Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - BOMBSHELL: Accused Double Killer Alex Murdaugh to Walk Free?

Episode Date: July 18, 2022

Murder charges were filed against South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh in the deaths of his wife and son. Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were found fatally shot at their family’s 1,770-acre lodge in Colleton County.  Alex Murdaugh claims that he was visiting his mother in Varnville, 20 minutes away.  A bond hearing is slated for Wednesday, where Murdaugh will find out if he will be granted bond or not. Also still to be announced is whether or not the state will be seeking the death penalty in this case.  As it stands now, the newly released indictment does not say if prosecutors believe that Murdaugh pulled the triggers himself, but law enforcement sources say that high-velocity splatter on Alex Murdaugh's clothing places him at the murder scene.  TIPLINE: South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (803) 896-20645  Joining Nancy Grace today:  Dale Carson - High Profile Attorney (Jacksonville), Former FBI Agent, Former Police Officer, Author: "Arrest-Proof Yourself, DaleCarsonLaw.com  Dr. Shari Schwartz - Forensic Psychologist (specializing in Capital Mitigation and Victim Advocacy), www.panthermitigation.com, Twitter: https://twitter.com/TrialDoc, Author: "Criminal Behavior" and "Where Law and Psychology Intersect: Issues in Legal Psychology" Dr. Michelle DuPre - Former Forensic Pathologist, Medical Examiner and Detective: Lexington County Sheriff's Department, Author: "Homicide Investigation Field Guide" & "Investigating Child Abuse Field Guide", Forensic Consultant, DMichelleDupreMD.com  Bobby Chacon - 27 years former FBI Agent, BobbyChacon.com, Instagram/Twitter: @BobbyChaconFBI, Writer and Co-producer: Audible Original Series, "After the Fall"   Matt Harris - Morning Show Host of The Matt and Ramona Show on 107.9 WLNK (Charlotte, NC), Podcast Host: "The Murdaugh Family Murders: Impact of Influence"  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Justice delayed, but is it justice denied? In the last hours, we learned the details behind the charges, the formal indictment against legal heir Alex Murdoch. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. First of all, take a listen to our friends at WMBF.

It took 13 months to get to this point for these grand jury proceedings. It took all of that an hour for them to indict Alec Murdoch on two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a firearm during a violent crime. That is in the case of his wife and son. His defense lawyers deny all accusations of violent crimes against their client and have requested a speedy trial moving forward. Now, I spoke with Charlie Condon, former attorney general in South Carolina, and he says that we could see that big trial here in Colleton County as early as this year, but there is something that could delay these proceedings. This is a death eligible case, as I would call it. It's the murder of two or more in a course of conduct being alleged. So the attorney general, I would think sooner than later would make the decision on whether or not to make this a capital case.

Now, no word from that office if they do intend to seek the highest punishment. The highest punishment, the death penalty. And South Carolina still has the death penalty. Now, what are they talking about? Why is one case eligible for the death penalty while others may not be? That is all discretionary to the elected district attorney whether or not that office will seek the death penalty. In order for a death penalty to be sought, there must be special circumstances. What does that mean? It is codified. In other words, it is in the criminal

code. What are special circumstances? For instance, as we see in this case, mass murder equals more than one dead body. There are other circumstances such as lying in wait for pecuniary or money gain, shooting a police officer or a public official. There are many special circumstances, aggravated factors that lead to the death penalty. But for right now, we know there's an indictment. Again, thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. Straight out to high profile lawyer joining us out of Jacksonville, former FBI agent and author of Arrest Proof Yourself, Dale Carson, you're the high profile defense attorney. Explain the charges now leveled against Alex Murdoch.

Well, basically, there are four in the indictment, which was returned by the grand jury charges him with two counts of homicide and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. And of course, these are extraordinarily serious charges. The most critical charge probably is the charge of shooting his wife in the back, which turns it into a capital felony because she would have suffered watching her son die. Absolutely. Of course, to do that, you've got to prove the order of the shootings. And joining me, another special guest from that jurisdiction, Dr. Michelle Dupree, forensic pathologist, former medical examiner, former detective, and author of Homicide Investigation Field Guide. We have her with us today for a reason. She is there in South Carolina and is an eminent authority on this issue to Dr. Michelle

Dupree. Dr. Dupree, it's going to be really hard, if not impossible, to determine the order of the two murders. Who was murdered first, Paul or Maggie? Nancy, you're right. It may, may be very difficult. We have to look at the scene in this case because if they were shot in close proximity and in time to each other, it will be difficult. But if there was some distance between the time one was shot or the other, then the blood is going to tell us that.

