Alex’s brother took the stand on Monday to recall, in graphic detail, how he had to clean up his nephew’s body parts after he was murdered in 2021.
John Marvin Murdaugh recalled the crime scene being cleared at the kennels. He noted that there was really nothing to see where Maggie was killed but where Paul was shot was especially gruesome, as the feed room was covered in his blood, brains, and tissue.
John said he felt like he owed it to Paul to clean up his remains, though his other brother, Randy urged him to stop.
John testified, “No mother, father or aunt or uncle should ever have to see and do what I did that day. I’m not blaming anybody, I was just overwhelmed.”
#AlexMurdaugh's brother, John Marvin Murdaugh, described cleaning up the gruesome crime scene at the Murdaugh's family home a day after the murders. "I just had to do it for Paul," he said. "It's the hardest thing I ever been through in my life." pic.twitter.com/wOpMyauFrS
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) February 27, 2023
Previously, Alex’s former law partner, Mark Ball testified that he located a baseball-sized skull fragment in the feed room on June 8, hours after Paul and Maggie’s murders. Ball said Alex’s brother, Randy, had called him and said that he and John Marvin tried to clean up the feed room but could not do it.
Ball also said that the crime scene did not appear processed, as he also discovered human remains and buckshot that were not retrieved.
Ball also testified about trying to console Alex, who cried, “Look at what they did. Look at what they did to them.” Ball said he found Alex’s use of the word “they” peculiar.
Last week, Dr. Ellen Riemer said the first shot that struck Paul did not kill him but the wadding from that shot was lodged in his chest cavity. His arm was apparently down when he was shot, with the first shot entering his chest and exiting his auxiliary, according to Riemer.
Riemer testified that Paul was still standing when he was shot the second time. That time, he reportedly suffered a gunshot wound to his left shoulder and head that proved fatal.
Though Paul’s face was intact, Riemer revealed that his head was turned toward the left when he was shot the second time. Riemer said the second shot immediately killed him — with his brain being blown out of his head to the point that it was brought to the autopsy room in a bucket.
An attorney and former friend of #AlexMurdaugh’s testified he observed a large piece of Paul’s skull left at the crime scene that was the “size of a baseball” after SLED agents finished collecting evidence. "It just really infuriated me," he said. pic.twitter.com/vSDfoQZUWX
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) February 22, 2023
Prosecutors said cell phone data and forensic evidence tie Alex to the slayings. Meanwhile, Alex’s attorney, Dick Harpootlian, said the cell phone records were incomplete and asserted that Alex would be covered in blood if he killed his wife and son at close range. Harpootlian said no blood was found on Alex’s clothing.
In September 2021, months after Paul and Maggie’s slayings, Alex suffered superficial head wounds when he allegedly had former client Curtis Smith, 61, shoot him in the head so his surviving son, Buster, would receive a $10 million insurance payout.
A day before the shooting, Alex was forced out of his family law firm amid allegations he misappropriated funds.
Two days after the apparent botched suicide, Alex announced he was entering rehabilitation for drugs. Shortly thereafter, he was charged with insurance fraud in connection with the September 2021 suicide-for-hire plot and released on bail.
However, in October 2021, Alex was rearrested upon leaving a rehabilitation center in Florida for allegedly stealing $4.3 million from late housekeeper Gloria Satterfield’s estate. In that case, he was accused of stealing insurance payouts that were intended for Satterfield’s family. Authorities plan to exhume her body amid an ongoing investigation regarding her death.
In addition to the murder charges, Alex faces more than 100 criminal counts related to fraud.
In June 2022, Alex and Smith were indicted for allegedly purchasing and distributing oxycodone in multiple counties. In December 2022, Alex was indicted for tax evasion for allegedly failing to claim the $6 million he allegedly earned through illegal acts between 2011 and 2019.
Alex was charged with Maggie and Paul’s murders days after he was formally disbarred by the South Carolina Supreme Court.
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[Featured image: Twitter video screengrab]
