48 Hours - The Trial of Alex Murdaugh

Episode Date: March 5, 2023

"48 Hours" explores the double life of a once prominent lawyer and his stunning fall from grace. Murdaugh is now an admitted drug addict, thief and convicted murderer. "48 Hours" contributor Nikki Battiste reports.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. Day 8 in the Alec Murdoch. Day 9 of the double murder. Week 3 of the Alec Murdoch. 100 hours of testimony.

This is the 14th day of the double murder. As that trial tracks into week 4 of the looming... This is day 17. Now the defense called more witnesses... Day 22 of the Alec Murdoch. Week 6, day 25, and the double murder trial of Alec Murdoch continues in Colette County. Alec Murdoch is on trial for the double homicide of his wife, Maggie, and his son, Paul, near the dog kennels of their family's hunting estate.

Local media has called it the trial of the century in South Carolina. It has attracted media from across the world. Alec Murdoch used to be a really predominant lawyer in South Carolina and is a member of this very powerful legal Dynasty on the evening of June 7th 2021 his son Paul Murdoch is standing in a small feet room and some kennels they have on the property the defendant over there out of Murdoch took a

12-stage shotgun and shot him in the chest and the shoulder. But after that, another shot went up under his head and did catastrophic damage. The lead prosecutor for the state is Creighton Waters. Just moments later, he picked up a.300 blackout AR-style rifle and opened fire on his wife, Maggie. Pow, pow! And killed her instantly.

Alex Murdoch's claim is that he ate dinner with his family, took a nap on the couch. He goes to visit his mother, comes home just after 10 PM, and finds his wife and child shot and killed. This is Alex Murdock, my wife and child. This is Scott Badman. Copy. I'm going on scene.

His immediate reaction was to start telling me about an incident that had happened with his son with a boating accident. My son was in a boat wreck a few months back. He's been getting threats. I know that's what it is. I'm Seth Stoughton. I'm a law professor at the University of South Carolina. Paul Murdoch was on a boat with some other individuals.

There was drinking. The boat crashed, and one of the individuals on the boat, Mallory Beach, was killed. They told you that it was just random vigilantes from the boat case of which there is no evidence whatsoever. They were alleging that Alec wanted to murder his wife and son because he wanted to hide the fact that he'd been stealing millions of dollars from his law firm and his clients for years. This is a spreadsheet referencing each client and the amount that was stolen from each client. $225,073.46. $112,500.

$338,056.14. And why did y'all have to pay all that money back? Because Alec had stolen it. The facts are what matter here. The facts. Murdoch's got some heavy hitters on his side. Dick Carl Putlian is the Johnny Cochran of South Carolina. Did he murder his wife and son?

No. Does he have any idea who did? No. There's no eyewitness. There's no fingerprints. There's no forensics tying him to the crime. None. The prosecution has had one major smoking gun in its case,

and it's Paul Murdoch's video that he took at 8.44 p.m. Hey, he's got a bird in his mouth. Come here, Bob. Come here, Bob. Did you recognize any voices on that video? Paul Murdoch, Maggie Murdoch, and Alec Murdoch. Do you recognize Alec's voice? Yes, sir. How will they explain that Alec Murdoch. Do you recognize Alec's voice? Yes, sir.

How will they explain that Alec was actually at the dog kennels five minutes before the murder when he claims to have been sleeping? Were you in fact at the kennels at 8.44 p.m. on the night Maggie and Paul were murdered? I was. You continued lying after that night, did you not? Once I lied, I continued to lie, yes, sir. Would you ever do anything to harm Maggie? I would never hurt Maggie. I did not kill Maggie. I did not kill Paul.

The state versus Richard Alexander Murdoch, verdict guilty. It doesn't matter how prominent you are. If you do wrong, if you break the law, if you murder, then justice will be done in South Carolina. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marcia Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defence attorney,

I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

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you're going to dominate your next dinner party. So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just The Best Idea Yet. best idea yet. It was a field trip to a ghost town. Off a country road, the procession turned slowly up the long driveway of the imposing property.