They were both outside. That's going to make a difference. But we want to know how liquefied that blood is in the surrounding area. Dr. Dupree, please. Yes. Okay, let's get in reality, not make-believe fantasy land the way we want it to be.

We already know that the blood had begun to dry and coagulate by the time EMTs got there. We know that. There's no telling how long they had been dead. We also know it rained that night. It rained that night on occasion. Is this Matt Harris? Yes, it is. Matt Harris. That's a really important part, Matt Harris.

I'm so glad you reminded me of that. Matt Harris is with us, everyone. He is the co-host of Matt Ramona's show, WLNK, and he is the star of a hit podcast, The Murdoch Family, Murder's Impact of Influence. Thank you for adding that in.

So, Dr. Michelle Dupree, I'm just speaking from experience, having tried mass murder before. You can't, you're not, unless you've got an eyewitness or a video camera. I mean, be realistic with me, Dr. Dupree. We're not going to know who was shot first. We might have a theory unproven. That very well may be the case, Maggie. We may not be able to tell whether Maggie or Paul were shot first.

It's really going to depend on the circumstances. Especially with Matt Harris telling us that it was raining, how is that going to play into how do we determine who was shot first? It's going to destroy some of the evidence. It's also going to make the blood more fluid. Go ahead. Well, I was going to say, but it's going to depend on how much rain and who has the timing of that rain. So, Dale Carson, all of this, the order of the murders was to respond to your comment

that this would be a death penalty case because Maggie was shot second after she witnessed her son suffer and die. Disagree. This is going to be a death penalty case, and I predict it will be, because you have more than one dead body. That equals an aggravating circumstance, a special circumstance through which the state can seek the death penalty. Now, do we need more than one? No, we do not. But it helps to have more than one because these special circumstances have to be proven to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Okay. So you've got mass murder, two dead bodies. You've got lying in wait because we are now learning that Alex Murdoch lured Maggie there. Okay. And not only that, we have pecuniary interest. When you murder someone,

Dale Carson, for a money motive, why is that a special circumstance, Dale Carson? Well, because it argues for premeditation. Since you're going to lose something, in this case, money, property, and in fact, social status, when we think about it, you're of course doing it in order to clear those things up. So there's a premeditated aspect to it. But of course, the defendant is arguing that he wasn't there and didn't do it, and certainly wouldn't because he loved the people that he is alleged to have killed. You know, that's a really interesting thing that you just said, Dr. Sherry Schwartz, with me, forensic psychologist. She knows her stuff, people. You can find her at panthermitigation.com. She's the author of Criminal Behavior and Where Law and Psychology Intersect, Issues in Legal psychology intersect issues in legal psychology. Dr. Sherry Schwartz, you know, Dale Carson said, not just money at stake, but social

status. He moved in some very rarefied circles. This Alex Murdoch, the family had held on to the local prosecutor's position for 100 years. And I believe that they unethically mixed that. You can't be the prosecutor and have a civil firm where you prosecute somebody and then you represent the victim to get money damages. That's completely wrong. But to think about having Maggie on his arm at all these soirees, and I've seen a picture of her and her mink stole and her jewels. You know, it makes me glad I married a hillbilly.

And I hope my husband is glad he married a farm girl. Because we don't have this social status problem going on at all, Dr. Sherry Swartz. Yeah, it's true. There are a lot of people that place a great deal of a premium on appearing a certain way. And very often, not always, but very often, this is someone who may have narcissistic tendencies. I think we've seen a lot of behavior. Dr. Sherry, please, you know, I know what that means because you've taught me what that means, okay, and I know who Narcissus was in Greek mythology but when you say a narcissistic

personality simply put, that means me, me, me, me, me, me, me it's all about me, forget the wife, the child the family, the years and years of building a legal reputation. It's all down the crapper.

It's all about him. That's right. And the other key element of somebody who is high in narcissism, and I don't know that he is or he isn't, but for someone who is, they have an egregious lack of empathy for others. Oh. Because it is all about them. That's the truth. Guys, take a listen to our friends at WTOC. Everybody knew they were coming. We just waited for it.

