was... I'm going down the road.
I had a tire go flat. I pulled over.
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And this car went by me.
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And I didn't pay a lot of attention
to the truck,
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but then it turned around, came back.
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A real nice guy, acted like,
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and I turn my head, and, I mean, boom.
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[Eddie] Then, six, seven days later,
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State Law Enforcement Division here
started to come around
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asking me a bunch of questions
and everything.
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That's when I found out
that I was supposed to have shot him
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in the back of the head with a .38.
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{\an8}Agents with the South Carolina
Law Enforcement Division
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{\an8}have arrested 61-year-old
Curtis Edward Smith of Colleton County.
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{\an8}State authorities say
Smith planned the shooting.
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{\an8}Now the question remains,
who is Curtis Smith,
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{\an8}and did he have any ties
to the Murdaugh family before all this?
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[producer] What did it feel like
to see that on the news?
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[tense music plays]
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It was just disheartening.
I mean, it really was.
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I mean, I had...
I'd never been in no trouble...
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with the law.
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The law ain't up my behind all the time.
They ain't out at my house.
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They ain't pulling me over
and searching me for "drugs."
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I never had tried to talk
to an attorney or nothing.
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I talked to SLED without an attorney.
I had nothing to hide from 'em.
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I really didn't take it seriously,
to be honest with you.
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I knew I hadn't shot his ass,
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but he damn sure
tried to tell everybody I did,
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or he told everybody I did.
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[Creighton] The roadside shooting
brought Eddie Smith into the picture,
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and Alex was trying to put this on Smith,
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but that was
about to come unraveled for Alex.
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[tense music continues]
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[Becky] Eddie was called
"the fourth Murdaugh."
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He helped the Murdaughs clean up
whatever they needed cleaning up with.
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{\an8}Eddie and Alex were cousins
somewhere down the line,
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{\an8}and from what I've heard,
they were involved in financial fraud.
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That involved cashing of checks.
That involved drugs, probably.
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[producer] Are you a drug dealer?
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Nope.
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Nope.
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If I was a drug dealer, I wasn't
a good one. I only had one client.
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And that was Alex Murdaugh.
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-[producer] What did you do?
-Nothing.
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Other than me
running errands for him.
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It started late 2015, early 2016.
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I was over at the office one day.
I don't remember why I was over there.
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He had an envelope
that needed to go to Beaufort.
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I threw it on the seat, and I heard
that "sh-ka, sh-ka, sh-ka."
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Rattling, you know?
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I knew damn well
there wasn't no snake in there.
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The sound that a pill bottle would make
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when it was half full
or whatever, you know?
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And I never really looked
at the name on the envelope or nothing.
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I just assumed
it was going to law offices down there.
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It was an hour and a half,
and I made 200 bucks.
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I'm just riding around, you know.
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He asked me to go to the airport
to meet people.
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Different airports around South Carolina,
Georgia. You know, small airports.
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I'm pretty sure that Buster and Paul
both knew of the drugs.
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[tense music continues]
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{\an8}I think everybody knew
that there was a problem
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{\an8}with Alex's drug problem.
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It was like,
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we knew, but we didn't discuss it.
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I don't know how much.
I... I know it was quite a bit.
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He had drugs all over the place.
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He would have it everywhere.
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It was small, little baggies.
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Sometimes, they'd have the residue,
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and sometimes, you know,
there would be a pill in there.
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Alex would sometimes leave the baggies.
I guess they would fall out of his pocket.
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Maggie knew something was up,
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but I believe
that she didn't know the extent.
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[Valerie] So the rumor mill
in Hampton County
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is that it involved cartels,
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potentially money laundering.
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And then we've heard rumors
about the property owner
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who was a close friend of the Murdaughs
and owned the property before they did.
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There's significant evidence
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he may have been
involved in drug trafficking.
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He was not convicted,
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but he was charged
with a crime in drug trafficking,
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and the witness died
just before the trial.
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Another theory, I think,
that the defense used was drug smuggling
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and drug people coming
to kill off the family,
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to pay for any debts
that they might have owed.
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[Kenneth] Look, I have worked
a lot of death scenes,
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from street gangs
to outlaw motorcycle gang hits
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{\an8}to self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
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{\an8}I mean, I've worked
a lot of bad, bad stuff.
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I've never seen it done that way.
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In my opinion,
it was not an organized hit.
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You wouldn't have seen
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all those wounds on Ms. Maggie.
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It would have been "tap, tap."
It would have been over.
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It was the work of an amateur
or a person that didn't think it out.
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[Creighton] Then there was this idea
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that Alex was involved in
a criminal element or the drug community.
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There's still a lot
of pending investigations going on,
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{\an8}and we don't comment
on pending investigations.
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{\an8}We don't comment
on grand jury information.
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We also know about the internet.
People can write whatever they want.
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So we have to be careful
that when we draw connections,
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that there's actual evidence
of those connections.
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[producer] Can we talk about the checks?
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You cashed a lot of checks for Alex.
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Can you speak to that?
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He was always walking around
with three or four checkbooks.
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I cashed a lot of checks for him.
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There was a lot them
over an eight or ten-year period.
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I asked him several times. I said,
"This is not money laundering, is it?"
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"Nope, just doing me a favor."
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"You're cashing mycheck
out of myaccount."
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And all the checks I got
was out of his account.
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I was trying to figure out
how to get out of it.
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I wanted out, and when I told him, said,
"Look, I'm not doing this anymore,
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I'm not gonna be your errand man,
so to speak..."
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He knew my daughter. He knew
I'd put her through school, her education.
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And in her route to work, she has
to go through a couple of neighborhoods
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that's not the best neighborhoods
to have to drive through.
