1 00:00:07,474 --> 00:00:07,874 "DATELINE" - 2 00:00:07,874 --> 00:00:11,244 >> MR. MURDAUGH, ARE YOU A FAMILY ANNIHILATOR 3 00:00:11,244 --> 00:00:15,915 >> A FAMILY ANNIHILATOR? YOU MEAN, LIKE, DID I SHOOT MY 4 00:00:15,915 --> 00:00:18,852 WIFE AND MY SON? >> YES. 5 00:00:18,852 --> 00:00:20,253 >> NO. >> Reporter: THE VERDICT IS IN 6 00:00:20,253 --> 00:00:23,923 IN THE RIVETING TRIAL OF ALEX MURDAUGH. 7 00:00:23,923 --> 00:00:25,358 GUILTY AS CHARGED. >> I SENTENCE YOU TO PRISON FOR 8 00:00:25,358 --> 00:00:27,627 THE REST OF YOUR NATURAL LIFE. >> I BELIEVE THAT HE LOVED PAUL 9 00:00:27,627 --> 00:00:31,064 AND MAGGIE BUT I BELIEVE THAT HE LOVED 10 00:00:31,064 --> 00:00:34,801 HIMSELF MORE >> Reporter: NOW, REVEALING NEW 11 00:00:34,801 --> 00:00:36,202 INTERVIEWS PROSECUTORS -- 12 00:00:36,202 --> 00:00:39,039 >> DO YOU THINK ALEX TESTIFYING ON HIS OWN BEHALF WAS A MISTAKE? 13 00:00:39,039 --> 00:00:43,276 >> ABSOLUTELY. >> I KNEW THAT WE COULD EXPOSE 14 00:00:43,276 --> 00:00:44,778 HIM FOR WHO HE TRULY WAS >> THE DEFENSE - 15 00:00:44,778 --> 00:00:47,881 >> I THINK THIS JURY HAD MADE UP THEIR MIND ABOUT HIM BEING A 16 00:00:47,881 --> 00:00:49,849 HORRIBLE PERSON. >> Reporter: CLOSE FRIENDS SPEAK 17 00:00:49,849 --> 00:00:53,553 OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME >> MAGGIE WAS A GREAT PERSON 18 00:00:53,553 --> 00:00:58,124 I STILL HEAR HER LAUGH >> HE LOOKED AT ME, AND SAID 19 00:00:58,124 --> 00:00:59,592 "I'VE BEEN STEALING FROM MY CLIENTS AND I'VE DONE YOU WRONG 20 00:00:59,592 --> 00:01:00,694 AND I'VE DONE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WRONG. 21 00:01:00,694 --> 00:01:02,696 >> THIS IS A MAN WHO HAD A LOT TO LOSE. 22 00:01:02,696 --> 00:01:05,799 >> THIS DEFENDANT HAS FOOLED EVERYONE 23 00:01:05,799 --> 00:01:08,101 EVERYONE >> WHO WAS THIS PERSON 24 00:01:08,101 --> 00:01:10,904 WE DON'T KNOW THIS PERSON. WHO WAS HE 25 00:01:10,904 --> 00:01:13,740 >> Reporter: A TRIAL FULL OF TWISTS AND A STUNNER OF A 26 00:01:13,740 --> 00:01:17,444 VERDICT! YOU WON'T BELIEVE THE LATEST IN 27 00:01:17,444 --> 00:01:25,885 THE MIND-BENDING MYSTERY OF THE MURDAUGH FAMILY DYNASTY. 28 00:01:25,885 --> 00:01:32,559 I'M LESTER HOLT, AND THIS IS "DATELINE. 29 00:01:32,559 --> 00:01:36,629 * >> HERE'S CRAIG MELVIN WITH "THE 30 00:01:36,629 --> 00:01:47,640 TRIAL OF ALEX MURDAUGH." * 31 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:51,144 >> ALEX! >> WHY DID YOU KILL YOUR WIFE 32 00:01:51,144 --> 00:01:53,146 AND YOUR SON >> Reporter: IT TOOK 28 DAYS, 33 00:01:53,146 --> 00:01:55,115 AND MORE THAN 70 WITNESSES >> YOUR HONOR, I WOULD LIKE TO 34 00:01:55,115 --> 00:01:57,684 RESPOND. >> Reporter: THERE WERE 35 00:01:57,684 --> 00:02:00,253 ARGUMENTS. >> THEY'VE GOT A WHOLE LOT MORE 36 00:02:00,253 --> 00:02:02,789 EVIDENCE ABOUT FINANCIAL MISCONDUCT THAN THEY HAVE ABOUT 37 00:02:02,789 --> 00:02:06,826 A MURDER >> IF YOU'RE IMPLYING THAT I 38 00:02:06,826 --> 00:02:15,935 WOULD COME IN HERE AND SOMEHOW SHADE TRUTH IN ANY WAY BECAUSE 39 00:02:15,935 --> 00:02:17,470 OF THAT, I WOULD TAKE HIGH OFFENSE WITH THAT, 40 00:02:17,470 --> 00:02:18,805 MR. HARPOOTLIAN. >> I'M NOT CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR 41 00:02:18,805 --> 00:02:19,806 HIGH OFFENSE ARE YOU ANGRY AT HIM FOR 42 00:02:19,806 --> 00:02:21,307 STEALING YOUR MONEY? >> Reporter: AND TEARS 43 00:02:21,307 --> 00:02:24,444 >> IT'S JUST SO BAD. -- DID IT SO BAD 44 00:02:24,444 --> 00:02:29,549 >> Reporter: SECRETS EXPOSED >> HE LOOKED AT ME, STARTED TO 45 00:02:29,549 --> 00:02:30,950 CRY, AND SAID, "I'M ADDICTED TO PAIN PRESCRIPTION PILLS, AND 46 00:02:30,950 --> 00:02:34,954 IT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR 20 YEARS." 47 00:02:34,954 --> 00:02:36,956 >> Reporter: AND LIES REVEALED >> EFFORTLESSLY AND EASILY LIED 48 00:02:36,956 --> 00:02:38,658 TO YOU FOR YEARS AND YOU DIDN'T KNOW IT 49 00:02:38,658 --> 00:02:42,362 >> DIDN'T KNOW IT. AND DIDN'T CATCH IT. 50 00:02:42,362 --> 00:02:48,635 >> HE WAS ALWAYS GOING TO HAVE TO PAY AND PAY A LOT OF MONEY. 51 00:02:48,635 --> 00:02:52,005 >> I HAVE LIED WELL OVER A DECADE 52 00:02:52,005 --> 00:02:57,410 >> Reporter: IN A CASE FULL OF DRAMA. 53 00:02:57,410 --> 00:03:01,414 >> LISTEN TO THAT GATHERING STORM THAT ALL CAME TO A HEAD ON 54 00:03:01,414 --> 00:03:05,952 JUNE 7th, 2021, THE DAY THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW HE KILLED 55 00:03:05,952 --> 00:03:12,492 MAGGIE AND PAUL. >> Reporter: AND HEARTBREAK. 56 00:03:12,492 --> 00:03:13,927 >> IT WAS HARD BECAUSE I KNEW SHE WASN'T GOING TO BE COMING 57 00:03:13,927 --> 00:03:18,198 BACK >> NO MOTHER OR FATHER OR AUNT 58 00:03:18,198 --> 00:03:22,802 OR UNCLE SHOULD EVER HAVE TO SEE AND DO WHAT I DID THAT DAY 59 00:03:22,802 --> 00:03:25,071 >> ALEX, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO -- 60 00:03:25,071 --> 00:03:33,580 >> Reporter: AND NOW, IT'S OVER. ALEX MURDAUGH WILL NEVER SET 61 00:03:33,580 --> 00:03:37,550 FOOT OUTSIDE A PRISON AGAIN. TONIGHT, WE'LL SHOW YOU WITH NEW 62 00:03:37,550 --> 00:03:39,085 VIDEO, NEW INTERVIEWS. >> THIS CASE REALLY BOILED DOWN 63 00:03:39,085 --> 00:03:42,122 TO THE BIG LIE VERSUS THE BIG WHY. 64 00:03:42,122 --> 00:03:43,256 WHY WOULD HE DO IT >> Reporter: AND EXCLUSIVE NEW 65 00:03:43,256 --> 00:03:45,525 DETAILS. WE'LL TAKE YOU INSIDE THE TRIAL 66 00:03:45,525 --> 00:03:47,260 OF THE YEAR. >> OH, WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE 67 00:03:47,260 --> 00:03:53,500 WEAVE. >> Reporter: TO HELP YOU 68 00:03:53,500 --> 00:04:00,907 UNDERSTAND HOW A DECADE OF DECEIT STARTED TO UNRAVEL, UNTIL 69 00:04:00,907 --> 00:04:02,308 IT LED TO TWO TRAGIC DEATHS. >> THEY ARE DEAD, AREN'T THEY? 70 00:04:02,308 --> 00:04:03,843 >> YES, SIR. THAT'S WHAT THAT'S WHAT IT LOOKS 71 00:04:03,843 --> 00:04:05,478 LIKE >> Reporter: AND THE LIES 72 00:04:05,478 --> 00:04:11,685 FINALLY CAME TO AN END >> I THINK THE JURY SAW HIS LIES 73 00:04:11,685 --> 00:04:13,119 FOR WHAT THEY WERE, A TANGLED WEB, AS HE SAID. 74 00:04:13,119 --> 00:04:19,693 ALEX MURDAUGH WAS HIS OWN WORST ENEMY. 75 00:04:19,693 --> 00:04:22,228 >> Reporter: IT WAS JUNE 7th, 2021 76 00:04:22,228 --> 00:04:27,934 A DARK NIGHT IN SOUTH CAROLINA'S LOW COUNTRY. 77 00:04:27,934 --> 00:04:30,203 >> 911, WHAT'S YOUR EMERGENCY? >> THIS IS ALEX MURDAUGH 78 00:04:30,203 --> 00:04:34,441 MY WIFE AND CHILD HAVE BEEN SHOT, BADLY. 79 00:04:34,441 --> 00:04:35,608 >> Reporter: AT 10:07 P.M. A CALL CAME IN TO THE 80 00:04:35,608 --> 00:04:39,079 COLLETON COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT 81 00:04:39,079 --> 00:04:45,218 THERE WAS AN EMERGENCY AT A REMOTE HOME OUTSIDE OF TOWN. 82 00:04:45,218 --> 00:04:46,753 SERGEANT DANIEL GREENE WAS THE FIRST TO ARRIVE. 83 00:04:46,753 --> 00:04:49,589 >> CENTRAL 717 SCENE IS SECURE. 84 00:04:49,589 --> 00:04:51,391 HAVE A WHISKEY FOX WHISKEY MIKE, BOTH WITH GUNSHOT 85 00:04:51,391 --> 00:04:53,293 WOUNDS TO THE HEAD >> Reporter: HIS BODY CAMERA 86 00:04:53,293 --> 00:04:56,096 ROLLED >> SIR 87 00:04:56,096 --> 00:04:57,263 I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW BECAUSE OF THE SCENE, I DO -- I DID GO 88 00:04:57,263 --> 00:04:58,131 GET A GUN AND BRING IT DOWN HERE 89 00:04:58,131 --> 00:04:59,399 >> OKAY. IT'S IN YOUR VEHICLE 90 00:04:59,399 --> 00:05:03,837 DO YOU HAVE ANY GUNS ON YOU AT ALL? 91 00:05:03,837 --> 00:05:05,238 >> NO, SIR IT'S LEANING UP AGAINST THE SIDE 92 00:05:05,238 --> 00:05:06,406 OF MY CAR, SIR >> OKAY. 93 00:05:06,406 --> 00:05:07,807 YOU'RE FINE, MAN YOU'RE FINE. 94 00:05:07,807 --> 00:05:09,776 >> Reporter: GREENE CAME FACE TO FACE WITH THE CALLER, 95 00:05:09,776 --> 00:05:13,646 ALEX MURDAUGH, RIGHT AWAY, NEAR A ROW OF DOG KENNELS 96 00:05:13,646 --> 00:05:17,450 >> IT'S BAD. YOU CHECKED THEIR PULSES 97 00:05:17,450 --> 00:05:22,322 >> YES, SIR. >> Reporter: THERE BY THE 98 00:05:22,322 --> 00:05:26,860 KENNELS, MAGGIE MURDAUGH, 52, AND PAUL MURDAUGH, 22. 99 00:05:26,860 --> 00:05:32,265 EACH HAD BEEN SHOT MULTIPLE TIMES, INCLUDING TO THEIR HEADS. 100 00:05:32,265 --> 00:05:38,538 BEFORE GREENE COULD ASK ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, ALEX BEGAN 101 00:05:38,538 --> 00:05:40,507 TALKING. >> THIS IS THE FIREARM YOU 102 00:05:40,507 --> 00:05:41,408 BROUGHT FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE? >> YES, SIR. 103 00:05:41,408 --> 00:05:43,176 YES, SIR I WENT TO -- THIS IS A LONG 104 00:05:43,176 --> 00:05:44,778 STORY. MY SON WAS IN A BOAT WRECK A -- 105 00:05:44,778 --> 00:05:46,780 MONTHS BACK. >> Reporter: AND WHILE ALEX SAID 106 00:05:46,780 --> 00:05:51,618 HE DIDN'T KNOW WHO COMMITTED THE MURDERS, HE SUGGESTED THE 107 00:05:51,618 --> 00:05:55,088 MOTIVE, RETRIBUTION FOR A CRASH THAT KILLED A 19-YEAR-OLD WOMAN 108 00:05:55,088 --> 00:05:59,592 ON A BOAT PAUL MURDAUGH WAS SAID TO BE DRIVING. 109 00:05:59,592 --> 00:06:07,534 >> HE'S BEEN GETTING THREATS MOST OF IT'S BEEN BENIGN STUFF 110 00:06:07,534 --> 00:06:08,401 WE DIDN'T TAKE SERIOUS, YOU KNOW 111 00:06:08,401 --> 00:06:09,536 HE'S BEEN GETTING, LIKE, PUNCHED. 112 00:06:09,536 --> 00:06:13,173 I KNOW THAT SOMEBODY -- I KNOW THAT'S WHAT IT IS. 113 00:06:13,173 --> 00:06:15,542 >> Reporter: MURDAUGH ALSO TOLD THE SERGEANT HE HAD GONE T 114 00:06:15,542 --> 00:06:16,943 VISIT HIS MOTHER THAT NIGHT. >> WHEN DID YOU GET HOME 115 00:06:16,943 --> 00:06:18,378 RIGHT -- RIGHT WHEN YOU CALLED OR DID YOU GO TO THE HOUSE 116 00:06:18,378 --> 00:06:20,914 FIRST? WHERE IS THE HOUSE 117 00:06:20,914 --> 00:06:22,649 >> I CAME TO THE HOUSE FIRST MY MOM HAS LATE STAGES 118 00:06:22,649 --> 00:06:24,084 ALZHEIMER'S AND MY DAD IS IN THE HOSPITAL 119 00:06:24,084 --> 00:06:26,619 >> OKAY. >> I LEFT. 120 00:06:26,619 --> 00:06:29,923 I DON'T KNOW WHAT TIME I CAN GO BACK ON MY PHONE AND 121 00:06:29,923 --> 00:06:32,792 TELL YOU THE EXACT TIMES >> Reporter: AS HE TOLD GREENE 122 00:06:32,792 --> 00:06:35,161 ABOUT THE MOMENT HE FOUND HIS WIFE AND SON, HIS EMOTIONS 123 00:06:35,161 --> 00:06:40,166 SPILLED OVER >> DID YOU CHECK THEM? 124 00:06:40,166 --> 00:06:41,835 >> WE GOT MEDICAL GUYS THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO 125 00:06:41,835 --> 00:06:45,105 DO OKAY 126 00:06:45,105 --> 00:06:46,439 >> WHAT ARE THEY DOING CAN THEY HURRY 127 00:06:46,439 --> 00:06:50,710 >> THEY ARE. YES, SIR 128 00:06:50,710 --> 00:06:55,815 >> Reporter: ONCE THE EMTs ARRIVED, GREENE CONFIRMED ALEX'S 129 00:06:55,815 --> 00:06:57,250 WORST FEARS. >> THEY'RE DEAD, AREN'T THEY 130 00:06:57,250 --> 00:06:58,385 >> YES, SIR. THAT'S WHAT -- THAT'S WHAT IT 131 00:06:58,385 --> 00:07:03,223 LOOKS LIKE >> Reporter: ALEX FRANTICALLY 132 00:07:03,223 --> 00:07:05,492 CALLED HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY, AND THEY STARTED ARRIVING, TOO 133 00:07:05,492 --> 00:07:08,628 MEANWHILE, GREENE LEARNED THE CENTRAL FACT ABOUT THE MAN WHO'D 134 00:07:08,628 --> 00:07:11,464 MADE THAT 911 CALL >> WHAT'S YOUR FIRST NAME, SIR 135 00:07:11,464 --> 00:07:17,170 >> MY NAME IS ALEX, RICHARD ALEXANDER MURDAUGH 136 00:07:17,170 --> 00:07:22,575 >> Reporter: MURDAUGH. THAT WAS A NAME KNOWN TO NEARLY 137 00:07:22,575 --> 00:07:28,248 EVERYONE IN THE LOW COUNTRY. A NAME THAT MEANT POWER AND 138 00:07:28,248 --> 00:07:32,819 INFLUENCE FOR GENERATIONS. AS MORE DEPUTIES ARRIVED, THEY 139 00:07:32,819 --> 00:07:38,258 REALIZED THE GRAVITY OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED HERE AND JUST TO WHOM 140 00:07:38,258 --> 00:07:39,125 IT HAPPENED. >> Y'ALL FAMILIAR WITH THIS 141 00:07:39,125 --> 00:07:40,493 FAMILY >> YES 142 00:07:40,493 --> 00:07:46,066 >> I WASN'T UNTIL HE TOLD ME THE NAMES. 143 00:07:46,066 --> 00:07:51,938 LAST NAME, MURDAUGH. >> Reporter: THEN INVESTIGATORS 144 00:07:51,938 --> 00:07:53,606 FROM S.L.E.D., THE SOUTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT 145 00:07:53,606 --> 00:07:57,277 DIVISION, ARRIVED. THEY WERE CRIME SCENE 146 00:07:57,277 --> 00:07:59,879 SPECIALISTS, WHO SOON HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS FOR ALEX MURDAUGH 147 00:07:59,879 --> 00:08:08,088 >> HOW IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MAGGIE 148 00:08:08,088 --> 00:08:10,423 >> VERY GOOD AS GOOD AS IT COULD POSSIBLY BE. 149 00:08:10,423 --> 00:08:14,327 I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE HAD OUR ISSUES 150 00:08:14,327 --> 00:08:17,731 >> Reporter: AND A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS FAMILY'S 151 00:08:17,731 --> 00:08:19,733 SECLUDED PROPERTY OUT IN THE WOODS. 152 00:08:19,733 --> 00:08:27,407 WOODS. WHAT EXACTLY WAS GOING ON OUT 153 00:08:50,263 --> 00:08:52,332 SUN ROSE ON JUNE 8, 2021, RESIDENTS OF TINY HAMPTON, SOUTH 154 00:08:52,332 --> 00:08:58,304 CAROLINA, WERE PLAYING A GAME OF TELEPHONE. 155 00:08:58,304 --> 00:09:05,612 >> KEEP IN MIND, HAMPTON COUNTY IS A SMALL TOWN, SMALL PLACE 156 00:09:05,612 --> 00:09:07,614 YOU CAN'T -- YOUR GOSSIP TRAVELS FASTER THAN YOU DO 157 00:09:07,614 --> 00:09:11,017 >> Reporter: JUST A FEW HOURS EARLIER, ONE OF THE TOWN'S MOST 158 00:09:11,017 --> 00:09:14,721 PROMINENT FIGURES, ATTORNEY ALEX MURDAUGH, SAID HE HAD COME 159 00:09:14,721 --> 00:09:18,692 HOME TO FIND HIS 52-YEAR-OLD WIFE MAGGIE AND 22-YEAR-OLD SON 160 00:09:18,692 --> 00:09:25,799 PAUL, SHOT TO DEATH ON THE FAMILY'S SPRAWLING PROPERTY 161 00:09:25,799 --> 00:09:27,233 KNOWN AS MOSELLE >> THEY ARE DEAD, AREN'T THEY? 162 00:09:27,233 --> 00:09:30,337 >> YES, SIR. THAT'S WHAT THAT'S WHAT IT LOOKS 163 00:09:30,337 --> 00:09:32,339 LIKE >> Reporter: REPORTER 164 00:09:32,339 --> 00:09:36,910 MICHAEL DEWITT WAS BORN AND RAISED IN HAMPTON. 165 00:09:36,910 --> 00:09:41,715 HE'S WRITING TWO UPCOMING BOOKS ABOUT THE MURDAUGH FAMILY. 166 00:09:41,715 --> 00:09:45,418 >> THAT NIGHT AND EARLY IN THE MORNING, THE PEOPLE IN THE 167 00:09:45,418 --> 00:09:48,054 MURDAUGH CIRCLE FOUND OUT. THEY'RE GETTING PHONE CALLS. 