Lawyer of suspect in murder of his wife and son accuses investigators of fabricating evidence
2023.03.02 15:03
Lawyer of suspect in murder of his wife and son accuses investigators of fabricating evidence
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – In an effort to raise doubts with the jury in the high-profile murder trial, a lawyer for Richard “Alex” Murdaugh said on Thursday that investigators had fabricated evidence and that their theory of why their client killed his wife and son did not make sense.
Jim Griffin claimed in his closing argument that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the state’s equivalent of the FBI, focused on Murdaugh instead of securing the scene of the crime and examining crucial evidence that could have cleared him of any wrongdoing.
Griffin said, “That made him an easy, easy, easy target for SLED,” arguing that Murdaugh could have been excluded as a suspect. SLED’s investigation of this case was utter failure.”
Murdaugh, the 54-year-old son of a prominent legal family in a region west of Charleston, is accused of shooting and killing his 52-year-old wife Maggie and their 22-year-old son Paul at dog kennels on their estate on June 7, 2021.
If the jury, which is scheduled to begin deliberations later on Thursday, finds him guilty, he faces a sentence of 30 years to life in prison.
Due to the family’s enormous political influence in and around Colleton County, where the trial is taking place, the case has received a lot of attention from the media. Murdaugh was a prominent personal injury attorney in the Deep South state, and family members were the region’s leading prosecutor up until 2006.
Prosecutors have attempted to portray him as a serial liar throughout the trial, which lasted a month, and have argued that only he had the opportunity and the means to commit the murders. According to them, he killed his wife and son to get away from a slew of financial crimes, including the theft of millions of dollars from his law partners and clients, money that was used to feed an opioid addiction that lasted for years and support a pricey lifestyle.
In response, Assistant Attorney General John Meadors emphasized that the prosecution did not need to demonstrate motive, but that all evidence pointed to Murdaugh as the murderer because, according to him, Murdaugh cared about himself more than anyone else.
“I have no idea why he killed his son and wife. I need not explain why. Meadors stated, “I think he did it to protect the one he loved the most, the one he really loved the most,” so he could maintain his lifestyle and avoid financial embarrassment.
Murdaugh’s attorneys, on the other hand, have attempted to portray their client as a devoted husband and father who would never harm his family, despite facing financial difficulties and an opioid addiction that caused him to steal and lie.
They have offered alternative explanations, and Murdaugh testified that he thought someone who was enraged about Paul’s fatal boating accident in 2019 wanted to get even with his son.
Griffin argued that the murders would only bring more attention to the allegations of Murdaugh’s financial misdeeds, not less, and that the state’s alleged motive was absurd.
Griffin repeatedly emphasized the difficult task faced by prosecutors who have relied on circumstantial rather than direct evidence to build their case in criminal cases due to the high legal standard of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
He stated, “The law requires you to write ‘not guilty’ if there is any reasonable cause for you to hesitate to write ‘guilty’.”
Griffin also gave a few instances in which he claims the state fabricated evidence. SLED testing disproves the claim that Murdaugh had high-velocity blood splatter on his shirt, among other things.
Murdaugh’s admission from the stand last week that he had lied about where he was on the night of the murders, telling investigators he wasn’t at the dog kennels before the murders, is one of the state’s strongest pieces of evidence. After the jury heard audio evidence that placed Murdaugh at the crime scene just minutes before it happened, he changed his story.
Griffin reiterated Murdaugh’s claim that he lied to investigators due to his distrust of the police and paranoia brought on by his drug use.
“He lied because addicts do that. The attorney stated, “He lied because he had a closet full of skeletons.”