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And it was like,
"Well, is Nicole still working at USC?"
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That kind of deal.
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So, you know, "I've got you here,
and I'm going to keep you here."
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I mean, there never...
there never was an outright threat.
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It was just implied.
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There was absolutely nobody,
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nobody in four or five
counties around here
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that I could have went and sit down with
and told them what was happening,
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that they wouldn't have
locked me up in an insane asylum.
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That simple.
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There's 88 years as a solicitor,
and they still got power.
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Four generations in one family.
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{\an8}That's unheard of.
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The defense also tried to say early on
that Eddie Smith, Cousin Eddie,
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may have had a motive
to come and... and kill the family.
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Oh no. It got real heavy real fast.
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It seemed like
it was all being put off on me.
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I was responsible for all of it.
I shot Maggie and Paul. Uh...
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I stole everybody's money,
and I didn't know who everybody was.
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00:13:08,537 --> 00:13:11,499
[producer] In the month leading up
to the June 7th double homicide,
233
00:13:11,582 --> 00:13:14,084
a cashier's check was paid to you
234
00:13:14,668 --> 00:13:17,463
ten days before the murders.
235
00:13:17,546 --> 00:13:18,881
What was that amount for?
236
00:13:19,590 --> 00:13:23,219
As far as the checks that was cashed
before or after the murders,
237
00:13:23,803 --> 00:13:27,014
that was... that was $25,000, as you see.
238
00:13:27,807 --> 00:13:32,686
Uh, you know, he would give me the checks,
told me to put 'em in a checking account.
239
00:13:32,770 --> 00:13:36,357
He was writing checks back off of 'em.
I cashed and give him the money back.
240
00:13:37,066 --> 00:13:40,736
But... that's before it happened, so I mean...
241
00:13:41,779 --> 00:13:44,156
I didn't have no knowledge
of what was going to happen.
242
00:13:44,782 --> 00:13:46,951
So I mean, I wouldn't have thought
nothing more about it.
243
00:13:47,034 --> 00:13:48,911
[tense music plays]
244
00:13:53,082 --> 00:13:55,000
[producer] Did you help kill Paul?
245
00:13:56,293 --> 00:13:57,127
Nope.
246
00:13:59,421 --> 00:14:01,006
[producer] Did you help kill Maggie?
247
00:14:01,507 --> 00:14:02,341
Nope.
248
00:14:03,884 --> 00:14:07,763
No way I could've known that was gonna
happen and stood by and let it happen.
249
00:14:08,597 --> 00:14:10,057
There's nobody deserves that.
250
00:14:14,687 --> 00:14:16,856
[tense music plays]
251
00:14:19,692 --> 00:14:23,487
[Alan] I've probably never felt more
pressure in my life to get a case right.
252
00:14:23,988 --> 00:14:26,323
At that time,
there was no sufficient evidence
253
00:14:26,407 --> 00:14:28,534
to indict Alex
in the murder of Paul and Maggie.
254
00:14:29,493 --> 00:14:33,372
{\an8}We had known all along this is not
gonna be as much a DNA case
255
00:14:33,455 --> 00:14:34,623
{\an8}or a fingerprint case
256
00:14:34,707 --> 00:14:36,584
or a tire track case or things like that,
257
00:14:36,667 --> 00:14:41,297
that people conceive, from watching shows,
like CSI, that exist in every case.
258
00:14:41,380 --> 00:14:43,465
But there's a kind of evidence
that's just as good,
259
00:14:43,549 --> 00:14:46,677
and that is the digital evidence,
the digital footprint that we all have.
260
00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:49,889
{\an8}Until that time, we were not able
to get into Paul's cell phone
261
00:14:49,972 --> 00:14:52,266
{\an8}to understand what Paul was doing
in his final minutes.
262
00:14:53,350 --> 00:14:57,187
[Creighton] We had information through
Rogan Gibson, a close friend of Paul's.
263
00:14:57,271 --> 00:15:00,900
He'd been on the phone with Paul
at the kennels the night of the murders.
264
00:15:02,818 --> 00:15:05,362
But we knew
that was not going to be enough.
265
00:15:06,906 --> 00:15:09,658
Paul's phone had been locked,
and nobody had the password.
266
00:15:09,742 --> 00:15:14,788
We have what they call a partial download,
um, because we don't have the passcode.
267
00:15:15,372 --> 00:15:17,625
-Do you know his passcode?
-I don't.
268
00:15:17,708 --> 00:15:21,170
He was super secretive
with that cell phone.
269
00:15:22,004 --> 00:15:24,840
[Creighton] Another attempt was made
with the Secret Service.
270
00:15:24,924 --> 00:15:28,427
Then somebody tried his birthday
and, pop, the thing came right open.
271
00:15:28,510 --> 00:15:30,888
It didn't just open up the phone,
but it opened up our case.
272
00:15:30,971 --> 00:15:33,557
That is where we found
the infamous kennel video.
273
00:15:34,224 --> 00:15:35,851
[judge] Call your next witness.
274
00:15:35,935 --> 00:15:38,062
[Creighton] Thank you, Your Honor.
We call Rogan Gibson.
275
00:15:46,487 --> 00:15:51,450
{\an8}Rogan's testimony was... was one of the ones
that I made sure to watch.
276
00:15:51,533 --> 00:15:54,536
{\an8}Rogan is one of the most loyal people
that I have ever met.
277
00:15:55,037 --> 00:15:56,038
We grew up together.
278
00:15:56,121 --> 00:15:58,582
He'd give you
the shirt off his back, for sure.
279
00:15:59,083 --> 00:16:01,752
Tell me, how old were you
when you got to know Paul Murdaugh?
