Murdaugh Murders Podcast - TSP #31 - 2023 Rewind, The Audacity of Alex Murdaugh + Becky Hill's Biggest Errors... So Far

Episode Date: December 28, 2023

True Sunlight Co-hosts Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell take a look back at 2023 and how the effort to convict Alex Murdaugh became the “trial of the century.” As they consider the highs and lows of this roller coaster of a year, they’ve gotten new perspective on how Alex was treated by South Carolina’s Justice system. Plus, an update on Becky Hill’s story plagiarism, her emails and the lie she told to the media. Visit our new events page Lunasharkmedia.com/events where you can learn about the upcoming in-person and virtual appearances from hosts! Join Luna Shark Premium today at Lunashark.Supercast.com. Premium Members also get access to searchable case files, written articles with documents, case photos, episode videos and exclusive live experiences with our hosts on lunasharkmedia.com all in one place. CLICK HERE to learn more: https://bit.ly/3BdUtOE. And for those just wanting ad-free listening without all the other great content, we now offer ad-free listening on Apple Podcast through a subscription to Luna Shark Plus on the Apple Podcasts App. Or become a member on YouTube for exclusive videos and ad-free episodes. SUNscribe to our free email list to get alerts on bonus episodes, calls to action, new shows and updates. CLICK HERE to learn more: https://bit.ly/3KBMJcP And a special thank you to our sponsors: Microdose.com, PELOTON, and VUORI. Use promo code "MANDY" for a special offer! For current & accurate updates: TrueSunlight.com facebook.com/TrueSunlightPodcast/ Instagram.com/TrueSunlightPod Twitter.com/mandymatney Twitter.com/elizfarrell youtube.com/@LunaSharkMedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twiz the first night home for the holidays and all through your town, not one thumb was quiet, a lot of swiping going down. You created the perfect mumble profile with care and hopes that your dream guy or gal may be out there. When what to your wandering eyes should appear, but a s*** ton of faces you haven't seen in years. There's a rando from high school, your ex from eighth grade, a kid you used to babysit, and your literal uncle Dave. As cringe as this feels, the only thing worse would be if one of them stumbled upon your profile first. But there's no need to panic or race your face from the app. You can go in Cognito with one simple

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I feel included. Resilient. At ease. I feel motivated. I feel capable. I feel included. Resilient. At ease. I feel strong. I feel confident. These are just a few of the things you'll hear our members say when you join the YMCA. The Y is not like other gyms, and not all benefits of being a member are visible, but you'll surely feel them. Try the wife free for seven days, and feel how the wife is way more than just a gym. Learn more at trythewide.ca. I don't know how justice gene toll will rule when Elic Murdoch gets his evidentiary hearing next month, but this week, as we pause and reflect on the past year, it is more clear to us than ever that he Murdoch does not deserve a do-over.

My name is Manny Matney. This is True Sunlight, a podcast exposing crime and corruption, previously known as the Murdoch Murders podcast. True Sunlight is a Luna Shark production written with journalist Liz Farrell. Well, happy holidays from all of us at Luna Shark. We are incredibly thankful for those of you loyal listeners who even stick around to hear what we have to say on holiday weeks. We are excited to celebrate with y'all on Friday at the Luna Shark Holiday Party. Members, be sure to check your emails for details.

There will be surprise guests and giveaways. This year was a wild one. From the six-week emotional roller coaster of Elik Murdoch's trial to drawd prices, unbelievable prison release, to pulling strings in the Solomon case in Tennessee to finally seeing accountability for Corey Fleming and Russell LaFitte and then ultimately being sucked back into Dick and Jim's madness as they're over the top plot to get Ellie Camardock a new trial unfolded. And sadly, Steven Smith's case once again got pushed to the back burner, which we will plan to change in 2024 with our new website, AnswersReceiving.com for all Smith-related tips.

It was a year full of whiplash, triumph, heartbreak, shock, horror, and betrayal with a little bit of hope for humanity and justice in between. Our team was tested many times as the evil doers of the world did their best to destroy us through an awful online hate campaign. Ultimately, this year we saw the best in the worst of humanity. We saw the brave women who testified against Elic Murdoch during his trial. We saw the financial victims who managed to show so much grace and forgiveness, all for a man who took advantage of their pain. We saw our listeners, time and time again,

show up for us and stand up for us when it mattered the most. Y'all sent us letters of praise and encouragement and reminded us a thousand times over how important the work that we do really is and how we must keep going. We even got praise from the Cheryl Crow this year. I still can't believe that happened. And then, we saw a lot of awful people do some really horrible things. We saw Dick and Jim play mind games with the Satterfields, we saw filthy rich PMPD attorneys cut in the lines of victims. We saw

Russell and his attorneys go to great lengths to procrastinate his prison time. We saw attorneys elbowing each other out for just a taste of the Murdoch attention, and we saw members of the media purposely spin the truth on behalf of bad people. And then, there was Becky Hill, maybe the most disappointing human out of all of them this year. I say disappointing because I allowed my personal bias to assume that she was more of a decent person simply because she was a woman being vilified for what seemed like nothing more than a scheme to get Ellic Murdoch out of prison. I feel foolish for ever sympathizing with her, and I feel even worse for ever leading my

audience to have sympathy for her at all. While we still haven't seen any evidence of jury tampering, we have seen enough to know that Becky's reckless and egregious behavior has played right into the Murdoch's hands. While her unethical actions certainly do not mean that Ellic automatically deserves the new trial, they do make his chances greater and they make matters a lot more confusing for Justice Jean Tol's decision next month. Speaking of, Justice Jean Tol replied to Lunashearck reporter Beth Bradens inquiry this week, and

confirmed that the hearing for Alex Motion for a new trial is tentatively scheduled for January 29, 30 and 31 in Richland County. Justice told us that she expects to issue an order regarding media coverage soon. I'm a little bit more hopeful about Justice Toul because first of all, she was nice enough to respond to a reporter email during the holidays. And, too, she seems to be supportive of meeting the media's needs for transparency in this hearing. But again, the situation just got a lot more complicated and harder to predict after more than 2,000 Abecki Hills emails were released to the media via FOIA request. And wow, those emails were bad for Becki.