But again, it was a cold, hard brace when you heard about it. Attorney Eric Bland addressing the most recent developments in the case against Alec Murdoch. But this murder case is going to be a circumstantial case. You know, the two witnesses are dead. Maggie and Paul are dead. So Dick Carpullian is a wonderful lawyer. It's going to end up being a battle of the experts. The state's going to have tremendous forensic experts. And for his own clients, the Satterfield family, days like Thursday are particularly difficult. They relive everything every day, you know, every time there's a new news cycle. You know, I'm just thinking about what the victims, the families of other Murdoch victims,

alleged Murdoch victims are feeling right now. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Bobby Chacon joining me. 27 years FBI. You can find him at BobbyChacon.com. And you can find him on Audible. It's incredible. But before I talk more about all of your many, many qualifications, Bobby Chacon,

I want you to take a listen to our friends at NBC. Two sources close to the case tell NBC News authorities have cell phone video that they believe puts him at the scene of the murders shortly before they took place. Evidence that would appear to contradict his previous timeline of events. Murdoch's lawyers have said he was with his mother at the time of the killings and discovered the bodies when he returned home calling 9-1-1 in response to the new indictment murdoch's attorneys say he did not have anything to do with the murders of maggie and paul adding he loved them more than anything in the world they go on to say that law enforcement quote prematurely concluded that murdoch was responsible for their deaths the south car Carolina Attorney General has offered no details on a possible motive for the murders. Number one, Bobby Giacone, the state never has to prove motive.

We don't have to go into the killer's mind and wander around and figure out why. Why ask why? The state has to prove jurisdiction and the crime. That's what they have to prove. So what do you make of this? You're the former fed with the FBI. What do you make of the fact that there is cell phone video placing Murdoch at the scene during the time window of the murders? was videotaping and taking photographs of a dog in one of those kennels because he's babysitting for one of his friend's dogs. And often as they do, people that are babysitting for dogs will take video or photos and send them to the dog owner, making them feel better that the dog is okay. Well, apparently the son is there videotaping the dog and you actually hear Alex Murdoch walk

up and start to talk in conversation with his wife. This completely blows away his, quote, airtight alibi that his defense attorney said upon initially when this case started. And that's why most of us roll our eyes every time we hear a defense attorney get on there and say, my client has an airtight alibi. But this is what and that phone, by the way, was just recently able to be unlocked by authorities. So this videotape now putting Alex Murdoch right at the scene and contradicting all of his previous statements about that evening really did advance the case and is really kind of a bombshell in this case. I want to talk about what we are just now hearing from Bobby Chacon. Bobby Chacon, high profile as well, former fed with the FBI. Matt Harris. We also heard the name Dick Harpullian. Who is that? That is one of Alex's

attorneys. He is well known in the state and even nationally because he was the head of the Democratic National Party for a while. And South Carolina is a big mover and a shaker politically as well been on both sides as a defense attorney and as a prosecutor um without a doubt i would take the most famous attorney in south carolina can i ask you a question is he the one that was standing by murdoch after murdoch got himself shot in the head yes who gave all those stories about how his brain injury and blah blah blah and all he had on was a band-aid is that the same guy that is the same guy oh okay all right well i'm going to take everything you say right now from now on with a box of salt because on one day if this is the

same lawyer he's out saying oh you know didn't he say there was a brain injury Jackie didn't he say his client had a brain injury from the gunshot from the gunshot wound of the unknown assailant isn't that right Matt Harris yeah yes he uh he said that that was a yes no that's cross-examination Matt Harris you know what you're in for when you come on crime stories so Matt he says he's got a brain injury and then lo and behold Alexlex mornoy walks into court with a band-aid on his head yes um okay he could he could skate that timeline a little bit if he said that they saw him before nine o'clock and then he left and went to his good you know thing but that is really that's a window is so tight that it's hard to believe that someone would sneak in

there the minute he left yeah let's talk about what you're saying because that's a really good point matt harris dill carson with me dr sherry schwartz dr michelle dupree bobby chacon matt harris everybody jumping that's a really good point so let me understand this dill carson you're the defense lawyer okay you're the defense lawyer so i'm'm supposed to believe that Alex Murdoch lured his wife there and we have evidence he lured her because she was texting her friend. Okay. He's acting fishy. Something's up. Why am I going out? She didn't even want to go. He talked her into coming out there. So I'm supposed to believe he lures her there.