280
00:16:02,252 --> 00:16:03,963
[Rogan] I've known him all my life.
281
00:16:04,046 --> 00:16:07,049
[Creighton] Were you close friends
with Paul until the day he was murdered?
282
00:16:07,132 --> 00:16:07,967
[Rogan] I was.
283
00:16:08,050 --> 00:16:10,386
[Creighton] Did you get close
with the rest of the family?
284
00:16:10,469 --> 00:16:11,345
[Rogan] I was.
285
00:16:11,428 --> 00:16:12,471
{\an8}Like a second family.
286
00:16:12,554 --> 00:16:14,682
{\an8}-[Creighton] Like a second family to you?
-Yes, sir.
287
00:16:15,182 --> 00:16:18,602
{\an8}Rogan is an old neighbor,
old friend of the family.
288
00:16:18,686 --> 00:16:20,229
He was living out of town at the time.
289
00:16:20,312 --> 00:16:24,108
And he needed someone to take care
of his new puppy, Cash, for him,
290
00:16:24,191 --> 00:16:25,651
and Paul was doing that.
291
00:16:25,734 --> 00:16:29,571
Paul, he was actually filming
his buddy Rogan's dog,
292
00:16:29,655 --> 00:16:31,699
who had something wrong with the tail.
293
00:16:31,782 --> 00:16:32,866
They're down at the kennels.
294
00:16:32,950 --> 00:16:34,451
Paul tried to FaceTime him,
295
00:16:34,535 --> 00:16:37,037
but there was testimony
that the signal's very weak.
296
00:16:37,121 --> 00:16:39,456
So instead of FaceTiming with the dog,
297
00:16:39,540 --> 00:16:40,749
he takes this video.
298
00:16:41,333 --> 00:16:46,255
Your Honor, at this time, I'm gonna play
defense exhibit 297 for this witness.
299
00:16:52,886 --> 00:16:54,221
[Paul] Get back. Get back.
300
00:17:02,604 --> 00:17:06,400
Sit, Cash. Come on, sit.
It's okay. Come here.
301
00:17:08,318 --> 00:17:09,278
Come here, Cash.
302
00:17:10,779 --> 00:17:11,655
Come here.
303
00:17:12,614 --> 00:17:13,449
Cash.
304
00:17:13,949 --> 00:17:16,118
[Maggie] Hey, he's got a bird
in his mouth.
305
00:17:16,201 --> 00:17:17,286
[man] He's got a rock.
306
00:17:18,287 --> 00:17:19,371
[Paul] Hey, Bubba.
307
00:17:21,290 --> 00:17:23,834
-[Maggie] It's a guinea.
-[Paul] There's a chick there.
308
00:17:25,502 --> 00:17:26,462
[Alex] Come here, Bubba!
309
00:17:27,129 --> 00:17:28,922
I knew she'd gone to the kennel.
310
00:17:29,006 --> 00:17:30,257
I was at the house.
311
00:17:30,340 --> 00:17:33,427
[officer] The last time you saw Paul and
Maggie is when y'all were eating supper?
312
00:17:33,510 --> 00:17:34,344
Yes, sir.
313
00:17:34,428 --> 00:17:37,556
After dinner,
Maggie and Paul went to the kennels?
314
00:17:37,639 --> 00:17:39,141
I stayed on the couch.
315
00:17:39,725 --> 00:17:40,768
[Alex] Come here, Bubba!
316
00:17:49,610 --> 00:17:52,196
There was a hush
that just laid over the whole courtroom.
317
00:17:52,696 --> 00:17:55,491
There was a silence, like an audible gasp,
318
00:17:56,033 --> 00:18:00,120
and then I could notice people
kinda inching up, trying to lean in.
319
00:18:00,204 --> 00:18:01,789
Were they hearing this correctly?
320
00:18:02,623 --> 00:18:04,583
[Creighton] Did you recognize
the voices on there?
321
00:18:04,666 --> 00:18:06,710
-[Rogan] I did.
-[Creighton] What voices did you hear?
322
00:18:07,211 --> 00:18:09,296
[Rogan] Paul's, Ms. Maggie, Mr. Alex.
323
00:18:10,047 --> 00:18:11,715
[Creighton] Can you point out
Alex Murdaugh,
324
00:18:11,799 --> 00:18:14,968
the person whose voice you recognize
in this video, in this courtroom?
325
00:18:15,052 --> 00:18:16,470
Right there in the gray jacket.
326
00:18:17,179 --> 00:18:19,681
[Creighton] Let the record reflect
he's identified the defendant.
327
00:18:24,937 --> 00:18:28,190
There was Maggie. There was Paul.
There were the dogs.
328
00:18:28,899 --> 00:18:31,610
The chicken and Bubba.
And then there was Alex.
329
00:18:33,612 --> 00:18:37,616
[Blanca] When I saw the video,
it was like an eerie feeling.
330
00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:41,578
I heard Paul messing with Cash,
331
00:18:42,162 --> 00:18:45,374
and then I hear Maggie call,
talking about, "It's a guinea."
332
00:18:46,250 --> 00:18:49,586
And then, all of a sudden,
I hear him calling Bubba.
333
00:18:49,670 --> 00:18:50,671
[Alex] Come here, Bubba.
334
00:18:51,213 --> 00:18:54,341
When I heard the voice,
I... I... I automatically knew.
335
00:18:55,050 --> 00:18:56,135
I knew it was him.
336
00:18:57,177 --> 00:19:00,931
That 8:44 video is the linchpin
of the whole homicide case
337
00:19:01,014 --> 00:19:04,184
because we know
that Maggie and Paul and Alex
338
00:19:04,268 --> 00:19:06,520
are all prolific users of their phones.