Bad for Beck Becky and her credibility. However, the emails did not show any evidence of jury tampering. Let's be clear on that one. So, we're going to guess that Collatin County Clerk of Court Becky Hill had the Christmas she deserved. One filled with regret, stress, and we hope a lot of self-reflection, as well as the drafting of some apology letters because she owes a bunch of them. Specifically, she owes a big apology to everyone for the chaos she's created

with Alex Case by rushing to publish her book. It's been sickening to watch people fall into Dick and Jim's trap as they continue to conflate her alleged ethical violations and her son's wiretapping arrest, with the still unfounded allegations of jury tampering. She also owes an apology to us, for the lie she spread about us being banned from the courtroom, and to Eric Gland for saying he'd been reprimanded for taking a selfie in the courtroom. Neither of those things happened, not even a little bit.

Yet she easily allowed members of the media, as well as some trolls she partied with during the trial, believe they had. Why? Because she knew it's what they wanted to hear. Confirming their incorrect assumptions and extrapolations made her the girl with the room's attention. And she had nothing to lose with us because, like we've said, we had no relationship with her. None. We were polite and professional and nothing more.

Oh, Andeki owes an apology to Neil Gordon, her co-author for tainting and tanking their book. The murder case has never been a slow ride. There have always been twists and turns and revelations that are hard to reconcile with what goes on in normal everyday life. But Baggy has taken into an entirely new level and, like with Elic, there seems to be no bottom here. It's just getting worse and worse. And frankly, it's the dumbest thing we've seen thus far in this case, just extraordinarily dumb. On Tuesday morning, the second that Christmas was over, Becky's co-author Neil announced to

the press that he had halted sales of behind the doors of justice. The book, He and Becky Speed wrote, and published in July. Why? Because Old Becky plagiarized the intro from story written by a reporter with a BBC. She stole it. It's not clear whether Becky thought that because this was foreign press, she could get away with copying and pasting the reporter's text in no one in the United States would be the wiser. And actually, now that I think about it, she would not have been wrong. This plagiarism wasn't even discovered until Callerton County did a massive data dump of her emails from the past year last Thursday.

It seems like no one noticed before that. It is beyond bizarre, neither of us can wrap our heads around plagiarism, not just because of how easily discoverable it is in this day and age, but the idea of taking someone else's work and presenting it as your own. Even if no one were to ever find out, it is the dirtiest of dirty. In the writing world, it is akin to stolen valor.

It's a moral failure. Throughout her book, Becky referenced how she'd always wanted to write a book. She wanted to the trial with the idea of writing one on her mind. But the point of writing a book would be to write one. Not steal someone else's work. According to a statement that Becky put out through her attorneys will Lewis and Justin Bamberg, she played rise the BBC story because of so-called pressures and time constraints involved with the publishing of the book.

The pressure and time constraints Becky felt were self-imposed. It was a self-published book. More than that, let's be clear about what the pressure was. It was to be first. She rushed the writing of her book so she could get the book about the trial out the door before anyone else. And here we are. In our business, some reporters and news agencies and publishing houses put a lot of stock in being out there first with the information, which is great, breaking news is really fun. But we've always believed there's no point in being first, if you're also not the best. In other words, the mad dash to being first can get you in a lot of trouble and it can hurt people.

For instance, with the release of Becky's 2,000 emails, in the rush to be first, a news agency published the entirety of the FOIA release without apparently looking at them. In releasing these emails, they not only needlessly expose a woman with special needs to online harassment by publishing her personal information, which we talked about Tuesday in Cup of Justice. They published a link to unredacted photos of Paul Murdoch's body, in violation of Judge Newman's order. We'll talk more about what was in Becky's emails in another episode, but her plagiarism was discovered in the email dump from Colton County. BBC reporter Holly Hendrick accidentally

sent Becky a draft of a story she had written about the trial. The draft was meant for her editor who is also named Rebecca. When Holly discovered her error, she told Becky to disregard the email. Becky did not disregard the email. Instead, she responded by telling Holly how well-written her story was, then she lifted whole passages of it to use in her own book. It is baffling why she or anyone would do that. And frankly, it's baffling why this wasn't cuffed before, especially given the quote she said in her introduction, from interview she herself never conducted. So that's another disaster with Becky sitting at the center of it.

We touch on some of this in cup of justice, but going back to her lie about us being banned from the courtroom. When she told that more from the post-encourier that it must be true because we weren't there, right? We don't want to spend any more time having to defend ourselves over something so dumb that simply did not happen. So we invite our trolls, or anyone who wants to hear it for themselves to call Jay Bender, the long-time First Amendment attorney who not only is Justice Jean Touls former law partner, served as the media liaison for the trial. Or, better yet, call Judge Newman's office to find out whether or not Mandy and as the media liaison for the trial, or better yet,

called Judge Newman's office to find out whether or not Mandy and Liz were escorted from the courtroom and ordered not to return. We promise you, had either of those things happened, we would have raised hot, holy hell over it. And more than that, had either of those things happened, it would have been in the headlines. That's why Thadmore was asking Becky about the rumor. It would have been big news if we, or any other reporter, had been sanctioned in any way connected to Ellic Murdoch. Additionally, in what world would Digg and Jim not have been shouting that from the rooftops this entire time? The only people who have been spreading this rumor

have been bloggers who have known better this entire time, and a podcaster who appears to have drawn her own conclusions when she saw me asking a bailiff if I could use the bathroom. He came over to tell me that the hallway was clear, and I could now use it. Their goal was and is to destroy our professional reputations and our professional standing in this story. And it really sucks that Becky had a pardon that. We have been one of the only outlets to extend compassion to her during this entire ordeal

because we know that regardless of whether she's ultimately found guilty of an unrelated ethical violation, her life is being blown up in an effort to confuse people and to believing ELEC didn't get a fair trial. And that is wrong. And it's only happening because ELEC Murdoch has the money and power to make it happen, and because Beckie made it really easy for him, which brings us to this wild and crazy

year. For today's episode, we've revisited some of the most notable moments on our show during the past 12 months, particularly the parts that are important, now as Ellic is attempting to get a new trial. 2023 started off with news that after nearly four years, Buster Murdoch was tapping out of the Mallory Beach case. All of Maggie's estate, except for the 500,000 that they allowed Buster to keep, would be going to the Beach family and the boat crash victims.