This convoy held the jury in the double murder trial of Alec Murdoch. This is Moselle, the hunting lodge of the Murdoch family. Alec, his wife Maggie, and sons Paul and Buster. The jury was taken to the dog kennels and the small feed room where Paul had been shot at close range with a shotgun. A few yards away, Maggie was shot several times with a.300 blackout rifle. Neither weapon has ever been found. There was a time when this estate reflected the vast power and prestige of the Murdaw legal dynasty.

Now the withered grounds seem to echo Alec Murdaw's steep fall from grace. From a rich, powerful lawyer to an admitted drug addict. Oxycodone, Oxycontin. Thief. I stole money that was not my money. And convicted murderer. Verdict guilty. Alec, did you kill your wife this night?

What do you think of the verdict, Alec? It's the side of my car. This is where Alec Murdoch's life unraveled on June 7th, 2021. This is your wife and son? And son. Okay. I knew it was really bad. That night, when Murdahl was interviewed by investigators,

he was quick to offer up an explanation for the murders of his wife and son. My son Paul was in a boat wreck. There's been a lot of negative publicity about that, and there's been a lot of people online just really vile stuff. The crash that would kill 19-year-old Mallory Beach happened about 2.20 a.m. on February 24, 2019. When a boat carrying six young friends smashed into a bridge, Connor Cook made the frantic call to 911. There's six of us and one is missing.

Who's missing? Female, Mallory Beeks. She's in the water. She was just this wonderful, fun-loving, happy girl. And everybody loved her. Lynn Revis and her niece Mallory were extremely close. You always got a hug, hello, and a hug, goodbye. And the last thing she told me was she loved me.

In piecing together events, investigators learned earlier that night, 19-year-old Paul Murdahl used his older brother Buster's ID to buy beer at this convenience store. And if you look at the video footage, when Paul comes out of the store, he's holding the beer up. He's celebrating. After staying at a party for several hours, the group took the Murdaw family's boat to this bar, where Paul and Connor had more to drink around 1 a.m. They went in, pounded a couple of shots. Michael DeWitt is an author and editor of the Hampton County Guardian, part of the Gannett USA Today Network.

Somewhere around 1, 1.30, you see the video footage of them leaving the boat dock. It was kind of a sad, touching moment when you see Mallory and her boyfriend. I think it's the last moment that anybody captured an image of her alive. It was around 1.15 when they took off again on the boat. Paul was just driving, doing donuts. Passenger Miley Altman told investigators tempers were running short. So Connor starts driving for a little bit and then Paul like he like stops Connor and he's like no this is my boat like let me drive. I saw the bridge coming.

What bridge is it? Paul what bridge is this? Paul, what bridge is this? First responders' dash cam video captured the mayhem. Where's everybody else at? At the bridge, at the bottom of the bridge. Everybody was crying, scared, shocked, just worried about their friend. Then Beaufort County Deputy Sheriff Stephen Domino was one of the first on the scene. After Domino got Mallory's distraught boyfriend Anthony Cook into his patrol car, Paul Murdoch came into sight. He was walking up from where the boat was.

Get that right there away from me. He actually tried to rush through me to get to Paul because I guess he saw him smiling. Paul's smiling while Anthony's girlfriend's missing in the water. Right. Bro, you're ****** smiling like you're ****** funny. My ****** girlfriend's gold, bro. That's when Anthony Cook definitively identified the person he said was driving the boat. That's when he indicated that he couldn't be touched. Mallory's body was found a week later.

And in the weeks after that, we're just waiting. Is someone going to make an arrest? Is there going to be an admission of guilt or responsibility? We're in a boat crash. I think that from day one, ground zero, the effort was, what can we do to get Paul out of this? In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured

a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still have urged it. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years, I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn Trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction.

Listen to the Pitink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. Who do you think is responsible for Mallory's death? I think Paul Murdoch was.