168 00:09:48,054 --> 00:09:50,824 THEY'RE GETTING TEXTS. "MAGGIE AND PAUL HAVE BEEN SHOT 169 00:09:50,824 --> 00:09:54,260 AND KILLED." >> Reporter: AS THE NEWS SPREAD, 170 00:09:54,260 --> 00:10:00,867 COLLETON COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES AND AGENTS FROM THE 171 00:10:00,867 --> 00:10:02,102 SOUTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION, OR S.L.E.D., CONTINUED 172 00:10:02,102 --> 00:10:05,638 TO GATHER EVIDENCE AT THE SCENE. A FEW THINGS WERE CLEAR RIGHT 173 00:10:05,638 --> 00:10:09,676 AWAY MAGGIE AND PAUL HAD BEEN SHOT AT 174 00:10:09,676 --> 00:10:13,880 CLOSE RANGE, EACH WITH A DIFFERENT GUN. 175 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:18,184 >> IT WAS CLEAR AT THE SCENE THAT PAUL HAD BEEN SHOT TWICE 176 00:10:18,184 --> 00:10:23,023 WITH THE SHOTGUN AND SHE HAD BEEN SHOT MULTIPLE TIMES WITH 177 00:10:23,023 --> 00:10:26,693 THIS HIGH-POWERED RIFLE. >> Reporter: THAT SHOTGUN AND 178 00:10:26,693 --> 00:10:30,363 RIFLE WERE NOWHERE TO BE FOUND BUT THERE WERE GUNS, A LOT OF 179 00:10:30,363 --> 00:10:36,636 THEM, ON THE PROPERTY, WHICH WAS OFTEN USED FOR HUNTING 180 00:10:36,636 --> 00:10:42,609 >> A LOT OF PEOPLE HUNT. THE FACT THAT THE MURDAUGH 181 00:10:42,609 --> 00:10:46,479 FAMILY HAD AT LEAST 27 GUNS IN THEIR FAMILY GUN ROOM IS NOT 182 00:10:46,479 --> 00:10:50,316 SURPRISING >> Reporter: CHRIS WILSON, A 183 00:10:50,316 --> 00:10:52,552 FRIEND OF THE MURDAUGH FAMILY, WHO IS SPEAKING ON TELEVISION 184 00:10:52,552 --> 00:10:58,525 FOR THE FIRST TIME, WAS A REGULAR AT MOSELLE 185 00:10:58,525 --> 00:11:00,794 >> JUST A VERY SOCIAL PLACE. THEY ALWAYS WELCOMED PEOPLE INTO 186 00:11:00,794 --> 00:11:05,365 THEIR HOME >> Reporter: HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH 187 00:11:05,365 --> 00:11:07,500 ALEX GOES BACK 35 YEARS. >> GREW UP IN TOWNS THAT WERE 188 00:11:07,500 --> 00:11:10,203 CLOSE TO EACH OTHER. YOU KNOW, 30 MILES OR SO APART 189 00:11:10,203 --> 00:11:13,473 PLAYED SOME BALL AGAINST EACH OTHER, AND THEN A LITTLE BIT OF 190 00:11:13,473 --> 00:11:20,146 BALL WITH EACH OTHER >> Reporter: THE FRIENDS GREW 191 00:11:20,146 --> 00:11:23,416 CLOSER IN LAW SCHOOL, AND BY THAT TIME, ALEX HAD MET MAGGIE 192 00:11:23,416 --> 00:11:24,918 CHRIS WAS IN THEIR WEDDING PARTY. 193 00:11:24,918 --> 00:11:28,121 >> THEY HAD A VERY CLOSE RELATIONSHIP 194 00:11:28,121 --> 00:11:31,224 ALEX DID WHAT HE NEEDED TO DO TO TAKE CARE OF THE THINGS THAT 195 00:11:31,224 --> 00:11:32,992 MAGGIE NEEDED. AND MAGGIE DID WHAT SHE NEEDED 196 00:11:32,992 --> 00:11:38,565 TO DO TO TAKE CARE OF THE THINGS THAT ALEX AND THE BOYS NEEDED. 197 00:11:38,565 --> 00:11:41,768 >> Reporter: THE BOYS, BUSTER AND PAUL, BECAME MAGGIE'S WORLD, 198 00:11:41,768 --> 00:11:45,171 ACCORDING TO CHRIS' WIFE DANA, ALSO SPEAKING HERE FOR THE FIRST 199 00:11:45,171 --> 00:11:49,175 TIME >> WHEN SHE HAD BOYS, SHE 200 00:11:49,175 --> 00:11:51,444 EMBRACED THAT ROLE AND WOULD FISH WITH THEM AND HUNT WITH 201 00:11:51,444 --> 00:11:57,684 THEM AND SHE PROBABLY EVEN THREW BALL 202 00:11:57,684 --> 00:11:59,386 IN THE YARD WITH THEM. BUT SHE WAS JUST SUCH A GREAT 203 00:11:59,386 --> 00:12:02,822 BOY MOM. >> Reporter: MOSELLE WAS ONE OF 204 00:12:02,822 --> 00:12:06,793 THREE PROPERTIES THE FAMILY OWNED, AND IT'S WHERE ALEX 205 00:12:06,793 --> 00:12:11,364 TAUGHT HIS WIFE AND KIDS TO LOVE THE LIFESTYLE OF THE LOW 206 00:12:11,364 --> 00:12:17,337 COUNTRY. >> WHAT DID MAGGIE EVER SAY 207 00:12:17,337 --> 00:12:21,608 ABOUT HER LIFE AT MOSELLE? >> SHE LOVED BEING OUT THERE 208 00:12:21,608 --> 00:12:25,078 IT WAS AWAY FROM EVERYBODY AND I MEAN, IT WAS JUST SUCH A 209 00:12:25,078 --> 00:12:28,481 BEAUTIFUL PLACE AND SO QUIET >> Reporter: QUIET AND REMOTE. 210 00:12:28,481 --> 00:12:31,551 IT WAS A SPECIAL PLACE FOR PAUL, TOO. 211 00:12:31,551 --> 00:12:40,927 >> HE WAS ALWAYS OUTDOORS, AND SO GOOD AT IT, YOU KNOW? 212 00:12:40,927 --> 00:12:44,097 SO GOOD AT TENDING THE LAND AND HUNTING, AND JUST BEING 213 00:12:44,097 --> 00:12:52,605 OUTSIDE. >> IT WAS A GREAT PLACE. 214 00:12:52,605 --> 00:12:56,576 1,700 OR SO ACRES. HOGS, TURKEY, DEER, DOVE, QUAIL. 215 00:12:56,576 --> 00:13:05,952 A HUGE HOUSE THAT WOULD SLEEP AND WELCOME A NUMBER OF PEOPLE 216 00:13:05,952 --> 00:13:10,056 >> THE MURDAUGHS WOULD HAVE EVENTS, GET-TOGETHERS AND YOU'D 217 00:13:10,056 --> 00:13:11,658 ALWAYS FIND, WHO'S WHO OF ANYBODY THAT WAS SEEMINGLY 218 00:13:11,658 --> 00:13:14,227 IMPORTANT IN THE COMMUNITY WAS ALWAYS THERE, LAW ENFORCEMENT, 219 00:13:14,227 --> 00:13:18,498 THE MAYORS, WHOEVER. >> Reporter: BUT NOW THE 220 00:13:18,498 --> 00:13:22,602 PROPERTY WAS THE SCENE OF A BLOODY HORROR. 221 00:13:22,602 --> 00:13:25,071 S.L.E.D. SPECIAL AGENT DAVID OWEN WAS LEADING THE 222 00:13:25,071 --> 00:13:30,443 INVESTIGATION. HE CLIMBED INTO A CAR WITH ALEX 223 00:13:30,443 --> 00:13:34,614 TO ASK HIM SOME QUESTIONS. >> AND YOU GO BY ALEX? 224 00:13:34,614 --> 00:13:36,416 >> YES, SIR. >> JUST START AT THE TOP 225 00:13:36,416 --> 00:13:37,584 TAKE YOUR TIME >> Reporter: ALEX TOLD OWEN HE 226 00:13:37,584 --> 00:13:40,687 HAD BEEN VISITING HIS MOTHER THAT NIGHT 227 00:13:40,687 --> 00:13:46,359 HE DESCRIBED WHAT HAPPENED WHEN HE GOT HOME. 228 00:13:46,359 --> 00:13:50,096 MAGGIE AND PAUL WERE NOT AT THE HOUSE, SO HE SAID HE WENT 229 00:13:50,096 --> 00:14:00,607 LOOKING FOR THEM AT THE DOG KENNELS ON THE PROPERTY. 230 00:14:00,607 --> 00:14:02,308 >> I MEAN, I PULLED UP AND I COULD SEE EM AND YOU KNOW, I 231 00:14:02,308 --> 00:14:04,044 KNEW SOMETHING WAS BAD I RAN OUT AND -- I KNEW IT WAS 232 00:14:04,044 --> 00:14:06,046 REALLY BAD MY -- MY BOY OVER THERE -- I 233 00:14:06,046 --> 00:14:13,953 COULD SEE. IT WAS - 234 00:14:13,953 --> 00:14:22,562 >> Reporter: OWEN ASKED IF THE FAMILY HAD HAD ANY ISSUES OF 235 00:14:22,562 --> 00:14:25,699 LATE, AND ALEX REPEATED THE THEORY HE HAD GIVEN TO SERGEANT 236 00:14:25,699 --> 00:14:27,267 GREENE EARLIER >> HAVE YOU ALL BEEN HAVING ANY 237 00:14:27,267 --> 00:14:28,234 PROBLEMS OUT HERE? TRESPASSERS? 238 00:14:28,234 --> 00:14:29,936 >> NONE THAT - >> PEOPLE BREAKING IN -- 239 00:14:29,936 --> 00:14:34,841 >> NONE THAT I KNOW OF THE ONLY THING -- WHAT COMES TO 240 00:14:34,841 --> 00:14:39,346 MY MIND IS MY SON PAUL WAS IN A BOAT WRECK A COUPLE OF YEARS 241 00:14:39,346 --> 00:14:42,182 AGO. AND THERE'S BEEN A -- YOU KNOW, 242 00:14:42,182 --> 00:14:45,885 HE WAS CHARGED WITH BEING -- ARRESTED FOR BEING THE DRIVER. 243 00:14:45,885 --> 00:14:49,856 THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF NEGATIVE PUBLICITY ABOUT THAT AND THERE'S 244 00:14:49,856 --> 00:14:54,961 BEEN A LOT OF PEOPLE ONLINE JUST REALLY VILE STUFF. 245 00:14:54,961 --> 00:15:00,667 >> Reporter: THAT 2019 BOAT WRECK HAD UPENDED THE LIVES OF 246 00:15:00,667 --> 00:15:03,536 PAUL AND FOUR OF HIS FRIENDS AND CAUSED THE DEATH OF 19-YEAR-OLD 247 00:15:03,536 --> 00:15:07,307 MALLORY BEACH. PAUL WAS INDICTED ON THREE 248 00:15:07,307 --> 00:15:10,610 COUNTS OF BOATING UNDER THE INFLUENCE, CAUSING DEATH AND 249 00:15:10,610 --> 00:15:14,614 GREAT BODILY INJURY. HE FACED A MAXIMUM OF 55 YEARS 250 00:15:14,614 --> 00:15:20,053 IN PRISON AND PLEADED NOT GUILTY, AND AWAITED TRIAL. 251 00:15:20,053 --> 00:15:22,055 BUT NOW HE LAY DEAD ALONGSIDE HIS MOTHER ON THE FAMILY'S 252 00:15:22,055 --> 00:15:26,259 BELOVED PROPERTY >> HE'S BEEN GETTING THREATS 253 00:15:26,259 --> 00:15:29,396 >> Reporter: WAS ALEX RIGHT? WAS THIS THE ACT OF ULTIMATE 254 00:15:29,396 --> 00:15:31,398 RETRIBUTION? >> HAS HE RECEIVED ANY DIRECT 255 00:15:31,398 --> 00:15:52,519 THREATS RELATED TO THE BOAT ACCIDENT 256 00:15:52,519 --> 00:15:56,790 >> Reporter: FROM ALMOST THE VERY MOMENT INVESTIGATORS 257 00:15:56,790 --> 00:16:01,928 ARRIVED AT HIS COUNTRY HOME, ALEX MURDAUGH HAD BEEN TELLING 258 00:16:01,928 --> 00:16:06,066 THEM THE MURDERS OF HIS WIFE AND SON HAD TO BE CONNECTED TO A 259 00:16:06,066 --> 00:16:07,634 2019 BOAT CRASH THAT KILLED A 19-YEAR-OLD. 260 00:16:07,634 --> 00:16:11,037 >> THIS IS A LONG STORY. MY SON WAS IN A BOAT WRECK 261 00:16:11,037 --> 00:16:13,039 >> Reporter: THAT BOAT CRASH HAD TURNED THE LIVES OF ALEX'S 262 00:16:13,039 --> 00:16:15,041 FAMILY, AND SEVERAL OTHER FAMILIES, UPSIDE DOWN. 263 00:16:15,041 --> 00:16:18,078 >> 911 WHERE'S YOUR EMERGENCY 264 00:16:18,078 --> 00:16:23,817 >> WE'RE IN A BOAT CRASH ON ARCHERS CREEK. 265 00:16:23,817 --> 00:16:25,819 >> Reporter: IT HAPPENED IN THE MIDDLE OF A FEBRUARY NIGHT AT 266 00:16:25,819 --> 00:16:27,787 2:30 A.M SIX TEENAGERS, INCLUDING 267 00:16:27,787 --> 00:16:31,758 PAUL MURDAUGH, WERE IN THE MURDAUGH'S MOTORBOAT IN A LOCAL 268 00:16:31,758 --> 00:16:35,061 CREEK WHEN THE BOAT SPED UP AND SLAMMED INTO A BRIDGE PILING 269 00:16:35,061 --> 00:16:39,966 ONE OF THE PASSENGERS, CONNOR COOK, MADE THE CALL 270 00:16:39,966 --> 00:16:41,167 >> THERE'S SIX OF US, AND ONE IS MISSING. 271 00:16:41,167 --> 00:16:47,407 >> MALLORY >> PLEASE SEND SOMEONE 272 00:16:47,407 --> 00:16:48,842 >> I KNOW. WE'RE COMING 273 00:16:48,842 --> 00:16:50,543 WE'RE COMING OKAY 274 00:16:50,543 --> 00:16:52,078 >> Reporter: CONNOR AND SEVERAL OTHER PASSENGERS WERE RUSHED TO 275 00:16:52,078 --> 00:16:58,985 THE HOSPITAL MARTY AND CHRISTINE COOK ARE 276 00:16:58,985 --> 00:17:00,020 CONNOR'S PARENTS >> HOW DID YOU FIND OUT WHAT HAD 277 00:17:00,020 --> 00:17:01,087 HAPPENED >> CONNOR CALLED 278 00:17:01,087 --> 00:17:03,656 HE SAID, "DADDY, WE'VE BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT IN ARCHERS CREEK, 279 00:17:03,656 --> 00:17:06,693 AND WE CAN'T FIND MALLORY. >> Reporter: 19-YEAR OLD 280 00:17:06,693 --> 00:17:11,031 MALLORY BEACH WAS STILL MISSING IN THE DARK WATER. 281 00:17:11,031 --> 00:17:16,136 PAUL MURDAUGH WAS RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL, TOO. 282 00:17:16,136 --> 00:17:18,038 HIS FATHER AND GRANDFATHER MET HIM THERE, AND ALEX REACHED OUT 283 00:17:18,038 --> 00:17:23,543 TO THE COOKS, WHO WERE STILL ON THEIR WAY. 284 00:17:23,543 --> 00:17:28,948 >> ALEX CALLING ME GOING ON AND ON ABOUT AN 285 00:17:28,948 --> 00:17:38,625 ACCIDENT, AND THE GIRL WAS MISSING. 286 00:17:38,625 --> 00:17:39,759 AND, CONNOR WAS DRIVING THE BOAT 287 00:17:39,759 --> 00:17:41,327 >> Reporter: HE TOLD YOU "CONNOR WAS DRIVING" 288 00:17:41,327 --> 00:17:45,732 >> YEAH. >> YES, HE DID 289 00:17:45,732 --> 00:17:47,167 >> MULTIPLE TIMES HE CALLED TELLING -- 290 00:17:47,167 --> 00:17:48,868 >> Reporter: TO CHECK ON YOU, TO CHECK ON CONNOR -- 291 00:17:48,868 --> 00:17:50,470 >> NO, HELL NO TO TRYIN' TO GET THIS SCHEME 292 00:17:50,470 --> 00:17:53,973 GOIN', TO TELLIN' US ABOUT HOW HE - 293 00:17:53,973 --> 00:17:55,408 >> TO CONVINCE US THAT OUR SON WAS DRIVING THE BOAT 294 00:17:55,408 --> 00:17:56,843 >> Reporter: THAT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE TO THE COOKS 295 00:17:56,843 --> 00:17:58,244 PAUL USUALLY DROVE HIS FAMILY'S BOAT 296 00:17:58,244 --> 00:17:59,679 THE COOKS ALSO SAY PAUL WAS A KNOWN TROUBLEMAKER AND THOUGHT 297 00:17:59,679 --> 00:18:01,081 ALEX WAS WIELDING HIS CONSIDERABLE INFLUENCE THAT 298 00:18:01,081 --> 00:18:02,515 NIGHT AT THE HOSPITAL TO KEEP HIM OUT OF TROUBLE 299 00:18:02,515 --> 00:18:04,517 >> IT WOULD BE EASIER FOR HIM TO GET CONNOR OUT OF TROUBLE THAN 300 00:18:04,517 --> 00:18:06,286 HIS SON. >> THAT WAS HIS EXACT WORDS, "I 301 00:18:06,286 --> 00:18:10,757 CAN LOOK OUT FOR CONNOR BETTER THAN I CAN PAUL. 302 00:18:10,757 --> 00:18:12,759 >> Reporter: MEANWHILE, ON ARCHER'S CREEK, THE SEARCH FOR 303 00:18:12,759 --> 00:18:16,196 MALLORY BEACH WENT ON FOR A WEEK 304 00:18:16,196 --> 00:18:18,465 >> CREWS ARE CONTINUING TO SEARCH FOR A FORMER USC STUDENT 305 00:18:18,465 --> 00:18:24,170 WHO WENT MISSING OVER THE WEEKEND NEAR PARRIS ISLAND 306 00:18:24,170 --> 00:18:27,540 >> Reporter: IT ENDED TRAGICALLY WHEN TWO VOLUNTEERS RECOVERED 307 00:18:27,540 --> 00:18:29,609 MALLORY'S BODY >> YOU KNOW, THERE WERE SO MANY 308 00:18:29,609 --> 00:18:32,679 OPPORTUNITIES FOR THIS NOT TO HAVE HAPPENED. 309 00:18:32,679 --> 00:18:35,048 >> Reporter: ATTORNEY MARK TINSLEY FILED A WRONGFUL 310 00:18:35,048 --> 00:18:39,486 DEATH SUIT ON THE BEACH FAMILY'S BEHALF 311 00:18:39,486 --> 00:18:41,488 >> THEY WANTED TO HOLD ALL THOSE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR HER DEATH 312 00:18:41,488 --> 00:18:43,189 ACCOUNTABLE. BUT MORE THAN THAT, THEY WANTED 313 00:18:43,189 --> 00:18:47,627 TO MAKE SURE THAT IT DIDN'T HAPPEN TO SOMEONE ELSE'S CHILD 314 00:18:47,627 --> 00:18:51,331 >> Reporter: THE SUIT NAMED ALEX, WHO OWNED THE BOAT, ALONG 315 00:18:51,331 --> 00:18:59,406 WITH SEVERAL OTHERS. AND WHY NAME ALEX MURDAUGH IN 316 00:18:59,406 --> 00:19:06,513 THAT >> WHEN YOU PROMOTE A CERTAIN 317 00:19:06,513 --> 00:19:08,214 KIND OF BEHAVIOR, WHEN YOU CONDONE THE SORTS OF THINGS THAT 318 00:19:08,214 --> 00:19:11,084 PAUL DID FOR THE LENGTH OF TIME AND WITHOUT ANY CONSEQUENCES, 319 00:19:11,084 --> 00:19:12,485 HE BEARS RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT HAPPENED 320 00:19:12,485 --> 00:19:14,754 >> Reporter: TINSLEY REQUESTED ALEX'S FINANCIAL RECORDS AS PART 321 00:19:14,754 --> 00:19:16,756 OF THE SUIT. >> WHAT WAS THE RESPONSE 322 00:19:16,756 --> 00:19:21,928 >> JUST AN OBJECTION, A REFUSAL. >> Reporter: IN FACT, TINSLEY 323 00:19:21,928 --> 00:19:24,698 SAID ALEX TOLD HIM HE WAS BROKE. TINSLEY DIDN'T BELIEVE IT. 324 00:19:24,698 --> 00:19:27,167 >> HE'S MAKING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR 325 00:19:27,167 --> 00:19:29,269 A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR AT LEAST, EVERY YEAR. 326 00:19:29,269 --> 00:19:33,373 WHY WOULD HE HAVE NO MONEY HE COMES FROM MONEY. 327 00:19:33,373 --> 00:19:38,378 >> Reporter: THE IMPASSE DRAGGED ON UNTIL EARLY SUMMER, 2021. 328 00:19:38,378 --> 00:19:41,781 FINALLY, MORE THAN TWO YEARS AFTER MALLORY'S DEATH, THEY WERE 329 00:19:41,781 --> 00:19:44,617 SCHEDULED TO APPEAR AT A HEARING WHERE ALEX WOULD LIKELY BE 330 00:19:44,617 --> 00:19:52,892 COMPELLED TO TURN OVER HIS FINANCIAL RECORDS. 331 00:19:52,892 --> 00:20:00,066 THEN, JUNE 7, 2021, JUST A FEW DAYS BEFORE THAT HEARING, THE 332 00:20:00,066 --> 00:20:02,602 UNTHINKABLE HAPPENED >> I GET A CALL ABOUT 11:30 THAT 333 00:20:02,602 --> 00:20:11,378 MONDAY NIGHT THAT PAUL AND MAGGIE HAD BEEN MURDERED 334 00:20:11,378 --> 00:20:14,781 >> Reporter: NOW INVESTIGATORS HAD TO FIND OUT IF THE BOAT 335 00:20:14,781 --> 00:20:17,350 CRASH HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THOSE MURDERS, EVEN AS THEY 336 00:20:17,350 --> 00:20:21,388 SEEMED TO BE LOSING CONTROL OF A CRIME SCENE THAT WAS BEING 337 00:20:21,388 --> 00:20:23,056 CRIME SCENE THAT WAS BEING OVERRUN BY ALEX'S FRIENDS AND 338 00:20:44,077 --> 00:20:48,348 MURDAUGH FAMILY RETREAT THAT WAS KNOWN FOR PARTIES AND 339 00:20:48,348 --> 00:20:52,919 RECREATION, HAD BECOME A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE CAME TO GRIEVE AND 340 00:20:52,919 --> 00:20:56,790 OFFER SUPPORT TO ALEX MURDAUGH AND HIS REMAINING SON, 341 00:20:56,790 --> 00:20:59,459 25-YEAR-OLD BUSTER ALEX'S FRIEND CHRIS WILSON WAS 342 00:20:59,459 --> 00:21:02,562 ONE OF THEM. WHEN YOU GOT THERE, WHAT DID YOU 343 00:21:02,562 --> 00:21:08,835 FIND >> WHEN I GOT THERE, PULLED INTO 344 00:21:08,835 --> 00:21:13,940 THE MAIN GATE, WAS KINDA HEADED UP THE DRIVEWAY TOWARDS THE MAIN 345 00:21:13,940 --> 00:21:16,810 HOUSE, SAW A LOT OF LIGHTS AND PEOPLE 346 00:21:16,810 --> 00:21:22,782 I COULD TELL THERE WAS A LOT OF COMMOTION GOIN' ON DOWN AT THE 347 00:21:22,782 --> 00:21:28,988 KENNELS, WHICH TURNED OUT TO BE LAW ENFORCEMENT AND OTHER 348 00:21:28,988 --> 00:21:32,726 PEOPLE >> ALEX WAS THERE. 