As in an Agatha Christie novel, members of high society, domestic workers and defrauded friends parade before judges and jurors, under the avid eye of the cameras which broadcast the hearings live to millions of Americans.
Alex Murdaugh, a 54-year-old beefy red-haired man, above all a powerful lawyer, has been appearing before the judges of the Colleton County Court (United States) since the end of January. He is accused of shooting his wife Maggie, 52, and Paul, 22, one of his sons. So far, the man denies any responsibility for this double murder.
The family, wealthy and powerful, fascinates the news channels which repeatedly broadcast a very glamorous photo of the Murdaugh couple with their two sons – she in a fur coat, them in a black tuxedo – as well as aerial images of their huge estate, nicknamed “Moselle”, where men liked to hunt wild pigs.
Inconsistencies in the speech of the accused
On June 7, 2021, this bourgeois decor turned into a crime scene. Shortly after 10 p.m., Alex Murdaugh called for help in a groaning voice, explaining that he had discovered the lifeless bodies of Maggie and Paul, near the kennel. To the investigators, he assured that he made this macabre discovery just after visiting his mother, a senile woman unable to corroborate his statements.
At the helm, the old lady’s caregiver confirmed that he had spent “twenty minutes” by her side that evening, but reported disturbing pressure on the following days. During a one-on-one, “he told me he stayed 30 to 40 minutes”, and the next day he offered to finance “my wedding party”, explained Mushel Smith, obviously very uncomfortable.
This discrepancy is significant because, according to the prosecution, the murders took place around 9:45 p.m., the victims having then stopped answering the telephones. A minute earlier, however, Paul was chatting with a friend about an injured puppy. To show him the animal, he had recorded a video that he did not have time to send. The investigators recovered it: we hear Paul, his mother and a male voice. For the prosecutors, and several witnesses, no doubt, it is about Alex Murdaugh.
An attempt at insurance fraud
For prosecutors, the cornered father has devised a desperate scheme to cover himself. He also allegedly had suicidal intentions. Two months after the murders, he was found with his head bleeding along a road. The investigation quickly showed that he had asked a former client to kill him so that his eldest son, Buster, would receive $10 million in life insurance. But his accomplice missed it.
This insurance scam as well as the hundreds of frauds uncovered since the murders will be judged later. Before that, the jury will have to render its verdict. Alex Murdaugh faces the death penalty.
Without waiting, several podcasts and documentaries have already retraced his journey. The Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal is due out February 22 on Netflix in the United States.