It seemed promising. Like maybe Buster was trying to cut ties with Eleg before the trial. Like maybe the Murdoch family had accepted that they'd come to the end of the road with their power and influence. Like maybe it was time to forge a new path instead of relying on the Pirates path, built by the three Randolph's. Little did we know he'd end up sitting behind Ellic for six weeks and then taking part in a Fox Nation documentary that seemed to be nothing more than new trial propaganda

for team Murdoch. Also in January, right before Alex Trial started, we got the horrible news that Judge Newman's 40-year-old son, Brian, had died unexpectedly. A judge mourning the loss of his own beloved son, while presiding over the trial of a man who had been accused of killing his. It was a stunning reminder that everything involving Alex Murdoch seemed like a story that could have been written by John Grisham. In January, we had our eye on the Idaho case in which a criminal studies doctoral student had just been arrested for the

murders of four college students. Going into the trial, that case put a lot of things in perspective about Alex case. And it's interesting to revisit where our heads were right before the trial started. Here's a clip from Murdock Murders podcast, episode 75. We have been told all along that officials were keeping the information in this case tight, because they were up against Dick and Jim, the big bad wolves of Essie Law are so they used to seem. And the thing is, a lot of the information we have learned about the evidence has come from the defense, and because of that, it's just really hard to predict the totality of evidence here.

I talked to a lot of low country locals about this case, and I've noticed a very common theme recently. A lot of people believe that he did it, but they doubt that the state can prove that. They say things like, look, Ellic looks guilty as hell, but will the state be able to prove that beyond a reasonable doubt? They say things like, all Dick and Jim need is one juror. They say things. Like, we saw how chaotic Russell's trial was, and how Russell had a pile of evidence against

him. Do we really think the AG's office can convict Elik Murdock in the double homicide? And they say things. Like you saw how sloppy the state was with the blood's better evidence. And you sure cousin Eddie didn't do this? These are things people say to me. In restaurants, and bars, and public restrooms. My life is weird. Have I mentioned how badly that I want this trial to be over with? Anyways, from what I've gathered, Dick and Jim, who are a highly experienced

and media manipulation, and have their fair share of friends in the press, have, in my opinion, successfully planted seeds of doubt in the public. All of those cousin Eddie polygraph and DNA headlines have appeared to work in favor of the defense. By the way, the Posting Courier reported this week that cousin Eddie's attorney says his DNA was compared with the DNA at the double homicide scene and that he was excluded as a suspect. Just to put that to rest, we hope that the state's case is as good as the case in Idaho appears to be. We hope that we will be just as impressed in two weeks when the state begins to lay out its case and call witnesses. And let's be clear too, it's very hard

to judge an investigation before trial. But at the same time, we hope that state officials learn from this. We hope that South Carolina learns the transparency matters, especially when public corruption is alleged. We hope they see what we have pointed out with the two justice systems, and we hope that things change. We hope that the lack of transparency in this case where we had to constantly scrap and fight

for information behind the scenes just to keep accountability at the forefront has not been because of politics. Are the people at the top the ones who work for us in the public still afraid to speak out against a Murdoch? And if so, is it because of all of those who secretly remain in Murdoch's corner, because of whatever, those people may be protecting because of wherever Alex's money really went. It's actually chilling to hear this. It makes us look around at where we are now and think, are we back at Square One?

Please tell us we are not back at square one. Regardless, it's interesting to see where we were then and how the trial of this century wasn't always that way. We went into it thinking it would be two weeks long, maybe three. We should have known from Dick's opening statement that we were in for the longest roller russ ride of our lives. Here's a clip from MMP episode 77. I think a big, craten energy, but the opposite of that, get it? Okay. In all seriousness, I'm going to start by saying that it is very obvious that I do not like Dick Arpubian. I think he's arrogant, I think he's overhyped, and over the hill. I think he was successful in a world that was made for men like him to succeed,

which I am not impressed by. But my opinions about Dick do not matter here. What will matter are the jury's opinions. Into the jury, Dick wanted them to see a different Ellic Murdoch than the world is seeing. They wanted to see Eric the family man, Eric the loving husband,

the Eric that Dick said he is honored to represent. You know, the Eric who admitted to stealing millions of dollars from his dead housekeeper's children, honored. Ladies and gentlemen, Jerry, my name is Dick Harpoo. I think I introduce myself to you all in our attorneys,

the three other attorneys Jim Griffin. So, Margaret Fox, it is our honor to represent Al-Pardock, a Mordock depending on how you pronounce it. I say it's our honor because I submit to you what you've heard from the Attorney General as facts are not, are not. There are his theories, his conjecture. Now stand up. This is Al Murtal.

And Al was the loving father of Paul and the loving husband of Maggie. You're not gonna hear a single witness say that their relationship, Maggie and Alps' relationship, or anything other than loving. You're gonna hear about how they went to a baseball game the weekend before. You're gonna hear about their relationship. You're gonna see texts and emails, indicating a loving relationship.