A month after the fatal boat crash, frustrated that there was no arrest, Mallory Beach's family filed a wrongful death suit against members of the Murdoch family, which allowed them to depose the survivors about what happened that night. Paul was allegedly acting rash and reckless. In his deposition, Paul's friend Connor Cook said that the morning of the crash he didn't tell investigators that Paul was driving the boat because he was afraid. And while at the hospital he says he was told by Alec Murdahl that he didn't need to tell anyone who was driving. Alex reportedly went from room to room to try

to communicate with the other boat crash passengers and get them all on the same page. At the hospital several hours after the crash, Paul's blood alcohol level was three times over the legal limit. He was getting belligerent with the the nurses, staff, according to court records, just being loud and troublesome. But that morning and for weeks to come, many felt that Paul Murdaugh was not treated like a suspect in a crime. We didn't think he was going to be charged. Why?

Because it was taking so long. We just didn't think we'd see that day. Nearly two months after the boat crash, Paul was charged with causing the death of Mallory Beach. He pleaded not guilty and remained free after posting bond, and the Murdahl name began to tarnish. Two years passed, and on June 7, 2021, as Paul Murdaugh was awaiting trial in the death of Mallory Beach,

gunfire erupted on the Murdaugh family estate. This is Alec Murdaugh at 4147 Moselle Road. At 10.06 p.m., a panic-sounding Alec Murdoch called 911, saying he had just arrived home to find his wife of nearly 28 years, Maggie, and their son, Paul, shot. Is he moving at all, your son? I know you said that she was shot, but what about your son? They're not, neither one of them's moving maggie's friend caroline price called her godson

buster when she heard the terrible news i said please tell me this isn't true and he said yes miss caroline it is and he immediately without prompt said it was premeditated and revenge they were trying to say that it was associated with the boat crash. That someone was angry at Paul. Right. Due to the Murdoch family's close ties with local law enforcement, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, known as SLED, the state's top investigative agency, took over the case.

It was amazing to me how quick this rumor mill started. Maggie's friend friend Shelly West heard about the murders from a friend. I just said, do you think Alec did it? And he said, no, there were two guns on the scene. But it actually crossed your mind that he might have done it? Yeah, I mean, yeah. I mean, that was my first initial reaction. A lot of times the husband's the first suspect. And Caroline says she had a strange conversation with him after Maggie and Paul's funeral. He talked a lot about Paul. The fact that he wasn't going to get his day in court. He wasn't going to get to clear his name. Murdaugh offered a $100,000

reward as rumors and speculation swirled. Reports at the time raised questions about their marriage and claimed that Maggie was consulting with a divorce attorney. Marion, her sister, asked me, do you know anything about this? And I said, no. And she said, she never said anything to me, and she tells me everything. Maggie never mentioned there was any trouble in the marriage.

At a hearing a few months later, I questioned the Murdaw family attorney Dick Harpootlian about the Murdaws' relationship. Were there any problems in Maggie and Alex's marriage? Absolutely none. None. And trust me, I was with them for almost two years. Always affectionate, always courteous, just a picture of a domestic bliss. And as for the theory that the murders were in retaliation for the boat crash, Maggie's friends say she never mentioned any threats against their family. She talked about how unkind everybody was and mean.

The looks and the snares. And they didn't seem to feel unsafe. I mean, they were still carrying on with their normal routine, day-to-day activities and things. As investigators tried to figure out who would want Paul and Maggie Murdaugh dead and why, a call came into 911 that another member of the family was under attack.

Somebody stopped to help me, and they tried to shoot me. And it's almost been a case of episodic television where tune in this week and we'll see what's next from Hampton County home of the Murdochs. Three months after the shooting deaths of Maggie and Paul, Alec Murdoch again called 911, this time claiming he'd been shot. Somebody stopped to help me, and they tried to shoot me. Alec Murdoch told investigators he was changing a flat tire right here on this rural road when a person in a pickup truck passed by, asked Alex if he was having car trouble, and then shot him in the head.

Murdoch's conversation on the way to the hospital was captured on police body cam. You know what kind of gun it was? I don't know what kind of gun it was, but it sounded like a shotgun. On September 6, 2021, two days after being shot, Alec Murdoch released this statement. I have made a lot of decisions that I truly regret, he said, and announced he was leaving the law firm. Alec Murdoch put out a statement saying he's going into rehab. Alec Murdoch said he had been addicted to opioids for two decades. It wasn't only claims of drug abuse now staining Murdoch's reputation. He was also accused of stealing millions from his own law firm and was asked to resign the day before he was shot.

