Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdau denied murdering his wife and son during Thursday’s double-murder trial, but admitted he lied about the last time he saw them.
Murdoh, 54, has been charged with shooting his wife Maggie, 52, and his 22-year-old son, Paul, near the kennel on the property of his home on June 7, 2021. . he was found guilty. In his testimony, Murdoh adamantly continued to deny any role in his murder.
“I would never intentionally hurt either of them,” Murdoh said, tears running down his cheeks.
Five weeks into his trial, Murdau admitted to lying to police about being in a kennel with his wife and son prior to the murder. However, he blamed his opioid addiction for clouding his thinking and creating a distrust of state law enforcement.
“As the addiction progressed over time, I found myself in these situations that became paranoid thinking,” Murdoh said.
A once-prominent attorney once told police that hours before the murder, he was visiting his ailing mother in another town, not near her Colton County home. In a cell phone video taken at the kennel about five minutes before, he testified that he believed he heard Murdo’s voice with his son and wife.
Mr Murdoh testified that once he started lying, he felt compelled to continue.
Alex Murdau’s decision to testify could be a gamble. Prosecutors can question not only the deaths of his wife and son, but also about 100 charges he faces, ranging from theft from customers to arranging a highwayside shooting.
Several witnesses, including Maggie Murdau’s sister, said that despite the brutality of the shooting and the lack of clear clues from the police, weeks after the murder, Alex Murdau was unable to secure himself or his surviving son’s safety. He testified that he did not appear to be afraid.
Murdoh is being held without bail for financial and other crimes, so even if he is found not guilty, he will not be a free man from court.
Murdow will likely spend decades in prison if convicted of most or all of these financial crimes.