Then he leaves him there to go watch a game show with his mother, who I think has dementia and is not going to be able to testify. And then he goes back to the scene. And in that 45, 50 minute span of time, what? An unknown assailant has come in, murdered the both of them with a Murdoch weapon and left. And just in that little window of time.

Is that what I'm supposed to believe, Dale Carson? Well, we know now that the Murdoch family was involved in a great many things. And it could have created a lot of angry people out there who were willing to take revenge on this guy. Then why not shoot him? Well, they couldn't get him. Really? All they had to do was wait about 18 minutes and he'd show back up. I'm just making the necessary defense arguments, and here's the critical point. Not all of that evidence is going to come before a jury.

I guarantee you those cell phone records are going to come before the jury. Bobby Chacon, please. You know, I know Dale Carson is doing what he's got to do because he's a defense lawyer. That's total BS. The government has had access to that before any defense attorneys had access to it. So what? Could they have modified the timeline? Yes, they could have.

Oh, yeah. And did you hear there's a conspiracy in the OJ Simpson case? He didn't do it. OK, Bobby Chacon, help me out, please. Please throw me a bone here. Do me a solid. It's an age old defense tactic. If you can't attack the facts, you attack the police. Right. So now we're hearing that maybe the police or maybe the law enforcement somehow manipulated the data. Well, the data is strong and the data is solid and the data shows the story. And I think the jury's going to be walked through that timeline very well.

And regardless of the forensic evidence may have been difficult at the scene, where the bodies are located and the type of weapons, I think will tell the story of how this happened. And you don't always need your definitive forensic science on your side. Sometimes you just need common sense. And when you talk to the jury through this timeline and through where the bodies were located and the types of weapons used, I think you're going to be able to establish in the jury's mind, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he shot his son first in the head and then the wife was running away and he shot her in the back.

And then he walked over and he shot her more times when she was on the ground. What if we have both? What if we have scientific evidence such as cell phone records, such as high impact human fluid spatter on Alex Murdoch that you can only get by being within about 36 inches, three feet of the shooting at the time of the shooting and common sense, because that is forensic evidence undisputed. Prosecutors absolutely love when the physical evidence supports the theory and the common sense of it. So absolutely, you're absolutely right. Using every bit of the forensic science that supports that theory will go before the jury and that will help them along in the narrative. I mean, Dr. Michelle Dupree, isn't that correct that when you have high impact, let's just go with blood spatter.

That shows what what does that prove in your mind? Because you're not only pathologist, medical examiner, you know about your weapons as well. What does that show? When you have high-impact blood spatter, so fine a spray, it's invisible to the human eye. What does that mean to you? It means that she was standing within that range when the gun was fired and when the bullet hit the target, in this case, when it hit the person. Matt Harris. in this case when it hit the person matt harris something i heard from bobby and i talked to him a while back is that the defense defense attorneys might go with you have long arm weaponry and you have blood spatter which is 36 inches as you say they might argue well if he used those long arm

weapons they he would have been outside of that zone is that something they could say bobby yeah that's something they could say and this this actually surprised me that the allegation. Gee, I hope they do. It's possible. And that'll help them establish the close proximity to luring someone in and to getting their guard down being that close. But it is unusual to get spatter on you

when you're using a long gun. But that just actually ups the cruelness of it, that he was up close and personal with these people when he used. And what's devastating, a shotgun blast to someone's head at close range is a devastating injury. I mean, you're basically blowing the person's head off. And a father who can do that to his own son is next level evil. We can also test for our similar weapons and establish the approximate distance so we can tell if that's possible to even receive that blood spatter on that person. Dr. Sherry Schwartz, I just heard something that really struck me and I think it was Bobby

Chacon. It could have been Harris. He said the nature of shooting and he didn't say Maggie. He said shooting your son that way. And as much as I don't like it, I agree. I think people get into domestics all the time and pull out a gun and shoot. But to shoot your child, okay, I just got chill bumps on the left side of my body. To shoot your own child, that's a whole nother level of evil. No, it really is. I mean, that's what struck me as I was listening to everyone talk about this. When you really think about that, the level of depravity and cruelty and premeditation

that went into this is so over the top disturbing that this, I can't imagine this not being a death penalty prosecution. Okay, wait a minute. I got it. Jackie, I've got to find, first I want to play our friends at Fit News. This is Jen Wood talking about the video because it reminds me of Jodi Arias.