Friday, the law firm has a come-to to Jesus meeting with him. We know you're allegedly stealing money. You're out. Saturday, the reported shooting. Monday, Alex releases a statement saying I'm going into rehab. Then came the even more bizarre news that Myrdal had allegedly hired this man, his distant cousin Curtis Smith, to shoot him. He wanted you to kill him. Yeah, he wanted me to kill him. Authorities say Murdahl wanted his killing to look like murder so his surviving son Buster could collect a 10 million dollar life insurance payout. Smith says he refused. Yeah, ain't happening. it's unclear exactly how Murdoch came to be shot. Why did you leave the scene? I don't know anything else to do. Smith was charged in connection with the shooting but

has not entered a plea. On September 16th, 2021, facing charges of insurance fraud, conspiracy and filing a false police report, Alec Murdahl turned himself in. The fact that Murdahl sat in a chair in a jumpsuit with handcuffs is something I've never seen in my lifetime. Alec Murdahl was released on bond and allowed to go back to rehab. While Murdahl was there, investigators were looking into all of his business dealings and the suspicious death of this woman, Gloria Satterfield. Gloria was the housekeeper for the Murdahl family for more than 20 years.

Ronnie Richter is an attorney for the Satterfield family. She literally helped raise Alec Murdahl's sons, Paul and Buster. In 2018, the 57-year-old died after a fall at the Murdahl estate. What's been reported is that she was at the house that day on the front steps. The dogs got a little rambunctious and gave her a push and she fell down the stairs. Satterfield's death was ruled natural and no autopsy was ever performed. There's nothing natural about a 57-year-old woman falling down a flight of steps and dying from head trauma. At Gloria's funeral, Murdahl did something very odd, says Richter.

He recommended Gloria's sons file a wrongful death lawsuit against him. Murdahl even steered them toward an attorney, his friend, Corey Fleming. A lot of trust was placed in both Alec and in Corey to do the right things. And it really went south from the outset. Court documents show a $4.3 million payout by Murdahl's insurance company, but none of the money ever went to Gloria's family. Where did that money go? Well, allegedly it went into Alex Murdaugh's pocket.

Alex Murdaugh was charged with two felonies for his role in the Gloria Satterfield insurance fraud. This time, a judge ordered him to be held without bond. As Murdaugh sat in jail, he was indicted on dozens more charges for defrauding clients out of millions of dollars. And then in July of 2022, more than a year after the grisly murders. Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was indicted today in the high-profile murders of his wife and son last year. Alec Murdaugh was charged with killing his wife Maggie and son Paul. Maggie's friends were relieved that the case was moving forward. I was kind of like,th, 2023,

19 months after Maggie and Paul were gunned down near the dog kennels at their family hunting estate. That the defendant, Alec Murdoch, over there, told anyone who would listen that he was never at those kennels. Prosecutor Creighton Waters began laying out the state's case against Alec Murdoch. But the evidence is also going to show, from these things that every one of us, most of us carry around in our pockets, that he was there. He was at the murder scene with the two victims.

I could see Mr. Murdahl down at the end of the driveway. Central 717 scene is secure. Both gunshot wounds to the head. First responders described the harrowing scene captured by their body cams. The male victim was close to a small shed in the dog kennel on the left. There was a large deal of blood that had pooled around his body. Turn around for me. I don't have any blood.

Okay, yes, sir, I see that. Okay. This is your wife and son? That's fine. It's official that they're dead? Yes, sir, that's what it looks like. Investigators interviewed Myrdal in a patrol car. My boy over there, I could see it was...

Myrdal said he spent time with Paul earlier in the evening, riding around the property. After Maggie got home, he dozed off on the couch, and when he got up, there was nobody around. I called Maggie, didn't get an answer. Maggie's a dog lover, and I knew she'd gone to the kennel. I left to go to my mom's. My mom's a late-stage Alzheimer's patient. His visit with his ill mother would become his alibi. Murdahl told investigators when he returned around 10 p.m., there was still no one home.