I think we can all say that we know Dick has no honor now, right? And then he was never actually honored to be defending Alec. He likes the money and the attention and the sound of his own name. By the way, does anyone remember hearing about Maggie and Alex's loving relationship during that trial? We seem to remember how Ella basically described his wife, whom he barely mentioned, as being a woman. I only remember during an even camera hearing how it came out that Maggie had suspected Ella of a long time affair, but sure, we'll call it loving. The thing that still makes us shake our heads, by the way, is how Dick thought that one of his best strategies would be to get as graphic as possible about the deaths. But now that he knows Becky had worn jurors of the graphic nature of photos they were about to see, he's clutching at his pearls. In the lead up to the trial, we could tell

Dick was going to go in that direction using phrases like, Paul's head exploded like a watermelon. He's so badly wanted this jury to believe that Ellic was dad of the year and that the dad of the year couldn't possibly have butchered his own family. Paul the apple of his eye you're gonna see a video somewhere between 7 30 and 8 o'clock the night of the murders. Paul and Ellic riding around looking at some trees they planted. It's a Snapchat that Paul sent to other people because the trees were not planted very well. They can't believe we're over. They're laughing. They're having a good time.

That would be about an hour before the attorney general says he's swatting. When I say he swatted, when they were swatting, and no question, Paul Murdole was shot twice with bookshot, 12 gauge bookshot once in the chest. And by the way, that shot would indicate it was in the chest and came out under his arm like somebody that might have been holding up their hands. So when he says no defensive wounds he perhaps is being held at shotgun. I mean I can make the same sort of speculation that the Attorney General can because that's all he's doing is speculating. What we do know is, 12 gauge, fairly close range,

shot to the chest. He must have been turned because it comes out under his arm. There's whiting, if you're familiar with the shotgun, under his arm. I mean, honestly, can you guys imagine around two of this meandering nonsense? Can you imagine another six weeks of listening to this guy? We'll be right back. TWS the first night home for the holidays in all through your town, not one thumb was quiet, a lot of swiping going down.

You created the perfect bumble profile with care and hopes that your dream guy or gal may be out there. When what to your wandering eyes should appear, but a s*** ton of faces you haven't seen in years. There's a rando for my school, your ex from 8th grade, a kid who used to babysit and your literal uncle Dave. As cringe as this feels, the only thing worse would be if one of them stumbled upon your profile first. But there's no need to panic or race your face from the app. You can go in Cognito with one simple tap. Disappear from the others till you say they're a match, and have more fun finding your next hometown catch. With peace of mind and your profile hidden from sight,

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In February, the prosecution scored one of its biggest wins throughout the entire trial by getting Judge Newman to allow evidence related to Alex financial crimes on the record. You know, it is frustrating looking back on everything that happened during the trial and seeing just how many obvious and stupid mistakes Team Murdoch made. Mistakes that they might get to fix if they get around to Dudu Becky's reckless mistakes. One of those Team Murdoch mistakes happened in early February. As Jim Griffin was cross-examining one of Paul Murdoch's best friends, Will Loving. Jim played a birthday video showing the Murdoch family

along with Chris Wilson celebrating Alec Murdoch's last birthday as a free man. Griffin wanted to show the jurors that they were a happy loving family, and he asked Will Loving if he believed Alec had a reason to kill his family. With that question, the door to the financial crimes swung wide open, allowing Creighton Waters to do this.

We do that to the to your baby after that. You also have that screen right up one place. I'm just going to go and get this green real quick. Three, two, three, two, three, two, one. Who's that guy in the green shirt, do you know? That's Chris Wilson. Do you know Chris Wilson's relationship to Alec Wilson? Or Alec Murdock? Yeah, I think they're best friends. Best friends.

Best friends should do each other right, not correct. And then he did this. Did you know anything about Alex finances? No, I did not. Did you know anything about his law practice? No, I did not. Did you know anything about where he gets his money? No, I did not. Did you know anything about where he gets his money? No, I did not.

Did you know anything about where he was spending his money? No, I did not. Did you know anything about what his bank account balance was worth? No sir, I did not. Did you know anything about the debt that he was carrying? Do you know anything about that? No sir.

Did you know the specific things that were going on in the boat case, the week that Paul and Maggie were murdered? No sir. Did you know the specific things that were going on in the boatcase the week that Paul and Maggie were murdered? No sir You know anything about civil discovery and and how it can expose financial information No sir. Do you know anything at all about him being confronted on June 7th 2021 about? of Jack about the crime of Jack. I'm gonna do it, of course. Did you know anything about him being confronted

on the morning of June 7th, 2021, about $792,000 of missing fees from his law firm? I'm a junior honor, but totally improper. The person's overruled. Did you know anything about that? No, I did not. You know, any of the facts of those things that I just asked you about. No, sir.

Ultimately, Judge Newman said that because Jim asked we're loving a character witness question, it opened the door for the state to present further evidence of Alex financial crimes, which then led to an end-camera hearing, and then led to that evidence being allowed in. A.K.A. It was a big mistake that Jim asked Will loving that question. Now, that is the type of mistake combined with a ruling in favor of the prosecution that

might be tough to repeat. Was it fair? Absolutely. Did it require really good lawyering on Cratonson to seize the moment and really sloppy lawyering on Jim's part? Yes. Let's be clear. The financial crimes explain Alex motive. Even though the state doesn't have to prove motive for its case, they do have to prove malice and they can use motive to prove malice. Despite that, however, juries are made up of human beings who tend to need a motive, especially when it comes to a crime this horrendous, where a father is accused of killing his wife and son. Scott Peterson?

Well, he had an affair in major financial pressure. Chris Watts? He also was having an affair and also major financial problems. These motives were clear cut and ultimately helped Jers find those men guilty. But Alec Murdoch's situation was a bit more complicated. The financial witnesses were crucial because they also laid out a clear timeline, leading up to the murders that pointed directly at Ellic. Of course, there has been

some criticism about Judge Newman's decision to allow in this financial testimony. Ellic's appeal is wholly based on that decision, but people shouldn't forget why Judge Newman made this decision. It wasn't out of thin air. It wasn't made out of bias against Alec. It was made because Alec's own attorney wanted the jury to hear about Alec's character, but only the good parts. Not the part where his entire career depended on a financial scheme that was quickly

falling apart at the seams. Mark Tensley, the beach's family attorney, was one of those crucial witnesses. He was on to Eleg and his sketchy finances in the months leading up to the murders. It was no secret. Mark was suing Eleg Murdoch for millions of dollars, but Eleg Murdoch was dodging him and refusing to release his financial records as a part of the case. Mark knew something was up, and he knew the kind of money Eleg and his law firm were rigging in.