349 00:21:32,726 --> 00:21:40,367 I WALKED OVER AND HUGGED HIS NECK, AND WE CRIED 350 00:21:40,367 --> 00:21:42,902 HE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHIN' HE WAS WHIMPING AND CRYING AND 351 00:21:42,902 --> 00:21:49,409 SEEMED DESTROYED WE HUGGED, WAS JUST THERE. 352 00:21:49,409 --> 00:21:54,714 I MEAN, I WAS TRYING TO BE THERE FOR A FREIEND THAT, YOU KNOW, 353 00:21:54,714 --> 00:21:56,116 DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO FOR HIM DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY. 354 00:21:56,116 --> 00:21:57,917 JUST WANTED TO BE THERE. >> Reporter: BUT SOME OF ALEX'S 355 00:21:57,917 --> 00:21:59,319 FRIENDS AND LAWYERS OFFERED MORE THAN EMOTIONAL SUPPORT 356 00:21:59,319 --> 00:22:00,754 ON THE MORNING OF JUNE 8th, THE DAY AFTER THE MURDERS, THEY 357 00:22:00,754 --> 00:22:01,888 HELPED INVESTIGATORS SEARCH THE HOUSE. 358 00:22:01,888 --> 00:22:03,957 >> HOW YOU DOING, SIR? >> Reporter: EVEN AS 359 00:22:03,957 --> 00:22:05,191 INVESTIGATORS COLLECTED POSSIBLE EVIDENCE FROM THE GUN ROOM AT 360 00:22:05,191 --> 00:22:06,693 MOSELLE, AS WELL AS SHELL CASINGS FOUND ON THE STEPS OF 361 00:22:06,693 --> 00:22:11,531 THE HOUSE, IT WAS CLEAR THE MURDAUGH FAMILY HELD A CERTAIN 362 00:22:11,531 --> 00:22:13,833 STATUS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT. >> THERE ARE A NUMBER OF LAWYERS 363 00:22:13,833 --> 00:22:16,670 AND FRIENDS, INCLUDING CHRIS WILSON, WHO ARE KIND OF 364 00:22:16,670 --> 00:22:19,072 CIRCLED UP IN THE GUN ROOM AT MOSELLE, WHICH WAS, LIKE, YOU 365 00:22:19,072 --> 00:22:20,206 KNOW -- THERE'S A POOL TABLE IN THE MIDDLE 366 00:22:20,206 --> 00:22:22,075 THERE'S SOME COUCHES IT'S A HANGOUT SPOT IN THE 367 00:22:22,075 --> 00:22:26,079 HOUSE. AND YOU CAN SEE THEM SITTING 368 00:22:26,079 --> 00:22:30,083 THERE, YOU KNOW, TALKING AND, YOU KNOW, HAVING -- THEY HAVE A 369 00:22:30,083 --> 00:22:33,453 RED SOLO CUP WITH A DRINK IN IT, JUST, YOU KNOW, PRESENT AT NOT 370 00:22:33,453 --> 00:22:36,289 THE IMMEDIATE CRIME SCENE, BUT AT THE HOME, YOU KNOW, ADJACENT 371 00:22:36,289 --> 00:22:39,726 TO THE CRIME SCENE >> Reporter: SOME QUESTIONED WHY 372 00:22:39,726 --> 00:22:42,262 THE HOUSE WASN'T CORDONED OFF AS A CRIME SCENE LIKE THE KENNELS 373 00:22:42,262 --> 00:22:48,234 WERE >> THEY BASICALLY ALLOWED THE 374 00:22:48,234 --> 00:22:52,772 FAMILY AND ALL THESE ATTORNEYS FROM THE LAW FIRM TO JUST MOVE 375 00:22:52,772 --> 00:22:54,207 OVER THERE AND SET UP AND CONSOLE THE GRIEVING ALEX, 376 00:22:54,207 --> 00:22:56,209 CONSOLE THE FAMILY >> Reporter: WHILE SOME 377 00:22:56,209 --> 00:22:58,745 INVESTIGATORS SEARCHED THE HOME AND PROPERTY, OTHERS WERE 378 00:22:58,745 --> 00:23:02,482 LOOKING INTO ALEX'S THEORY ABOUT THE 2019 BOAT CRASH. 379 00:23:02,482 --> 00:23:04,784 THEY WANTED TO KNOW WHERE THE SURVIVING PASSENGERS AND THEIR 380 00:23:04,784 --> 00:23:09,589 FAMILIES WERE ON THE NIGHT OF THE MURDERS. 381 00:23:09,589 --> 00:23:11,858 THAT MEANT CONNOR COOK AND HIS PARENTS, MARTY AND CHRISTINE 382 00:23:11,858 --> 00:23:16,096 WHEN YOU HEARD, WHAT'D YOU THINK? 383 00:23:16,096 --> 00:23:17,931 >> MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS, "THANK GOD CONNOR WAS HOME WITH ME. 384 00:23:17,931 --> 00:23:20,734 >> Reporter: DID THEY QUESTION HIM? 385 00:23:20,734 --> 00:23:21,801 >> OF COURSE THEY QUESTIONED ME 386 00:23:21,801 --> 00:23:30,910 >> Reporter: THEY QUESTIONED YOU? 387 00:23:30,910 --> 00:23:32,779 >> I WAS HIS WITNESS THAT HE, YOU KNOW, GOT HOME FROM WORK, 388 00:23:32,779 --> 00:23:34,080 AND HE NEVER LEFT THE HOUSE. >> THEY QUESTIONED EVERY 389 00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:37,584 PASSENGER IN THAT BOAT >> Reporter: BUT DESPITE ALEX'S 390 00:23:37,584 --> 00:23:40,086 THEORY, IT APPEARED NO ONE INVOLVED IN THE BOAT CRASH WAS 391 00:23:40,086 --> 00:23:48,261 NEAR MOSELLE ON THE NIGHT MAGGIE AND PAUL WERE GUNNED DOWN. 392 00:23:48,261 --> 00:23:50,263 >> THEY DID, YOU KNOW -- GOT AN ALIBI FROM EVERYONE. 393 00:23:50,263 --> 00:23:53,099 AND I THINK THEY QUICK -- FAIRLY QUICKLY ELIMINATED THE BOAT 394 00:23:53,099 --> 00:23:56,436 CRASH PASSENGERS AS POSSIBLE SUSPECTS 395 00:23:56,436 --> 00:24:00,206 >> Reporter: STILL, THE BOAT CRASH AND THE BEACH FAMILY'S 396 00:24:00,206 --> 00:24:04,778 CIVIL SUIT AGAINST HIM WERE NEVER FAR FROM ALEX'S MIND 397 00:24:04,778 --> 00:24:08,748 IN ANOTHER INTERVIEW WITH S.L.E.D. AGENT DAVID OWEN THREE 398 00:24:08,748 --> 00:24:14,154 DAYS AFTER THE MURDERS, OWEN ASKED ALEX TO TAKE HIM THROUGH 399 00:24:14,154 --> 00:24:16,122 HOW HE SPENT THAT FATEFUL DAY. ALEX MENTIONED THE UPCOMING 400 00:24:16,122 --> 00:24:19,826 HEARING WHERE HE WAS LIKELY TO BE FORCED TO TURN OVER FINANCIAL 401 00:24:19,826 --> 00:24:22,662 RECORDS. >> I'M A DEFENDANT IN A CIVIL 402 00:24:22,662 --> 00:24:25,365 CASE INVOLVING MY SON. I TOLD YOU ABOUT THE BOAT WRECK. 403 00:24:25,365 --> 00:24:29,235 >> YES, SIR. >> AND THERE WERE SOME MOTIONS 404 00:24:29,235 --> 00:24:31,971 COMING UP IN THAT ON THURSDAY, AND I WAS MOSTLY JUST GETTING 405 00:24:31,971 --> 00:24:36,843 READY FOR THOSE THINGS AND THEN OTHER JUNK 406 00:24:36,843 --> 00:24:40,313 >> Reporter: ALEX ALSO GAVE OWEN MORE DETAILS ABOUT HIS 407 00:24:40,313 --> 00:24:42,382 WHEREABOUTS THAT NIGHT AFTER WORK, HE SAID HE CAME HOME 408 00:24:42,382 --> 00:24:47,287 AND RODE AROUND THE PROPERTY WITH PAUL. 409 00:24:47,287 --> 00:24:52,726 PAUL CAN BE HEARD LAUGHING ON THIS VIDEO FROM THAT EVENING AS 410 00:24:52,726 --> 00:24:57,964 THE TWO WATCHED A TREE BEND. THEN THEY WENT HOME TO EAT 411 00:24:57,964 --> 00:25:00,567 >> MAGGIE HAD GOTTEN HOME AND, YOU KNOW, WE SAT DOWN AND WE ATE 412 00:25:00,567 --> 00:25:04,637 SUPPER, WHICH -- WE USUALLY ATE SUPPER TOGETHER. 413 00:25:04,637 --> 00:25:08,274 >> Reporter: AFTER DINNER, ALEX SAID MAGGIE WENT TO CHECK ON THE 414 00:25:08,274 --> 00:25:10,744 KENNELS, AND PAUL WAS OUTSIDE, TOO. 415 00:25:10,744 --> 00:25:14,180 >> I STAYED IN THE HOUSE >> OKAY. 416 00:25:14,180 --> 00:25:15,315 >> AND I WAS WATCHING TV, LOOKING AT MY PHONE, AND I 417 00:25:15,315 --> 00:25:20,720 ACTUALLY FELL ASLEEP ON THE COUCH. 418 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:30,663 >> Reporter: ALEX TOLD OWEN HE LEFT TO VISIT HIS MOM AFTER HE 419 00:25:30,663 --> 00:25:32,399 WOKE UP A LITTLE AFTER 9:00 P.M. SHE LIVED ABOUT 20 MINUTES AWAY, 420 00:25:32,399 --> 00:25:34,067 AND ALEX SAID HE STAYED THERE FOR A WHILE BEFORE HE RETURNED 421 00:25:34,067 --> 00:25:35,802 HOME A LITTLE AFTER 10:00 P.M. PAUL AND MAGGIE WEREN'T THERE, 422 00:25:35,802 --> 00:25:40,340 HE SAID, SO HE DROVE AROUND THE PROPERTY 423 00:25:40,340 --> 00:25:46,079 HE FOUND THEM LIFELESS AT THE KENNELS AND DIALED 911 424 00:25:46,079 --> 00:25:55,422 ONCE AGAIN, HE GOT EMOTIONAL ABOUT THE MOMENT HE DISCOVERED 425 00:25:55,422 --> 00:25:59,125 HIS WIFE AND SON >> I KNOW IT'S HARD, AND SITTING 426 00:25:59,125 --> 00:26:07,534 HERE TALKING TODAY IS TOUGH. >> IT'S JUST SO BAD. 427 00:26:07,534 --> 00:26:15,175 THEY DID IT SO BAD SUCH A GOOD BOY, TOO 428 00:26:15,175 --> 00:26:17,477 I'M SORRY. GO AHEAD 429 00:26:17,477 --> 00:26:24,784 >> Reporter: AFTER THAT SECOND INTERVIEW WITH SPECIAL AGENT 430 00:26:24,784 --> 00:26:26,586 OWEN ENDED, ALEX GOT MORE BAD NEWS 431 00:26:26,586 --> 00:26:29,422 THIS TIME ABOUT HIS FATHER RANDOLPH, WHO HAD BEEN SICK. 432 00:26:29,422 --> 00:26:31,725 >> ON JUNE THE 10th, THERE'S ALL THIS INCREDIBLE ACTIVITY GOING 433 00:26:31,725 --> 00:26:36,563 ON IN THE BACKGROUND TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, FIGURE OUT WHAT 434 00:26:36,563 --> 00:26:39,666 HAPPENED TO MAGGIE AND PAUL. AND HIS FATHER, RANDOLPH III, 435 00:26:39,666 --> 00:26:43,670 COMES OVER TO KIND OF HUDDLE UP WITH THE LAWYERS AND THE FAMILY. 436 00:26:43,670 --> 00:26:45,939 AND THEN GOES BACK HOME AND DIES JUST A COUPLE OF HOURS AFTER 437 00:26:45,939 --> 00:26:51,077 THAT INTERVIEW SO IT REALLY IS STUNNING TO 438 00:26:51,077 --> 00:26:52,479 THINK THAT ONE OF HIS LAST ACTS WAS TO COME AND HELP, IF NOT 439 00:26:52,479 --> 00:26:58,718 STRATEGIZE, AT LEAST COMFORT, YOU KNOW, HIS SON AT THAT TIME 440 00:26:58,718 --> 00:27:01,855 >> Reporter: THAT WEEKEND, THE FAMILY BURIED MAGGIE, PAUL, AND 441 00:27:01,855 --> 00:27:04,858 RANDOLPH >> A COMMUNITY GATHERING TO 442 00:27:04,858 --> 00:27:12,132 REMEMBER A MOTHER AND SON KILLED IN THE LOW COUNTRY 443 00:27:12,132 --> 00:27:15,035 >> Reporter: ON JUNE 25th, TWO AND A HALF WEEKS AFTER THE 444 00:27:15,035 --> 00:27:22,642 MURDERS, ALEX AND BUSTER PUT OUT A STATEMENT. 445 00:27:22,642 --> 00:27:24,944 THEY ASKED FOR HELP TO BRING JUSTICE TO MAGGIE AND PAUL AND 446 00:27:24,944 --> 00:27:26,880 OFFERED A $100,000 REWARD. BY ALL APPEARANCES, ALEX SEEMED 447 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:33,186 TO BE A GRIEVING FATHER AND HUSBAND. 448 00:27:33,186 --> 00:27:36,656 BUT THAT SUMMER WAS ABOUT TO UNRAVEL ALEX'S WORLD AND MAKE SO 449 00:27:36,656 --> 00:27:41,428 MANY QUESTION IF THEY EVER REALLY KNEW HIM. 450 00:27:41,428 --> 00:27:44,064 >> HE ASKED ME TO WRITE THE CHECKS TO PAY THE FEES ON THE 451 00:27:44,064 --> 00:27:46,533 CASE THAT WOULD'VE BEEN PAYABLE TO HIS FIRM DIRECTLY TO HIM. 452 00:27:46,533 --> 00:27:48,435 >> Reporter: HAD YOU WRITTEN HIM CHECKS LIKE THAT BEFORE? 453 00:27:48,435 --> 00:27:49,803 CHECKS LIKE THAT BEFORE? >> NO. 454 00:28:09,756 --> 00:28:13,193 2021 WAS A TIME OF GRIEF AND CONFUSION FOR THE MURDAUGH 455 00:28:13,193 --> 00:28:16,896 FAMILY CHRIS WILSON DID HIS BEST TO BE 456 00:28:16,896 --> 00:28:24,537 THERE FOR ALEX, HIS FRIEND OF MORE THAN THREE DECADES. 457 00:28:24,537 --> 00:28:26,039 >> I MEAN, THE GUY SEEMED DESTROYED TO ME. 458 00:28:26,039 --> 00:28:27,407 NOT EATING DIDN'T SEEM TO BE SLEEPING 459 00:28:27,407 --> 00:28:29,542 DIDN'T GO BACK TO MOSELLE TO SPEND ANOTHER NIGHT THAT I KNOW 460 00:28:29,542 --> 00:28:30,243 OF >> Reporter: IT WAS QUITE A 461 00:28:30,243 --> 00:28:33,646 CONTRAST FROM THEIR LAST HAPPY TIME TOGETHER. 462 00:28:33,646 --> 00:28:37,917 ALEX HAD CELEBRATED HIS BIRTHDAY JUST ONE WEEK BEFORE THE 463 00:28:37,917 --> 00:28:41,454 MURDERS. THAT'S CHRIS GIVING HIM A BEAR 464 00:28:41,454 --> 00:28:43,790 HUG. >> EVERYBODY WAS HAVING A GOOD 465 00:28:43,790 --> 00:28:46,359 TIME THAT NIGHT. IT WAS MAGGIE, PAUL, BUSTER, MY 466 00:28:46,359 --> 00:28:49,462 WIFE, MY FAMILY, A NUMBER OF THEIR FRIENDS, AND WE HAD HAD A 467 00:28:49,462 --> 00:28:53,566 GOOD TIME TOGETHER >> Reporter: ALEX AND CHRIS WERE 468 00:28:53,566 --> 00:28:54,868 LAWYERS IN NEIGHBORING COUNTIES, AND SOMETIMES TOOK ON CASES 469 00:28:54,868 --> 00:29:03,176 TOGETHER TO BETTER SERVE THEIR CLIENTS. 470 00:29:03,176 --> 00:29:04,577 AND THERE WAS A RELATIONSHIP O MUTUAL BENEFIT 471 00:29:04,577 --> 00:29:07,881 >> YES WELL, AT THE END OF THE DAY, 472 00:29:07,881 --> 00:29:10,650 IT'S NOT THE MUTUAL BENEFIT FOR ME OR ALEX OR ME AND HIS FIRM. 473 00:29:10,650 --> 00:29:12,018 I DO WHAT'S NECESSARY TO BENEFIT MY CLIENT. 474 00:29:12,018 --> 00:29:16,623 AND IF I CAN BRING IN ANOTHER LAW FIRM THAT CAN BENEFIT MY 475 00:29:16,623 --> 00:29:17,824 CLIENT, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THAT'S WHAT I'M GOING TO DO. 476 00:29:17,824 --> 00:29:19,159 >> Reporter: BUT CHRIS WOULD SOON DISCOVER HIS APPARENTLY 477 00:29:19,159 --> 00:29:23,296 WEALTHY FRIEND WAS HIDING SOME SECRETS. 478 00:29:23,296 --> 00:29:26,700 IN THE SPRING OF 2021, ALEX WAS FACING MOUNTING PRESSURE TO TURN 479 00:29:26,700 --> 00:29:32,138 OVER HIS FINANCIAL RECORDS TO MARK TINSLEY FOR THE 2019 BOAT 480 00:29:32,138 --> 00:29:33,840 CRASH LAWSUIT. AROUND THAT TIME, CHRIS SAYS 481 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:38,111 ALEX ASKED HIM TO DO SOMETHING UNUSUAL. 482 00:29:38,111 --> 00:29:41,448 >> ALEX ASKED ME TO WRITE THE CHECKS FOR THE FEES DIRECTLY TO 483 00:29:41,448 --> 00:29:44,818 HIM INSTEAD OF TO HIS FIRM, WHICH I DID IN MARCH OF 2021 484 00:29:44,818 --> 00:29:51,458 HE TOLD ME HE HAD AUTHORITY AND APPROVAL FROM HIS FIRM 485 00:29:51,458 --> 00:29:52,892 >> Reporter: AND YOU HAD NO REASON NOT TO BELIEVE HIM. 486 00:29:52,892 --> 00:29:54,394 >> I DIDN'T HAVE ANY REASON NOT TO TRUST THE GUY 487 00:29:54,394 --> 00:29:56,296 I MEAN, WE HAD BEEN DEALING WITH EACH OTHER, BUSINESS AND 488 00:29:56,296 --> 00:29:58,832 PROFESSIONAL, FOR 30 YEARS WITH NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER 489 00:29:58,832 --> 00:30:01,968 >> Reporter: BUT A FEW MONTHS LATER, ALEX CHANGED HIS MIND 490 00:30:01,968 --> 00:30:03,136 >> HE CONTACTED ME AND SAID, "THE FEES CAN'T BE PAID TO ME 491 00:30:03,136 --> 00:30:05,138 THIS WAY THEY HAVE TO BE PAID DIRECTLY TO 492 00:30:05,138 --> 00:30:08,241 MY FIRM. HE WAS SUPPOSED TO SEND ME 493 00:30:08,241 --> 00:30:12,812 $792,000 BACK, THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT I HAD PAID HIM 494 00:30:12,812 --> 00:30:19,352 >> Reporter: CHRIS SAID ALEX ONLY SENT BACK $600,000. 495 00:30:19,352 --> 00:30:21,621 >> I HAD TO PUT $192,000 OF MY OWN MONEY INTO MY ACCOUNT TO 496 00:30:21,621 --> 00:30:23,757 HAVE THAT MONEY AVAILABLE TO PAY THE WAY THAT IT SHOULD'VE BEEN 497 00:30:23,757 --> 00:30:28,361 PAID HAD IT BEEN DONE THE RIGHT WAY. 498 00:30:28,361 --> 00:30:36,936 >> Reporter: WHAT CHRIS DIDN'T KNOW WAS THAT HE WASN'T THE ONLY 499 00:30:36,936 --> 00:30:38,838 ONE GETTING SUSPICIOUS OF ALEX MURDAUGH'S LAW FIRM HAD QUIETLY 500 00:30:38,838 --> 00:30:39,906 STARTED AN INTERNAL INVESTIGATION AND FOUND SEVERAL 501 00:30:39,906 --> 00:30:42,575 MISSING PAYMENTS RELATED TO HIS CASES. 