So he drove down to the dog kennels. That's when he found Maggie and Paul. I tried to turn Paul over first. Then I went to my wife and I mean, I could see. I touched them both. I mean, I could see. I touched them both. I tried to take their pulse on both of them. When you first saw Paul, you said you tried to.

Detective Rutland interviewed Alec Murdahl that night and told the jurors she noted, despite his claim of touching the blood-soaked bodies of his wife and son, he appeared clean. How would you describe the defendant's hands when you saw them? They were clean. How would you describe his T-shirt? Clean. Did those clothes appear to be fresh? They did. Like they'd just come out of the laundry?

It could be. Maggie and Paul died from multiple gunshot wounds. be. Maggie and Paul died from multiple gunshot wounds. Daily Beast senior national reporter Pilar Melendez shared the investigators findings. So Paul was shot first and he was shot twice with a shotgun. Paul was found here next to the feeding room very close by right here is where Maggie was found. Maggie was killed with a 300 blackout rifle and suffered five gunshot wounds. A crime scene specialist described her final moments. The shooter was right here. The second shot was not as close, but it still wasn't a long distance.

It was approximately here, into the crown of the head. Three days after the murders, building their timeline, investigators talk to Alec Murdahl again. We sat down, we ate supper. We hung around the house for a little while. I know that Maggie went to the kennels. I don't know exactly where Paul went, but he left the house too. I stayed in the house, and I actually fell asleep on the couch. The last time that you saw Paul and Maggie is when y'all were eating supper.

Yes, sir. The Murdals were avid hunters and had more than 25 weapons on the property. I saw one over here. During a search, sled agents found spent shell casings and ammunition that matched the bullets that killed Maggie and Paul. But the murder weapons were never found. Maggie's cell phone was also missing. The day after the murders, investigators found it here on the side of the road half a mile from the property. SLED analyzed the data from Alex, Maggie and Paul's cell phones.

At 7.56 p.m., Paul sent this Snapchat video of his dad to a friend. Paul is heard laughing in the background. Better than it was, right? friend. Paul is heard laughing in the background. So around 830, Paul's phone starts moving towards the dog kennels. He also is calling and texting two friends then responding to Snapchats until about 840 when he gets on a four minute phone call with his friend Rogan Gibson. Rogan Gibson told investigators their phone call was about his dog who was staying at the kennels. Rogan thought he heard Alec in the background. That immediately sets a red flag for

law enforcement because that totally messes up Alec's timeline and how could he be at the dog kennels at 8 40 when he claims he was sleeping. Two months after the murders, agents interviewed Alec Murdoch again, this time at a sled office. They asked him if he went down to the kennels that night. In November of 2022, there was a breakthrough in the investigation. Agents showed Rogan a video of his dog Cash that they had found on Paul's phone. Paul had shot it at 8.44 p.m., minutes before he was killed. What voices did you hear? Paul's, Miss Maggie, Miss Taylor. This is a guinea. This is a chicken. Come here, bubba. Come here, kid. And what voices did you hear?

Paws, Miss Maggie, Miss Taylor. And how sure are you now? Positive. 100%. That's correct. The prosecutor says Alec is heard saying, come here, bubba, calling the family dog. Come here, bubba. Come here, kid. This is a huge piece of testimony because it places Aleick in the kennel roughly five minutes before prosecutors say Maggie and Paul were murdered. Authorities believed Maggie and Paul were shot around 8 49 p.m when their phone screens were locked and never opened again.