339
00:19:06,603 --> 00:19:08,230
And in a matter of minutes,
340
00:19:08,313 --> 00:19:11,733
their phones stop
all meaningful activity forever.
341
00:19:13,485 --> 00:19:15,529
Between that 8:44 and 8:49 window,
342
00:19:15,612 --> 00:19:17,573
prosecution was adamant
that's when they died.
343
00:19:17,656 --> 00:19:19,741
Alex Murdaugh was there
344
00:19:20,492 --> 00:19:23,328
approximately two minutes
before Maggie and Paul were murdered.
345
00:19:23,412 --> 00:19:27,666
This was a piece of information
that he did not think was important
346
00:19:27,749 --> 00:19:30,669
for law enforcement to know
for over a year.
347
00:19:31,628 --> 00:19:36,133
[Valerie] Gosh, I get chills. I mean,
it was haunting to see second by second.
348
00:19:36,925 --> 00:19:40,262
We don't know if those were her
last words, but they were among her last.
349
00:19:40,345 --> 00:19:42,890
Paul had that last bit of evidence
that was so important.
350
00:19:42,973 --> 00:19:44,516
It was Paul's testimony in a way.
351
00:19:45,976 --> 00:19:50,355
[Anthony] Even though I haven't seen
or talked to Paul in three years,
352
00:19:50,439 --> 00:19:53,734
it was like I could,
plain as day, see every bit of it.
353
00:19:55,235 --> 00:19:57,196
Paul hollering at the dog.
354
00:19:57,279 --> 00:19:59,531
I mean, it was just like I was there.
355
00:19:59,615 --> 00:20:02,618
I felt like I could...
I could picture everything.
356
00:20:02,701 --> 00:20:04,077
He sounded happy to me,
357
00:20:05,037 --> 00:20:05,913
and, uh,
358
00:20:07,789 --> 00:20:10,417
that actually brought
a little peace to me, I guess.
359
00:20:12,044 --> 00:20:14,171
[Morgan] Just knowing
those were their last moments...
360
00:20:16,173 --> 00:20:17,507
{\an8}I think that was hard,
361
00:20:18,008 --> 00:20:20,677
{\an8}and I think it's probably why
I watched it so many times.
362
00:20:21,762 --> 00:20:24,890
Ms. Maggie going down to the kennels,
I think about that a lot.
363
00:20:26,016 --> 00:20:27,184
She never did that.
364
00:20:27,684 --> 00:20:29,811
If it was dark, she would be in the house.
365
00:20:30,771 --> 00:20:32,356
Ms. Maggie was a scared person.
366
00:20:32,439 --> 00:20:36,526
If Mr. Alex wasn't home, she'd make Paul
sleep in the bedroom right next to hers.
367
00:20:37,069 --> 00:20:39,696
She'd go around
and lock every door, every window.
368
00:20:40,489 --> 00:20:43,283
I feel like she would have been
called down there for a reason.
369
00:20:44,326 --> 00:20:45,327
You know, it's hard.
370
00:20:45,827 --> 00:20:49,206
I just didn't want Mr. Alex's face
to be the last thing that Paul saw.
371
00:20:50,457 --> 00:20:52,334
I didn't want him to be murdered at all,
372
00:20:52,417 --> 00:20:56,088
and I think that I battled myself
a lot on that internally.
373
00:20:56,171 --> 00:20:59,841
I would think about a million
different people that it could have been.
374
00:21:01,051 --> 00:21:03,178
I'm... Like, Mr. Alex
killed Paul and Maggie.
375
00:21:04,096 --> 00:21:08,350
The video that was found
on Paul's phone proved
376
00:21:08,433 --> 00:21:12,062
that he was definitely in the vicinity
and not where he was saying he was,
377
00:21:12,145 --> 00:21:15,565
but I can't tell you
that I think he killed his child.
378
00:21:17,693 --> 00:21:22,114
[Valerie] This crucial window,
this crucial time when their phones stop,
379
00:21:22,656 --> 00:21:25,492
he says he wasn't there,
and we know he was there.
380
00:21:28,328 --> 00:21:30,831
[Becky] Thinking back
to the very beginning of the trial,
381
00:21:30,914 --> 00:21:32,374
the family came in.
382
00:21:32,874 --> 00:21:36,003
There was more of a lightheartedness.
383
00:21:36,086 --> 00:21:37,921
Alex would turn around and talk to them.
384
00:21:38,005 --> 00:21:41,049
They would be fist-bumping.
They would be talking, hugging.
385
00:21:43,719 --> 00:21:44,553
[Paul] Get back.
386
00:21:44,636 --> 00:21:47,973
[Becky] After the video,
there was worry, there was concern.
387
00:21:49,808 --> 00:21:52,978
I think Alex Murdaugh
wanted to take the stand.
388
00:21:53,061 --> 00:21:55,230
He wanted to testify because he believed
389
00:21:55,314 --> 00:21:58,692
he could manipulate that jury
like he had done so many other times.
390
00:21:58,775 --> 00:22:02,112
I think letting Alex Murdaugh
take the stand was a bad move,
391
00:22:02,195 --> 00:22:04,031
but I don't know that they had a choice.
392
00:22:04,114 --> 00:22:05,532
You may call your next witness.
393
00:22:08,452 --> 00:22:09,786
[attorney] Thank you, Your Honor.
394
00:22:10,871 --> 00:22:15,459
The defendant, Richard Alexander Murdaugh,
wishes to take the stand.