Everybody, you guys were with me when we were talking about Arias and she had the digital camera. She takes pictures of Travis Alexander, her lover, in the shower. And then he's found dead in the shower. And then she accidentally takes pictures of her own leg and foot at the crime scene. I mean, there's blood and other evidence in the same picture with her leg. So these videos, these cell videos that you were hearing about are vital in proving this case. Take a listen to our cut 90. We're hearing that

there is video of him and Maggie at Moselle the evening of the homicides. I don't know much about the video, but we do know that there is video from Paul's phone, I believe. So everything you do on your phones, time stamp, date stamped, I mean, there's no hiding that. There's no changing it. Deleting it doesn't always help. So yeah, I think that's going to blow a very big hole in his narrative and his alibi. And I also want you to hear our friend Jen Woods at Fit News. She is speaking again about the luring, luring of Maggie out to the Moselle hunting lodge. Listen, our cut 91. Our understanding that she was reluctant to go, but Alec had asked her to meet him out at Moselle.

She was living at the Edisto home, the beach property, to say goodbye to his dying father. So I do think those conversations and communications before getting to Moselle are going to be important. So who Maggie spoke with about it, calls made from Alec to Maggie, things that were said. That's going to be another big part of the evidence. And take a listen to our Cut 79, our friends at CrimeOnline.com. When Alex Murdaugh asked his wife to meet him at the family's hunting estate,

People magazine quotes sources saying Maggie initially refused, suggesting instead they meet at the hospital. The law enforcement source says in the end, Maggie agreed to meet at the property, planning to follow her husband to the hospital in her own vehicle. And let's hear more about the luring and our cut 80 crime online. On the way to meet Alex Murdach, Maggie Murdoch allegedly messaged a friend. Law enforcement sources tell People Magazine that the message said that something about her husband's behavior felt fishy. Maggie allegedly wrote to her friend, quote, he's up to something. Fit News reports their law enforcement sources say Maggie Murdoch told three people

she was hesitant to meet with her estranged husband, but decided it was the right thing to do. I mean, I don't even know where to start unpacking that. You know, it's that feeling, and a lot of people go, they poo-poo those feelings, those gut instincts that I've had so many, especially female victims have. For instance, hey, if anything happens to me, here's the key to my house. And P.S. my husband did it. Those feelings are not irrational. They are born of millions of years, I believe, of evolution.

And you can figure out things, feel things, based on a million instances around you. And something told Maggie she should not go. But she went to go see her dying father-in-law. Matt Harris, if this is true, this is cold. I mean is cold. I mean, ice cold. Luring her there under the guise of saying goodbye to his dying father, who did, in fact, die a couple of days later to murder her. Yeah, they, as in Alec's brothers, had taken the father to Savannah Hospital earlier in the day. And of course, Alec was there for a little bit and then came back. So it would have made more

sense for Maggie to drive straight from Edisto to Savannah Hospital as opposed to go all the way to Mizzell and then to the hospital. That wouldn't make any sense. And what John Marvin told us was that there might have been a plan for a family dinner, but he doesn't know if they ever had it or not. So Alec might have said, hey, come on, and then we'll go to Savannah to the hospital. But that's still, you know, nine o'clock at night, he's leaving to go to see his mother. So he never went to see the father that night. So that's out of the question, because he never even did it in the evening. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Joe Carson joining me. Veterans trial lawyer out of Jacksonville, former fed with the FBI. This is cold. I mean, she's texting her friends. Something's up. This isn't right. He's acting fishy. I mean, that is not going to be lost on us female jurors.

No, it's not. And, of course, you don't want that to come in front of the jury panel. But, of course, you're likely to because it's relevant to the facts of the case. Now, our effort from the defense side is to try to keep that away from the jury panel, along with the aspects of familial ties, which indicate that the client's evil. I mean, you don't want that to come in front of the jury panel because then the jury begins to convict an individual based on the emotions and not the facts. Dale, whose fault is this? It's Alex Murdoch's fault. It's not the state's fault. It's his fault for making his wife feel. When my husband calls me or my children call me,

hey mom or Nancy, come x i'll hop in the car and go i don't think it's some kind of an ambush but she knew something was wrong the trial is going to be in colleton county which is murdoch land and i'm sure dick harpootley and the attorney lincoln is chops and sanders got to have one that has some sort of you know tight connection with the murdochs or they've done something nice for them or something like that. Because that's been their county for 100 years. There's totally going to be a venue change. There's no question about that.