The prosecutor asked several other witnesses if they recognized Murdahl's voice on that video. And every single witness has said with 100% certainty that that's Alec in the background of that video. And it also completely shatters his alibi. Alec Murdaugh's car and cell phone data showed he drove to his mom's house shortly after 9 p.m. Between then and until he returned and dialed 911 at 10.06 p.m., he made 10 calls to family and friends, including five to Maggie. Prosecutors basically allege that after killing Paul and Maggie,

Alec took steps to cover up and show that he is talking to all these people, so how could he murder his wife and son? As to the motive, the state had a theory that a perfect storm was gathering for Alec Murdahl. Alec was scared about information coming out that he had been stealing money from his clients and his law firm for years. On the day of the murders, Murdahl was confronted by his firm about missing legal fees of almost $800,000. Also that week, he was due in court for a hearing on the boat crash civil case.

Murdahl was being sued for $10 million by Mallory Beach's family. The prosecution is alleging that in order to dissuade further questions about his financial crimes and garner sympathy from the community and his law firm, he killed his wife and son. It's the actions of a desperate man. The state would call Jeannie Sechinger. After the judge ruled Murdahl's alleged financial schemes could be brought in, the state called the firm's CFO Jeannie Sechinger. Was anybody at all concerned about those missing fees after those murders happened? We weren't because we were concerned about Alec. We weren't going to go in there and harass him about money when his family had been killed. Mr. Tinsley. The Beach family's attorney, Mark Tinsley, also testified and told the jurors in the wake of the murders, the civil case against Alec Murdoch would have gone away. If Alec is the victim of a vigilante, nobody's going to hold him accountable.

The case would be over. As the state rested its case, Alec Murdoch made the risky decision to take the stand. You lied to Maggie, didn't you? I did lie to Maggie. Have you made a decision as to whether you're going to testify? I am going to testify. I want to testify. Against his attorney's advice, Alec Murdahl decided to take the stand in his own defense.

Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you give today will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Yes, ma'am. Under questioning by attorney Jim Griffin, Murdahl is hoping the jury will look past his lies and believe that now he's telling them the truth. Did you kill Maggie? No, I did not kill Maggie. I did not kill Paul.

I would never hurt Maggie, and I would never hurt Paul, ever, under any circumstances. After all the testimony identifying him on that kennel video, Murdahl is forced to admit he was with his wife and son minutes before prosecutors say they were gunned down. Were you in fact at the kennels at 8.44 p.m. on the night Maggie and Paul were murdered? I was.

Come here, Bob. Come here, Cash. Come here, Bob. Cash. You continued lying after that night, did you not? Once I lied, I continued to lie, yes sir. Why? Oh, what a tangled web we weave, but once I told a lie, I mean, I told my family, I had to keep lying. I went to... Murdoch claims he'd been compelled to lie because of an opioid addiction he battled for 20 years, spending tens of thousands of dollars a week and taking up to 60 or more pills per day.

As my addiction evolved over time, I would get in these situations or circumstances where I would get paranoid thinking. But he dismisses the prosecution's theory of mounting pressure from his addiction and alleged financial crimes leading up to the murders. Mr. Murdoch, on June the 7th, did you believe that your financial house of cards was about to crumble? Absolutely not. Mr. Murdoch, on June the 7th, did you believe that your financial house of cards was about to crumble? Absolutely not. Mr. Murdoch, I'll start with a few things I think we can agree on. During a six-hour cross-examination over two days, prosecutor Creighton Waters grills Murdoch You stole all of the money, didn't you?

about his long history of lying to his financial victims. And Mr. Waters, just to try to get through this quicker, I admit. I know you want to get through it quicker, but we're not. So answer the question, please. What I admit is that I misled them, I did wrong, and that I stole their money. Waters contends it was only because he'd been caught in his lie about being at the kennels that Murdoch finally came clean. The reality is you, like you've done so many times over the course of your life, had to back up and make a new story that kind of fit with the facts that can't be denied. Isn't that true, sir?

No, sir, that's not true. Waters then tries to box him into his new timeline on the night of the murders, zeroing in on four minutes between 902 and 906 when his phone logged 283 steps right before he left to visit his mom. That's far more steps in a shorter time period than any time prior as you've seen from the testimony in this case. So what were you so busy doing? Going to the bathroom? No, I don't think that I went to the bathroom. Get on a treadmill? No, I didn't get on a treadmill. Jogging place? No, I didn't jog in place. No, sir, I did not do jumping jacks. Murdahl reasserts his theory of the murders. That I believe that boat wreck is the reason why Paul and Maggie were killed. Because I can tell you for a fact that the person or people who did what I saw on June the 7th, they hated Paul Murdoch and they had anger in their heart. Throughout the trial, the defense makes the case that Alec Murdahl was a devoted family man. His son Buster describes a dad who'd coached his Little League teams and was now stricken with grief.