395
00:22:17,544 --> 00:22:19,212
[Valerie] I remember
sitting there thinking,
396
00:22:19,296 --> 00:22:20,756
"Is he gonna prove to be
397
00:22:20,839 --> 00:22:24,634
kinda this magical personal injury lawyer
that his reputation was?"
398
00:22:24,718 --> 00:22:26,219
I do remember swearing in Alex.
399
00:22:26,887 --> 00:22:29,473
It seemed like
he was racing to get to the stand.
400
00:22:29,556 --> 00:22:32,976
He anticipated the oath,
and he answered before I even finished.
401
00:22:33,852 --> 00:22:34,936
I'm Alex Murdaugh.
402
00:22:35,437 --> 00:22:38,106
M-U-R-D-A-U-G-H.
403
00:22:39,524 --> 00:22:40,359
Good morning.
404
00:22:44,488 --> 00:22:45,447
[attorney] Mr. Murdaugh,
405
00:22:46,615 --> 00:22:52,412
on June 7th, 2021,
did you take this gun or any gun like it
406
00:22:53,538 --> 00:22:56,124
and shoot your son Paul in the chest
407
00:22:56,208 --> 00:22:59,169
in the feed room
at your property off Moselle Road?
408
00:22:59,252 --> 00:23:00,379
[Alex] No, I did not.
409
00:23:01,088 --> 00:23:04,883
[attorney] Mr, Murdaugh,
did you take this gun or any gun like it
410
00:23:05,592 --> 00:23:11,098
and blow your son's brains out
on June 7th or any day or any time?
411
00:23:11,181 --> 00:23:12,140
[Alex] No, I did not.
412
00:23:12,641 --> 00:23:17,604
Mr. Griffin, I didn't shoot
my wife or my son any time, ever.
413
00:23:18,772 --> 00:23:19,731
[Alex] Come here, Bubba.
414
00:23:19,815 --> 00:23:21,608
[attorney] Mr. Murdaugh, is that you
415
00:23:22,317 --> 00:23:24,528
on the kennel video at 8:44 p.m.
416
00:23:24,611 --> 00:23:27,406
on June 7th,
the night Maggie and Paul were murdered?
417
00:23:27,489 --> 00:23:28,323
[Alex] It is.
418
00:23:29,282 --> 00:23:31,785
[attorney] Were you at the kennels
at 8:44 p.m.
419
00:23:31,868 --> 00:23:33,537
on the night
Maggie and Paul were murdered?
420
00:23:33,620 --> 00:23:34,454
I was.
421
00:23:36,248 --> 00:23:38,291
[attorney] Did you lie to SLED Agent Owen
422
00:23:38,375 --> 00:23:41,837
that the last time you saw Maggie and Paul
was at dinner?
423
00:23:42,629 --> 00:23:43,713
I did lie to them.
424
00:23:44,756 --> 00:23:45,757
[attorney] Why?
425
00:23:51,138 --> 00:23:53,682
You know,
"Oh, what a tangled web we weave."
426
00:23:53,765 --> 00:23:55,517
But once I told a lie,
427
00:23:56,393 --> 00:23:57,644
I had to keep lying.
428
00:23:59,604 --> 00:24:02,983
[Alan] One of the things I found
astonishing, as a father and as a husband,
429
00:24:03,608 --> 00:24:07,571
if I leave my house
and two minutes later, somebody comes in
430
00:24:07,654 --> 00:24:09,781
and brutally murders
everyone in my family,
431
00:24:10,532 --> 00:24:13,034
the one thing
I'm gonna be thinking and screaming is,
432
00:24:13,118 --> 00:24:14,327
"If only I'd been there."
433
00:24:14,411 --> 00:24:17,581
"If only I'd been there two minutes
longer, I could have saved them."
434
00:24:17,664 --> 00:24:22,210
At no point in his cross-examination
did he have any remorse
435
00:24:22,294 --> 00:24:24,921
about literally missing
his wife and son's murderers
436
00:24:25,005 --> 00:24:27,048
coming in there
and brutally murdering them.
437
00:24:28,133 --> 00:24:30,635
[Valerie] So, in the end,
Alex was his own counsel.
438
00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:33,305
There's no doubt in my mind
439
00:24:33,388 --> 00:24:36,016
Alex's testimony hurt his lawyers' case.
440
00:24:38,268 --> 00:24:41,271
[Creighton] When you had a conversation
with Ms. Shelly after the fact,
441
00:24:41,354 --> 00:24:45,942
you actually asked her to say that
you were there longer than 20 minutes.
442
00:24:48,403 --> 00:24:50,655
You know, I heard Shelly's testimony. I...
443
00:24:52,616 --> 00:24:55,076
[Alex] I believe Shelly
{\an8}to be a good person.
444
00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:58,163
{\an8}We may have discussed
how long I was there.
445
00:24:58,246 --> 00:25:02,083
At that point in time,
if I thought I was there 45 minutes,
446
00:25:02,167 --> 00:25:05,295
I may have said
I was here 45 minutes, but...
447
00:25:06,796 --> 00:25:08,340
You know, I can't tell you.
448
00:25:08,423 --> 00:25:13,094
He just told a lie because I would
never say that if it was not true.
449
00:25:18,225 --> 00:25:20,435
{\an8}One of the things
that stood out about this trial
450
00:25:20,519 --> 00:25:22,646
{\an8}is that some of the most effective,
451
00:25:22,729 --> 00:25:25,357
heart-wrenching,
memorable witnesses were women.
452
00:25:25,941 --> 00:25:26,775
Shelly,
453
00:25:27,859 --> 00:25:29,611
and certainly Blanca.
454
00:25:34,366 --> 00:25:38,662
{\an8}A lot of times, the defense will request
that a jury visit a crime scene.
