In the months leading up to the slayings of his wife Maggie and son Paul in 2021, Alex Murdaugh acknowledged consuming more than 2,000 mg of pain medicines each day, indicating a severe addiction to the drugs.
Murdaugh told South Carolina prosecutor Creighton Waters on Friday, “There were days that I took more than that,” before adding that he sometimes took “less than that.”
During his cross-examination, 54-year-old Murdaugh admitted he had “a pocket full of pills” when he discussed the murders with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
On the second day of his dramatic murder trial, Murdaugh took the witness stand.
On June 7, 2021, the once-prominent attorney is accused of murdering Maggie, 52, and Paul, 22 on the property of their 1,770-acre hunting lodge in Islandton, South Carolina.
Murdaugh faces two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of weapon possession. This individual’s plea of not guilty has been entered.
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As the trial progressed, the jury learned that Murdaugh’s wife and two boys, Buster (now 26) and Paul, were aware of his addiction for some time.
Murdaugh stated in court that he had detoxed in 2018. It was revealed to the jury that a month before the killings, on May 6, 2021, Paul texted his father saying, “Mum found numerous bags of drugs in your computer bag.”
Speaking about his drug use in court, Murdaugh said, “maybe 1,000 milligrams or 1,200 milligrams on a day I didn’t take as much….”
After that, he said, “most days were more than that and many days would be… more than 2,000 milligrams a day.”
“30 mg pills instant-release oxycodone, maybe mixed up with some OxyContin, which is made of oxycodone — it’s just time release,” Murdaugh testified.
Creighton Waters, the prosecutor, asked whether that meant he was taking around 60 pills each day in January through June of 2021. In response, Murdaugh said that there were occasions when he took more and other times when he took less.
Murdaugh said he developed a tolerance to opioids over time, so he needed to take more and more tablets to achieve the same high.
To paraphrase his testimony, the tablets made everything he did “more exciting.”
Murdaugh Confesses to Fabricating His Whereabouts on The Night of The Killings
Murdaugh has been on trial for several weeks for the murders of his wife Maggie and their son Paul, and the prosecution has produced evidence throughout the trial proving he lied about where he was on the day of the murders.
On Thursday, his defense counsel started questioning him in court, and they asked him flat out if he lied to the police about where he was the night of the killings. He said he did.
At first, Murdaugh denied going anywhere near the dog kennels on June 7, but early in the trial, prosecutor Waters disclosed that Paul had emailed a cell phone video shot near the dog kennels on the ranch to a friend at 8:44 p.m. You can hear Paul, Maggie, and Murdaugh’s voices in the video.
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Paul was shot multiple times in the chest and head with a shotgun at close range sometime after the video was filmed. Maggie was shot several times; she took at least one bullet to the back and took more while on the floor. The AR-style rifle used to shoot her had been loaded with 300 Blackout rounds. They were both pronounced dead when emergency personnel arrived.
Murdaugh has said for nearly two years that he was not present the night Paul and Maggie were murdered at the family’s dog kennels. Yet on Thursday, he entered the stand and confirmed that he had visited the kennels.
On Thursday he admitted, “I lied about going down there and I’m really sorry that I did.”
He has admitted to lying in the past, but he denies any involvement in the murders of Maggie and Paul.
I would never do anything to deliberately damage either of them,” he stated. As in “never”?
Murdaugh testified on Friday that he unwillingly went to the dog kennels on the night of June 7 after Maggie asked him to do so. He claimed he had showered and changed, was lounging in the cool house, and had no desire to brave the heat outside.
He claimed he took the family golf cart to the kennels, where his son Paul recorded Murdaugh’s voice while observing a dog.
At the end of the 8:46 p.m. video, Maggie can be heard saying that her dog Bubba is holding a bird.
Murdaugh stated that at 8:47 p.m., he removed the bird from the dog’s mouth and returned home in a two-minute drive.
Prosecutors claim that at 8:49 p.m., Maggie and Paul’s phones fell silent and were never used again.
Murdaugh Testified that Maggie and Paul Were Murdered by A Revenge-Seeking Killer
Murdaugh has stated that he has reason to think that Paul and Maggie’s 2019 deaths were related to the boating accident that claimed the life of Mallory Beach, 19 when Paul was reportedly driving while intoxicated.
After the collision, Murdaugh said, his son received “vile threats” that were “so over the top” he couldn’t believe they were real.
Waters inquired as to whether or not he had overheard anyone else at the kennels that evening. Murdaugh claimed that he “didn’t hear anything at all,” and that the dogs showed no signs of fear or alarm at the presence of a stranger.
He remarked, “There was no one else around for them to pick up on.”
Moreover, he claimed he didn’t hear any gunfire before leaving for his mother’s place in Almeda.
He regularly used the nicknames “Mags” for his son and “Paul Paul” or “Paw Paw” for his wife during his testimony.
His surviving son Buster testified two days before he did, describing how devastated his father was following the killings.
Even if Murdaugh is found not guilty in this case, he will face more legal trouble.
He is accused of a wide variety of financial offenses, from theft from his law practice to fraud against clients to hacking.
After his housekeeper died in a bizarre slip-and-fall incident at his home, authorities say he scammed her family out of $4.5 million in insurance money. Such charges will be tried at a later time.
