Murdaugh admits he may have hung up his lawyer’s badge for a ‘warmer’ after his son’s boating accident
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Alex Murdaugh has admitted that he ‘may’ have deliberately removed his lawyer’s badge from his pocket on the night of his son’s boat accident in order to get a ‘warmer’ response from police.
This afternoon, the State began questioning the disgraced legal scion, 54, after he took the stand to deny killing his wife and son on his family’s hunting estate in Moselle, South Carolina, on June 7, 2021.
At the time of Maggie and Paul’s deaths, Murdaugh was facing a civil lawsuit over a fatal boating accident in which his son was driving under the influence in February 2019. The 19-year-old Mallory Beach family was Suing for the shipwreck.
Prosecutor Creighton Waters questioned Murdaugh about whether he entered the hospital that night wearing his attorney’s badge, whether he pressured other teenagers who were at the accident to lie to police and why he had blue lights installed in his car.
Murdaugh first said that he could not remember if he was wearing the badge before jury were shown photos of it hanging from his left pocket. ‘A badge has a warm effect with other law enforcement. If I was looking for an advantage like you say,’ she finally conceded.
Alex Murdaugh has admitted that he ‘may’ have deliberately taken his lawyer’s badge out of his pocket the night of his son’s boat accident to get a ‘warmer’ response from law enforcement.
Murdaugh first said that he could not remember if he was wearing the badge before jury were shown photos showing the badge hanging from his left pocket. ‘A badge has a warm effect with other law enforcement. If I was looking for an edge like you say,” she finally admitted
Murdaugh’s attorney’s badge that he allegedly showed to police the night of the shipwreck.
Murdaugh admitted that he routinely left his license plate on the dashboard to get better treatment if pulled over by police.
Waters asked: ‘Did you tell any of the children not to cooperate with law enforcement?’
Murdaugh responded: “I never told anyone not to cooperate with law enforcement.”
He previously admitted that he routinely left his license plate on the dashboard in order to get better treatment if pulled over by police.
Waters asked: ‘Did you use it to get better treatment if you were arrested?’
Murdaugh replied: ‘I would say that’s true.’
He said someone who worked at one of the local sheriff’s offices installed blue lights on his law firm’s car.
He agreed that he got permission from his friend, Colleton County Sheriff Andy Strickland, who pleaded guilty to misconduct in office, assault and battery in 2020 when he was removed from office.
Murdaugh testified that he had five cases in his two decades of work as a volunteer attorney.
His main line of work was securing lucrative personal injury settlements for his family business, Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth and Detrick. The firm has since dissolved because it stole more than $10 million from clients and partners.
Waters then went on to question the disgraced descendant about money he stole, including from a teenage car accident victim who was left a quadriplegic.
He told the court that he got nearly $4.1 million in legal fees from the $10.2 million recovery he got for Hakeem Pinckney. But he also stole the Pickney deal.
“I candidly admit in all of these cases that I took money that wasn’t mine, and I shouldn’t have,” Murdaugh said. ‘I hate the fact that I did it. I’m embarrassed about it.
At the time of Paul’s death, Murdaugh was facing a lawsuit for allowing his son to drive his boat under the influence of alcohol when 19-year-old Mallory (left and right) was killed in February 2019. Murdaugh told the policeman that Paul and Maggie had killed in revenge for the accident
Photos of Murdaugh’s ship, the Sea Hunt, taken by investigators after the drunken Paul’s boat capsized in February 2019
In the photo: Paul (right) walking with the group of friends towards the yacht the night of the accident.
Maggie, Paul and Alex at the youngest son’s high school graduation.
Murdaugh said: “There were many times when I took money that I shouldn’t have taken… I lied to my clients, I cheated on my clients and I stole money from my clients.”
He stated, “These are people I still care about and I made them this way… The actions I did wrong hurt the people I cared about the most and I reaped a lot of havoc.”
The disgraced legal descendant attempted to speed up the line of questioning as Waters led him through specific cases in which he wronged his clients and his firm.
‘Mister. Waters, just to get through this faster,” Murdaugh said.
Waters chimed in: “You may want to get through this faster, but we won’t.”
Waters questioned whether Murdaugh was successful before the inherited legal empire collapsed over his thefts.
Murdaugh was hesitant to answer, saying he no longer considers himself successful. He denied that people saw him as a ‘big shot’ in the local community.
But he agreed that it could have been considered successful because it secured millions of dollars in judgments.
“By those criteria, I certainly succeeded,” he said. But today we have also talked about many of my shortcomings. Do I feel like I was successful? No sir.’
Murdaugh decided to take the stand Thursday in a last-ditch move that his defense attorneys said he had been advised against because of the series of cross-examinations he faces over his financial crimes.
The disgraced legal scion, 54, told the jury: “Paul was so mean… My son was laying on his stomach and I could see his brain hanging off the side wall.”
Buster watches his father with his hands over his mouth at the Colleton County courthouse Thursday.
John Marvin Murdaugh and his wife Lizzie are followed by Buster and his girlfriend and Randy Murdaugh (blue shirt) arrive at court on Thursday
The Murdaugh clan, including Alex’s sister Lynn (from left), son Buster, sister-in-law Lizzie, and brothers John Marvin and Randy.
Alex’s sister Lynn wipes her nose as Buster and his girlfriend Brooklynn White sit to her left.
Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian admitted this morning before the judge ‘[Murdaugh] He indicated that he does not need to speak to me. Hurt my feelings.
Harpootlian said “our advice to take the stand or not would have been different” if the financial crimes he is charged with had been ruled out in cross-examination.
The defense asked the judge to prohibit prosecutors from questioning their client about the litany of financial crimes.
“This is a Bernie Madoff trial, this is not a murder trial,” Harpootlian said, warning the judge that cross-examination would last several days, with prosecutors poring over his financial misdeeds in detail.
Judge Clifton Newman has allowed the embezzlement to be evidence because prosecutors say his mounting debts motivated the murders of his wife and son.