Yet, Eleg was pretending to be broke, with no deep pockets for the beach family to go after. No sir, Mark Tensley said, not buying that. Mark made it clear to the jury that June 10, three days after the murders, was going to be a big day in the boat crash case, in that Judge Hall was going to compel Elic to disclose his finances, which would have meant big trouble for Elic, since he had stolen millions of dollars from his clients at that point and no one apparently knew about it. To make the timeline even sharper, PMPEDCFO Jeanne Secondcher testified about the confrontation

at PMPED on the day of June 7th. The first time Elyk's law firm ever officially confronted him about the missing $690,000 from the Kris Wilson case. She also told the jury that Elix father, the true powerhouse of the family, was dying that week. Was the jury really supposed to believe that on the week that his wife and son were murdered, Elix Murdoch's criminal empire just happened to be on the verge of collapsing and those two things were completely separate. Those financial crime testimonies were a lot more powerful than the talking heads on TV

made them out to be. And I worry about the outcome of another trial without them. In February, we also learned just how sloppy the crime scene was. Again, this is really frustrating because sloppiness and incompetence always works out in Elic's favor. Look at Becky right now. Check out this clip from episode 80 of MMP. We have got to talk about Sled's investigation. I'm going to be honest, I've had a lot of questions while watching this trial, especially in the last few days. Why was an elic treated like a suspect initially when he was the husband and the first person

to find the bodies? Why was an all of Mozel treated as a crime scene? Why were elic's law partners and friends allowed on the crime scene? What happened with the blood spatter evidence? Why is it not entered into court? Why did it take until September to search Almeida? Why was this investigation so slow? Why no urgency when two people had been murdered? And why was Alex still allowed to carry a solicitor's office badge when he had lied multiple times to police about the murder of his wife and son when he was the only suspect?

I think I know the answer, and I hate to say it because I feel like a broken record right now. I believe it's power, privilege, and the two systems of justice that allowed for these kinds of mistakes that gave this kind of leeway to a man like Elic Murdoch. If Elic were an average man, I think he would have been hauled in immediately. I don't think any of his friends would have been allowed anywhere near the crime scene. I think charges would have happened a lot sooner and I think the investigation would be a lot more complete.

And if Alec Mardock were an average man with a public defender, I think this trial would have been over a long time ago. But Alec is not average. So here we are in the middle of week four with no end in sight. I want to be clear though, I don't think the anomalies in the investigation mean that the state has no case. If anything, the holes in the investigation have benefited ELEC. One of the questions that offense asked the lead sled agent on Wednesday was why Almeida wasn't searched that night that sled agent had a quick answer because

there was no probable cause to do so. Elic was not a suspect yet and that's really the issue here. Sled did not consider Elic a suspect until there is no choice. This is where the evidence took them. We keep saying it because it's true. It would have been much easier for the state if Ellic was not the suspect. The other thing I want to mention is what we've been saying again and again. Solicitor Duffy Stone didn't recuse himself for more than two months.

That means his office, the office-Elic work for, was calling the shots. Were agents shut down when they suggested getting warrants for the powerful and almighty former Solicitor, Reinoff Murdoch's home? Were agents hindered in the collection of evidence because of Duffy's involvement. We already know that his involvement caused the lay in the retrieval of Elix's phone data, and that led to some information getting overwritten. So again, what we're seeing right now with the questions being raised about the thoroughness of the investigation, we think most of that is attributable to the difference

that was being paid to the Murdoch's and their powerful friends. I have to point this out again, the difference. How is it that this man gets a take advantage of every mistake made by a sloppy system? A system his family helped build. How is that possible? After a jury found him guilty, despite those big mistakes that leaned in his favor.

And now, he gets to take advantage of a clerk of court's recklessness by spinning it into a confusing and unpredictable bid for a new trial. Finally, throughout the month of February, we saw that the state, day by day, was inching ahead of the defense in the game of loyering. The prosecution called powerful emotional witnesses to the stand, like Maggie Sister Marion Proctor

and caretaker Shelley Smith. That role, or shattering emotion, simply was not there for the defense. For example, Buster's testimony felt flat and colorless. He could have been nervous, but it was hard for the world to relate to the son of a legal dynasty who couldn't remember your dad's birthday? You know, it's like day. It's not a test. You just say you don't know if you don't.

No, I don't know that's a day. It's around Memorial Day? That's right. 27th maybe. And then there was Alex Brother John Marvin, who failed miserably at his attempt to get sympathy for Alec when he told a very odd story about Elic messing himself. And was he able to control himself?

No sir. I said about detail so he messed himself. He had diarrhea. It just couldn't control it. And then, and I say, diarrhea, I'm not talking about at a restroom with them in the car in his pants. Okay. Well, I think they were aiming for sympathy there. The world really just heard that and went, you, who are these people? It didn't get much better with the defense's other witnesses. For months, the media hyped up Dick and Jim as the holy grail of attorneys equipped with

the most impressive and expensive experts in the land. That reputation quickly began to crumble when the defense called one of their very first witnesses. very first witnesses, whoever, be remembered as the armpit guy? My initial processing was that I went and checked both bikes and I simply put my hands in their armpits to determine how warm they are. This is one of the things we do sometimes to try and estimate a time of death is the body cold, is the body warm.

