Disgraced legal scion Alex Murdaugh claimed during his murder trial Friday someone who had seen posts on social media gunned down his son, Paul, because they were angry about the fatal boat crash he caused.
Murdaugh took the stand and insisted “half-truths” reported online about Paul’s 2019 criminal case had enraged a mystery killer who read about Paul’s drunken wreck online.
“The social media response that came from that was vile,” Murdaugh said. “So over the top.”
“I believe today the wrong person saw and read that,” he said. “The person or people who [killed him], they hated Paul Murdaugh and they had anger in their heart.”
Paul was drunk when he crashed the boat he was captaining into a bridge, throwing Mallory Beach, 19, off it to her death in 2019. Paul was charged with boating under the influence in the high profile case. Friday eeirly marked the fourth anniversary of the crash.
The state’s lead prosecutor, Creighton Waters, asked Murdaugh about a 911 call he made following the killing of his wife, Maggie, and son in which the ex-lawyer claimed the boating accident had led to the double murder.
“I never thought people involved in the boat wreck did this to Paul and Maggie,” Murdaugh said — adding he didn’t think the culprit was a family member of any of the youths who had been on board that day, either.
“So it was a vigilante?” Waters shot back skeptically.
“I believe that when Paul was charged criminally, there were so many leaks, half truths, half-reports, half-statements… that ended up in the media,” Murdaugh replied.
“I did then believe [they were killed] because of the boat wreck and I do now,” he said, hinting that the killer was likely a mysterious stranger.
The disgraced attorney stands accused of gunning down Paul, 22, and Maggie, 55, near the dog kennels at one of their homes in South Carolina on June 7, 2021.
During the trial, Waters asked Murdaugh if he had any evidence to back up the theory that “someone off social media” with a vendetta slipped onto his property and killed Paul and Maggie during the narrow window when he was not with them.
Murdaugh didn’t respond to the question, nor did he elaborate on why Maggie would have been targeted.
Murdaugh’s wild theory came the day after he admitted in court to lying about being near the kennels with his wife and son just moments before they were shot dead.
Murdaugh, who comes from a powerful lineage of South Carolina lawyers, has also admitted on the stand to stealing money and being addicted to opioids at the time of the slayings.