There is totally going to be a change of venue. But what about it, Chaconne? I can't tell you how many cases that I've prosecuted where the murder victim senses evil, senses something is wrong, can't put their finger on it it's happened so many times she this was one of those i think you're right the evolutionary aspect of intuition or whatever you want to call it told her that something was amiss here and maybe she was involved with her husband for so long that she just didn't think it would rise to the level of being murdered. I'm sure she didn't think she was being murdered. But at the same time,

there's evidence that she left her car running when she got out to see Alex at the family property. So she was not planning to spend a whole lot of time, certainly not planning to eat a meal there, if she left her car running when she got out and was murdered. So I think that this is a case where she thought her husband, they were going through a divorce. She was seeing a divorce attorney. She thought he was probably going to either try to, you know, brainwash her into dropping the divorce or some maneuvering with the divorce.

I don't think she actually thought that, you know, obviously if she thought that she probably wouldn't have got out. But there was some level of suspicion that her husband was up to something because this is the kind of guy he was. No one knew him better than his wife, his longstanding wife. And so her her opinion that he was up to something has a lot of credibility. Let's not forget that two days after the murder, they were supposed to go to a hearing where they're going to have to reveal a lot of their financials because of the Beach boating accident. That was two days after the murders.

I don't call that an accident when Mallory Beach, 19-year-old girl, was thrown from the Murdoch boat, speeding through the water and crashing into those cement pilings. I call that a crash. You know, you get drunk and get behind the wheel where everybody's trying to physically drag you away from driving, and you keep driving, and somebody dies. That's a crash. That is not an accident.

Hey, I want to follow up on something I believe Chacon just said about leaving the car running. Take a listen to our Cut 81, CrimeOnline.com. When Maggie Murdoch arrived at the scene, she reportedly left her car running and walked to the dog kennels on the estate where her son Paul was taking photos of a dog he was watching for a friend. What exactly happened next is unknown, but that's where the two were gunned down. Paul's body shot in the chest and head at close range was found half in and half out of the dog kennels. Maggie was shot multiple times, including one shot in the back and additional shots while she was laying on the

ground with 300 blackout ammo from an AR-style rifle. What does it tell you? Anybody on the panel jump in that she left her car running. I mean, I never do that. I'm afraid the thing will go into drive somehow. It tells me a lot. One of the lights were on in her car so she could see. And you often do that when you're at an area that is dark. And of course, it's important to understand that she arrives, her son's already there. And if that evidence comes in from his cell phone, it obliterates the ironclad alibi that Murdoch might have otherwise. Well, I'm not sure it would have been dark out. Well, it just depends on the timing of it. So if she pulls up at nine o'clock, it's going to be dark at nine.

But did they get killed before then? Because if she's leaving the car running, it could be because she said, I don't want to be with this guy. I'm going to follow him to the hospital. So I'm just jumping out. Hey, Paul, get in the car and follow it. Alex sitting there in his truck. She thinks he's going to follow him, but instead he does follow him,

but then shoots him. Guys, in addition to all of this, making sense of the indictments that we now have, take a listen to our cut 94, our friends at WLTX. Murdoch is set to appear at a bond hearing on Wednesday, July 20th. And criminal defense attorney Jack Swirling says it's going to be a long road ahead before a trial can even begin. The next few months are going to be involving hearings, getting things organized and getting things ready for trial, really. The interesting thing will be whether or not the judge grants a speedy trial motion and orders that the case be tried by the

end of the year. As the state puts together its evidence to build their case, Swirling says this can be a lengthy process and the public might not get to see a Murdoch trial for a long time. It may not get tried as fast as everybody would like and I know that everybody wants swift justice but these cases are very complicated. Tell me about the potential bond hearing. I believe it's set for Wednesday morning. Is that correct, Matt Harris? It is. Wednesday at 10 a.m. is when that's going to happen. Now it's expected to be there, and the non-guilty will be read aloud. The issue of speedy trial is interesting because we no longer wave speedy