502 00:30:42,575 --> 00:30:48,915 ON JUNE 7th, THE CFO CONFRONTED ALEX ABOUT IT. 503 00:30:48,915 --> 00:30:53,953 THAT NIGHT, MAGGIE AND PAUL WERE KILLED 504 00:30:53,953 --> 00:30:56,790 >> Reporter: AFTER THAT, NO ONE WAS ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT 505 00:30:56,790 --> 00:31:01,628 MISSING FEES THEY WERE DOING THEIR BEST TO 506 00:31:01,628 --> 00:31:05,065 SURROUND ALEX WITH SUPPORT EVEN MARK TINSLEY PAUSED HIS 507 00:31:05,065 --> 00:31:09,069 CIVIL CASE IN THE WAKE OF MAGGIE AND PAUL'S MURDERS, HE THOUGHT 508 00:31:09,069 --> 00:31:12,806 MAYBE FOR GOOD >> IF ALEX IS THE VICTIM OF SOME 509 00:31:12,806 --> 00:31:16,710 VIGILANTE -- THE BOAT CRASH PROBABLY, AS IT RELATES TO HIM, 510 00:31:16,710 --> 00:31:24,951 WOULD'VE BEEN OVER >> Reporter: BUT THEN TINSLEY 511 00:31:24,951 --> 00:31:26,653 NOTICED ANOTHER LAWSUIT RELATED TO ALEX HAD SETTLED. 512 00:31:26,653 --> 00:31:28,655 IT WAS THE CASE OF HIS LONGTIME HOUSEKEEPER GLORIA SATTERFIELD, 513 00:31:28,655 --> 00:31:31,224 WHO DIED AFTER A FALL AT MOSELLE IN 2018. 514 00:31:31,224 --> 00:31:36,096 THE SETTLEMENT SEEMED SUSPICIOUSLY SMALL 515 00:31:36,096 --> 00:31:39,766 >> THE FACT THAT SHE DIED, HER AGE, HOW LONG SHE LIVED, THE 516 00:31:39,766 --> 00:31:41,735 CASE WAS WORTH A LOT MORE THAN $505,000, WHICH WAS THE ONLY 517 00:31:41,735 --> 00:31:46,873 THING REPORTED IN TERMS OF THE SETTLEMENT 518 00:31:46,873 --> 00:31:51,644 >> Reporter: HE WAS RIGHT. GLORIA'S FAMILY SHOULD'VE GOTTEN 519 00:31:51,644 --> 00:31:53,947 OVER $4 MILLION. ALEX AND TWO CO-CONSPIRATORS 520 00:31:53,947 --> 00:31:58,752 DIDN'T TELL THE FAMILY THAT AND KEPT MOST OF THE MONEY FOR 521 00:31:58,752 --> 00:32:01,888 THEMSELVES AND ONCE THAT CASE BECAME 522 00:32:01,888 --> 00:32:08,328 PUBLIC, OTHER ALLEGATIONS SURFACED ABOUT ALEX STEALING 523 00:32:08,328 --> 00:32:12,399 MONEY FROM CLIENTS FOR YEARS THE ALLEGATIONS WERE A BOMBSHELL 524 00:32:12,399 --> 00:32:16,369 FOR THE LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO'D CIRCLED THEIR WAGONS 525 00:32:16,369 --> 00:32:21,841 AROUND ALEX ALL SUMMER IN SEPTEMBER, CHRIS WILSON HEARD 526 00:32:21,841 --> 00:32:24,978 ABOUT THOSE ALLEGATIONS, AND HE WAS SHOCKED. 527 00:32:24,978 --> 00:32:26,980 >> I TOLD HIM THAT I NEEDED TO SPEAK TO HIM, AND I WANTED IT TO 528 00:32:26,980 --> 00:32:31,184 BE FACE-TO-FACE. >> Reporter: THAT CONVERSATION 529 00:32:31,184 --> 00:32:34,320 WAS TENSE. >> I LOOKED AT HIM AND I SAID, 530 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:38,558 "ALEX, I NEED TO KNOW WHAT --" I'M SURE I USED A CURSE WORD 531 00:32:38,558 --> 00:32:40,894 I SAID, "I NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON." 532 00:32:40,894 --> 00:32:43,430 AND HE LOOKED AT ME, STARTED TO CRY, AND SAID, "I CAN'T RIGHT 533 00:32:43,430 --> 00:32:45,999 THIS SECOND. WALKED INSIDE, GRABBED SOME 534 00:32:45,999 --> 00:32:51,838 PAPER TOWELS, CAME BACK OUT, DRIED HIS EYES OFF 535 00:32:51,838 --> 00:32:54,507 AND SAID, "LOOK, I'VE BEEN HAVING -- I'VE GOT A DRUG 536 00:32:54,507 --> 00:32:58,611 ADDICTION. I'M ADDICTED TO PAIN 537 00:32:58,611 --> 00:33:05,385 PRESCRIPTION PILLS, AND IT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR 20 YEARS 538 00:33:05,385 --> 00:33:08,822 AND I'VE BEEN STEALING FROM MY CLIENTS, AND I'VE BEEN STEALIN 539 00:33:08,822 --> 00:33:10,657 FROM MY FIRM, AND I'VE DONE YOU WRONG, AND I'VE DONE A NUMBER OF 540 00:33:10,657 --> 00:33:11,725 PEOPLE WRONG." >> Reporter: WILSON LEFT THE 541 00:33:11,725 --> 00:33:13,126 MEETING FURIOUS, BUT ALSO WORRIED ABOUT HIS FRIEND 542 00:33:13,126 --> 00:33:14,527 AND HE WAS RIGHT TO WORRY BECAUSE JUST A SHORT WHILE 543 00:33:14,527 --> 00:33:15,962 LATER -- >> I'M ON MY RIDE BACK TO 544 00:33:15,962 --> 00:33:19,366 COLUMBIA, AND I GOT A PHONE CALL 545 00:33:19,366 --> 00:33:26,239 AND TOLD ME THAT ALEX HAD BEEN SHOT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD 546 00:33:26,239 --> 00:33:28,742 >> Reporter: ALEX MURDAUGH DIALED 911 AGAIN 547 00:33:28,742 --> 00:33:31,111 >> OKAY. WHAT'S GOING ON? 548 00:33:31,111 --> 00:33:35,081 >> I --I GOT A FLAT TIRE, AND I STOPPED. 549 00:33:35,081 --> 00:33:39,919 AND SOMEBODY STOPPED TO HELP ME. AND WHEN I TURNED MY BACK, THEY 550 00:33:39,919 --> 00:33:41,888 TRIED TO SHOOT ME. >> Reporter: ALEX WAS ON THE 551 00:33:41,888 --> 00:33:44,758 SIDE OF THIS COUNTRY ROAD WHEN HE CLAIMED THE SHOOTING 552 00:33:44,758 --> 00:33:47,093 HAPPENED >> DID THEY ACTUALLY SHOOT YOU, 553 00:33:47,093 --> 00:33:51,898 OR THEY TRIED TO SHOOT YOU >> THEY SHOT ME, AND I'M 554 00:33:51,898 --> 00:33:55,568 BLEEDING A LOT >> Reporter: WHEN YOU HEAR 555 00:33:55,568 --> 00:33:57,103 ABOUT WHAT HAD HAPPENED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD THERE, WHAT WAS 556 00:33:57,103 --> 00:33:58,705 YOUR INITIAL THOUGHT >> THOUGHT HE'D TRIED TO KILL 557 00:33:58,705 --> 00:34:00,473 HIMSELF. >> Reporter: ALEX WAS AIRLIFTED 558 00:34:00,473 --> 00:34:03,810 TO A GEORGIA HOSPITAL WITH A FRACTURED SKULL AND A MINOR 559 00:34:03,810 --> 00:34:11,317 BRAIN BLEED. BUT ONE WEEK LATER, HE CONFESSED 560 00:34:11,317 --> 00:34:14,120 THAT HE'D MADE UP THE WHOLE THING. 561 00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:15,822 IT WAS A FAILED ATTEMPT TO GET LIFE INSURANCE MONEY FOR HIS 562 00:34:15,822 --> 00:34:18,391 SON, BUSTER. HE ALSO ADMITTED PUBLICLY TO 563 00:34:18,391 --> 00:34:21,795 THAT 20-YEAR OPIOID ADDICTION AND PROMPTLY ENTERED REHAB 564 00:34:21,795 --> 00:34:25,799 ALEX SEEMED TO BE SPINNING OUT OF CONTROL 565 00:34:25,799 --> 00:34:29,469 HE WAS FIRED BY THE LAW FIRM, AND HE WAS FACING CHARGES 566 00:34:29,469 --> 00:34:32,539 RELATED TO BOTH THE BOTCHED SUICIDE ATTEMPT AND THE 567 00:34:32,539 --> 00:34:38,178 INSURANCE FRAUD OF HIS LONGTIME HOUSEKEEPER. 568 00:34:38,178 --> 00:34:45,852 DURING THAT TUMULTUOUS SUMMER, ALEX AND HIS LAWYER ALSO HAD AN 569 00:34:45,852 --> 00:34:47,420 OMINOUS MEETING WITH S.L.E.D. SPECIAL AGENT DAVID OWEN ABOUT 570 00:34:47,420 --> 00:34:48,888 THE STATUS OF THE MURDER INVESTIGATION. 571 00:34:48,888 --> 00:34:51,958 >> EVERYBODY STAYS IN THAT INVESTIGATION UNTIL WE CAN GET 572 00:34:51,958 --> 00:34:56,229 THEM OUT AND RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE OF THE 573 00:34:56,229 --> 00:34:58,765 QUESTIONS I HAVE, THAT I NEED EXPLANATIONS FOR, I CANNOT GET 574 00:34:58,765 --> 00:35:02,202 ALEX OUT >> SO DOES THAT MEAN THAT I AM A 575 00:35:02,202 --> 00:35:04,738 SUSPECT? >> YOU ARE STILL IN THIS WITH 576 00:35:04,738 --> 00:35:13,213 EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT -- WITH THE FAMILY GUNS, 577 00:35:13,213 --> 00:35:15,548 THE AMMUNITION, NOBODY ELSE'S DNA. 578 00:35:15,548 --> 00:35:23,523 I HAVE TO PUT MY BELIEFS ASIDE AND GO WITH THE FACTS. 579 00:35:23,523 --> 00:35:28,094 >> Reporter: IN OCTOBER 2021, ALEX WAS ARRAIGNED FOR SOME OF 580 00:35:28,094 --> 00:35:33,199 HIS ALLEGED FINANCIAL CRIMES THE WILSONS NO LONGER RECOGNIZED 581 00:35:33,199 --> 00:35:44,077 THE MAN THEY CONSIDERED FAMILY >> WE DIDN'T WANT TO BELIEVE IT. 582 00:35:44,077 --> 00:35:45,445 MORE CAME OUT, KEPT COMING OUT MORE IS STILL COMING OUT 583 00:35:45,445 --> 00:35:47,113 PROBABLY I MEAN, IT'S JUST -- WHO IS THIS 584 00:35:47,113 --> 00:35:48,281 PERSON I DON'T KNOW THIS PERSON 585 00:35:48,281 --> 00:35:49,683 WHO WAS HE >> Reporter: THE WORLD WAS ABOUT 586 00:35:49,683 --> 00:35:50,817 TO FIND OUT. >> WHAT SAY YOU, RICHARD ALEX 587 00:35:50,817 --> 00:35:52,252 MURDAUGH ARE YOU GUILTY OR NOT GUILTY OF 588 00:35:52,252 --> 00:35:54,354 THE FELONIES WHEREIN YOU STAND INDICTED 589 00:36:11,504 --> 00:36:13,239 >> Reporter: AFTER MORE THAN A YEAR OF SPECULATION AND 590 00:36:13,239 --> 00:36:15,141 QUESTIONS INVESTIGATORS APPEAR READY TO NAME ALEX MURDAUGH AS 591 00:36:15,141 --> 00:36:20,647 THE KILLER OF HIS WIFE, MAGGIE, AND SON, PAUL. 592 00:36:20,647 --> 00:36:22,615 >> Reporter: ON JULY 14, 2022, IT HAPPENED. 593 00:36:22,615 --> 00:36:26,886 ALEX MURDAUGH WAS INDICTED FOR KILLING HIS WIFE AND SON 594 00:36:26,886 --> 00:36:30,056 HE PLEADED NOT GUILTY. >> HOW SHALL YOU BE TRIED? 595 00:36:30,056 --> 00:36:40,533 >> BY GOD AND MY COUNTRY >> Reporter: THE TRIAL WAS 596 00:36:40,533 --> 00:36:43,403 SCHEDULED SURPRISINGLY QUICKLY ON JANUARY 23rd, 2023 THE 597 00:36:43,403 --> 00:36:46,506 COLLETON COUNTY COURTHOUSE IN TINY WALTERBORO, SOUTH CAROLINA, 598 00:36:46,506 --> 00:36:54,514 FELT LIKE THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE 599 00:36:54,514 --> 00:36:59,252 >> AN INVASION >> Reporter: A NATION, NOW 600 00:36:59,252 --> 00:37:07,494 HOOKED ON THE SPECTACLE, WAS GREEDY FOR EVERY TURN, EVERY 601 00:37:07,494 --> 00:37:10,096 TWIST TO COME. THE TRIAL WAS GOING TO BE LIVE 602 00:37:10,096 --> 00:37:11,264 STREAMED BUT SPECTATORS WERE OUT AT DAWN 603 00:37:11,264 --> 00:37:12,632 ANYWAY, LINING UP FOR A COURTROOM PASS 604 00:37:12,632 --> 00:37:14,034 FOOD TRUCKS SERVED BREAKFAST AND REPORTERS? 605 00:37:14,034 --> 00:37:15,735 THE PLACE WAS CRAWLING WITH THEM 606 00:37:15,735 --> 00:37:20,073 >> YOU WILL FIND EVERY MAJOR TV NETWORK. 607 00:37:20,073 --> 00:37:22,876 "THE NEW YORK TIMES" IS HERE "THE WASHINGTON POST." 608 00:37:22,876 --> 00:37:24,310 "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL." >> Reporter: ALEX MURDAUGH 609 00:37:24,310 --> 00:37:26,880 ARRIVED IN AN UNMARKED VAN AT THE COURT'S BACK DOOR. 610 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:31,451 STRAIGHT FROM THE JAIL CELL WHERE HE'S SPENT MORE THAN A 611 00:37:31,451 --> 00:37:38,124 YEAR, DRESSED IN BUSINESS CASUAL, A JACKET DRAPED OVER HIS 612 00:37:38,124 --> 00:37:42,162 HANDCUFFS. >> ALEX, WHY DID YOU KILL YOUR 613 00:37:42,162 --> 00:37:44,297 WIFE AND YOUR SON? >> Reporter: GENERATIONS OF 614 00:37:44,297 --> 00:37:47,834 MURDAUGHS HAVE TRIED CASES HERE. IN FACT, A MURDAUGH FAMILY 615 00:37:47,834 --> 00:37:50,970 PORTRAIT WAS TAKEN DOWN ON THE JUDGE'S ORDERS BEFORE OPENING 616 00:37:50,970 --> 00:37:59,212 ARGUMENTS BEGAN. >> LISTEN TO THAT GATHERING 617 00:37:59,212 --> 00:38:00,914 STORM THAT ALL CAME TO A HEAD ON JUNE 7, 2021 618 00:38:00,914 --> 00:38:03,783 THE DAY THE EVIDENCE WILL SHOW HE KILLED MAGGIE AND PAUL. 619 00:38:03,783 --> 00:38:06,619 >> Reporter: LEAD PROSECUTOR CREIGHTON WATERS, A 24-YEAR 620 00:38:06,619 --> 00:38:09,723 VETERAN OF THE STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE, OPENED WITH 621 00:38:09,723 --> 00:38:16,029 THE PROSECUTION'S VERSION OF HOW THE MURDERS HAPPENED 622 00:38:16,029 --> 00:38:17,831 >> THE DEFENDANT OVER THERE, ALEX MURDAUGH, TOOK A 12 GAUGE 623 00:38:17,831 --> 00:38:19,432 SHOTGUN AND SHOT HIM IN THE SHOULDER 624 00:38:19,432 --> 00:38:23,403 >> Reporter: PAUL MURDAUGH WAS SHOT FIRST 625 00:38:23,403 --> 00:38:26,272 >> BUT AFTER THAT ANOTHER SHOT WENT UP UNDER HIS HEAD AND DID 626 00:38:26,272 --> 00:38:29,642 CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE. >> Reporter: THEN, WATERS TOLD 627 00:38:29,642 --> 00:38:35,749 THE JURY, ALEX PICKED UP AN AR-STYLE RIFLE AND TURNED IT ON 628 00:38:35,749 --> 00:38:38,685 HIS WIFE, MAGGIE >> WOW, WOW. 629 00:38:38,685 --> 00:38:40,820 TWO SHOTS. ABDOMEN AND THE LEG AND TOOK HER 630 00:38:40,820 --> 00:38:42,288 DOWN >> I'VE GOT MULTIPLE GUNSHOTS -- 631 00:38:42,288 --> 00:38:48,795 >> Reporter: TWO VICTIMS, SHOT AT CLOSE RANGE 632 00:38:48,795 --> 00:38:50,230 THE SCENE BLOODY. HORRIFIC AND, THE PROSECUTION SAID, A 633 00:38:50,230 --> 00:38:52,766 PILE OF EVIDENCE POINTING TO ALEX MURDAUGH AS THE KILLER. 634 00:38:52,766 --> 00:38:54,467 THE MOTIVE HE WAS TRYING TO DEFLECT 635 00:38:54,467 --> 00:38:59,072 ATTENTION FROM HIS STORM OF TROUBLES 636 00:38:59,072 --> 00:39:02,475 >> YOU'RE GOING TO REACH THE INESCAPABLE CONCLUSION THAT ALEX 637 00:39:02,475 --> 00:39:05,378 MURDERED MAGGIE AND PAUL, THAT HE WAS THE STORM, THAT THE STORM 638 00:39:05,378 --> 00:39:09,616 WAS COMING FOR THEM AND THAT THEY DIED AS A RESULT. 639 00:39:09,616 --> 00:39:12,719 >> Reporter: ALEX LISTENED AT THE DEFENSE TABLE, FAMILY 640 00:39:12,719 --> 00:39:18,491 MEMBERS BEHIND HIM, INCLUDING HIS REMAINING SON, BUSTER. 641 00:39:18,491 --> 00:39:21,528 >> IT IS OUR HONOR TO REPRESENT ALEX MURDAUGH. 642 00:39:21,528 --> 00:39:24,097 >> Reporter: DICK HARPOOTLIAN, LEAD DEFENSE ATTORNEY, A MEMBER 643 00:39:24,097 --> 00:39:27,801 OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE WITH DECADES OF LAWYERING BEHIND 644 00:39:27,801 --> 00:39:33,273 HIM. >> I SUBMIT TO YOU, WHAT YOU 645 00:39:33,273 --> 00:39:42,782 HAVE HEARD FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AS FACTS ARE NOT 646 00:39:42,782 --> 00:39:44,884 ALEX STAND UP. THIS IS ALEX MURDAUGH, AND ALEX 647 00:39:44,884 --> 00:39:47,454 WAS THE LOVING FATHER OF PAUL AND THE LOVING HUSBAND OF 648 00:39:47,454 --> 00:39:50,323 MAGGIE >> Reporter: THE FACTS WERE ON 649 00:39:50,323 --> 00:39:53,693 HIS CLIENT'S SIDE, HE TOLD THE JURY 650 00:39:53,693 --> 00:39:57,964 THERE WAS NO DIRECT EVIDENCE TYING ALEX TO THE MURDERS. 651 00:39:57,964 --> 00:40:08,775 >> HE DIDN'T DO IT HE IS PRESUMED INNOCENT. 652 00:40:08,775 --> 00:40:17,317 >> Reporter: NEXT MORNING, THE PROSECUTION CALLED ITS FIRST 653 00:40:17,317 --> 00:40:18,785 WITNESS. SERGEANT DANIEL GREENE OF THE 654 00:40:18,785 --> 00:40:22,155 COLLETON COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE WAS THE FIRST TO RESPOND TO THE 655 00:40:22,155 --> 00:40:28,361 MURDER SCENE >> THEY ARE DEAD, AREN'T THEY? 656 00:40:28,361 --> 00:40:32,265 >> Reporter: THE PROSECUTOR USED GREENE'S BODY CAM FOOTAGE AND 657 00:40:32,265 --> 00:40:34,234 TESTIMONY TO EXAMINE ALEX'S BEHAVIOR THAT NIGHT. 658 00:40:34,234 --> 00:40:35,368 GREENE DIDN'T QUITE BUY THE SEEMINGLY DISTRAUGHT MAN HE 659 00:40:35,368 --> 00:40:43,877 ENCOUNTERED. >> HE WAS ABLE TO ANSWER OF THE 660 00:40:43,877 --> 00:40:48,948 QUESTIONS THAT I ASKED HIM >> WAS HE PANICKING IN ANY WAY 661 00:40:48,948 --> 00:40:51,217 >> HE SEEMED UPSET BUT I WOULDN'T SAY PANICKY 662 00:40:51,217 --> 00:40:52,619 >> DID YOU EVER SEE HIM- ANY TEARS ANY PHYSICAL TEARS 663 00:40:52,619 --> 00:40:54,120 >> I DID NOT >> Reporter: THE PROSECUTOR SAID 664 00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:56,022 ALEX IMMEDIATELY TRIED TO DIVERT ATTENTION TO OTHER SUSPECTS. 