Alex Murdaugh's alibi had an 'atomic bomb' drop down on it: Criminal defense attorney
South Carolina criminal defense attorney Cindy Crick joined 'Sunday Night in America' to break down what we learned from the first week of the double murder trial involving Alex Murdaugh.
South Carolina criminal defense attorney Cindy Crick joined "Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy" to weigh in on the murder trial involving Alex Murdaugh, saying "I don't envy [Murdaugh's] defense attorneys."
Murdaugh is charged with fatally shooting his wife Maggie Murdaugh and youngest son Paul Murdaugh near the dog kennels of the family's Islandton hunting estate called Moselle on June 7, 2021.
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Prosecutors allege Murdaugh's financial difficulties, including 99 counts of financial crimes totaling an estimated $9 million, may have been motive for creating a diversion as a grieving husband and father.
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Defense attorney Jim Griffin talks with his client Alex Murdaugh in the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh at the Colleton County Courthouse. ( Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post and Courier/Pool)
"The state is doing exactly what the state is supposed to be doing, which is very methodically laying foundation for each and every piece of evidence they need to get in during the course of this trial," Crick said. "The one interesting little tidbit where the state has weighed in is this issue of motive and I do think that could be one of the more pivotal issues in this case. You have to remember, although– the state doesn't have to prove motive, it's not an element; but a jury of 12 normal people are going to have a hard time wrapping their minds around the idea that this local prominent attorney, who used to be a prosecutor, decided one day to get up off of his sofa and go down to the kennels and put a bullet through the heads of his wife and son."
During the first week of trial, two witnesses placed Murdaugh at the crime scene shortly before 8:50 p.m., the time prosecutors believe the crimes took place. Rogan Gibson, a close friend and neighbor of Murdaugh's took to the stand and was questioned on a 50-second unsent video from Paul's cellphone, which was recorded at 8:44:49 p.m. During cross-examination, Gibson was pressed on the voices in that video and claimed he recognized the voices of Maggie, Paul and Alex Murdaugh.
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Defense attorney Phillip Barber writes out a timeline of events on Maggie Murdaugh’s cellphone during Alex Murdaugh’s trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Wednesday, February 1, 2023. (Joshua Boucher/The State/Pool)
When asked if he was "100%" certain. Gibson replied, "Yes sir."
Crick said Gibson's testimony is "an atomic bomb dropping down on [Murdaugh's] alibi."
"I don't care if you're F. Lee Bailey, Johnnie Cochran, or Trey Gowdy, it's going to be very difficult to come back from this. You've got two issues. Number one, we see you at the scene. Number two, you've lied to investigators about being at the scene," she said.
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Firearms examiner Paul Greer removes a shotgun from an evidence box during Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C. (Sam Wolfe/The State, Pool)
Fox News host Trey Gowdy asked Crick regarding the prosecution's handling of providing a "motive" in this case.
"I think there's a lot we haven't seen yet. So we've seen pieces and parts of this theory," Crick said. "You have somebody that appears to be spiraling out of control, both with finances, family. You know, you're talking about somebody whose reputation, whose fortune and whose liberty may be on the line. And you've got this other issue of opioids, that sort of, in the mix, and that adds up to a desperate situation for some folks."
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If convicted, Murduagh faces up to life without parole and a minimum of 30 years in prison.