Attorney predicts quick acquittal in Alex Murdaugh case
Attorney Anahita Sedaghatfar on the Alex Murdaugh case and why she thinks he will be found not guilty
At least one attorney is predicting a prompt acquittal for Alex Murdaugh in his double murder trial.
Anahita Sedaghatfar told "Fox News @ Night" she initially thought Murdaugh — who is accused of killing his wife and one of his sons, Paul — would be faced with a hung jury, but now believes Colleton County, South Carolina, jurors may be "sympathizing" with him."
"I see a not-guilty [verdict] and I see it very quickly," Sedaghatfar said Tuesday.
Murdaugh — whose tenure as district solicitor in South Carolina's Low Country concluded an 86-year electoral grip on the prosecutor's office by his family — took the stand in his defense last week and conducted himself well, the attorney said.
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Alex Murdaugh cries while taking the stand at his double murder trial. (POOL)
Sedaghatfar said the cross-examination of witness and former Murdaugh law partner Ronnie Crosby was an "excellent" showing by Murdaugh's attorney, South Carolina State Sen. Dick Harpootlian.
Sedaghatfar said the cross-examination of Crosby was key because of allegations Murdaugh "stole a lot of money" from him or their former joint clients.
"Yeah, let me testify against him because he stole millions from me, from the law firm, and now I have to pay this back. So that was exactly what the defense had to do," she said.
A field trip by the jury to the Murdaugh property this week is also key to the potential acquittal, Sedaghatfar added, as host Trace Gallagher reported the distance between the home and the family's kennels is key to claims by the defendant on his whereabouts at the time his wife and son were killed.
Defense attorneys Dick Harpootlian, left, and Jim Griffin talk with client Alex Murdaugh, right. (Grace Beahm Alford/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool)
"It's a field trip the defense wanted. It's different when you're looking at pictures and video versus being there and putting the space into perspective," Sedaghatfar said.
When asked about the idea that there is no alternative potential "villain" than Murdaugh himself, Sedaghatfar said the defense does not have to prove who may have killed Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.
"Motive is not an element of the crime. The prosecutor's theory of motive, I think, is frankly preposterous. The idea that he murdered his wife and son to distract away from financial crimes, at the same time putting himself in the middle of a double murder investigation," she said.
Creighton Waters, of the South Carolina Attorney General's office. (Joshua Boucher/The State/Pool)
"That's not going to resonate with a jury. And I see a quick acquittal possibly this week," she said. "I thought maybe a hung jury, but he [Murdaugh] did such a good job humanizing himself."
Prosecutors in Murdaugh's murder trial concluded their closing arguments Wednesday, with the defense set to deliver its final statements Thursday. Legal analysts appear torn on which side has an advantage, with observers like former Washington, D.C., homicide detective Ted Williams countering Wednesday on "Your World" that lead prosecutor Creighton Waters has expertly laid out a "road map" for jurors to follow against Murdaugh.