665 00:40:56,022 --> 00:40:57,223 >> MY SON WAS IN A BOAT WRECK. >> Reporter: CASTING SUSPICION 666 00:40:57,223 --> 00:40:58,491 ON HOW HE POINTED TO PAUL'S BOAT CRASH AS A POSSIBLE MOTIVE FOR A 667 00:40:58,491 --> 00:40:59,392 REVENGE KILLING. >> WHO BROUGHT UP THE BOAT 668 00:40:59,392 --> 00:41:00,126 INCIDENT >> MR. MURDAUGH DID. 669 00:41:00,126 --> 00:41:01,227 >> HE OFFERED THAT RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE AS A POSSIBLE 670 00:41:01,227 --> 00:41:02,696 EXPLANATION OF WHAT HAPPENED HERE 671 00:41:02,696 --> 00:41:04,297 IS THAT RIGHT? >> YES 672 00:41:04,297 --> 00:41:08,568 >> Reporter: PROSECUTORS WENT ON TO ATTACK ALEX'S ALIBI 673 00:41:08,568 --> 00:41:10,270 REMEMBER, ALEX TOLD EVERYONE HE HAD A NAP AFTER DINNER WHILE 674 00:41:10,270 --> 00:41:12,539 PAUL AND MAGGIE WENT DOWN TO THE KENNELS. 675 00:41:12,539 --> 00:41:19,646 ALEX INSISTED HE DID NOT GO WITH THEM 676 00:41:19,646 --> 00:41:21,414 >> I WAS AT THE HOUSE. I LEFT THE HOUSE AND WENT TO MY 677 00:41:21,414 --> 00:41:28,188 MOM'S. >> Reporter: BUT PROSECUTORS 678 00:41:28,188 --> 00:41:30,190 UNVEILED AN EXPLOSIVE EXHIBIT THAT WOULD GUT ALEX'S ALIBI, A 679 00:41:30,190 --> 00:41:36,196 VIDEO THAT HAD BEEN DISCOVERED ON PAUL'S CELLPHONE, RECORDED AT 680 00:41:36,196 --> 00:41:38,765 THE KENNELS AT 8:44 P.M., WHEN ALEX SAID HE WAS NAPPING AT THE 681 00:41:38,765 --> 00:41:44,270 HOUSE, AND JUST MINUTES BEFORE PROSECUTORS SAY, PAUL AND MAGGIE 682 00:41:44,270 --> 00:41:46,106 WERE SHOT. >> GET BACK. 683 00:41:46,106 --> 00:41:49,542 GET BACK >> Reporter: JURORS WERE TOLD TO 684 00:41:49,542 --> 00:41:54,147 FOCUS ON THE VOICES NOT THE PICTURES 685 00:41:54,147 --> 00:41:58,351 PAUL IS HEARD CALLING TO THIS DOG NAMED CASH 686 00:41:58,351 --> 00:42:03,456 >> SIT, CASH, SIT. >> AND THEN MAGGIE. 687 00:42:03,456 --> 00:42:09,529 >> HE'S GOT A BIRD IN HIS MOUTH. >> Reporter: AND A THIRD VOICE. 688 00:42:09,529 --> 00:42:14,634 >> COME HERE, BUBBA. >> Reporter: A MAN'S VOICE 689 00:42:14,634 --> 00:42:17,303 SAYING COME HERE TO BUBBA. HALF A DOZEN WITNESSES WERE 690 00:42:17,303 --> 00:42:21,341 ASKED TO IDENTIFY THE VOICES ON THAT VIDEO AND THE ANSWER WAS 691 00:42:21,341 --> 00:42:26,279 ALWAYS THE SAME. >> WHOSE VOICES DID YOU 692 00:42:26,279 --> 00:42:32,419 RECOGNIZE ON THAT VIDEO? >> PAUL MURDAUGH, MAG MURDAUGH 693 00:42:32,419 --> 00:42:36,089 AND ALEX MURDAUGH. >> PAUL AND MISS MAGGIE AND MR. 694 00:42:36,089 --> 00:42:41,094 ALEX. >> Reporter: IT WAS A MAJOR BLOW 695 00:42:41,094 --> 00:42:44,564 TO ALEX'S DEFENSE BUT HARDLY THE LAST 696 00:42:44,564 --> 00:43:03,850 THE PROSECUTION HAD MORE SURPRISES UP ITS SLEEVE. 697 00:43:03,850 --> 00:43:06,319 >>> DISTURBING NEW DETAILS COMING TO LIGHT IN THE 698 00:43:06,319 --> 00:43:13,226 ALEX MURDAUGH MURDER TRIAL KILLING HIS WIFE AND SON 699 00:43:13,226 --> 00:43:15,528 >> Reporter: AS ONE OF THE MOST INFAMOUS TRIALS IN SOUTH 700 00:43:15,528 --> 00:43:16,696 CAROLINA'S HISTORY PLAYED OUT ON THE NATION'S SCREENS, THE 701 00:43:16,696 --> 00:43:20,934 PROSECUTION WAS UNDER A SPOTLIGHT. 702 00:43:20,934 --> 00:43:23,636 >> THIS HAS BEEN A LONG, EXHAUSTIVE INVESTIGATION 703 00:43:23,636 --> 00:43:27,841 >> Reporter: NO WONDER THE STATE'S ATTORNEY GENERAL, 704 00:43:27,841 --> 00:43:31,444 ALAN WILSON, WAS A NEAR-CONSTANT PRESENCE AT THEIR TABLE. 705 00:43:31,444 --> 00:43:34,581 JOURNALIST MICHAEL DEWITT. >> I'M HALF A CENTURY OLD, AND 706 00:43:34,581 --> 00:43:37,984 THERE'S NEVER BEEN A CASE LIKE THIS IN MY NECK OF THE WOODS 707 00:43:37,984 --> 00:43:41,388 >> COME HERE, BUBBA. >> Reporter: THE PROSECUTION HAD 708 00:43:41,388 --> 00:43:44,524 UNDERMINED ALEX'S ALIBI WITH THAT VIDEO AT THE KENNELS. 709 00:43:44,524 --> 00:43:50,230 NOW THEY TRIED TO POKE HOLES IN THE REST OF HIS STORY. 710 00:43:50,230 --> 00:43:53,700 REMEMBER, ALEX SAID HE'D NAPPED AFTER DINNER, THEN WENT TO VISIT 711 00:43:53,700 --> 00:43:56,836 HIS MOTHER >> WE NOW CALL MISS 712 00:43:56,836 --> 00:44:00,473 MICHELLE SMITH TO THE STAND. >> Reporter: SHELLEY SMITH WAS 713 00:44:00,473 --> 00:44:04,444 ALEX'S MOTHER'S CAREGIVER. SHE WAS THERE WHEN HE ARRIVED AT 714 00:44:04,444 --> 00:44:11,051 HIS MOTHER'S HOUSE ABOUT 9:20, AN UNUSUAL HOUR FOR HIM TO STOP 715 00:44:11,051 --> 00:44:12,619 BY, SHE SAID >> LIKE HE WAS FIDGETY, LIKE - 716 00:44:12,619 --> 00:44:16,389 >> FIDGETY >> YES 717 00:44:16,389 --> 00:44:17,824 >> THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE SAYING DID HE TALK TO HIS MOTHER? 718 00:44:17,824 --> 00:44:18,958 >> MMM-HMM, SHE WAS ASLEEP, YES. >> SHE WAS ASLEEP? 719 00:44:18,958 --> 00:44:20,393 >> MMM-HMM >> Reporter: SHE SAID HE LEFT 720 00:44:20,393 --> 00:44:21,561 AFTER 15 OR 20 MINUTES >> DID SHE EVEN KNOW THAT HE WAS 721 00:44:21,561 --> 00:44:24,931 THERE? >> NO. 722 00:44:24,931 --> 00:44:29,769 >> Reporter: SMITH SAW ALEX AGAIN THE NEXT WEEK. 723 00:44:29,769 --> 00:44:32,872 SHE TESTIFIED THEY HAD AN UPSETTING CONVERSATION WHERE HE 724 00:44:32,872 --> 00:44:37,143 APPEARED TO BE COACHING HER TO TELL INVESTIGATORS, IF THEY 725 00:44:37,143 --> 00:44:40,847 ASKED, THAT HE WAS AT HIS MOTHER'S HOME LONGER THAN SMITH 726 00:44:40,847 --> 00:44:49,422 SAID HE WAS. >> HIS PHRASE WAS "I WAS HERE," 727 00:44:49,422 --> 00:44:51,391 >> I WAS HERE 30 TO 40 MINUTES >> Reporter: DAYS LATER, SMITH 728 00:44:51,391 --> 00:44:53,993 TESTIFIED, ALEX WAS BACK AT HIS MOTHER'S PLACE, THIS TIME EARLY 729 00:44:53,993 --> 00:44:56,196 IN THE MORNING WITH SOMETHING BALLED UP IN HIS HANDS 730 00:44:56,196 --> 00:44:58,098 >> LIKE A BLUE TARP, LIKE A TARP 731 00:44:58,098 --> 00:45:00,467 >> BLUE? >> BLUE. 732 00:45:00,467 --> 00:45:03,903 >> OKAY. WAS IT VINYL 733 00:45:03,903 --> 00:45:05,605 >> IT WAS LIKE A TARP THAT YOU PUT ON YOUR CAR WHEN YOU KEEP 734 00:45:05,605 --> 00:45:07,040 YOUR CAR COVERED UP. >> WHAT DID HE DO WHEN HE WALKED 735 00:45:07,040 --> 00:45:09,576 IN >> WENT UPSTAIRS 736 00:45:09,576 --> 00:45:15,281 >> Reporter: INVESTIGATORS LATER SEARCHED THE HOUSE AND 737 00:45:15,281 --> 00:45:17,250 DISCOVERED A BLUE RAINCOAT, SIMILAR TO A TARP, BALLED UP IN 738 00:45:17,250 --> 00:45:24,958 A CLOSET AGENT MEGAN FLETCHER, A TRACE 739 00:45:24,958 --> 00:45:26,659 EVIDENCE ANALYST, EXAMINED IT FOR GSR, GUNSHOT RESIDUE 740 00:45:26,659 --> 00:45:27,961 >> THERE WERE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PARTICLES 741 00:45:27,961 --> 00:45:32,899 CHARACTERISTIC OF GUNSHOT RESIDUE ON THE INSIDE THE 742 00:45:32,899 --> 00:45:34,768 JACKET, YES. >> WOULD YOUR FINDINGS BE 743 00:45:34,768 --> 00:45:35,935 CONSISTENT WITH THAT ITEM CONTAINING A RECENTLY FIRED 744 00:45:35,935 --> 00:45:39,739 FIREARM? >> IT IS POSSIBLE, YES 745 00:45:39,739 --> 00:45:41,708 >> Reporter: OTHER PEOPLE IN ALEX'S CIRCLE ALSO FOUND HIS 746 00:45:41,708 --> 00:45:45,712 BEHAVIOR AFTER THE MURDERS STRANGE. 747 00:45:45,712 --> 00:45:48,581 PROSECUTORS CALLED MAGGIE'S SISTER, MARION PROCTOR, TO THE 748 00:45:48,581 --> 00:45:52,252 STAND. >> I'M MARION PROCTOR. 749 00:45:52,252 --> 00:45:55,655 P-R-O-C-T-O-R. >> Reporter: SHE TOLD THE JURY 750 00:45:55,655 --> 00:46:00,493 HER FAMILY WAS TERRIFIED THE KILLER WOULD TARGET ALEX AND 751 00:46:00,493 --> 00:46:02,495 BUSTER NEXT, BUT ALEX DIDN'T APPEAR WORRIED AT ALL. 752 00:46:02,495 --> 00:46:19,279 >> I WAS SCARED FOR ALEX AND BUSTER 753 00:46:19,279 --> 00:46:23,483 I THINK EVERYBODY WAS AFRAID AND, ALEX DIDN'T SEEM TO BE 754 00:46:23,483 --> 00:46:27,520 AFRAID >> Reporter: MARION TOLD THE 755 00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:31,324 JURY MAGGIE WAS ONLY AT MOSELLE THAT NIGHT BECAUSE ALEX HAD 756 00:46:31,324 --> 00:46:34,327 ASKED HER TO BE THERE. HE TOLD HER HIS FATHER WAS 757 00:46:34,327 --> 00:46:38,631 GRAVELY ILL. THE SISTERS TALKED ON THE PHONE 758 00:46:38,631 --> 00:46:46,306 AS MAGGIE DROVE. MARION STILL HAUNTED BY THAT 759 00:46:46,306 --> 00:46:48,441 LAST CALL. >> AND I SAID, WELL, MAGGIE, I 760 00:46:48,441 --> 00:46:50,310 SAID, ALEX AND HIS DAD ARE SUPER CLOSE AND THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT 761 00:46:50,310 --> 00:46:51,978 YOU SHOULD DO, GO BE WITH HIM IF HE NEEDS YOU 762 00:46:51,978 --> 00:46:57,384 >> YOU ENCOURAGED HER TO GO TO MOSELLE? 763 00:46:57,384 --> 00:47:01,087 >> I DID >> WAS THAT THE LAST TIME YOU 764 00:47:01,087 --> 00:47:05,892 TALKED TO HER? >> YES 765 00:47:05,892 --> 00:47:08,028 >> Reporter: ONE APPARENT WEAKNESS IN THE PROSECUTION'S 766 00:47:08,028 --> 00:47:11,898 CASE WAS THE LACK OF BLOOD EVIDENCE 767 00:47:11,898 --> 00:47:14,467 THEY TRIED TO TURN THIS TO THEIR ADVANTAGE BY PLAYING ONE OF 768 00:47:14,467 --> 00:47:17,604 ALEX'S STATEMENTS TO POLICE, RECORDED JUST HOURS AFTER THE 769 00:47:17,604 --> 00:47:30,116 MURDERS. >> I RAN OVER TO MAGGIE, 770 00:47:30,116 --> 00:47:31,518 ACTUALLY I THINK I TRIED TO TURN PAUL OVER FIRST. 771 00:47:31,518 --> 00:47:43,463 I TRIED TO TURN HIM OVER >> DID YOU TOUCH MAGGIE AT ALL 772 00:47:43,463 --> 00:47:44,898 >> I DID, I TOUCHED THEM BOTH. I TRIED TO TAKE, I MEAN, I TRIED 773 00:47:44,898 --> 00:47:46,566 TO DO IT AS LIMITED AS POSSIBLE BUT I TRIED TO TAKE THEIR PULSE 774 00:47:46,566 --> 00:47:47,734 ON BOTH OF THEM. >> Reporter: SO, WHY WASN'T HE 775 00:47:47,734 --> 00:47:50,303 COVERED IN BLOOD THE IMPLICATION WAS THAT HE'D 776 00:47:50,303 --> 00:47:53,073 WASHED UP AFTER THE MURDERS. COLLETON COUNTY LEAD DETECTIVE 777 00:47:53,073 --> 00:47:58,345 LAURA RUTLAND WAS ON THE SCENE THAT NIGHT 778 00:47:58,345 --> 00:47:59,546 >> HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE DEFENDANT'S HANDS WHEN YOU SAW 779 00:47:59,546 --> 00:48:00,313 HIM WHEN YOU WERE INTERVIEWING HIM? 780 00:48:00,313 --> 00:48:03,416 HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE HIS HANDS? 781 00:48:03,416 --> 00:48:04,417 >> THEY WERE CLEAN >> HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE HIS 782 00:48:04,417 --> 00:48:05,485 T-SHIRT? >> CLEAN 783 00:48:05,485 --> 00:48:06,786 >> HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE HIS SHORTS 784 00:48:06,786 --> 00:48:08,254 >> CLEAN >> DID HE LOOK LIKE SOMEBODY WHO 785 00:48:08,254 --> 00:48:13,626 HAD JUST CHANGED HIS CLOTHES >> YES 786 00:48:13,626 --> 00:48:16,496 >> Reporter: ALEX SAID SOMETHING ELSE PROSECUTORS SEIZED ON IN 787 00:48:16,496 --> 00:48:19,265 ANOTHER STATEMENT TO POLICE, THREE DAYS AFTER THE MURDERS 788 00:48:19,265 --> 00:48:23,036 >> SITTING HERE TALKING TODAY IS TOUGH. 789 00:48:23,036 --> 00:48:28,708 >> IT WAS JUST SO BAD. I DID HIM SO BAD 790 00:48:28,708 --> 00:48:31,845 >> Reporter: THE PROSECUTOR ASKED SENIOR SPECIAL AGENT 791 00:48:31,845 --> 00:48:34,381 JEFF CROFT TO REPEAT THE WORDS >> WHAT DID HE SAY 792 00:48:34,381 --> 00:48:39,219 >> IT'S JUST SO BAD. I DID HIM SO BAD 793 00:48:39,219 --> 00:48:40,920 >> I DID HIM SO BAD. >> YES, SIR. 794 00:48:40,920 --> 00:48:45,759 >> Reporter: WAS IT A SLIP OF THE TONGUE 795 00:48:45,759 --> 00:48:48,061 AN INADVERTENT CONFESSION? ON CROSS EXAMINATION, ALEX'S 796 00:48:48,061 --> 00:48:51,765 DEFENSE ATTORNEY, JIM GRIFFIN, PLAYED THE TAPE AT A SLOWER 797 00:48:51,765 --> 00:48:56,870 SPEED. THE QUESTION DID ALEX SAY "I" OR 798 00:48:56,870 --> 00:49:02,475 "THEY" >> THEY DID HIM SO BAD 799 00:49:02,475 --> 00:49:03,843 >> DID YOU HEAR "THEY" THEN? >> NO, SIR 800 00:49:03,843 --> 00:49:05,078 I DID NOT. >> YOU WOULD AGREE THE JURY GETS 801 00:49:05,078 --> 00:49:08,114 TO DECIDE WHAT HE SAID ON THAT TAPE 802 00:49:08,114 --> 00:49:09,883 THAT'S THE BEST EVIDENCE >> I AGREE THAT THEY GET TO HEAR 803 00:49:09,883 --> 00:49:14,654 THE TAPE AND MAKE THEIR OWN MIND UP AS TO WHAT HE SAID. 804 00:49:14,654 --> 00:49:18,658 YES, SIR >> Reporter: BUT NO MATTER HOW 805 00:49:18,658 --> 00:49:23,530 MUCH TESTIMONY PROSECUTORS ELICITED ABOUT ALEX MURDAUGH'S 806 00:49:23,530 --> 00:49:26,900 INCONSISTENCIES AND LIES, THEY STILL HAD TO ANSWER THE MOST 807 00:49:26,900 --> 00:49:31,404 BASIC QUESTION OF ALL. WHAT COULD MOTIVATE A MAN TO 808 00:49:31,404 --> 00:49:36,910 BRUTALLY MURDER THE WIFE AND SON HE SEEMED TO ADORE 809 00:49:36,910 --> 00:49:39,679 THEY WOULD THROW A HAIL MARY TO TRY TO MAKE THAT CASE. 810 00:49:39,679 --> 00:49:43,683 >> THEY'VE GOT A WHOLE LOT MORE EVIDENCE ABOUT FINANCIAL 811 00:49:43,683 --> 00:49:46,052 MISCONDUCT THAN THEY HAVE IN EVIDENCE OF GUILT IN A MURDER 812 00:49:46,052 --> 00:49:47,420 EVIDENCE OF GUILT IN A MURDER CASE 813 00:50:05,071 --> 00:50:08,208 >> Reporter: PROSECUTORS HAD PUNCHED HOLES IN ALEX MURDAUGH'S 814 00:50:08,208 --> 00:50:10,210 ALIBI AND CAST DOUBT OVER MANY OF HIS STATEMENTS, BUT THE 815 00:50:10,210 --> 00:50:13,880 BIGGEST QUESTION OF ALL LINGERED 816 00:50:13,880 --> 00:50:16,750 WHY? WHY WOULD ALEX MURDAUGH KILL HIS 817 00:50:16,750 --> 00:50:20,153 WIFE AND SON ESPECIALLY SINCE THEY SEEMED TO 818 00:50:20,153 --> 00:50:23,289 BE A CLOSE-KNIT FAMILY JOURNALIST VALERIE BAUERLEIN 819 00:50:23,289 --> 00:50:26,026 >> AND I THINK THAT IS A HIGH BAR FOR THE PROSECUTION TO HAVE 820 00:50:26,026 --> 00:50:28,428 TO GET OVER TO EXPLAIN, YES, THOSE THINGS DO HOLD TOGETHER. 821 00:50:28,428 --> 00:50:34,067 >> Reporter: PROSECUTORS HAD AN EXPLANATION. 822 00:50:34,067 --> 00:50:36,269 ALEX MURDAUGH WAS A COMPULSIVE THIEF, THEY ALLEGED, A SPINNER 823 00:50:36,269 --> 00:50:40,106 OF SCAMS, WHO STOLE MONEY FROM EVERYONE 824 00:50:40,106 --> 00:50:46,312 AND BECAUSE THOSE FINANCIAL CRIMES WERE ABOUT TO BE EXPOSED, 825 00:50:46,312 --> 00:50:48,314 THEY ARGUED, HE MURDERED HIS WIFE AND SON TO WIN SYMPATHY AND 826 00:50:48,314 --> 00:50:50,884 TIME >> HE WAS EAGER TO KEEP 827 00:50:50,884 --> 00:50:54,554 CONCEALED THIS LONG-RUNNING FINANCIAL FRAUD THAT WOULD RUIN 828 00:50:54,554 --> 00:50:57,424 HIS FAMILY AND HIS FAMILY NAME >> THIS ISSUE IS BEFORE ME ON 829 00:50:57,424 --> 00:51:00,126 THE MOTION OF THE STATE. >> Reporter: NORMALLY JURORS ARE 830 00:51:00,126 --> 00:51:03,963 NOT ALLOWED TO HEAR ABOUT A DEFENDANT'S PAST BAD ACTS. 831 00:51:03,963 --> 00:51:07,100 BUT IN THIS CASE, PROSECUTORS BELIEVED THEY WERE CRUCIAL TO 832 00:51:07,100 --> 00:51:11,338 EXPLAIN MOTIVE THEY ASKED THE JUDGE FOR 833 00:51:11,338 --> 00:51:16,476 PERMISSION TO PRESENT TESTIMONY ABOUT ALEX'S ALLEGED FINANCIAL 834 00:51:16,476 --> 00:51:18,411 CRIMES >> YOUR HONOR, I WOULD LIKE TO 835 00:51:18,411 --> 00:51:19,879 RESPOND. >> Reporter: THE DEFENSE 836 00:51:19,879 --> 00:51:22,148 PROTESTED LOUDLY >> THEY'VE GOT A WHOLE LOT MORE 837 00:51:22,148 --> 00:51:26,152 EVIDENCE ABOUT FINANCIAL MISCONDUCT THAN THEY HAVE ABOUT 838 00:51:26,152 --> 00:51:30,423 A MURDER AND EVIDENCE OF GUILT IN A MURDER CASE 839 00:51:30,423 --> 00:51:33,259 >> Reporter: BUT IN A PIVOTAL DECISION, JUDGE CLIFTON NEWMAN 840 00:51:33,259 --> 00:51:38,665 DECIDED FOR THE PROSECUTION. >> I FIND THAT IT IS SO 841 00:51:38,665 --> 00:51:42,702 INTIMATELY CONNECTED WITH AND EXPLANATORY OF THE CRIME CHARGED 842 00:51:42,702 --> 00:51:46,106 THAT PROOF OF IT IS ESSENTIAL TO COMPLETE THE STORY 843 00:51:46,106 --> 00:51:50,143 >> Reporter: PROSECUTORS EXHALED. 