Prosecutors in the murder trial of disbarred South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh painted him as a "family annihilator" who killed his family to evade public knowledge of financial crimes during their closing arguments on Wednesday.
The prosecution levied several pieces of circumstantial evidence throughout the trial against Murdaugh, who is charged with killing his son Paul, 22, and wife Maggie, 52, in June 2021. Prosecutors argued that video evidence and cellphone data placed him at the scene of the crime, stating that he ambushed his son and then shot his wife.
ALEX MURDAUGH TRIAL: AUTOPSY PHOTOS SHOWN, AND WITNESSES PAINT GRAPHIC PICTURE AS TRIAL CONTINUES
"She heard that shot and was running to her baby when she got mowed down by the only person that we have conclusive proof was at that scene just minutes before," prosecutor Creighton Waters told the jury.
The trial has lasted more than 25 days, with prosecutors offering testimony from 61 witnesses and hundreds of pieces of evidence. During closing arguments, Waters devoted most of his time pointing to Murdaugh admitting to police that he lied about his whereabouts the night of the murders.
"There is only one person who had the motive, who had the means, who had the opportunity to commit these crimes, and also whose guilty conduct after these crimes betrays him," Waters said.
"The forensic timeline puts him there. The use of his family weapons corroborates that," he added. "And his lies and his guilty actions afterward confirms it."
Jurors visited Murdaugh's estate, Moselle, on Wednesday, where they were allowed to view the outdoor property, as well as the kennels and shed where Maggie and Paul were fatally shot. Paul was shot twice by a shotgun, and Maggie suffered five gunshot wounds from a rifle.
Neither murder weapon has been discovered, and the prosecution lacked several other pieces of evidence, such as a guilty plea or either victims' blood found on Murdaugh. However, prosecutors said his financial wrongdoings, of which he faces 99 charges and 19 indictments, serve as a motive for the murders. This was a victory for the prosecution after the defense attempted to block testimony regarding the financial crimes.
"Those pressures mount," he said, "and that person becomes a family annihilator."
Murdaugh admitted on the witness stand to the financial allegations, stating that he swindled millions of dollars from clients to feed his drug addiction, a strategy of the defense to paint Murdaugh as a crippled man who, despite his circumstances, would never harm his family.
However, the prosecution used the admission to cast doubt on Murdaugh's credibility.
"Why would he lie about that, ladies and gentlemen?" Waters said to the jury. "Why would he even think to lie about that if he was an innocent man?"
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
"He fooled Paul and Maggie, too, and they paid for it with their lives," Waters said, wrapping up his closing arguments after about three hours. "Don't let him fool you, too."
The defense is set to deliver its closing arguments when the court session resumes at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.