I mean, he was destroyed. He was heartbroken. I walked in the door and saw him and gave him a hug and just broke it down. The defense calls Tim Palmbach to the stand, please. The defense calls a crime scene analyst who, based on blood spatter, position of shots fired, and the fact that two different guns were used, says there was more than one shooter. My opinion is the totality of the evidence is more suggestive of a two-shooter scenario. The prosecution disagrees. This is

Alec, the prosecutor, the lawyer, and he's thinking through this. He's thought through this. He's going to use two guns because it's going to confuse people that perhaps there were two shooters. In his closing to the jury, Waters argues that all the evidence points to Alec Murdahl. Called a sibling from that first shot, a close range shot, with no indication that he detected a threat from the person who fired that weapon. And why? Because it was him. Maggie sees what happens and she comes running over there.

She's running to her baby. She got mowed down by the only person that we have conclusive proof was at that scene just minutes before. And who lied about that very fact. And he describes how Murdoch could have cleaned up at the kennels afterwards. It wouldn't take long to strip down and wash yourself off. Get in that cart and head back to the house. Here we are with a Mr. Clean theory. He takes a hose and washes himself off and gets in a golf cart, butt naked I guess, and

drives to the house. Defense attorney Jim Griffin pushes back on the prosecution's theory. He would have to be a magician to make all that evidence disappear. The shooter's covered in blood. The shooter's gun is covered in blood. Common sense thing here is there were two shooters. Instead, said Griffin, investigators zeroed in on Murdahl to the exclusion of other suspects because he was an easy target.

of other suspects because he was an easy target. Long-time drug problem, his financial issues, misconduct, weren't exposed. Easy, easy, easy target for Sled. The evidence is crystal clear. He started fabricating evidence against Allen. Griffin tells the jury SLED also presented false evidence to the grand jury when seeking an indictment against Murdahl. They came up with a report that says Alex Tischer had high-velocity blood spatter on him. The

lead SLED agent testified he had not received an email update that further testing had shown there was no blood. I did not see that report. I was not made aware of its existence. SLED failed miserably in investigating this case. And had they done a competent job, that Alec would have been excluded a year ago. Then he addresses the single most problematic piece of evidence for the defense. Really, we're back to the lie, because that's all they have in this case. He lied because he had a closet full of skeletons, but what he didn't lie, what he didn't lie for is because he was covering up the fact that he killed Maggie and Paul. Alec would not have killed the people he loved the most in the world.

This defendant has fooled everyone, everyone. And he fooled Maggie and Paul, too. And they paid for it with their lives. Don't let him fool you too. After hearing from 75 witnesses in more than five weeks, the jury deliberates for just under three hours before returning with a verdict. DeState versus Richard Alexander Murdoch. Murdoch is found guilty of murdering his wife and son.

Guilty verdict. We understand there is a verdict in the double murder trial. At sentencing the next day, Judge Clifton Newman gives Murdahl one last chance to appeal to the court. I respect this court, but I'm innocent. Unmoved, Judge Newman sentences him to two consecutive life terms in prison. And I know you have to see Paul and Maggie during the night time when you're attempting to go to sleep. I'm sure they come and visit you. I can't stop thinking about the fact that it is a video on Paul's own phone that really was critical in this case. Well, I think it is ironic. In a murder case, the victims can't testify, but in many ways they do. Oftentimes they leave something behind that lets you know what happened to him, and in this case it was Paul's video.

Come here, mama! Come here, catch! Come here, mama! It's Paul testifying from the grave. I'm Erin Moriarty and this is my life of crime. Listen to My Life of Crime from 48 Hours wherever you get your podcasts. this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.