844 00:51:50,143 --> 00:51:54,581 AND CALLED JEANNE SECKINGER TO THE STAND. 845 00:51:54,581 --> 00:52:02,555 >> I WOULD BE CFO/COO. >> Reporter: SECKINGER TOLD THE 846 00:52:02,555 --> 00:52:04,257 JURORS THE MURDAUGH FAMILY LAW FIRM, "P-M-P-E-D." 847 00:52:04,257 --> 00:52:05,959 OPERATED ON TRUST, LIKE A BROTHERHOOD. 848 00:52:05,959 --> 00:52:07,961 SHE SAID ALEX MURDAUGH WAS A SUCCESSFUL LAWYER LARGELY 849 00:52:07,961 --> 00:52:11,097 BECAUSE OF HIS GIFT OF THE GAB >> HE DID IT THROUGH THE ART OF 850 00:52:11,097 --> 00:52:14,234 [ BLEEP ] BASICALLY. >> Reporter: IN MAY OF 2021, 851 00:52:14,234 --> 00:52:18,204 SECKINGER LEARNED OF CHRIS WILSON'S MISSING CHECK 852 00:52:18,204 --> 00:52:21,074 SHE'D DISCOVERED OTHER FINANCIAL IRREGULARITIES INVOLVING ALEX, 853 00:52:21,074 --> 00:52:25,311 TOO. SHE CONFRONTED HIM ABOUT IT FOR 854 00:52:25,311 --> 00:52:30,150 THE FIRST TIME THAT MONTH, AND THEN AGAIN ON JUNE 7th 855 00:52:30,150 --> 00:52:32,752 >> HE LOOKED AT ME WITH A PRETTY DIRTY LOOK, ONE I HAD NOT SEEN 856 00:52:32,752 --> 00:52:34,421 BEFORE AND SAID, "WHAT DO YOU NEED NOW?" 857 00:52:34,421 --> 00:52:40,393 >> Reporter: THE CONVERSATION WAS INTERRUPTED. 858 00:52:40,393 --> 00:52:44,431 >> HE TOOK A PHONE CALL AND THE CALL WAS SAYING THAT HIS FATHER 859 00:52:44,431 --> 00:52:46,099 WAS IN THE HOSPITAL, AND HE WAS TERMINAL 860 00:52:46,099 --> 00:52:50,337 SO AT THAT POINT IT TURNED INTO A PERSONAL CONVERSATION. 861 00:52:50,337 --> 00:52:55,175 >> Reporter: PROSECUTORS ARGUED THAT WAS THE DAY, JUNE 7th, 862 00:52:55,175 --> 00:52:59,145 MURDAUGH REALIZED HIS CRIMES WERE ABOUT TO BE REVEALED. 863 00:52:59,145 --> 00:53:03,416 AND THAT VERY NIGHT, MAGGIE AND PAUL WERE MURDERED 864 00:53:03,416 --> 00:53:06,820 AS PROSECUTORS DEMONSTRATED, ALEX GOT A REPRIEVE FROM THE 865 00:53:06,820 --> 00:53:09,122 FIRM'S INVESTIGATION >> AFTER THE MURDERS HAPPENED, 866 00:53:09,122 --> 00:53:11,124 DID IT SEEM RIGHT TO YOU TO RAISE THOSE ISSUES TO THE 867 00:53:11,124 --> 00:53:16,796 DEFENDANT? >> NO, WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT 868 00:53:16,796 --> 00:53:18,498 THE WELFARE OF ALEX, AND WE WERE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT HE WAS 869 00:53:18,498 --> 00:53:22,535 EMOTIONALLY OKAY >> Reporter: OLD FRIEND 870 00:53:22,535 --> 00:53:24,471 CHRIS WILSON TESTIFIED HE ALSO STOPPED ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT 871 00:53:24,471 --> 00:53:28,742 THAT MISSING CHECK AFTER THE MURDERS. 872 00:53:28,742 --> 00:53:32,212 >> WE ALL TALKED REGULARLY ABOUT KEEPING AN EYE ON HIM AND ABOUT 873 00:53:32,212 --> 00:53:34,981 BEING THERE FOR HIM. >> Reporter: IF PROSECUTORS 874 00:53:34,981 --> 00:53:38,418 THOUGHT EVIDENCE OF MURDAUGH'S FINANCIAL CRIMES WOULD PROVIDE A 875 00:53:38,418 --> 00:53:42,389 MOTIVE, THEY COUNTED ON THEIR LAST WITNESS TO PROVE 876 00:53:42,389 --> 00:53:52,265 OPPORTUNITY. >> SPECIAL AGENT PETER RUDOFSKI. 877 00:53:52,265 --> 00:53:53,767 >> Reporter: THE PROSECUTION'S FINAL WITNESS, S.L.E.D. SPECIAL 878 00:53:53,767 --> 00:54:00,507 AGENT PETER RUDOFKSI, UNVEILED A DIGITAL TOUR DE FORCE. 879 00:54:00,507 --> 00:54:02,308 USING CELL ACTIVITY FROM ALEX'S, MAGGIE'S AND PAUL'S PHONES, AND 880 00:54:02,308 --> 00:54:10,283 GPS DATA FROM ALEX'S CAR, HE BUILT A TIMELINE OF THE NIGHT OF 881 00:54:10,283 --> 00:54:11,685 THE MURDERS. IT SHOWED ALEX HAD TIME TO KILL 882 00:54:11,685 --> 00:54:13,119 AND TO COVER IT UP >> HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN 883 00:54:13,119 --> 00:54:14,821 WORKING ON THIS DOCUMENT RIGHT HERE 884 00:54:14,821 --> 00:54:16,823 >> ROUGHLY ABOUT A YEAR ON THIS DOCUMENT 885 00:54:16,823 --> 00:54:20,527 >> Reporter: RUDOFSKI'S TIMELINE SHOWED THAT NOT LONG AFTER 886 00:54:20,527 --> 00:54:23,363 MAGGIE AND PAUL'S PHONES WENT SILENT FOREVER AT 8:49 P.M., 887 00:54:23,363 --> 00:54:27,901 ABOUT THE TIME PROSECUTORS BELIEVE THE TWO WERE KILLED, 888 00:54:27,901 --> 00:54:32,472 ALEX'S PHONE, WHICH HAD BEEN INACTIVE FOR NEARLY AN HOUR, 889 00:54:32,472 --> 00:54:34,741 SUDDENLY CAME ALIVE. FROM 9:02 P.M. TO 9:06 P.M. IT 890 00:54:34,741 --> 00:54:40,413 COUNTED HIS STEPS. >> HOW MANY STEPS? 891 00:54:40,413 --> 00:54:43,850 >> 283 STEPS, 70.75 STEPS PER MINUTE ESTIMATED 892 00:54:43,850 --> 00:54:48,121 >> HE WAS A BUSY GUY, RIGHT THEN, WASN'T HE? 893 00:54:48,121 --> 00:54:50,090 >> Reporter: AT 9:07 P.M. MURDAUGH'S SUBURBAN LEFT 894 00:54:50,090 --> 00:54:54,094 MOSELLE, HEADING TO HIS MOTHER'S HOME 895 00:54:54,094 --> 00:54:57,197 AS IT NEARED THE LOCATION WHERE MAGGIE'S PHONE WAS LATER FOUND, 896 00:54:57,197 --> 00:55:03,737 THE VEHICLE WAS GOING 42 MILES AN HOUR. 897 00:55:03,737 --> 00:55:08,475 >> AFTER PASSING THAT LOCATION DOES THE DEFENDANT'S VEHICLE 898 00:55:08,475 --> 00:55:09,743 START TO ACCELERATE? >> IT DOES 899 00:55:09,743 --> 00:55:11,144 >> Reporter: THEN THE SUBURBAN SPED UP TO 74 MILES AN HOUR, 900 00:55:11,144 --> 00:55:19,386 REACHING MURDAUGH'S MOTHER'S HOME AT 9:22 P.M 901 00:55:19,386 --> 00:55:20,587 IT DEPARTED AT 9:43 P.M. TRAVELING BACK TO MOSELLE, THIS 902 00:55:20,587 --> 00:55:25,358 TIME CLOCKING A MAXIMUM OF 80 MILES AN HOUR 903 00:55:25,358 --> 00:55:32,198 >> WOULD YOU, AT NIGHT, OR DID YOU EVER AT NIGHT, ON THE ROADS 904 00:55:32,198 --> 00:55:33,366 AS THEY EXISTED AT THE TIME ON JUNE 7th, 2021, RUNNING CODE 905 00:55:33,366 --> 00:55:34,801 WITH YOUR LIGHTS ON, RUN 80 MILES AN HOUR DOWN THAT ROAD? 906 00:55:34,801 --> 00:55:36,736 >> I WOULD NOT NO 907 00:55:36,736 --> 00:55:39,305 >> PLEASE HURRY. >> WE'RE GETTING SOMEBODY OUT 908 00:55:39,305 --> 00:55:41,274 THERE TO YOU >> Reporter: THE SUBURBAN 909 00:55:41,274 --> 00:55:46,980 ARRIVED AT THE KENNELS AT 10:05 P.M. 910 00:55:46,980 --> 00:55:50,116 ALEX CALLED 9-1-1 LESS THAN 20 SECONDS LATER, TELLING THE 911 00:55:50,116 --> 00:55:52,686 DISPATCHER HE'D CHECKED BOTH BODIES AND NEITHER WAS 912 00:55:52,686 --> 00:55:56,656 BREATHING. >> Reporter: WITH THAT, 913 00:55:56,656 --> 00:55:59,793 PROSECUTORS RESTED >> IN THE MATTER OF THE 914 00:55:59,793 --> 00:56:03,763 INDICTMENTS, THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA RESTS 915 00:56:03,763 --> 00:56:07,767 >> Reporter: IN ALL, THEY'D CALLED 61 WITNESSES, ELICITED 916 00:56:07,767 --> 00:56:12,038 HOURS OF DAMAGING TESTIMONY. BUT WAS IT ENOUGH? 917 00:56:12,038 --> 00:56:15,475 THE DEFENSE HAD ITS OWN CARDS TO PLAY, STARTING WITH INSINUATIONS 918 00:56:15,475 --> 00:56:18,845 OF A BOTCHED AND BIASED INVESTIGATION. 919 00:56:18,845 --> 00:56:20,547 >> WHAT EFFORT, IF ANY, WAS MADE TO TAKE FINGERPRINTS AT THE 920 00:56:20,547 --> 00:56:22,115 TO TAKE FINGERPRINTS AT THE SCENE? 921 00:56:42,569 --> 00:56:45,438 ATTORNEYS LAID THE GROUNDWORK FOR HIS DEFENSE LONG BEFORE THE 922 00:56:45,438 --> 00:56:46,606 PROSECUTION RESTED >> IS THAT PRESERVATION OF THE 923 00:56:46,606 --> 00:56:56,249 SCENE THAT YOUR STANDARDS REQUIRE? 924 00:56:56,249 --> 00:56:58,785 >> NOT, NOT EXACTLY, NO. >> NOT EXACTLY 925 00:56:58,785 --> 00:57:00,787 >> Reporter: IN THEIR CROSS EXAMINATIONS OF STATE'S 926 00:57:00,787 --> 00:57:02,222 WITNESSES, DICK HARPOOTLIAN AND JIM GRIFFIN CRITICIZED THE WAY 927 00:57:02,222 --> 00:57:03,623 THE MURDER INVESTIGATION WAS HANDLED. 928 00:57:03,623 --> 00:57:04,758 >> SHOULD THE POLICE BE WALKING THROUGH THE SCENE? 929 00:57:04,758 --> 00:57:06,860 >> NO. >> DO WE KNOW WHAT OTHER 930 00:57:06,860 --> 00:57:12,165 EVIDENCE THEY MAY HAVE DESTROYED? 931 00:57:12,165 --> 00:57:14,134 >> I HAVE NO IDEA. >> THAT'S RIGHT. 932 00:57:14,134 --> 00:57:15,502 WE DON'T >> YOU'VE DESCRIBED THIS 933 00:57:15,502 --> 00:57:19,039 INVESTIGATIVE CIRCLE SO YOU DRAW A CIRCLE AROUND 934 00:57:19,039 --> 00:57:20,407 POTENTIAL PERSONS OF INTEREST AND ALEX WAS IN THAT CIRCLE, 935 00:57:20,407 --> 00:57:24,210 CORRECT? >> WE DON'T DRAW A CIRCLE AROUND 936 00:57:24,210 --> 00:57:25,845 ANY INDIVIDUAL PERSON. WE WORK WITH THE CRIME SCENE, 937 00:57:25,845 --> 00:57:30,917 WHICH IS WHAT WE CONSIDER THE CIRCLE 938 00:57:30,917 --> 00:57:35,055 >> THERE WAS A CIRCLE, AND IT WAS ONLY AROUND ALEX 939 00:57:35,055 --> 00:57:36,589 HE WAS THE ONLY LIVING AND BREATHING PERSON IN THE CIRCLE. 940 00:57:36,589 --> 00:57:37,757 WAS THAT CORRECT >> THAT WAS THE ONLY PERSON THAT 941 00:57:37,757 --> 00:57:41,194 WE COULD PLACE IN THE CIRCLE AT THAT TIME. 942 00:57:41,194 --> 00:57:42,595 >> Reporter: THEY ACCUSED LAW ENFORCEMENT OF CONDUCTING A 943 00:57:42,595 --> 00:57:48,301 SLOPPY INVESTIGATION FROM THE VERY START 944 00:57:48,301 --> 00:57:54,841 >> DO YOU KNOW WHETHER ANY OF THOSE SHOWERS OR TUBS WERE IN 945 00:57:54,841 --> 00:57:57,677 ANY WAY SWABBED OR CHECKED FOR BLOOD OR TISSUE OR ANY DNA 946 00:57:57,677 --> 00:57:59,646 ANYTHING THAT WOULD INDICATE SOMEBODY HAD WASHED OFF EVIDENCE 947 00:57:59,646 --> 00:58:02,015 OF A CRIME >> NOTHING THAT I'M AWARE OF 948 00:58:02,015 --> 00:58:05,352 >> Reporter: THE DEFENSE ALSO CALLED ITS OWN EXPERT WITNESSES 949 00:58:05,352 --> 00:58:10,190 TO MAKE THE SAME POINT >> IF THIS HAD BEEN YOUR CRIME 950 00:58:10,190 --> 00:58:12,759 SCENE, WOULD YOU HAVE SAVED THAT SHEET AND SAVED HIS CLOTHES? 951 00:58:12,759 --> 00:58:14,227 >> DEFINITELY. >> WHAT EFFORT, IF ANY, WAS MADE 952 00:58:14,227 --> 00:58:19,866 TO TAKE FINGERPRINTS AT THE SCENE? 953 00:58:19,866 --> 00:58:25,839 >> NONE THAT I OBSERVED. >> A LOT OF THE TESTIMONY HAS 954 00:58:25,839 --> 00:58:27,540 BEEN ABOUT THE FAILURE TO PROTECT THE CRIME SCENE AND 955 00:58:27,540 --> 00:58:32,679 PRESERVE WHATEVER EVIDENCE WAS THERE. 956 00:58:32,679 --> 00:58:36,182 >> Reporter: JOE McCOLLOCH IS A CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY WHO 957 00:58:36,182 --> 00:58:37,283 HAS BEEN IN COURT ALMOST EVERY DAY THROUGHOUT THE TRIAL 958 00:58:37,283 --> 00:58:46,893 HE HAS A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH ALEX MURDAUGH'S DEFENSE TEAM 959 00:58:46,893 --> 00:58:52,065 >> SO THE POOR SHOWING BY S.L.E.D. THAT'S ALLEGED BY THE 960 00:58:52,065 --> 00:59:00,006 DEFENSE IS INTENDED TO TELL THE JURY, IF THEY HAD DONE THEIR 961 00:59:00,006 --> 00:59:02,409 JOB, IF THEY'D TAKEN FINGERPRINTS, IF THEY'D DONE X, 962 00:59:02,409 --> 00:59:04,010 Y, AND Z, THEN ALEX MURDAUGH WOULDN'T BE SITTING HERE. 963 00:59:04,010 --> 00:59:06,246 SOMEBODY ELSE WOULD BE >> Reporter: AT THE END OF THE 964 00:59:06,246 --> 00:59:10,784 DAY, THE DEFENSE ARGUED THERE WAS NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE TYING 965 00:59:10,784 --> 00:59:12,485 ALEX TO THE MURDERS OF MAGGIE AND PAUL 966 00:59:12,485 --> 00:59:14,154 NO MURDER WEAPON, NO BLOOD EVIDENCE ON HIM. 967 00:59:14,154 --> 00:59:16,189 SURE, ALEX HAD LIED ABOUT BEING AT THE KENNELS THAT NIGHT, THEY 968 00:59:16,189 --> 00:59:18,224 SAID, BUT THAT WASN'T EVIDENCE HE KILLED HIS WIFE AND SON 969 00:59:18,224 --> 00:59:19,592 >> "OUR GUY MAY BE A LIAR, OUR GUY MAY BE A THIEF, BUT HE'S NOT 970 00:59:19,592 --> 00:59:22,429 A KILLER"? >> CORRECT 971 00:59:22,429 --> 00:59:25,865 YEAH, ABSOLUTELY >> Reporter: THE DEFENSE ALSO 972 00:59:25,865 --> 00:59:28,401 CALLED PEOPLE CLOSE TO ALEX AND THE FAMILY TO ATTEST TO ALEX'S 973 00:59:28,401 --> 00:59:34,674 GRIEF AND PAIN AFTER THE KILLINGS 974 00:59:34,674 --> 00:59:39,779 >> HE WAS DEVASTATED I MEAN, HE WAS CRYING. 975 00:59:39,779 --> 00:59:46,619 HE WAS -- I MEAN, JUST BESIDE HIMSELF. 976 00:59:46,619 --> 00:59:48,655 HE SAID, "LOOK AT WHAT THEY DID. LOOK AT WHAT THEY DID" TO THEM 977 00:59:48,655 --> 00:59:50,056 >> HE WAS PRETTY DISTRAUGHT. WHEN I GOT THERE, HE AND I SAW 978 00:59:50,056 --> 00:59:52,058 EACH OTHER HE GAVE ME A HUG AND JUST 979 00:59:52,058 --> 00:59:55,528 STARTED CRYING AND TOLD ME THEY WERE GONE. 980 00:59:55,528 --> 00:59:59,432 >> Reporter: ALEX'S OLDER SON BUSTER HAD SAT QUIETLY IN COURT 981 00:59:59,432 --> 01:00:03,203 FOR WEEKS. WHEN IT WAS HIS TURN ON THE 982 01:00:03,203 --> 01:00:06,539 WITNESS STAND, HE RELIVED THE HORROR OF LOSING BOTH HIS MOTHER 983 01:00:06,539 --> 01:00:10,510 AND BROTHER. >> MY DAD CALLED ME. 984 01:00:10,510 --> 01:00:19,052 HE ASKED ME IF I WAS SITTING DOWN 985 01:00:19,052 --> 01:00:20,754 AND I WAS LIKE, "YEAH. THEN HE SOUNDED ODD, AND THEN 986 01:00:20,754 --> 01:00:22,455 HE -- THEN HE TOLD ME THAT THAT MY MOM AND BROTHER HAD BEEN 987 01:00:22,455 --> 01:00:24,190 SHOT >> Reporter: BUSTER SAID HIS 988 01:00:24,190 --> 01:00:26,459 FATHER DIDN'T ACT LIKE A MAN WHO HAD JUST SLAUGHTERED HIS OWN 989 01:00:26,459 --> 01:00:35,835 FAMILY >> HIS DEMEANOR WAS, I MEAN, HE 990 01:00:35,835 --> 01:00:37,270 WAS DESTROYED, WAS HEARTBROKEN I WALKED IN THE DOOR AND SAW HIM 991 01:00:37,270 --> 01:00:38,672 AND I GAVE HIM A HUG JUST BROKEN DOWN 992 01:00:38,672 --> 01:00:40,106 >> DID HE SPEAK? >> NOT REALLY. 993 01:00:40,106 --> 01:00:42,375 >> WAS HE CRYING >> YES, SIR. 994 01:00:42,375 --> 01:00:46,379 >> Reporter: ALEX'S BROTHER JOHN MARVIN ALSO TOOK THE STAND 995 01:00:46,379 --> 01:00:50,684 IN HIS DEFENSE >> AS DEVASTATING AS IT WAS FOR 996 01:00:50,684 --> 01:00:56,289 ME, IT WAS A THOUSAND TIMES WORSE FOR HIM. 997 01:00:56,289 --> 01:00:59,159 SO I KNEW AS A BROTHER I NEEDED TO BE THERE FOR HIM, AND I WAS 998 01:00:59,159 --> 01:01:02,562 I WOULD HAVE TO CREATE A NEW WORD TO DESCRIBE HOW DISTRAUGHT 999 01:01:02,562 --> 01:01:07,133 HE WAS >> Reporter: PAUSING TO WIPE 1000 01:01:07,133 --> 01:01:11,404 AWAY HIS OWN TEARS, JOHN MARVIN TOLD THE JURY ABOUT THE MORNING 1001 01:01:11,404 --> 01:01:14,507 AFTER THE MURDERS. >> I WALKED OVER TO THE FEED 1002 01:01:14,507 --> 01:01:15,675 ROOM IT HAD NOT BEEN CLEANED UP 1003 01:01:15,675 --> 01:01:19,346 I SAW BLOOD, I SAW BRAINS, I SAW PIECES OF SKULL. 