criminal cases the defendant really doesn t have the ability, doesn t have the resources, doesn t have the lawful authority to execute search warrants, subpoena documents, to prove his or her innocence. and so a defendant cannot secure a crime scene, cannot lift the crime scene for fingerprints, shoe impressions, cannot secure telephones and get electronic data in the course of an investigation. so the defendant is limited on what they can do. in this case, on june 7th, 2021, alex murdaugh called 911 and officer deputy green and then followed by other deputies rolled up on the scene and he is standing on his property. his wife and son lie dead in a
the truth is simple. that it had to be two shooters with two guns. murdaugh s attorneys flipping the prosecution s script. arguing that while he lied about being at the kennels minutes before the murders, that video captured the conversation of a happy family. he s got a bird in his mouth! bubba! hey, bubba. there s nothing on that tape that indicates there s any strife, any conflict, any anger, any planning. reporter: the defense mocking the state s theory the disgraced lawyer murdered his wife and son because he was about to be exposed for his financial crimes. why, why, why would alex murdaugh, on june 7th, execute his son paul and his wife maggie, who he adored and loved? reporter: with his voice cracking, murdaugh s attorney asking the jury for a not guilty verdict. on behalf of alex, on behalf of buster, on behalf of maggie,
0 work, your family, your personal obligations, maybe some of you missed vacations. but you ve been here in a three-week trial and here we are at the end of six weeks. i want to thank you personally and on behalf of all of us and especially on behalf of alex murdaugh. in his opening statement it was explained the law governing your service requires each of you to engage in an unnatural task. in every criminal case, jurors are required to begin the process by presuming the defendant innocent. in this case, you were required under your solemn oath as we began to presume alex murdaugh innocent of these charges. and frankly that s not natural. when you hear on the news a crime was made and the defendant was arrested you were relieved. i wouldn t be surprised when you read in the paper that alex murdaugh was charged with the murder of his wife and son that you thought oh good, they got him. but those opinions and each of you when you filled out your questionnaire agreed and affirmed that yo
evidence. one of the things they focused on in the trial is the time line. let s take a listen to that. on june 7th, 2021, as all these pressures were mounting, the defendant killed maggie and paul. and how do we know that? we re going to talk in detail about that, but the time line puts him there. the forensic time line puts him there. the use of his family weapons corroborates that and his lies and guilty actions afterwards confirms it. so he obviously pulled out his phone when he talks about the time line, that key piece of evidence, which is a video that his son took that puts him at the scene of the crime at a time when he says he wasn t there, and he later admitted that he