Yikes! That didn't land like it was supposed to with the jury. Neither did the whole 5 foot 2 shooter theory from their expert who called himself a forensic engineer but was actually hired as an expert to defend Paul in the boat crash, and this was his first murder trial. These appear to be sloppy attorney mistakes. Mistakes that the defense team made because they believe they could outsmart the jury with

their absurd distractions. Again, when we go back and analyze why the jury came to its conclusion, we need to think about all of these choices that Alex team made that the jury ultimately rejected, decisions that had nothing to do with Becky Hill. Perhaps the biggest and ballsyest mistake they made next to opening the door for Alex financial crimes, was putting Alec Murdoch, aka Lier Lier Pants on fire, Mia who swindled motherless children in the grieving disabled on the stand. Dick and Jim claimed to do this because Alec wanted to, and because they needed a big move for the jury to get past the big lie. aka the video that proved Alec Murdoch lied when he said that he wasn't at the kennels

moments before his wife and son were murdered. This was arguably the most important piece of evidence against him. In fact, a juror told the Cedet Show that she believed it would have been a hung jury without that video. In multiple jurors told the Cedet Show that Elic didn't help his case at all by testifying. But of course he testified. And of course he came across as a manipulative egomaniac. Here is Jim Griffin setting Ellic up to address the big lie.

21, did you take this gun or any gun like it and shoot your son Paul in the chest in the feed room at your property off Mozel Road. No I did not. Mr. murder. Did you take this gun or any gun like it and blow your son brains out on June 7th or any day or anytime? No, I did not. Mr. Murder. Take 300 blackout. Such as this. And fired into your wife Maggie.

Leg torso or any part of her body. No, I did not. Did you shoot a 300 block out into her head causing her death? Just a good idea, I didn't shoot my wife or my son anytime. Ever. Mr. Murdock, is that you on the Kennel video at 8.44 pm on June 7th, the night Maddie Magging Power Murder. It is. Were you in fact at the kennels at 8.44 pm on the night Magging Power Murder? I was. Did you lie to sled agent O and the deputy Laura Rutland on the night of June 7th

and told them that you stayed at the house after dinner. I did lie to them. Did you lie to Agent O and Agent Crawford on the follow up interview on June 10th that the last time you saw Maggie and Paul was at dinner. I did lie to them. And then the interview of August 11th, did you tell Agent Owen and Agent Crawl? Did you lie to them by telling them that you were not down at the kennels on that night? Yes.

Alec, why did you lie? Okay, Owen, Agent Crawl, and Deputy Rutland, about the last time you saw Maggie and Paul. As my addiction evolved over time, I would get any situations and circumstances where I would get paranoid thinking. And it could be anything that triggered it. It might be a look somebody gave me. It might be a reaction. Somebody had to something I did.

It might be a policeman following me in a car. That night June 7th after finding mags and Paul don't talk to me anybody without Danny with you. All my partners were just repeatedly telling me that I had a deputy sheriff taking gunshot test from my hands. I'm sitting in a police car with David Owen asking me about my relationship with my wife and my son. And all those things coupled together after finding them, coupled with my distrust for sled caused me to have paranoid thoughts. Normally, when these paranoid thoughts would hit me, I could take a deep breath real quick and stink about it, reason my way through it, just get past it really quickly.

On June the 7th. I wasn't thinking clearly. I don't think I was capable of reason. And I lied about being down there. And I'm so sorry that I did. I'm sorry to my son, Buster. I'm sorry to grant more, Papa T. I'm sorry to both of our families. Most of all, I'm sorry to max and pop off.

I would never intentionally do anything to hurt either one of them. ever ever did you continue lying after that night did you not Or once I lied, I continued to lie, yes sir, why? You know, or what a tangled, where we weave. But once I told the lie, and I told my family, I had to keep lying. He said he lied and lying more because he was addicted to drugs, Had to keep on. the root of Alex' problems since September 2021. The jury, like most of y'all listening to this podcast, did not buy it. And those men, who should have listened to the public and said of their little echo chamber of trolls, they believe that they deserve a doover where they can scotch their bad theories and try again. And we'll be right back. When you've got questions about cannabis, asking friends or searching the internet can leave you feeling a little hazy on the facts. That's why there's cannabis made clear.ca,

your fact-based, unbiased, and current resource from the OCS. Get answers to questions like, how long does cannabis stay in my system? And how do I talk to my kids about cannabis? Get clear on cannabis facts at canabasmainclear.ca Now, add a new piece to your jewelry collection, or spoil a loved one. Hurry, limited time only, at Michael Hill. Shop now at MichaelHill.ca On March 1st, Dick and Jim thought it would be a great idea to take the jury to Mozel, so they could see for themselves how Elic did not kill Maggie and Paul.

Instead, the jury saw for themselves how he could kill them and how he did kill them. And that's after Team Murdoch's ridiculous attempts at redesigning the set. I'm not even kidding you. Remember all the weird touches they had put up at Mozel? Like having a shirt hanging in the window of the house in the hopes the jury would be like, oh no, maybe that's the shirt he was wearing, the blanca said she never saw again. And having a bicycle parked outside as if Maggie had just been taking a lesurally ride down to the kennels that night and had not ridden down on the golf cart with Ellic. And the stuffed animal chicken in the kennel.

Was that to get the jury to have a shared chuckle over Baba? Maybe that did chicken that was put up on the top of the kennels wasn't the chicken they were talking about on the video that Alex didn't know existed when he made up his alibi. Maybe it was a stuffed chicken this whole time. It was pathetic. Their case was so weak that they needed to rely on subliminal messages. Because what else did they have? They had a man who had lied about his alibi until the video proved him wrong. Lied about the existence of a 300 blackout until a cashed check told on him. Lied about how long he was at his mother's house until

his mother's caretaker told on him. Lied about what he was wearing until his maid told on him. Lied about this being tied to the boat crash victims until their DNA and alibi's proved otherwise, lied about having Maggie's phone until his GPS told on him. Lied about getting shot by someone who looked like Mallory Beech's boyfriend until his slashed tire told on him. Oh, and then there was that fun little theory that Paul and Maggie could only have been killed by two five foot two-inch weaponless bandits who happened to show up in the tiny window of time between when Ellic left the kennels and got to the house. been killed by two five-foot two-inch weaponless bandits who happened to show up in the tiny window of time between when Ellic left the kennels and got to the house. And they want to do this again.