1004 01:01:19,346 --> 01:01:23,083 IT WAS TERRIBLE. AND FOR SOME REASON I THOUGHT IT 1005 01:01:23,083 --> 01:01:27,320 WAS MY -- SOMETHING THAT I NEEDED TO DO FOR PAUL TO CLEAN 1006 01:01:27,320 --> 01:01:37,831 IT UP. AND I CAN PROMISE YOU NO MOTHER 1007 01:01:37,831 --> 01:01:40,133 OR FATHER OR AUNT OR UNCLE SHOULD EVER HAVE TO SEE AND DO 1008 01:01:40,133 --> 01:01:42,669 WHAT I DID THAT DAY. >> Reporter: AND HE ASSERTED HIS 1009 01:01:42,669 --> 01:01:45,839 BROTHER ALEX'S INNOCENCE BY REVEALING A PROMISE HE MADE TO 1010 01:01:45,839 --> 01:01:52,112 HIS NEPHEW PAUL, ALEX'S SON, IN THAT TORTURED MOMENT AT THE 1011 01:01:52,112 --> 01:01:55,148 KENNELS. >> I DON'T KNOW. 1012 01:01:55,148 --> 01:01:56,583 I JUST -- I LOVED HIM AND PROMISED HIM THAT I'D FIND OUT 1013 01:01:56,583 --> 01:02:02,055 WHO DID THIS TO HIM. >> HAVE YOU FOUND OUT? 1014 01:02:02,055 --> 01:02:03,423 >> I HAVE NOT. >> HE GOT VERY EMOTIONAL AT 1015 01:02:03,423 --> 01:02:05,125 TIMES. HOW EFFECTIVE DO YOU THINK THAT 1016 01:02:05,125 --> 01:02:07,460 WAS? >> I THINK THAT'S BIG. 1017 01:02:07,460 --> 01:02:09,295 AND I THINK WHAT JOHN MARVIN SUCCEEDED IN DOING FOR THE 1018 01:02:09,295 --> 01:02:15,368 DEFENSE WAS HUMANIZING THEIR FAMILY 1019 01:02:15,368 --> 01:02:18,505 AND HE CAME ACROSS AS A VERY NICE PERSON, A PERSON WHO WAS 1020 01:02:18,505 --> 01:02:26,813 SUFFERING MIGHTILY AND HIS TRUE, GENUINE EMOTIONS 1021 01:02:26,813 --> 01:02:31,851 TO THE JURY, AND ESPECIALLY ENDING WITH DECIDING THAT HE 1022 01:02:31,851 --> 01:02:34,888 OWED IT TO PAUL TO GO AND CLEAN UP HIS REMAINS, WAS JUST 1023 01:02:34,888 --> 01:02:38,992 EXCRUCIATING FOR THE JURY. AND IT -- I THINK IT BROUGHT 1024 01:02:38,992 --> 01:02:42,462 HOME THE TRUE TRAGEDY. >> Reporter: BUT WHEN THE STORY 1025 01:02:42,462 --> 01:02:44,964 OF ALEX MURDAUGH'S DEFENSE IS ULTIMATELY WRITTEN, IT WILL NOT 1026 01:02:44,964 --> 01:02:50,103 DWELL ON THOSE EMOTIONAL STATEMENTS FROM FAMILY AND 1027 01:02:50,103 --> 01:02:57,510 FRIENDS, OR ACCUSATIONS ABOUT SLOPPY CRIME SCENES, OR EVEN 1028 01:02:57,510 --> 01:02:59,312 WITHERING CROSS-EXAMINATIONS IT WILL FOCUS INSTEAD ON THE 1029 01:02:59,312 --> 01:03:01,781 TESTIMONY OF ONE MAN - >> THE DEFENDANT, 1030 01:03:01,781 --> 01:03:03,216 >> THE DEFENDANT, RICHARD ALEXANDER MURDAUGH, 1031 01:03:23,970 --> 01:03:29,109 ALEX MURDAUGH TRIAL DAWNED, THERE WAS A LOT OF BUZZ AROUND 1032 01:03:29,109 --> 01:03:32,912 THE COLLETON COUNTY COURTHOUSE WOULD HE TAKE THE STAND? 1033 01:03:32,912 --> 01:03:36,783 THE DECISION WAS ONLY ONE MAN'S TO MAKE, AND ALEX MURDAUGH GAVE 1034 01:03:36,783 --> 01:03:40,754 HIS ANSWER >> I AM GOING TO TESTIFY 1035 01:03:40,754 --> 01:03:44,724 I WANT TO TESTIFY. >> Reporter: NOW, MOST DEFENSE 1036 01:03:44,724 --> 01:03:47,093 LAWYERS WILL TELL YOU THAT PUTTING A DEFENDANT ON THE 1037 01:03:47,093 --> 01:03:49,396 WITNESS STAND ONLY TO BE CUT UP BY A PROSECUTOR -- NOT WORTH THE 1038 01:03:49,396 --> 01:03:56,136 RISK THEN AGAIN, THIS WASN'T JUST ANY 1039 01:03:56,136 --> 01:04:00,373 DEFENDANT. THIS WAS ALEX MURDAUGH, A LAWYER 1040 01:04:00,373 --> 01:04:04,077 FROM A LONG LINE OF LAWYERS. ATTORNEY JIM GRIFFIN STARTED BY 1041 01:04:04,077 --> 01:04:08,648 CUTTING TO THE CHASE >> DID YOU TAKE THIS GUN OR ANY 1042 01:04:08,648 --> 01:04:10,617 GUN LIKE IT AND SHOOT YOUR SON PAUL IN THE CHEST IN THE FEED 1043 01:04:10,617 --> 01:04:15,188 ROOM AT YOUR PROPERTY OFF MOSELLE ROAD 1044 01:04:15,188 --> 01:04:23,697 >> NO, I DID NOT >> MR. MURDAUGH, DID YOU TAKE 1045 01:04:23,697 --> 01:04:25,432 THIS GUN OR ANY GUN LIKE IT AND BLOW YOUR SON'S BRAINS OUT ON 1046 01:04:25,432 --> 01:04:30,537 JUNE 7th OR ANY DAY OR ANY TIME? >> NO, I DID NOT 1047 01:04:30,537 --> 01:04:36,209 I DIDN'T SHOOT MY WIFE OR MY SON ANY TIME, EVER 1048 01:04:36,209 --> 01:04:40,780 >> Reporter: FOR THREE WEEKS, PROSECUTORS HAD BRANDED MURDAUGH 1049 01:04:40,780 --> 01:04:43,883 A SERIAL LIAR AND BELIEVED THEY CAUGHT HIM PERHAPS IN HIS 1050 01:04:43,883 --> 01:04:48,188 BIGGEST LIE WITH THAT VIDEO PLACING HIM AT THE DOG KENNELS 1051 01:04:48,188 --> 01:04:53,093 THAT JUNE NIGHT IN 2021. ALEX AND HIS ATTORNEY CONFRONTED 1052 01:04:53,093 --> 01:05:03,036 THAT HEAD ON >> IS THAT YOU ON THE KENNEL 1053 01:05:03,036 --> 01:05:05,739 VIDEO AT 8:44 P.M. ON JUNE 7th, THE NIGHT MAGGIE AND PAU 1054 01:05:05,739 --> 01:05:07,173 WERE MURDERED? >> IT IS 1055 01:05:07,173 --> 01:05:08,308 >> WERE YOU IN FACT AT THE KENNELS AT 8:44 P.M. ON THE 1056 01:05:08,308 --> 01:05:10,043 NIGHT MAGGIE AND PAUL WERE MURDERED 1057 01:05:10,043 --> 01:05:15,415 >> I WAS >> DID YOU LIE TO S.L.E.D. AGENT 1058 01:05:15,415 --> 01:05:16,883 OWEN AND DEPUTY LAURA RUTLAND ON THE NIGHT OF JUNE 7th AND TOLD 1059 01:05:16,883 --> 01:05:20,854 THEM THAT YOU STAYED AT THE HOUSE AFTER DINNER 1060 01:05:20,854 --> 01:05:25,658 >> I DID LIE TO THEM >> DID YOU LIE TO AGENT OWEN AND 1061 01:05:25,658 --> 01:05:27,727 AGENT CRAWFORD ON THE FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEW ON JUNE 10th, THAT THE 1062 01:05:27,727 --> 01:05:33,600 LAST TIME YOU SAW MAGGIE AND PAUL WAS AT DINNER 1063 01:05:33,600 --> 01:05:38,204 >> I DID LIE TO THEM >> Reporter: SO WHY DID HE LIE 1064 01:05:38,204 --> 01:05:43,309 HE SAID HIS ADDICTION TO PAINKILLERS WAS THE REASON, UP 1065 01:05:43,309 --> 01:05:54,454 TO 60 PILLS A DAY. >> AS MY ADDICTION EVOLVED OVER 1066 01:05:54,454 --> 01:05:56,423 TIME, I WOULD GET IN THESE SITUATIONS AND CIRCUMSTANCES 1067 01:05:56,423 --> 01:05:57,490 WHERE I WOULD GET PARANOID THINKING, AND IT COULD BE 1068 01:05:57,490 --> 01:05:58,725 ANYTHING THAT TRIGGERED. IT MIGHT BE A LOOK SOMEBODY GAVE 1069 01:05:58,725 --> 01:06:01,027 ME IT MIGHT BE A REACTION SOMEBODY 1070 01:06:01,027 --> 01:06:04,931 HAD TO SOMETHING I DID IT MIGHT BE A POLICEMAN 1071 01:06:04,931 --> 01:06:10,337 FOLLOWING ME IN A CAR. >> Reporter: HE SAID HE 1072 01:06:10,337 --> 01:06:14,040 DISTRUSTED S.L.E.D. INTENSELY AND HIS DRUG-INDUCED PARANOIA, 1073 01:06:14,040 --> 01:06:18,578 COUPLED WITH THE SHOCK FROM THE MURDERS, FOGGED UP HIS MIND. 1074 01:06:18,578 --> 01:06:21,915 >> ON JUNE THE 7th, I WASN'T THINKING CLEARLY 1075 01:06:21,915 --> 01:06:27,687 I DON'T THINK I WAS CAPABLE OF REASON 1076 01:06:27,687 --> 01:06:36,496 AND I LIED ABOUT BEING DOWN THERE. 1077 01:06:36,496 --> 01:06:39,332 AND I'M SO SORRY THAT I DID. >> DID YOU CONTINUE LYING AFTER 1078 01:06:39,332 --> 01:06:41,901 THAT NIGHT DID YOU NOT? 1079 01:06:41,901 --> 01:06:44,871 >> WELL, ONCE I LIED, I CONTINUED TO LIE 1080 01:06:44,871 --> 01:06:46,172 YES, SIR >> WHY 1081 01:06:46,172 --> 01:06:51,811 >> YOU KNOW, OH, WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE 1082 01:06:51,811 --> 01:06:55,548 >> Reporter: MURDAUGH WENT ON TO GIVE A NEW ACCOUNT OF THAT 1083 01:06:55,548 --> 01:07:01,821 AFTERNOON AND EVENING, CONSTANTLY USING THE NICKNAMES 1084 01:07:01,821 --> 01:07:03,790 "MAGS" AND "PAW-PAW" FOR HIS WIFE AND SON, AND OFFERING 1085 01:07:03,790 --> 01:07:05,792 DETAILS HE HAD NEVER MENTIONED IN HIS INTERVIEWS WITH LAW 1086 01:07:05,792 --> 01:07:07,794 ENFORCEMENT. HE DESCRIBED DRIVING AROUND 1087 01:07:07,794 --> 01:07:19,439 MOSELLE WITH PAUL ON HIS SON'S LAST AFTERNOON 1088 01:07:19,439 --> 01:07:21,141 >> YOU COULD NOT BE AROUND PAW-PAW -- 1089 01:07:21,141 --> 01:07:23,443 YOU COULD NOT BE AROUND HIM AND NOT HAVE A GOOD TIME 1090 01:07:23,443 --> 01:07:28,248 I LOVED DOING ANYTHING WITH PAW-PAW. 1091 01:07:28,248 --> 01:07:34,821 HE WAS AN ABSOLUTE DELIGHT >> Reporter: AFTER DINNER THAT 1092 01:07:34,821 --> 01:07:36,523 EVENING, HE SAID, MAGGIE ASKED HIM TO GO OUT TO THE KENNELS 1093 01:07:36,523 --> 01:07:38,792 WHERE SHE AND PAUL WERE CHECKING ON THE DOGS. 1094 01:07:38,792 --> 01:07:43,063 AND THIS WAS HIS NEW STORY HE SAID HE DROVE A GOLF CART OUT 1095 01:07:43,063 --> 01:07:44,964 THERE. >> I'M TALKING TO MAGGIE FOR 1096 01:07:44,964 --> 01:07:49,602 JUST A SHORT TIME BEFORE BUBBA CATCHES THE CHICKEN. 1097 01:07:49,602 --> 01:07:52,939 >> Reporter: ALEX SAID HE TRIED TO PULL IT AWAY FROM HIM 1098 01:07:52,939 --> 01:07:55,075 >> DID YOU GET THE CHICKEN OUT OF BUBBA'S MOUTH 1099 01:07:55,075 --> 01:07:58,978 >> I DID I TOOK THE CHICKEN FROM BUBBA 1100 01:07:58,978 --> 01:08:01,281 AND I PUT IT ON TOP OF THAT -- WHAT LOOKS TO ME LIKE A PORTABLE 1101 01:08:01,281 --> 01:08:02,449 DOG CRATE. >> WHAT'D YOU DO AFTER YOU GOT 1102 01:08:02,449 --> 01:08:03,817 THE CHICKEN OUT OF BUBBA'S MOUTH? 1103 01:08:03,817 --> 01:08:07,520 >> I GOT OUT OF THERE. I LEFT 1104 01:08:07,520 --> 01:08:09,789 I WENT BACK TO THE HOUSE >> SO YOU WENT BACK TO THE 1105 01:08:09,789 --> 01:08:12,359 HOUSE. YOU LAID DOWN ON THE COUCH, AND 1106 01:08:12,359 --> 01:08:16,229 THEN WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? >> I'M NOT -- I'M NOT POSITIVE 1107 01:08:16,229 --> 01:08:22,902 I DOZED OFF FOR A MINUTE OR DIDN'T DOZE OFF FOR A MINUTE, 1108 01:08:22,902 --> 01:08:26,573 BUT I GOT UP OFF OF THE COUCH. AND I WAS -- I MADE UP MY MIND I 1109 01:08:26,573 --> 01:08:30,043 WAS GOING TO VISIT MY MOM. >> Reporter: HE DESCRIBED THAT 1110 01:08:30,043 --> 01:08:33,713 TRIP OVER TO HIS MOTHER'S HOUSE. ALL ROUTINE, HE CLAIMED. 1111 01:08:33,713 --> 01:08:35,749 WHEN HE GOT BACK TO THE HOUSE ABOUT AN HOUR LATER, HE SAID HE 1112 01:08:35,749 --> 01:08:43,089 DIDN'T SEE HIS WIFE OR SON ANYWHERE INSIDE. 1113 01:08:43,089 --> 01:08:45,058 SO HE STARTED SEARCHING. >> AND, ALEX, DID YOU DRIVE DOWN 1114 01:08:45,058 --> 01:08:51,898 TO THE KENNELS IN YOUR SUBURBAN? >> I DID 1115 01:08:51,898 --> 01:09:13,820 >> AND WHAT'D YOU SEE? >> I SAW WHAT Y'ALL HAVE SEEN 1116 01:09:13,820 --> 01:09:21,194 PICTURES OF. 1117 01:09:21,194 --> 01:09:22,696 IT WAS -- IT WAS SO BAD. >> WHAT DID YOU DO WHEN YOU WENT 1118 01:09:22,696 --> 01:09:34,574 UP TO PAUL, AT SOME POINT IN TIME 1119 01:09:34,574 --> 01:09:39,412 >> PAW-PAW WAS SO, SO BAD. AT SOME POINT, I MEAN, I KNOW I 1120 01:09:39,412 --> 01:09:43,383 TRIED TO CHECK HIM FOR A PULSE I KNOW I TRIED TO TURN HIM OVER. 1121 01:09:43,383 --> 01:09:46,252 >> WHEN YOU SAY YOU TRIED TO TURN HIM OVER, WHAT -- WHY WERE 1122 01:09:46,252 --> 01:09:48,788 YOU TRYING TO TURN HIM OVER? >> I DON'T KNOW. 1123 01:09:48,788 --> 01:09:51,925 I DON'T KNOW I DON'T KNOW WHY I TRIED TO TURN 1124 01:09:51,925 --> 01:09:57,130 HIM OVER TO ME, MY BOY'S LAYING FACE 1125 01:09:57,130 --> 01:09:59,065 DOWN, AND HE'S DONE THE WAY HE'S DONE 1126 01:09:59,065 --> 01:10:04,170 HIS HEAD WAS THE WAY HIS HEAD WAS. 1127 01:10:04,170 --> 01:10:09,275 I COULD SEE HIS -- I COULD SEE HIS BRAIN LAYING ON THE 1128 01:10:09,275 --> 01:10:12,412 SIDEWALK I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO 1129 01:10:12,412 --> 01:10:14,981 >> Reporter: HE SAID IN THE WEEKS AFTER THE MURDERS, HE WAS 1130 01:10:14,981 --> 01:10:16,149 READY AND WILLING TO GIVE THE POLICE ANYTHING THEY NEEDED, 1131 01:10:16,149 --> 01:10:22,088 WHETHER IT EXONERATED HIM OR NOT. 1132 01:10:22,088 --> 01:10:23,857 BUT THE BOTTOM LINE FOR THE DEFENSE WAS THIS -- MURDAUGH HAD 1133 01:10:23,857 --> 01:10:28,328 NO MOTIVE TO KILL HIS WIFE OR SON. 1134 01:10:28,328 --> 01:10:33,166 >> I WOULD NEVER HURT MAGGIE AND I WOULD NEVER HURT PAUL 1135 01:10:33,166 --> 01:10:37,137 EVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. >> Reporter: BUT ALEX WASN'T 1136 01:10:37,137 --> 01:10:40,573 FINISHED ON THE STAND. NOW IT WAS THE PROSECUTION'S 1137 01:10:40,573 --> 01:10:42,842 TURN TO QUESTION HIM >> AND YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO LIE 1138 01:10:42,842 --> 01:10:45,045 QUICKLY AND EASILY AND CONVINCINGLY IF YOU THINK IT'LL 1139 01:10:45,045 --> 01:10:48,281 SAVE YOUR SKIN FOR WELL OVER A DECADE 1140 01:10:48,281 --> 01:10:49,349 DECADE ISN'T THAT TRUE? 1141 01:11:09,969 --> 01:11:16,209 LIED TO POLICE FOR A YEAR AND A HALF 1142 01:11:16,209 --> 01:11:22,716 HE TOLD THEM HE WAS NOT AT THE DOG KENNELS BEFORE HIS WIFE AND 1143 01:11:22,716 --> 01:11:24,084 SON'S MURDERS. NOW HE SAID HE WAS 1144 01:11:24,084 --> 01:11:25,885 >> ALL THIS TIME LATER, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU'VE EVER SAID 1145 01:11:25,885 --> 01:11:28,121 THAT >> YES, SIR. 1146 01:11:28,121 --> 01:11:29,289 >> Reporter: PROSECUTOR CREIGHTON WATERS WANTED TO 1147 01:11:29,289 --> 01:11:33,860 UNDERSCORE THAT POINT. THIS DEFENDANT WAS A LIAR. 1148 01:11:33,860 --> 01:11:35,562 AND NOT JUST ABOUT THE MURDERS FOR YEARS, HE'D BEEN USING ONE 1149 01:11:35,562 --> 01:11:41,234 HAND TO SHAKE WITH TRUSTING CLIENTS, AND THE OTHER TO RIP 1150 01:11:41,234 --> 01:11:45,005 THEM OFF >> AND YOU WOULD AGREE WITH ME 1151 01:11:45,005 --> 01:11:50,110 THAT FOR YEARS YOU WERE STEALING MONEY FROM CLIENTS 1152 01:11:50,110 --> 01:11:51,544 >> YES, SIR. I AGREE WITH THAT. 1153 01:11:51,544 --> 01:11:56,616 >> AND THAT YOU WERE STEALING FROM YOUR LAW FIRM 1154 01:11:56,616 --> 01:12:00,887 >> YES, SIR. I AGREE WITH THAT. 1155 01:12:00,887 --> 01:12:05,425 >> AND THAT HAD BEEN GOING ON SINCE AT LEAST 2010. 1156 01:12:05,425 --> 01:12:07,127 >> I'M NOT SURE THE EXACT DATE BUT IT'S BEEN GOING ON A LONG 1157 01:12:07,127 --> 01:12:08,828 TIME I'LL AGREE WITH THAT 1158 01:12:08,828 --> 01:12:10,530 >> Reporter: THIS DEFENDANT, SAID WATERS, STOLE MILLIONS OF 1159 01:12:10,530 --> 01:12:12,832 DOLLARS, EVEN FROM PEOPLE HE CLAIMED TO CARE ABOUT. 1160 01:12:12,832 --> 01:12:17,370 >> WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR HEAD AND HOW IT WENT DOWN WHEN 1161 01:12:17,370 --> 01:12:20,807 YOU SAT THERE, AND LOOKED THEM IN THE EYE, AND CONVINCED THEM 1162 01:12:20,807 --> 01:12:22,509 THAT YOU WERE DOING THEM RIGHT, WHILE YOU WERE LYING TO THEM AND 1163 01:12:22,509 --> 01:12:28,081 STEALING THEIR MONEY >> YES, SIR. 1164 01:12:28,081 --> 01:12:36,856 I HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH A LOT OF MY CLIENTS THAT I 1165 01:12:36,856 --> 01:12:39,826 CARED ABOUT. AND SO I WILL TELL YOU THA 1166 01:12:39,826 --> 01:12:41,728 I HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM WHERE I MISLED THEM AND I LIED 1167 01:12:41,728 --> 01:12:42,896 TO THEM AND I TOOK THEIR MONEY >> Reporter: THE ONLY REASON 1168 01:12:42,896 --> 01:12:44,130 ALEX STOPPED LYING ABOUT STEALING MONEY, THE PROSECUTOR 1169 01:12:44,130 --> 01:12:46,966 ARGUED, WAS BECAUSE HE GOT CAUGHT 1170 01:12:46,966 --> 01:12:51,237 JUST AS THE ONLY REASON HE STOPPED LYING ABOUT BEING AT THE 1171 01:12:51,237 --> 01:12:54,107 KENNELS WAS THE TAPE >> YOU AGREE THAT THE MOST 1172 01:12:54,107 --> 01:12:58,345 IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR TESTIMONY HERE TODAY IS EXPLAINING YOUR 1173 01:12:58,345 --> 01:13:01,181 LIE FOR A YEAR AND A HALF THAT YOU WERE NEVER DOWN AT THOSE 1174 01:13:01,181 --> 01:13:07,420 KENNELS AT 8:44. WOULD YOU AGREE WITH THAT? 1175 01:13:07,420 --> 01:13:09,422 >> I THINK ALL OF MY TESTIMONY IS IMPORTANT, MR. WATERS 1176 01:13:09,422 --> 01:13:11,691 >> WOULD YOU AGREE THAT THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR 1177 01:13:11,691 --> 01:13:15,695 TESTIMONY? >> SURE. 1178 01:13:15,695 --> 01:13:17,464 >> I THINK HE WAS TIRED. I WON'T SAY HIS WHEELS CAME OFF, 1179 01:13:17,464 --> 01:13:20,233 BUT IT -- THEY STARTED TO GET WOBBLY 1180 01:13:20,233 --> 01:13:23,636 >> Reporter: ATTORNEY JOE McCULLOCH WAS IN COURT FOR 1181 01:13:23,636 --> 01:13:27,907 ALEX'S TESTIMONY HE COULD SEE ALEX BEGINNING TO 1182 01:13:27,907 --> 01:13:30,176 BUCKLE AS THE PROSECUTOR PRESSED INTO HIS EVER-CHANGING STORY 1183 01:13:30,176 --> 01:13:35,348 ABOUT WHERE HE WAS THE NIGHT OF THE MURDERS. 