trial. We wanted to go forward as quickly as possible because that gives the government less time to get properly prepared. And that may be why the indictments took so long, because the government all along the state is getting prepared for trial and they're ready to go to trial when the defense pulls the trigger on filing a motion for speedy trial. Bottom line, speedy trial. Under the Constitution, you have a right to a, quote, speedy trial. What does that mean? As opposed to jurisprudence in other countries where you're arrested

and you can sit in jail for years before you have your day in court. Not true in the U.S. You have a right to a speedy trial. What does that mean? It typically means that you have the time. You can demand a speedy trial the moment you're formally charged. That's when the right to a speedy trial attaches. That means your case has to be tried within that grand jury session, which is usually two, anywhere from two to four months or the next one. Or if it is a capital case, which this may be, you have two additional grand jury terms, which means you got to be tried within the year at the very least. Well, in Florida, it's 175 days. Right. at the very least. Well, in Florida, it's 175 days. Right.

And you know, in other jurisdictions, if it's a death penalty case, there is more time added to the speedy. As opposed to a shoplifting, sure, I'll try it next week. But if it's a death penalty case, there's going to be more time on both sides to get ready. So what that does

is put the state behind the eight ball. You've got to be ready when you hand down the indictment, because if a speedy is filed, you have to go straight to trial immediately. To Bobby Chacon, former fed with the FBI. Bobby, I think I know one of the reasons there's going to be a likely delay. Take a listen to our cut 86 our friends at WTOC. SLED reopened the death investigation of Gloria Satterfield last fall and made the decision to exhume her body for an autopsy last month. Within the next couple of months her body is going to be exhumed. SLED's going to work with us to make sure it's a respectful process and you know it's highly emotional for the family as you can imagine. imagine however bland maintains they don't believe alex had anything to do with gloria's death

they have to do this because they have to you know make sure that alex you know didn't have a hand in in gloria's death we don't think he did we don't think that her death was intentional you know she was a beloved family member of them but i I definitely think that Alex used it as an opportunity to enrich himself. Bland referring to the money owed to the Satterfield family that they never saw. Last month, Murdoch agreed to a $4.3 million settlement with the family, admitting to liability in a lawsuit filed by her sons. From our client's standpoint, they've gotten justice as best as justice can be defined. Are they waiting to know more about housekeeper Gloria Satterfield's death before they go to trial?

Will that somehow be introduced as a similar transaction? Another female, approximate same age as Maggie Murdoch, the same location. Unexplained circumstances, Alex Murdoch swooping in to control the narrative immediately after the death. I don't see it as a similar transaction, believe it or not. But are they waiting on those results? Right now, we're trying to figure out will the death penalty be sought and will he actually get bond on Wednesday. Take a listen to our cut 93 our friends at WLTX. The indictment claims that Murdoch used a rifle to kill his wife and a shotgun to kill his son which also led to two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. These charges come amid a slew of other allegations

against Murdoch, including a scheme to collect a life insurance policy after planning his own shooting death. The deaths of Alec's wife and son have also led investigators to do more research on the deaths of 19-year-old Stephen Smith, whose body was found on a rural Hampton County road in 2015, at the time classified as a hit-and-run, and the death of the Murdoch family's housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, who allegedly died after a fall in the family's home. The Satterfield family's lawyer says the new murder charges just tell people what he already knows. You know, he now has a one-word moniker, Murdoch, like Madoff, like Manson, like Bundy. I don't think it opened a wound for our clients. The wound is going to be open when the state exhumes her body.

And now we're looking at a bond hearing, a bond hearing in a potential death penalty case. Take a listen. Now we're cutting 92. Our friends at Fit News. What do we think is going to happen there? Scheduled for 10 a.m. 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

In Colleton. In Colleton. I mean, Bond hearing basically is, he gets the charges read to him. The judge will ask if he understands the charges and make a decision on Bond, which I think I believe I heard Clifton. Will he plead, enter his initial plea? Yes, initial plea will be entered.

I think Judge Newman's hearing it, I believe I heard. Okay, that would, yeah. Which, yeah, he does not mess around. I would be shocked if anything changed. For those of you, Judge Newman, back in October, he was the judge who denied Alec Murdoch bond on some of the initial charges. And I'll tell you why. One of the considerations on giving bond

is threat to the community and potential witness tampering. I tell you what, if I was a witness in this case for the state, I would clear out if Alex Murdoch gets out of jail on bond. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend.