The Murdaugh Murders - to believe Alex didn't shoot his wife and son?

[XelaM]

The trial is currently ongoing in the US and has been the subject of a Netflix documentary The Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal.

It's almost unbelievable this case is real and not some movie script for a tragic thriller. It involves the very powerful Murdaugh family- a dynasty of many generations of prosecutors/lawyers who had almost unlimited power and money. They appeared to be above the law. The father was Alex (the heir to the dynasty) and he was married to Maggie with whom he had two sons- Buster and Paul. The younger son Paul appeared to be as appalling a human being as his father (at least according to the documentary).

Five people are dead who were connected to this family:

*Mallory Beach - a young teenage girl who was on a boat that the younger Murdaugh son (Paul) crashed at night being drunk out of his mind. His father Alex tried to initially claim that someone else was driving the boat but then did absolutely everything to make this case "go away" even after Paul had been charged. Paul never faced any consequences for Mallory's death. Her family were pursuing a civil suit.

*Stephen - the elder son's (Buster's) friend who was found dead in the middle of a road in very odd and suspicious circumstances. No one ever faced any consequences for his death.

*Gloria - the Murdaugh housekeeper who allegedly fell down the stairs at their property. Alex collected a $4.3 million insurance payout for her death (on a policy he had taken out a month earlier) and never paid it to her family.

*And now the younger son Paul and his mother (Alex's wife) Maggie were found shot dead on their property with two different firearms.

Alex has been charged with the murders of his son and wife (in addition to having been found to have embezzled huge funds from his law firm and his clients).

But I just don't understand how someone who was so concerned with protecting the family dynasty and whitewashing his son of any responsibility for Mallory's death- why would he shoot the same son two years later? The motive that the prosecution put forward was that he tried to gain sympathy when he was being prosecuted for embezzlement and trying to delay Mallory's family's civil suit. I just don't understand that this is a strong enough motivation for shooting his son?

Maggie Murdagh (or “Maggie Murder” as the locals called her) was rumoured to have been leaving & divorcing Alex and he knew she would be entitled to half his money etc, this is why imo she was shot, maybe Paul witnessed it or was a total liability in Alex’s eyes, after the boat crash etc.

I think that regardless of what happened Alex Murdough isn’t going to get a fair trial now this (one sided) account of events has been all over Netflix.

I am somewhat obsessed with this trial. I have no doubt he killed them and I think he killed the housekeeper too. He was in a full blown panic. All of his secrets were going to come out. With that being said, I am not certain the prosecution has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Do you not think he shot his wife and the son witnessed it by mistake and so it left him no option. ? He had a heavy opiod addiction too. His son had a video in his phone if an altercation between Alex and his wife prior to the shooting.

Does anyone know if Buster was more of a good person? and did the documentary on Netflix say that Buster & Steven Smith “were fooling around”, was Buster gay?

I think Busters' antics probably paled in comparison to his brother's so he was considered the more normal one. He also showed promise by going to Law School (although the documentary said he was kicked out eventually). There was an implication in the documentary that he may have been something other than friendship between Stephen and Buster but it's not been confirmed. But Stephen called Buster the night he was killed because his car had run out of petrol. If Buster was involved in Stephen's death then clearly he is just like his father and brother.

I've been following this and all the evidence points to him. This is one of those truly horrific and absurd cases that exposes what someone can gain from power and money.

Buster didn't sound very impressed with Alex's soup and meat stick prison achievements.

They don’t have to prove “beyond a shadow of a doubt”, they have to prove “beyond reasonable doubt”. They don’t have to prove there’s no way anything other than him killing them could have happened, that’s not what “beyond reasonable doubt means”.

😂

Yes, I don't know how the Jury can get past the fact that he was by the kennels minutes before they were shot and then lied about it. He also neither heard them getting shot nor saw anyone else there. It makes no sense

Might have been already mentioned, but his family member Randolph Murdaugh is suing him for 90K for unpaid debts and Alex has had him moved to the front of the queue of potential debtors. Seems like a ploy to keep money in the family. The guy who is suing him has given him money while he's in prison for prison purchases
www.fitsnews.com/2022/01/19/cant-afford-underwear-4-mayonnaise-alex-murdaughs-commissary-receipts-tell-different-story/

He gave him the prison pocket money after suing him for unpaid debts

I've started watching this this morning

Yes. You are right. I was wrong.

He sounded like he'd rather be anywhere else than having to talk to his dad.
I watched the documentary although wasn't aware the trial is now currently ongoing. Personally I think he's guilty. Too much evidence for it. And to echo other pps, all the males in the family have creepy killer eyes.

The evidence against him for some things may be circumstantial, but strong circumstantial and if I was a jury member then I’d convict without Netflix. You have a whole town that knew you didn’t mess with the Murdaghs and they were basically allowed to do wtf they liked.

They say karma gets everyone in the end and it’s Alex’s turn now, he killed his maid just for the money, he is imo a definite sociopath & I don’t think his wife seemed all that nice a person either, no wonder Paul & Buster turned out how they did.

I believe the right verdict was made

I think so. Paul was shot in the doorway of a feed room in the kennels, I wonder if he was in there and Alex didn’t know? Shot Maggie and then realised?

Based on what I’ve seen/read I agree. It was a fast decision by the jury, they were very clear.

The result of the trial isn't in the Netflix documentary anyway. As it came out before the trial ended.

This is a thread about a news story. Not a TV show. Get a grip.

I thought he was guilty.
I do believe there is more to it though, an Opioid addiction is one thing, but the sums of money involved point to much more than that. Even the most seasoned addicts can't get through THAT much so I firmly believe there was something else going on.

I think it's one of those cases nobody will ever truly know the full facts of.

I wonder what will happen to Buster now? Will he end up a penniless near orphan as his dad blows money on opiates, lawyers and being sued. ¿. Or will he effectively inherit everything and be loaded.¿

I imagine he will be well looked after within the family dynasty! It wouldn't surprise me if both his mother and brother had life insurance and as someone not involved in their deaths he may be in line for huge payouts?

Because he thought he could get away with it like all his previous crimes. Or maybe the plan was he was also going to kill himself because everything in his life was unravelling, the truth was coming out, but couldn't go through with it ?

Nobody but him knows for sure.
He has a history of continuously manipulating events and people for his own selfish good. I personally wouldn't believe a word he says, he is not a man of integrity and he thinks he can pull the wool over people's eyes because he know how to play the legal system.

I watched the prosecutor's closing statement. He meticulously went through the crime timeline, including Alex's steps - then I was convinced he was guilty. I bet Alex wishes the i phone had never been invented.