455
00:25:39,704 --> 00:25:42,707
I believe the defense,
in this particular case,
456
00:25:42,791 --> 00:25:45,835
wanted the jury
to see how big Moselle was,
457
00:25:45,919 --> 00:25:49,506
how things in the case had lined up.
458
00:25:59,975 --> 00:26:02,352
[somber music plays]
459
00:26:10,235 --> 00:26:12,237
[Valerie] The defense very much wanted
460
00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:15,365
the jury to go to Moselle,
and the prosecution agreed.
461
00:26:15,448 --> 00:26:17,325
So the last morning,
462
00:26:17,409 --> 00:26:20,537
the judge arranged
for a field trip for the jury.
463
00:26:20,620 --> 00:26:22,539
It was decided
there would be a press pool.
464
00:26:22,622 --> 00:26:24,040
So one videographer,
465
00:26:24,124 --> 00:26:27,502
and then one still photographer,
and one print reporter.
466
00:26:28,545 --> 00:26:30,880
I was fortunate to be chosen to go.
467
00:26:33,758 --> 00:26:37,637
Don't think there's been a trip like that
since the OJ jury went to Brentwood.
468
00:26:37,721 --> 00:26:41,141
This just had resonance
nationwide, internationally.
469
00:26:44,728 --> 00:26:47,981
I wanted to make sure
that I was seeing and describing
470
00:26:48,064 --> 00:26:49,899
and getting it right for people
471
00:26:49,983 --> 00:26:52,944
and helping explain
this kind of momentous trip.
472
00:26:53,028 --> 00:26:55,030
[somber music continues]
473
00:26:57,240 --> 00:26:59,242
[Valerie] One of the first things
that I did
474
00:26:59,326 --> 00:27:04,289
was to try to establish the distance
between where Maggie fell and Paul fell.
475
00:27:04,789 --> 00:27:06,249
It was just hard to imagine.
476
00:27:09,836 --> 00:27:13,965
I printed out the exhibit
that showed where the bodies were found.
477
00:27:14,924 --> 00:27:19,054
You know, Maggie saw everything,
and she saw who did it,
478
00:27:19,137 --> 00:27:21,723
from right at that point where she fell.
479
00:27:22,265 --> 00:27:27,020
I remember walking over to the feed room,
and then walking back and forth,
480
00:27:27,103 --> 00:27:29,105
counting my steps like, "How far are we?"
481
00:27:29,189 --> 00:27:32,192
It was like 12 normal steps away.
482
00:27:32,275 --> 00:27:34,944
That's exactly how far she was
from where he fell.
483
00:27:36,112 --> 00:27:39,032
And, um, we weren't given
really any specific instructions,
484
00:27:39,115 --> 00:27:41,534
so I went into the feed room.
485
00:27:45,580 --> 00:27:49,459
Paul would have been standing
about five feet in when he was shot.
486
00:27:49,542 --> 00:27:53,046
So I stood as close to where
I thought he'd been shot as possible,
487
00:27:53,129 --> 00:27:54,339
and what I realized...
488
00:27:55,215 --> 00:27:57,050
He would not have been able to see,
489
00:27:57,967 --> 00:28:00,762
at least that first shot, who shot him.
490
00:28:01,262 --> 00:28:03,098
But then, if you stumble forward,
491
00:28:04,516 --> 00:28:06,851
there's no doubt he saw who...
492
00:28:07,936 --> 00:28:10,689
who blew the brain out of his body.
493
00:28:17,112 --> 00:28:21,366
[Becky] I had a feeling from our time
together with the jury out at Moselle
494
00:28:21,449 --> 00:28:25,537
that it was not gonna take our jury long
to make the decision in this case.
495
00:28:26,162 --> 00:28:28,415
It's just called that woman's intuition.
496
00:28:29,457 --> 00:28:31,668
That's when I went into my own office
497
00:28:31,751 --> 00:28:36,047
to be preparing for what we were
about to do as far as reading the verdict.
498
00:28:36,131 --> 00:28:40,760
And I called a friend of mine
who is the Hampton County clerk of court.
499
00:28:40,844 --> 00:28:44,222
I said, "I don't know if I can do it.
I'm gonna get Judge Newman to do it."
500
00:28:44,305 --> 00:28:45,849
"I just don't know that I can do it."
501
00:28:45,932 --> 00:28:48,560
She says, "Honey, you're just gonna
read it like any other verdict."
502
00:28:51,604 --> 00:28:55,692
When the jury went back,
uh, I was at peak exhaustion.
503
00:28:55,775 --> 00:28:58,069
I think that we felt like
we just laid it all out there.
504
00:28:58,153 --> 00:28:59,571
We'd done everything we could do.
505
00:29:00,488 --> 00:29:02,907
[Valerie] The jury broke,
and it had been a long day.
506
00:29:03,658 --> 00:29:06,786
I went over to the media center
to try to get ready
507
00:29:06,870 --> 00:29:08,747
with whatever we thought
the story was gonna be.
508
00:29:08,830 --> 00:29:11,416
And I can remember
Dick, Jim, and the defense team
509
00:29:11,499 --> 00:29:13,543
kind of wandering into the media center.
510
00:29:14,794 --> 00:29:15,920
While we were standing there,
511
00:29:16,004 --> 00:29:20,759
Dick got word that the jury
had requested monitors for exhibits,
512
00:29:20,842 --> 00:29:22,510
which he took as a positive sign.
513
00:29:23,470 --> 00:29:27,056
[Becky] I had a knock on the door
that said the jury is ready to come out.
514
00:29:27,140 --> 00:29:28,516
We're gonna let Judge Newman know
515
00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:31,978
that everyone's ready and gathered
in the courtroom.
