The woman who took care of Alex’s mother testified on Monday that Alex had asked her to claim he was at his mother’s home on the night his wife and son were killed in 2021.
Alex’s father, Randall Murdaugh III, died three days after Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were killed on the family’s property in Colleton County. Mushelle Smith testified that on the day of Randall’s funeral, Alex came to his mother’s home in Varnville and told Smith that he was there 30 to 40 minutes on the night of the slayings.
However, Smith said Alex was only there for 20 minutes on the night in question, including the five minutes he took to get into the home.
According to Smith, Alex did not tell her why he wanted her to know this information. Though she said the conversation concerned her to the point that she contacted her brother, who is the Varnville police’s assistant chief.
While on the stand, Smith said Alex came over at 9 p.m. on the night of the slayings, which she thought was unusually late. He allegedly also called the house phone to say he was there even though he was right outside the home.
Smith described Alex as “fidgety” on the night of the murders, but, while being cross-examined, she admitted that it was not unusual for him.
HUGE!
At the visitation following #AlexMurdaugh's father's funeral, Murdaugh told Smith (basically) to say that he was at the house visiting his mother for 30-40 mins the night of the murders. She says he was not there. Smith start crying on the stand. pic.twitter.com/vo28o4JuIh— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) February 6, 2023
Alex has claimed he was napping on the family property when his wife and son went to the dog kennels and were fatally shot. Alex said he woke up and went to his mother’s home before returning and finding their bodies.
Prosecutors said cell phone data and forensic evidence tie Alex to the slayings. Meanwhile, Alex’s attorney, Dick Harpootlian, said the cell phone records were incomplete and asserted that Alex would be covered in blood if he killed his wife and son at close range. Harpootlian said no blood was found on Alex’s clothing.
In September 2021, months after Paul and Maggie’s slayings, Alex suffered superficial head wounds when he allegedly had former client Curtis Smith, 61, shoot him in the head so his surviving son, Buster, would receive a $10 million insurance payout.
A day before the shooting, Alex was forced out of his family law firm amid allegations he misappropriated funds.
Two days after the apparent botched suicide, Alex announced he was entering rehabilitation for drugs. Shortly after that, he was charged with insurance fraud in connection with the September 2021 suicide-for-hire plot and released on bail.
However, in October 2021, Alex was rearrested upon leaving a rehabilitation center in Florida for allegedly stealing $4.3 million from Satterfield’s estate. In that case, he was accused of stealing insurance payouts that were intended for Satterfield’s family. Authorities plan to exhume her body amid an ongoing investigation regarding her death.
In addition to the murder charges, Alex faces more than 100 criminal counts related to fraud.
In June 2022, Alex and Smith were indicted for allegedly purchasing and distributing oxycodone in multiple counties. In December 2022, Alex was indicted for tax evasion for allegedly failing to claim the $6 million he allegedly earned through illegal acts between 2011 and 2019.
Alex was charged with Maggie and Paul’s murders days after he was formally disbarred by the South Carolina Supreme Court.
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[Featured image: Shelly Smith/Twitter video screengrab]