They want to put the state of South Carolina through these antics again. The next day, after this trip to Mozel, the jury came back with its verdict. And in episode 83, Mandy finally got to say the words. So 83, Mandy finally got to say the words. I now know, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Elik Murdoch murdered his wife Maggie and his son Paul after a callatin County jury found him guilty on all four counts. He was sentenced to life in prison, and that is a big deal. It was such a great moment, not only for us feeling like what we do for a living matters, but we just felt so much pride in our chosen home state, in the people we weren't too sure

of at first. In episode 83, we got a talk to Craten Waters for the first time. And naturally, we asked him about the nicknames our listeners would chant online every time he came on the screen during trial. And in case you were wondering whether he knew that people were cheering him on by calling him BCE, i.e. big, great and energy, here's what he had to say about that. Well, yeah, I know that there's some t-shirts out there and I've heard I've been told was it's really one of the kind of coin that term. Yeah, you know, I think, yeah, I've heard some of that and you know, I've started, I

did my first tweet ever on Saturday and you know, obviously I've seen that term use in some of the responses that people have been sending. And I think that Friday, there were some people wearing that shirt. And I went over and spoke to him and took a picture with him. I figured I couldn't think I was doing a header gear something I couldn't just let him sit there and watch and not go over and speak to him. So I guess I did the thing now.

Because that trial speak to them. So, but yeah, I guess I did the thing now, because, you know, that trial was so exhausting. And I still, you know, I don't think, you know, I still haven't recovered yet and ended up losing like 10 pounds. But, you know, to have a natural amount there, you know, I'm, you know, sometimes when you had to dig deep, you know, you realize that, you know, that, that you had to give that energy, right? The entire team at the Attorney General's Office

delivered one of the most incredible professional performances we've seen in our careers. Team Murdoch, not so much, but at least they were entertaining, I guess. Looking back on the final moments of Alex Trial and looking at where we are now, I've come to wonder something. After the egg lady juror was dismissed, it seemed like any wind that had been in the defensive

sales, any internal courtroom wind that is, not the wind coming from some of the media and their pro-defense coverage, or the trolls who were scrapping for their own social media territory in this, had died down significantly. There was a definite before and after energy from their table. Why was that? Team Murdoch once was to believe that the egg lady was just a juror who had not made a permine yet, but according to the woman who heard the egg lady's tenence recount a discussion they had had with the egg lady about the trial, the egg lady believed Eleg

was innocent. Did Team Murdoch know that they had lost the only person on the jury who wasn't seeing the truth? Is that my Jim Griffin's closing arguments had all the energy of a clown whose balloon dog had popped? I mean, based on his performance alone, it's so obvious that what we're seeing now is a request for a do-over wrapped in a trumped-up empty allegation of jury tampering. Their tricks didn't work the first time, even though they had the best case scenario

of juries, a group of people from a county run by Alex family for generations. Their tricks didn't work the first time, even though they had the best case scenario of Jury's, a group of people from a county run by Alex family for generations. When the trial was over, and the verdict was in, we knew we couldn't stop pushing for change because Alex guilt and the murders was only part of the problem. Here again is a clip from episode 83. Over the past few days, we've been reflecting on the magnitude of this case, and what we hope it will mean for the future of law enforcement and prosecution in our state. More specifically, what it will mean for the future of other powerful people who break the law and assume that they can pay their way out of the situation.

Until we are all held accountable to the same laws regardless of our positions of influence, our financial portfolios, our race, our age, our gender, our sexual orientation, our political beliefs, there will be no justice in the justice system, in our opinion. This verdict is a huge step in the right direction. We hope this outcome inspires those who work within the system and those of us who do not. Those of us on the sidelines who need to call out injustice when we see it.

That said, the road to Ellic Murdoch being found guilty was not an easy one for anyone to travel, starting with the night of the murders. Here is Colloting County Sheriff Stepiti Chad McDowell about 17 minutes after he arrived at Mozo. The all familiar with this family? I wasn't until he's a little bit of a fan. I'll say you in later. Hearing that on body camera was a stark reminder of how it is down here, or at least how it

was in June 2021. From the get-go, the Murdoch name meant something to law enforcement. It meant that whatever the scenario was, variability to do their jobs would be affected by this outside force, this undeniable influence in some way. This undeniable influence required an army to defeat it. It's disheartening to relisten to that knowing that the army didn't defeat the influence. It only held it back. Because here it is again, rearing its ugly head. Before Judge Newman asked we removed from hearing

Team Murdoch's motions for a new trial, Dick and Jim tried to use his words during elixentencing against him, words that still resonate with people all over the world who rightly build Judge Newman as America's judge. He represents the best of the

justice system. And no matter how many times, Dick and Jim can try to throw him under the bus. We know that good people have his back. Another important factor in this trial was the way Collatin County and the City of Walter Barrow welcomed the public and the media into their home. The high level of transparency and cooperation offered by Clerk of Court Becky Hill, and her staff, was fundamental to building public trust in the proceedings. And then there was Judge Newman. He was fair, he was wise, and he was considered. If the judicial system has a soul, it resides with this judge.

In Alex Final Moments standing before the court, Judge Newman explained his reasoning behind the sentencing and in doing so, he spoke a truth so real that his words continue to echo in the minds of all those who watched. 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'm sure. All good. And every night.

I'm sure. And they will continue to do so. And reflect on the last time they looked to you in the eyes as you look the jury in the eyes. I don't know, person who's always been such a gregarious, friendly person, the gregarious, friendly person in your car's life to be tangled in such a weird, such a situation that you're as a spun-in to.

And it's so unfortunate. Because you have such a lovely family, such friendly people, including you, and to go from that to this. You know, your license to practice law has been stripped away from you, turned from lawyer to witness, and now have an opportunity to make your final appeal as an ex-lawyer. And it's almost, it's really surprising that you're waving this right at this time. And if you have to do so, it's on you.

I do not compare to say anything, but you have the opportunity to do so. I'll tell you again, I respect this court, but I'm innocent. I would never, under any circumstances hurt my wife Maggie, and I would never, under any circumstances, hurt my son, Paul Paul. You know, it would never under any circumstances hurt my son, Paul Paul. Well, it might not have been you. It might have been the monster you become when you take 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 opioid pills. Maybe you become another person. I've seen that before. the opioid pills, maybe you become another person.