516
00:29:32,061 --> 00:29:35,398
The jury went back less than an hour.
517
00:29:36,232 --> 00:29:39,360
In short order, you know,
allayed the doubts of the doubtful
518
00:29:39,444 --> 00:29:41,529
and said, "We don't need dinner.
We're ready."
519
00:29:42,864 --> 00:29:46,367
It was hard to fathom that we'd have
a resolution one way or the other.
520
00:29:46,868 --> 00:29:50,288
-Have you reached a verdict?
-[jury foreperson] Yes, sir, we have.
521
00:29:50,371 --> 00:29:52,749
-Is it unanimous?
-[foreperson] Yes, sir, it is.
522
00:29:52,832 --> 00:29:58,087
All right, if you will pass it up
to the clerk, who will pass it to me.
523
00:30:03,551 --> 00:30:06,721
[Becky] He perused over
and scanned the verdict forms,
524
00:30:06,805 --> 00:30:08,348
and then he handed it to me.
525
00:30:08,848 --> 00:30:11,810
He said, "Madam Clerk,
would you please read the verdict?"
526
00:30:11,893 --> 00:30:17,941
I was very intently being looked at
by the defense team, by the family,
527
00:30:18,024 --> 00:30:21,653
really by everyone in the courtroom
and probably all over the world.
528
00:30:22,779 --> 00:30:23,738
I just took a breath,
529
00:30:23,822 --> 00:30:25,907
and then I started reading
from the indictment,
530
00:30:25,990 --> 00:30:29,619
from the very top to the very bottom,
not wanting to miss a thing.
531
00:30:29,702 --> 00:30:32,914
The State of South Carolina,
County of Colleton,
532
00:30:32,997 --> 00:30:35,083
in the Court of General Sessions,
533
00:30:36,626 --> 00:30:40,588
in the term of 2022 July,
534
00:30:40,672 --> 00:30:44,259
the State vs.
Richard Alexander Murdaugh, Defendant,
535
00:30:44,342 --> 00:30:45,844
indictment for murder...
536
00:30:45,927 --> 00:30:47,929
[tense music plays]
537
00:30:49,055 --> 00:30:50,723
...guilty verdict.
538
00:30:53,643 --> 00:30:55,478
[Becky] You could feel a silence.
539
00:30:56,980 --> 00:31:00,650
And even though no emotion was shown
in the courtroom by the family,
540
00:31:00,733 --> 00:31:03,111
I was told
that when they got back to the room
541
00:31:03,194 --> 00:31:06,197
that was the holding place
for the family to gather,
542
00:31:06,281 --> 00:31:11,411
Buster did break down
and fall to his knees and just cried.
543
00:31:13,037 --> 00:31:15,248
{\an8}I knew my verdict
by the time I went back there.
544
00:31:16,583 --> 00:31:18,084
We voted a couple of times.
545
00:31:19,794 --> 00:31:21,713
There were questions about the guns.
546
00:31:22,714 --> 00:31:26,009
Another young lady,
she couldn't believe that he did it,
547
00:31:26,092 --> 00:31:29,846
'cause she couldn't believe
that a person could kill their own family.
548
00:31:29,929 --> 00:31:31,639
That's what she just kept saying.
549
00:31:32,515 --> 00:31:34,100
And when we voted again,
550
00:31:35,018 --> 00:31:36,060
it was unanimous.
551
00:31:36,144 --> 00:31:37,896
I felt I made the right decision.
552
00:31:37,979 --> 00:31:39,689
I felt we made the right decision.
553
00:31:40,523 --> 00:31:43,568
[Creighton] When I heard Ms. Becky
read that guilty verdict,
554
00:31:44,319 --> 00:31:48,531
as I looked down, the team down this way
and law enforcement behind us,
555
00:31:48,615 --> 00:31:52,160
I'm just so glad that we didn't
put all these folks through all of this
556
00:31:52,243 --> 00:31:56,581
and not get, um, the justice
that we thought Maggie and Paul deserved.
557
00:32:00,418 --> 00:32:04,464
[Alan] When the verdict came in guilty,
it was total vindication.
558
00:32:04,964 --> 00:32:07,634
Total vindication
that I made the right decision.
559
00:32:07,717 --> 00:32:10,887
Total vindication
that our team did the right thing,
560
00:32:10,970 --> 00:32:13,973
got the conviction,
and proved a lot of naysayers wrong.
561
00:32:23,691 --> 00:32:25,526
Mr. Murdaugh, if you'll come.
562
00:32:26,402 --> 00:32:27,779
The court for sentencing.
563
00:32:31,824 --> 00:32:36,996
This has been, perhaps,
one of the most troubling cases,
564
00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:40,708
not just for me, as a judge,
565
00:32:41,668 --> 00:32:44,754
uh, for the State, for the defense team,
566
00:32:44,837 --> 00:32:48,841
but for all of the citizens
in this community.
567
00:32:49,550 --> 00:32:53,554
We have a wife who's been murdered,
568
00:32:54,722 --> 00:32:56,975
a son savagely murdered.
569
00:32:58,434 --> 00:33:00,812
But, amazingly,
to have you come and testify
570
00:33:01,646 --> 00:33:06,234
that my wife and son and I were out,
just enjoying life...
571
00:33:06,943 --> 00:33:09,070
Not credible, not believable.
572
00:33:09,570 --> 00:33:12,115
The expression you gave
on the witness stand,
573
00:33:12,740 --> 00:33:17,829
"Oh, what a tangled web we weave,"
what did you mean by that?
574
00:33:18,496 --> 00:33:21,249
I meant when I lied, I continued to lie.
