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Alex Murdaugh claims mystery evidence will prove need for new murder trial
Alex Murdaugh claims mystery evidence will prove need for new murder trial
Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh has claimed that mysterious “newly discovered evidence” will pave the way for him to be granted a new trial for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul. Murdaugh’s attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin said in a statement that new evidence had come to light since his March conviction over the brutal 7 June 2021 slayings. This evidence will form the basis of a new motion requesting a retrial in the high-profile case. The attorneys – who are longtime friends of the killer and represented him at his high-profile murder trial – will reveal this new evidence and release the motion at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. The briefing is scheduled to take place on the grounds of the South Carolina State House near the Court of Appeals in Columbia at 2.30pm local time. For now, the details remain a mystery. Murdaugh is currently behind bars at the McCormick Correctional Institution in South Carolina where he is serving two life sentences for his wife and son’s murders. Last week, it emerged that Murdaugh had lost some of his prison privileges after he fed information to a Fox Nation documentary without permission. South Carolina Corrections Department officials said on Wednesday that, during a jailhouse phone call on 10 June, Mr Griffin had recorded him reading aloud entries from the journal he had kept during his double murder trial. Mr Griffin had then handed over the recordings to producers working on the new Fox Nation documentary about his high-profile case titled “The Fall of the House of Murdaugh”, released today. Prison policy prohibits inmates from talking to the media without permission because the agency “believes that victims of crime should not have to see or hear the person who victimized them or their family member on the news,” state prisons spokesperson Chrysti Shain said in a statement. The media interview violation, along with another violation for using a different inmate’s password to make a telephone call, are prison discipline issues and not a crime, Ms Shain said. As a result, the disgraced legal scion has had his phone privileges revoked and his prison tablet computer confiscated. Murdaugh also lost his ability to buy items in the prison canteen for a month. He will now have to get permission from prison officials to get another tablet, which can be used to make monitored phone calls, watch approved entertainment, read books or take video classes, the prison spokesperson said. Mr Griffin was also issued a warning from prison officials that if he knowingly or unknowingly helps Murdaugh violate rules again, he could lose his ability to talk to his client. Phone calls between lawyers and prisoners are not recorded or reviewed because their conversations are considered confidential. But prison officials said they began investigating Murdaugh after a warden reviewing other phone calls heard Murdaugh’s voice on a call made in a different inmate’s account. Murdaugh claimed that his phone password had not been working. He also told the prison investigators about the recorded journal entries, according to prison records. Murdaugh’s use of a jailhouse tablet previously hit headlines when selfie images he took on the device were obtained in a Freedom of Information request by FITS News. In many of the images, the convicted family killer appeared topless. South Carolina prison officials later clarified that the photos are automatically taken as an inmate uses their tablet that is individually assigned to them – as part of inmate monitoring. Now, Murdaugh has lost the use of his tablet indefinitely due to his unauthorised communication with the documentarymakers – which marks his first media interview of sorts since his conviction. His eldest – and now only surviving – son Buster Murdaugh also broke his silence speaking out in his first TV interview as part of the three-part series. In the interview, Buster insisted that he still believes his father is innocent of the murders of his mother and brother – but admitted that he may be a psychopath. Maggie and Paul were found shot dead on the family’s 1,700-acre Moselle estate back on 7 June 2021. Alex Murdaugh had called 911 claiming to have found their bodies. During his high-profile murder trial, jurors heard how Paul was shot twice with a 12-gauge shotgun while he stood in the feed room of the dog kennels on the affluent family’s 1,700-acre Moselle estate. The second shot to his head blew his brain almost entirely out of his skull. After killing Paul, prosecutors said Murdaugh then grabbed a .300 Blackout semiautomatic rifle and opened fire on Maggie as she tried to flee from her husband. During the dramatic six-week trial, Murdaugh confessed to lying about his alibi on the night of the murders but continued to claim his innocence of the killings. The jury didn’t agree and the disgraced legal scion was convicted