I've seen that before. The person standing before me was not the person who committed the crime, though it's the same individual. You'll leave that at that. You'll leave that at that. Looking back now, it should have been immediately cleared to us right after the trial that this wasn't the end. That losing was a contingency Dick and Jim had been preparing for on a parallel track

all along. That they've been gathering footholds behind the scenes looking for every little crumb on the ground to zoom in on and large and exploit. One of those footholds was Dick's lawyer, pal Joe McCullough, sitting in the courtroom every day with the media pass on that he had gotten from Becky Hill, saying that he was there to work on a screenplay. We knew then that it was fishy when the egg lady juror hired him to tell the media to leave her alone. We just didn't realize how fishy.

Another sign was that one of the first post-trial stories written by the host and courier was essentially a bear but for the grace of God go a sled story about how the trial had exposed breakdowns in their investigatory practices. It wasn't so much that the PNC took this angle, it made sense when considering lessons learned during the trial. It was what the PNC took this angle, it made sense when considering lessons learned during the trial. It was what the PNC didn't say. That sled was immediately fighting an uphill battle, not just against Ellic Murdoch, but Ellic. His partners at PNPD, his family, his lawyers Dick and Jim, and our very own solicitor,

the Murdoch's chosen one and Ellic's coworker, Duffy Stone, whose presence at the scene, was highly problematic. To fault the agency without noticing this tremendous influence at work was again missing the point of everything we'd all just been through. But also, it further cemented an idea that Dick and Jim wanted out there. That sled was bumbling, useless, and sloppy when it came to Alex's investigation. Another thing that happened post-trial was the very early release of murder or drawd price. A man said to be the leader of the Bloods Gang in prison. A secret court order that had been signed and sealed in December was suddenly unsealed right after Alex was found guilty.

Drawd got this deal because his lawyer legislator Todd Rutherford, a man who sits on the commission to choose judges in this state, had been handed what he wanted by an early release deal Todd was able to get for him. And Gerard wasn't the only prisoner who got released early because of Todd's stronghold on judges. We still believe the timing of Draud's release was suspicious, considering the lag between when the order was signed and sealed and when it was finally unsealed, and considering the magnitude of what happened, meaning this case was basically a test to see if a fairly new law allowing for reduced sentencing

for prisoners who provided meaningful assistance to Department of Corrections investigators could apply to convicted murderers. Who do we know that's a convicted murderer? Oh right. Needless to say, it was more evidence that our justice system is rotten from the inside out and that Elic Murdoch was just one good ol' boy lawyer in a state full of them. After the trial, we wanted to refocus our effort on the Stephen Smith case and getting to the bottom of what happened to Gloria Satterfield. And we did get some momentum going there. Our COJ co-host Eric

Blan and his partner Ronnie Richter began representing Sandy Smith and they used the money raised from Sandy's GoFundMe campaign to reopen the case forensically. At the same time, Eric and Ronnie were able to secure promises from sled that solving this case really mattered to them. And in the meantime, we began to work on a new case for us, the Grand Solomon case out of Nashville, Tennessee. We even changed the name of our podcast from Murdoch Murders podcast to True Sunlight,

Podcast in May, with the idea that we would still be covering some of the Murdoch cases, but we would be venturing down at new paths, bringing sunlight to new parts of the country where it was so desperately needed. Even as our focus shifted, we could sense that the Murdoch story wasn't ready to quit us. Elik and his bestie-coconsphere or quarry Corey Fleming, were indicted federally, bringing with it more suspicions that their power and influence still meant something. There was Corey's federal sentencing

and a state sentencing. And then there was Russell sentencing. There was Eleg's flip-flopping on whether he was going to plead guilty to his federal crimes and then a state flip-flopping and then sentencing right after Thanksgiving. In August of this past year, we started to feel tremors that something was afoot, starting with a surprise early drop of the Murdoch family project with Fox Nation, featuring the coveted

Buster Murdoch interview in which he and tabloid reporters heavily hinted that this wasn't the end of the line. That there were more questions about the jury, and that there would be more to come. In early September, we found out what that meant. Dick and Jim all but wheeled boxes with blank sheets of paper in them in front of the media to say there is proof Becky Hill tampered with Alex Jury. The last four months have been nothing short of frustrating as we continue to push back on Dick and Jim's hollow narrative that Ellic did not get a fair trial.

And despite Becky's multitude of dumb decisions, as well as the revelations that show she isn't who she seemed to be, we continue to do our best to bring sunlight to what has been the darkest and most corrupt corner of our judicial system. Before Judge Newman, sentence, Elic Murdock, Creighton Waters, address the court, I want to remind you what he said.

And I've looked in his eyes and he liked to stare me down as he would walk by me during this trial, and I could see the real outs murd up when he looked at me. The depravity, the callousness, the selfishness of these crimes are stunning, the lack of remorse, and the effortless way in which he lies, including here sitting right over there in this witness stand. Your honor, a man like that, a man like this man should never be allowed to be among free law-diving citizens again.

Those words still give me goosebumps. A man like this man should never be allowed to be a mun free law abiding citizens again. Let's not ever forget that. Not for one second, Elik Murdoch got a fair trial and he is exactly where he belongs. He is a dangerous person. In just over a month, we might be back in court for Alex Evidentiary Hearing to cut through dick and gyms nonsense maybe once and for all to cut through their lies and their exaggerations and their manipulations. It is going to take the sharpest of sharp legal minds. We are told Justice Jean Toul is that person. It would be so nice not to be disappointed by someone in 2024. Stay tuned, stay pesky, and stay in the sunlight. night.

Happy New Year from all of us at Luna Shark. True Sunlight is a Luna Shark production created by me, Mandy Matney, and co-hosted by journalist Liz Farrell. Learn more about our mission and membership at lunasharkmedia.com. Interruptions provided by Luna and Jo pesky. Buh, Buh, Buh, Buh, Buh!