As the fourth week of the double murder trial of disbarred lawyer Alex Murdaugh begins today in Colleton County, media outlets are reporting that the prosecution may rest its case this week as tensions appear to be rising between lawyers.
Over the last three weeks, the 12 jurors and five alternates have heard wide-ranging, sometimes disjointed, testimony about the deaths of Murdaugh’s wife and younger son at a family estate in June 2021. They’ve learned about evidence from cell phones, guns and more. They’ve heard about alleged financial improprieties and perceived betrayals.
Defense lawyers are expected to try to continue to poke holes in the prosecution’s theory that the deaths were a result of a strategy to deflect attention from Murdaugh’s alleged theft of millions of dollars.
CP OPINION, Brack: Put yourself in a seat at the Murdaugh trial
“The Murdaugh trial could go on for three more weeks. In a lot of ways, trials like this feature a lot of wasted time as lawyers get witnesses to testify, repeat and sometimes three-peat small details. It’s sometimes hard to figure out the relevance of what’s being said as prosecutors continue to build their case. For one-day visitors, it can be tedious. “It’s not Matlock,” one television anchor reflected, noting that long trials are slow-going and don’t fit into an hour-long show.”
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