in March of the brutal murders. Beyond the murder charges, Murdaugh, 55, is also facing a slew of financial fraud charges for stealing millions of dollars from his law firm clients and his dead housekeeper’s family. He is expected to plead guilty on 21 September to federal charges – marking the first time he has pleaded guilty to a crime in court. Murdaugh is also facing around 100 financial charges in state court as well as charges over a botched hitman plot where he claims he paid an accomplice to shoot him dead. Murdaugh’s high-profile conviction also shone a spotlight on some other mystery deaths tied to the South Carolina legal dynasty. Following Maggie and Paul’s murders, investigations were reopened into the 2018 death of the Murdaugh’s longtime housekeeper Gloria Satterfield and the 2015 homicide of gay teenager Stephen Smith. Meanwhile, at the time of his murder, Paul was also awaiting trial for the 2019 boat crash death of Mallory Beach. Read More Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh loses prison privileges over recorded phone call for documentary Buster Murdaugh breaks silence on Stephen Smith killing – and calls father Alex a ‘psychopath’ Alex Murdaugh to plead guilty in theft case. It would be the first time he admits to a crime
2023-09-04 21:17
Sam Asghari 'extremely proud' and 'excited' about Britney Spears' upcoming memoir which he has already read
Sam Asghari 'extremely proud' and 'excited' about Britney Spears' upcoming memoir which he has already read
'It was a very tough one [to write. I can't wait to read it, I will be the first one in line to read it,' said Sam Asghari
2023-10-14 01:58
New federal rule may help boost competition for railroad shipments at companies with few options
New federal rule may help boost competition for railroad shipments at companies with few options
Companies with plants and factories that are only served by one railroad may soon be able to get a bid from another railroad if their current service is bad enough under a new rule that was proposed Thursday to help boost competition
2023-09-08 01:23
Judge Cannon jumpstarts oversight of Trump classified documents case with order on security clearances
Judge Cannon jumpstarts oversight of Trump classified documents case with order on security clearances
US District Judge Aileen Cannon issued her first order since former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith for allegedly mishandling classified information, instructing the parties to get the ball rolling to obtain security clearances for the lawyers who will need them.
2023-06-16 09:15
Back in hoodies and gym shorts, Fetterman tackles Senate life after depression treatment
Back in hoodies and gym shorts, Fetterman tackles Senate life after depression treatment
Before Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman checked himself in to a hospital for clinical depression in February, he used to walk the halls of the Senate stone-faced and dressed in formal suits
2023-05-21 20:45
Kroger to divest over 400 stores in bid to close $25 billion Albertsons deal
Kroger to divest over 400 stores in bid to close $25 billion Albertsons deal
By Savyata Mishra and Juveria Tabassum Kroger said on Friday it would sell over 400 grocery stores to
2023-09-09 00:25
Stock market today: World shares mixed after Wall Street retreat
Stock market today: World shares mixed after Wall Street retreat
World shares are mixed after Wall Street benchmarks retreated following the S&P 500's rise to its highest level since the spring of last year
2023-06-21 17:55
These 8 Republicans stood apart to remove Kevin McCarthy as House speaker
These 8 Republicans stood apart to remove Kevin McCarthy as House speaker
Rep. Kevin McCarthy had support from 208 members of his conference to remain as House speaker
2023-10-04 11:57
Why did Audrey Hale target Christian elementary school? Nashville shooter's autopsy reveals her clothes had mysterious handwritten notes
Why did Audrey Hale target Christian elementary school? Nashville shooter's autopsy reveals her clothes had mysterious handwritten notes
Audrey Hale killed three children and three adults, firing a total of 152 rounds during the March shooting at The Covenant School
2023-07-27 18:18
Workers strike at major Southern California hotels over pay and benefits
Workers strike at major Southern California hotels over pay and benefits
Workers are picketing major Southern California hotels after walking off the job during the holiday weekend to demand better pay and benefits
2023-07-04 03:49
King Charles III draws attention by wearing a Greek flag tie after London-Athens diplomatic spat
King Charles III draws attention by wearing a Greek flag tie after London-Athens diplomatic spat
Britain's King Charles III has caused some raised eyebrows by wearing a tie adorned with a pattern of Greek flags to the COP28 climate summit in Dubai
2023-12-02 01:58
Travis Scott vows to help Kai Cenat in getting IShowSpeed 'unbanned' from Twitch
Travis Scott vows to help Kai Cenat in getting IShowSpeed 'unbanned' from Twitch
'Imma get him unbanned,' Travis Scott wrote on an Instagram Story
2023-08-30 19:49