1184 01:13:35,348 --> 01:13:41,287 >> THAT'S A TELLING BLOW IT WAS SET UP WELL WITH A SERIES 1185 01:13:41,287 --> 01:13:44,991 OF QUESTIONS TO KIND OF -- I THINK -- WEAR HIM OUT, KIND OF 1186 01:13:44,991 --> 01:13:48,828 FOOL HIM INTO COMMITTING HIMSELF TO THAT POINT OF LIE 1187 01:13:48,828 --> 01:13:51,831 AND THEN THEY SHOWED THAT HE WAS LYING AGAIN. 1188 01:13:51,831 --> 01:13:55,301 >> Reporter: THE PROSECUTOR ATTACKED MURDAUGH'S NEW VERSION 1189 01:13:55,301 --> 01:14:00,206 OF THAT NIGHT, WHICH WENT LIKE THIS 1190 01:14:00,206 --> 01:14:04,210 HE WAS AT THE KENNELS AT 8:44, BUT ONLY FOR A MINUTE OR SO TO 1191 01:14:04,210 --> 01:14:07,447 RESCUE A CHICKEN IN DISTRESS THEN HE WENT BACK TO THE HOUSE 1192 01:14:07,447 --> 01:14:10,350 >> SO WE GOT YOU BACK AROUND 8:49. 1193 01:14:10,350 --> 01:14:11,584 YOU DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING AT ALL. DID YOU HEAR ANYTHING AT ALL, 1194 01:14:11,584 --> 01:14:14,721 MR. MURDAUGH, DURING THAT TIME PERIOD 1195 01:14:14,721 --> 01:14:17,557 >> NO, I DID NOT >> Reporter: THAT'S POSSIBLY 1196 01:14:17,557 --> 01:14:22,662 BECAUSE HE WAS NAPPING BY THEN, ALEX SAID. 1197 01:14:22,662 --> 01:14:25,598 HE HAD MISSED HIS WIFE AND SON'S MURDERS BY MERE SECONDS, MISSED 1198 01:14:25,598 --> 01:14:30,503 THE SOUND OF MULTIPLE GUN BLASTS, LIKELY BECAUSE HE WAS 1199 01:14:30,503 --> 01:14:35,108 OUT COLD >> ACCORDING TO YOUR NEW STORY, 1200 01:14:35,108 --> 01:14:40,613 HOW LONG DID YOU DOZE? >> I -- I -- IF -- IF I DOZED, 1201 01:14:40,613 --> 01:14:45,452 EXTREMELY SHORT TIME >> EXTREMELY SHORT TIME? 1202 01:14:45,452 --> 01:14:52,092 BECAUSE YOU WOULD AGREE WITH M THAT AT 9:02, YOU'RE UP AND 1203 01:14:52,092 --> 01:14:57,597 MOVING ACCORDING TO THE DATA >> I AGREE THAT ACCORDING TO 1204 01:14:57,597 --> 01:15:01,901 THAT DATA, MY PHONE'S RECORDIN STEPS AT WHATEVER TIME IT IS, 1205 01:15:01,901 --> 01:15:05,171 9:02 SOMETHING >> Reporter: SO WHAT WAS HE 1206 01:15:05,171 --> 01:15:10,410 DOING, CREIGHTON WATERS ASKED? >> I KNOW WHAT I WASN'T DOING, 1207 01:15:10,410 --> 01:15:15,715 MR. WATERS, AND WHAT I WASN'T DOING IS DOING ANYTHING, AS 1208 01:15:15,715 --> 01:15:23,423 BELIEVE YOU'VE IMPLIED THAT I WAS CLEANING OFF OR WASHING OFF 1209 01:15:23,423 --> 01:15:28,061 OR WASHING OFF GUNS OR PUTTING GUNS IN A RAINCOAT 1210 01:15:28,061 --> 01:15:30,730 AND I CAN PROMISE YOU THAT I WASN'T DOING ANY OF THAT 1211 01:15:30,730 --> 01:15:31,965 >> Reporter: WATERS DISMISSED THE LATEST ALIBI AS THE WORDS OF 1212 01:15:31,965 --> 01:15:32,866 A MAN WHO ROUTINELY LIED TO ESCAPE TROUBLE 1213 01:15:32,866 --> 01:15:35,869 >> AND YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO LIE QUICKLY AND EASILY AND 1214 01:15:35,869 --> 01:15:37,837 CONVINCINGLY IF YOU THINK IT'LL SAVE YOUR SKIN FOR WELL OVER A 1215 01:15:37,837 --> 01:15:38,838 DECADE ISN'T THAT TRUE? 1216 01:15:38,838 --> 01:15:52,686 >> I HAVE LIED WELL OVER A DECADE 1217 01:15:52,686 --> 01:15:57,323 >> AND YOU WANT THIS JURY TO BELIEVE A STORY MANUFACTURED TO 1218 01:15:57,323 --> 01:16:01,294 FIT THE EVIDENCE THAT YOU BROUGHT FORTH JUST YESTERDAY 1219 01:16:01,294 --> 01:16:03,863 AFTER HEARING THIS TRIAL'S WORTH OF TESTIMONY 1220 01:16:03,863 --> 01:16:07,567 >> NO, SIR THAT'S NOT CORRECT 1221 01:16:07,567 --> 01:16:11,538 >> Reporter: THE TROUBLE MURDAUGH WAS TRYING TO SAVE 1222 01:16:11,538 --> 01:16:17,877 HIMSELF FROM THIS TIME, THE PROSECUTOR ARGUED, WAS IMPENDING 1223 01:16:17,877 --> 01:16:23,149 FINANCIAL EXPOSURE AT HIS LAW FIRM AND IN THE MALLORY BEACH 1224 01:16:23,149 --> 01:16:30,957 CIVIL CASE TO AVOID THAT HE SEIZED ON A 1225 01:16:30,957 --> 01:16:32,392 HAIRBRAINED SCHEME COMMIT A GREATER CRIME TO BLOT 1226 01:16:32,392 --> 01:16:33,793 OUT THE LESSER ONES. KILL TWO LOVED ONES TO ATTRACT 1227 01:16:33,793 --> 01:16:41,634 SYMPATHY INSTEAD OF SCRUTINY >> MR. MURDAUGH, ARE YOU A 1228 01:16:41,634 --> 01:16:43,770 FAMILY ANNIHILATOR >> A FAMILY ANNIHILATOR? 1229 01:16:43,770 --> 01:16:45,171 YOU MEAN, LIKE, DID I SHOOT MY WIFE AND MY SON? 1230 01:16:45,171 --> 01:16:51,177 >> YES >> NO. 1231 01:16:51,177 --> 01:16:53,713 >> NOTHING FURTHER >> Reporter: AS A FORMER 1232 01:16:53,713 --> 01:16:55,081 ATTORNEY, ALEX MURDAUGH HAD A KNACK FOR READING JURIES 1233 01:16:55,081 --> 01:16:57,717 BUT ALL THAT MATTERED NOW WAS HOW THESE JURORS WERE READING 1234 01:16:57,717 --> 01:17:02,288 HIM. AFTER 28 DAYS OF TESTIMONY, THE 1235 01:17:02,288 --> 01:17:06,860 CASE WAS THEIRS TO DECIDE. AND THEY DID IT IN LESS THAN 1236 01:17:06,860 --> 01:17:08,661 THREE HOURS. >> THE DEFENDANT WILL RISE 1237 01:17:28,348 --> 01:17:31,751 >>> Reporter: 28 DAYS HAD BARELY ENDED IN THE MOST WATCHED TRIAL 1238 01:17:31,751 --> 01:17:40,093 IN SOUTH CAROLINA'S HISTORY. THE CASE WAS IN THE HANDS OF THE 1239 01:17:40,093 --> 01:17:41,361 JURY, AND EVERYONE WAS TRYING TO CATCH THEIR BREATH WHEN THE WORD 1240 01:17:41,361 --> 01:17:42,862 CAME A VERDICT WAS IN 1241 01:17:42,862 --> 01:17:46,566 ALREADY. >> GUILTY. 1242 01:17:46,566 --> 01:17:49,169 >> Reporter: GUILTY OF THE MURDERS OF HIS WIFE AND SON. 1243 01:17:49,169 --> 01:17:52,839 BAILIFFS FLANKED AND CUFFED MURDAUGH 1244 01:17:52,839 --> 01:18:00,313 HIS SURVIVING SON, BUSTER, WATCHING FROM THE GALLERY. 1245 01:18:00,313 --> 01:18:04,284 >> AND HE MAY BE TAKEN AWAY. >> ALEX, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU 1246 01:18:04,284 --> 01:18:05,418 WANT TO SAY TO YOUR SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBERS 1247 01:18:05,418 --> 01:18:06,853 >> Reporter: AS HE WAS LED OUT OF THE BACK OF COURTHOUSE LAST 1248 01:18:06,853 --> 01:18:13,360 NIGHT TO SPEND HIS FIRST NIGHT IN JAIL AS A CONVICTED MURDERER, 1249 01:18:13,360 --> 01:18:21,901 A JUBILANT PROSECUTION TEAM ASSEMBLED IN FRONT OF THE 1250 01:18:21,901 --> 01:18:25,338 BUILDING >> Reporter: THERE WERE CHEERS 1251 01:18:25,338 --> 01:18:29,042 FOR LEAD PROSECUTOR CREIGHTON WATERS, AND HE HEAPED 1252 01:18:29,042 --> 01:18:32,712 PRAISE ON THE JURORS >> WE HAD NO DOUBT IF WE HAD A 1253 01:18:32,712 --> 01:18:40,286 CHANCE TO PRESENT OUR CASE IN A COURT OF LAW THAT THEY WOULD SEE 1254 01:18:40,286 --> 01:18:42,055 THROUGH THE ONE LAST CON ALEX MURDAUGH WAS TRYING TO 1255 01:18:42,055 --> 01:18:43,690 PULL AND THEY DID AND WE'RE SO 1256 01:18:43,690 --> 01:18:46,559 GRATEFUL FOR THAT. >> Reporter: THE TRIAL HAD DRAWN 1257 01:18:46,559 --> 01:18:48,528 SPECTATORS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND NOW THEY ALSO 1258 01:18:48,528 --> 01:18:49,963 WEIGHED IN >> VERY SAD. 1259 01:18:49,963 --> 01:18:54,801 IT'S THE DEMISE OF AN ENTIRE FAMILY 1260 01:18:54,801 --> 01:18:58,271 >> THIS WAS THE ONLY WAY THAT PAUL AND MAGGIE WILL EVER HAVE 1261 01:18:58,271 --> 01:19:01,041 ANY JUSTICE. >> JUSTICE WAS SERVED, IT WAS. 1262 01:19:01,041 --> 01:19:05,311 AND NOW MAYBE THEY CAN LAY IN PEACE. 1263 01:19:05,311 --> 01:19:10,150 >> Reporter: MARK TINSLEY, LAWYER FOR MALLORY BEACH'S 1264 01:19:10,150 --> 01:19:13,820 FAMILY >> IT WAS INTERESTING TO ME THAT 1265 01:19:13,820 --> 01:19:19,826 THE TRIAL TESTIMONY ENDED ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE BOAT CRASH. 1266 01:19:19,826 --> 01:19:27,500 BUT THEN FOR ALEX TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT HE DID AND 1267 01:19:27,500 --> 01:19:37,177 TO HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR WHAT HE DID IN SUCH A PUBLIC MANNER ON 1268 01:19:37,177 --> 01:19:41,481 THE ANNIVERSARY OF THEM FINDING HER BODY, IT REALLY HAS TO BE 1269 01:19:41,481 --> 01:19:42,882 SOMETHING MORE THAN JUST COINCIDENCE. 1270 01:19:42,882 --> 01:19:45,452 >> WE KNEW THAT THE LIE, AS WE CALL IT, WOULD BE A MAJOR ISSUE. 1271 01:19:45,452 --> 01:19:46,619 >> Reporter: ALEX'S DEFEATED DEFENSE TEAM, DICK HARPOOTLIAN 1272 01:19:46,619 --> 01:19:48,288 AND JIM GRIFFIN. HOW DAMNING WAS THE VIDEO ABOUT 1273 01:19:48,288 --> 01:19:49,689 THE KENNEL >> DAMNING 1274 01:19:49,689 --> 01:19:53,960 >> EXTREMELY >> EXTREMELY 1275 01:19:53,960 --> 01:19:58,498 I MEAN, WE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT JIM AND I, WERE GETTING PREPARED 1276 01:19:58,498 --> 01:20:00,266 FOUR OR FIVE MONTHS AGO AND WE WERE LOOKINH FOR A WAY TO GET 1277 01:20:00,266 --> 01:20:01,568 AROUND THE -- WE CALL IT "THE LIE. 1278 01:20:01,568 --> 01:20:02,769 I MEAN, EVERY TIME WE DID, IT'S THE LIE. 1279 01:20:02,769 --> 01:20:05,338 HOW DO YOU GET AROUND IT HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN IT? 1280 01:20:05,338 --> 01:20:07,941 AND APPARENTLY, HE DIDN'T. >> SO, THIS CASE REALLY BOILED 1281 01:20:07,941 --> 01:20:12,445 DOWN TO THE BIG LIE VERSUS THE BIG WHY. 1282 01:20:12,445 --> 01:20:16,149 >> Reporter: BUT SOUTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY GENERAL ALAN WILSON AND 1283 01:20:16,149 --> 01:20:19,552 PROSECUTOR WATERS CONTEND IT WAS MORE THAN JUST THAT TAPE 1284 01:20:19,552 --> 01:20:23,256 >> ALEX MURDAUGH I THINK HIS VOICE ON THE KENNEL 1285 01:20:23,256 --> 01:20:29,963 VIDEO COUPLED WITH HIS TESTIMONY, THAT'S ULTIMATELY 1286 01:20:29,963 --> 01:20:33,233 WHAT HUNG HIM WITH THE JURY. >> SOUTH CAROLINIANS, AS YOU 1287 01:20:33,233 --> 01:20:34,934 KNOW, HAVE A GOOD SENSE AND A GOOD METER FOR BS AND I THINK 1288 01:20:34,934 --> 01:20:36,636 THAT HE LOOKED THEM IN THE EYE AND TOLD THEM LIES 1289 01:20:36,636 --> 01:20:42,876 THAT WAS ALL IT TOOK TO GET THEM OVER THE FINISH LINE 1290 01:20:42,876 --> 01:20:44,244 >> HOW DID BUSTER FEEL ABOUT YOUR BEING FOUND GUILTY? 1291 01:20:44,244 --> 01:20:47,814 >> Reporter: THIS MORNING, HIS FIRST DAY AS A CONVICTED MAN, 1292 01:20:47,814 --> 01:20:51,317 MURDAUGH CAME TO THE COURTHOUSE IN A JUMPSUIT AND SHACKLES FOR 1293 01:20:51,317 --> 01:20:54,454 SENTENCING >> WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADDRESS THE 1294 01:20:54,454 --> 01:20:56,890 COURT ON ANY MATTERS >> Reporter: THE JUDGE ASKED 1295 01:20:56,890 --> 01:20:59,392 EACH SIDE IF THEY WANTED TO ADDRESS THE COURT. 1296 01:20:59,392 --> 01:21:01,561 >> MR. GRIFFIN AND I WOULD HAVE NO COMMENT 1297 01:21:01,561 --> 01:21:04,264 THE DEFENDANT WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE COURT. 1298 01:21:04,264 --> 01:21:06,966 >> I WOULD NEVER HURT MY WIFE MAGGIE 1299 01:21:06,966 --> 01:21:11,538 I WOULD NEVER HURT MY SON PAW PAW. 1300 01:21:11,538 --> 01:21:13,807 >> Reporter: THE JUDGE HAD A QUESTION FOR THE CONVICTED MAN 1301 01:21:13,807 --> 01:21:18,345 ABOUT SOMETHING HE SAID ON THE STAND. 1302 01:21:18,345 --> 01:21:24,617 >> "OH, WHAT TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE. 1303 01:21:24,617 --> 01:21:26,319 WHAT DID YOU MEAN BY THAT? >> I MEANT WHEN I LIED, I 1304 01:21:26,319 --> 01:21:30,590 CONTINUE TO LIE. >> AND THE QUESTION IS, WHEN 1305 01:21:30,590 --> 01:21:33,993 WILL IT END? >> Reporter: AND THEN, IN THE 1306 01:21:33,993 --> 01:21:37,964 VERY COURTROOM WHERE HIS FATHER, GRANDFATHER AND GREAT 1307 01:21:37,964 --> 01:21:40,533 GRANDFATHER HAD PROSECUTED CASES BEFORE HIM, ALEX MURDAUGH WAS 1308 01:21:40,533 --> 01:21:44,537 SENTENCED FOR KILLING HIS WIFE AND SON. 1309 01:21:44,537 --> 01:21:48,508 >> I SENTENCE YOU FOR THE TERM OF THE REST OF YOUR NATURAL 1310 01:21:48,508 --> 01:21:53,346 LIFE >> Reporter: TWO LIFE TERMS, TO 1311 01:21:53,346 --> 01:21:59,886 BE SERVED CONSECUTIVELY. HE IS APPEALING. 1312 01:21:59,886 --> 01:22:02,455 THE TRIAL MAY BE OVER, BUT FOR OLD FRIENDS OF ALEX, THE 1313 01:22:02,455 --> 01:22:08,428 HEARTBREAK WILL NEVER END. WHAT'S BEEN THE HARDEST PART 1314 01:22:08,428 --> 01:22:13,266 >> HARDEST PART IS TWO FRIENDS THAT WE'LL NEVER SEE AGAIN, TWO 1315 01:22:13,266 --> 01:22:14,668 PEOPLE THAT WE LOVED KNOWING THAT WE'LL NEVER SEE 1316 01:22:14,668 --> 01:22:16,102 MAGGIE AND PAUL AGAIN. >> Reporter: WHO WAS THE PAUL 1317 01:22:16,102 --> 01:22:20,874 THAT YOU KNEW? >> THE PAUL THAT WE KNEW WAS 1318 01:22:20,874 --> 01:22:27,681 LOVING HE WAS FUNNY 1319 01:22:27,681 --> 01:22:29,082 HE HAD A BIG HEART >> Reporter: WHAT DO YOU WANT 1320 01:22:29,082 --> 01:22:31,351 THE WORLD TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR SORORITY SISTER TURNED DEAR 1321 01:22:31,351 --> 01:22:33,920 FRIEND, MAGGIE MURDAUGH? >> THE WORLD LOST A VERY SPECIAL 1322 01:22:33,920 --> 01:22:42,662 PERSON I LOST A DEAR FRIEND 1323 01:22:42,662 --> 01:22:46,166 I STILL HEAR HER LAUGH SHE HAD A VERY LOUD LAUGH, AND I 1324 01:22:46,166 --> 01:22:49,869 MISS HER >> Reporter: BUT WHEN THE TALK 1325 01:22:49,869 --> 01:22:56,009 TURNS ALEX, CHRIS WILSON STRUGGLES. 1326 01:22:56,009 --> 01:22:59,679 THEFT, LYING, DRUG ADDICTION IT'S A LOT OF SECRETS TO HAV 1327 01:22:59,679 --> 01:23:02,549 BETWEEN TWO REALLY GOOD FRIENDS OF MORE THAN 30 YEARS. 1328 01:23:02,549 --> 01:23:04,050 >> I THOUGHT I KNEW HIM. AT THE END OF THE DAY, I THOUGHT 1329 01:23:04,050 --> 01:23:07,654 I KNEW SOMEBODY THAT I DIDN'T KNOW 1330 01:23:07,654 --> 01:23:13,626 >> Reporter: A FAVORED SON OF THE LOW COUNTRY. 1331 01:23:13,626 --> 01:23:17,330 A LIFE WITH ALL THAT GLITTERED A LEGENDARY FAMILY, NOW WITH A 1332 01:23:17,330 --> 01:23:22,168 TRAGIC NEW CHAPTER I MEAN, AS WE SIT HERE RIGHT 1333 01:23:22,168 --> 01:23:25,305 NOW, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT HIM >> MY THOUGHTS RIGHT NOW AREN'T 1334 01:23:25,305 --> 01:23:28,742 GOOD AT ALL ABOUT HIM. BUT I KNOW I'M SUPPOSED TO 1335 01:23:28,742 --> 01:23:38,952 FORGIVE HIM. THE BIBLE TEACHES US TO FORGIVE. 1336 01:23:38,952 --> 01:23:44,924 ONE DAY I HOPE I CAN FORGIVE HIM BUT NOT THIS DAY 1337 01:23:44,924 --> 01:23:46,359 NOT THIS DAY >> THAT'S ALL FOR THIS EDITION 1338 01:23:46,359 --> 01:23:47,761 OF "DATELINE." WE'LL SEE YOU AGAIN SUNDAY AT 1339 01:23:47,761 --> 01:23:55,468 7:00 P.M., 6:00 P.M. CENTRAL AND OF COURSE, I'LL SEE YOU EACH 1340 01:23:55,468 --> 01:23:57,103 WEEKNIGHT FOR "NBC NIGHTLY NEWS." 1341 01:23:57,103 --> 01:23:59,906 I'M LESTER HOLT. FOR ALL OF US AT NBC NEWS, GOOD