575
00:33:23,584 --> 00:33:24,836
[judge] All right, Mr. Murdaugh,
576
00:33:24,919 --> 00:33:27,964
in the murder of your wife,
Maggie Murdaugh,
577
00:33:29,173 --> 00:33:32,885
I sentence you for the term
of the rest of your natural life.
578
00:33:33,928 --> 00:33:35,304
For the murder of Paul,
579
00:33:36,305 --> 00:33:38,391
whom you probably loved so much,,
580
00:33:39,934 --> 00:33:43,396
I sentence you to prison
for the rest of your natural life.
581
00:33:44,188 --> 00:33:47,025
Those sentences will run consecutive.
582
00:33:47,859 --> 00:33:52,447
And officers may carry forth
on the imposition.
583
00:33:52,530 --> 00:33:54,532
[somber music plays]
584
00:34:18,097 --> 00:34:19,182
[music fades]
585
00:34:24,854 --> 00:34:27,899
[Becky] We thought that,
after the verdict,
586
00:34:27,982 --> 00:34:30,068
that it would be a lightheartedness,
587
00:34:30,151 --> 00:34:33,071
that there would be an easiness,
more so, in Hampton.
588
00:34:33,696 --> 00:34:39,410
But it opened up
a whole other Pandora's box of questions.
589
00:34:41,370 --> 00:34:45,208
I get asked, "Did Alex have help
in the murder of Paul and Maggie?"
590
00:34:46,209 --> 00:34:47,919
If he had help, we would have pursued it.
591
00:34:48,002 --> 00:34:50,046
The gathering storm was coming for him,
592
00:34:50,129 --> 00:34:53,591
and he needed to do
his last desperate act to save himself
593
00:34:53,674 --> 00:34:55,676
and to preserve his own personal legacy.
594
00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:59,680
And the price he was willing to pay
was the murder of Paul and Maggie.
595
00:34:59,764 --> 00:35:02,058
I do think Alex pulled the trigger.
596
00:35:03,184 --> 00:35:05,144
And then I think he had help with
597
00:35:05,812 --> 00:35:08,397
cleaning up everything
that needed cleaning up,
598
00:35:08,481 --> 00:35:12,985
and what we had left was
the crime scene that took us to the trial.
599
00:35:14,612 --> 00:35:17,365
[Morgan] I think it was premeditated
for a really long time.
600
00:35:18,699 --> 00:35:21,410
In the back of my mind,
I feel like he might have had some help.
601
00:35:22,411 --> 00:35:24,580
I do think
he was the decision-maker though.
602
00:35:27,458 --> 00:35:29,877
I can't think about it,
because I'll get sketched out.
603
00:35:30,586 --> 00:35:33,756
The only comment
that I have on that situation is
604
00:35:33,840 --> 00:35:37,260
I think that there is another person,
605
00:35:37,343 --> 00:35:40,388
and maybe even more,
but there's at least one more person
606
00:35:42,098 --> 00:35:46,811
that needs to be facing
the same charges that Mr. Alex's facing,
607
00:35:47,937 --> 00:35:50,815
because I don't think that Mr. Alex
could have shot his own child.
608
00:35:51,315 --> 00:35:53,985
Really, we don't know
why did he do it, you know.
609
00:35:54,068 --> 00:35:56,279
Maybe one day, he might tell people.
610
00:35:56,362 --> 00:35:58,072
Only he knows why he did it.
611
00:35:58,156 --> 00:35:59,907
[somber music plays]
612
00:35:59,991 --> 00:36:02,660
[producer] Do you think
that Alex had help?
613
00:36:05,955 --> 00:36:08,541
I don't want to answer that question.
614
00:36:11,752 --> 00:36:12,920
I... I don't...
615
00:36:17,216 --> 00:36:20,052
I... I... I don't feel comfortable
answering that question.
616
00:36:21,053 --> 00:36:22,555
I thought of him as a brother.
617
00:36:25,266 --> 00:36:28,436
He... he... he fooled me.
He fooled a lot of people.
618
00:36:31,022 --> 00:36:33,900
If Mr. Randolph had been living,
none of this would have happened.
619
00:36:34,901 --> 00:36:37,778
Don't think because he's in jail,
it's over with.
620
00:36:37,862 --> 00:36:40,865
This is just a bump in the road.
621
00:36:41,991 --> 00:36:43,993
[somber music continues]
622
00:36:57,965 --> 00:37:00,676
[Blanca] I miss when we were
at the house by ourselves.
623
00:37:02,053 --> 00:37:05,264
She didn't have to pretend
to be anything but Maggie with me,
624
00:37:06,682 --> 00:37:07,642
and I miss that.
625
00:37:11,020 --> 00:37:13,648
I'll never have a friend like that.
626
00:37:15,233 --> 00:37:17,401
I don't know what else to say.
I mean, I'm...
627
00:37:20,154 --> 00:37:21,822
She's not here, he's not here,
628
00:37:22,823 --> 00:37:24,075
and I got the dog.
629
00:37:24,158 --> 00:37:26,160
[somber music continues]
630
00:37:28,329 --> 00:37:29,205
Only us.
631
00:37:31,540 --> 00:37:32,375
I guess...
632
00:37:33,501 --> 00:37:34,502
[Blanca sniffs]
633
00:37:34,585 --> 00:37:35,962
I guess it's just us now.
634
00:37:36,045 --> 00:37:37,129
[somber music fades]
635
00:37:41,300 --> 00:37:43,302
[somber music plays]
636
00:38:26,095 --> 00:38:27,471
[somber music continues]
637
00:39:21,025 --> 00:39:23,027
[music fades]