A judge has ruled that prosecutors can call witnesses to testify how Alex Murdaugh allegedly stole money as part of the double murder trial for the disbarred South Carolina attorney as long as they can show it is convincing evidence and linked to the killings.
Judge Clifton Newman said Thursday he will briefly hear from the witnesses outside the presence of the jury to decide whether they can testify in the case.
He said he believes the evidence is "so much a part of the setting of the case and its environment that its proof is appropriate in order to complete the story of the crime by proving its immediate context."
Prosecutors said the evidence is key to their case. They said Murdaugh killed his wife and son at their Colleton County home on June 7, 2021, because a paralegal at the family law firm discovered earlier that day a check on Murdaugh's desk that indicated he was stealing money.
Murdaugh planned the killings to gain sympathy and buy time so he could find a way to cover up the missing money as he had numerous times before in the past decade or so, prosecutors said.
Murdaugh's lawyers said prosecutors are trying to smear Murdaugh with bad behavior not related to the killings to bolster their weak case. They have called it absurd and ridiculous to think that Murdaugh would believe having his family brutally killed would do anything but bring scrutiny into every nook and cranny of his life.
And it did.
Along with the two murder charges, Murdaugh faces about 100 more counts with most of the charges coming before his murder indictment in July 2022.
The accusations range from money laundering, to stealing millions from clients and the family law firm, tax evasion and trying to get a man to fatally shoot him so his surviving son could collect a $10 million life insurance policy. State agents charged Murdaugh with tax evasion, saying he made nearly $14 million as a lawyer over nine years, but also stole nearly $7 million from his law firm at the same time.
Murdaugh, 54, is standing trial in the shootings of his 52-year-old wife, Maggie, and 22-year-old son Paul. He faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted of murder.
The sixth day of testimony in his trial is expected to continue after Newman's ruling and any hearings to decide if witnesses can testify before the jury
Since the killings, Murdaugh's life has seen a stunningly fast downfall. His family dominated the legal system in tiny Hampton County for generations, both as prosecutors and private attorneys known for getting life-changing settlements for accidents and negligence cases.
Israel's widely expected ground invasion of Lebanon appeared to be getting underway early on Tuesday as its military said troops had begun 'limited' raids against Hezbollah targets in the border area.
Pete Rose, Major League Baseball's all-time hits leader who was banned from baseball for gambling on the game, has died at 83.
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Residential school survivors say the federal government is keeping the truth about those institutions in the dark by cutting back on funding for records and ground searches looking for unmarked graves of children who died at the schools.
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More than 90,000 residents east of Atlanta were told to keep sheltering in place Monday a day after a chemical plant fire sent a massive plume of dark smoke high into the sky that could been seen for miles.
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TD Bank Group has agreed to pay more than US$28 million after an investigation into manipulation of the U.S. Treasuries market by one of its traders.
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The City of London is informing drivers about temporary road restrictions on Wellington Street as part of the Downtown Loop Phase 3 finishing work and surface paving.
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A 10-year-old boy from Lethbridge is being praised as a hero after a routine summer outing at the pool nearly turned tragic for his friend.
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Overnight on Thursday as the community of Elliot Lake was resting to prepare for the upcoming Kraft Hockeyville celebrations, when vandals struck a building that has been top of mind for the northern Ontario city for more than a year.
Ontario Provincial Police remind the public that ‘a case is never closed until it is solved,’ while highlighting the force's continued investigation of the 1996 disappearance of Melanie Ethier.
Sault residents may notice some commotion on the Algoma University campus over the next two weeks as a team conducts an archaeological search.
He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people’s basic human right to food.
A soccer game in England on Tuesday night drove a spike in online traffic across the Atlantic to a website launched by the Newfoundland and Labrador government.
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