Latest / Crime Stories with Nancy Grace / ALEX MURDAUGH MURDER CONVICTIONS VACATED | Crime Alert 05.14.26

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ALEX MURDAUGH MURDER CONVICTIONS VACATED | Crime Alert 05.14.26 · Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

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  Speaker 1: Crime Alart hourly update, breaking crime news Now, I'm Sidney Silvanni.
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  Speaker 2: In a stunning unanimous ruling issued this Wednesday, the South
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  Speaker 2: Carolina Supreme Court has officially overturned the murder convictions and
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  Speaker 2: life sentence of Alex Murdach. The fifty seven year old
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  Speaker 2: former scion of a legal dynasty, was found guilty in
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  Speaker 2: early twenty twenty three for the brutal twenty twenty one
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  Speaker 2: shooting deaths of his wife, Maggie and son Paul at
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  Speaker 2: their Mozelle estate. However, the state's highest court determined the
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  Speaker 2: integrity of that trial was compromised. The reversal doesn't stem
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  Speaker 2: from a lack of evidence or a procedural error, but
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  Speaker 2: from the conduct of the very person sworn to oversee
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  Speaker 2: the administration of the court room, Collaton County Clerk of Court,
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  Speaker 2: Becky Hill. According to the ruling, Hill improperly influenced the
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  Speaker 2: jury by suggesting Murdav was guilty and that his testimony
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  Speaker 2: could not be trusted. That Alex Murdach isn't going anywhere.
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  Speaker 2: Despite this legal victory, the reality for Murdov remains one
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  Speaker 2: of long term incarceration. He is a disgraced figure U're
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  Speaker 2: a self admitted thief and liar who is currently serving
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  Speaker 2: substantial time for a staggering array of financial crimes. Murdau
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  Speaker 2: admitted to schemes in which he stole roughly twelve million
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  Speaker 2: dollars from his own law firm and clients, many of
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  Speaker 2: whom were in desperate, vulnerable situations. He is currently serving
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  Speaker 2: both federal and state sentences for those admissions.
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  Speaker 1: Alec Murdall is currently serving a twenty seven year sentence
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  Speaker 1: for the financial crimes that he has admitted to. He
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  Speaker 1: received a concurrent forty year sentence in addition to the
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  Speaker 1: state's charges. Salc Murdau will not be getting out of
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  Speaker 1: prison for several decades.
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  Speaker 2: However, Murdaw's now vacated murder charges remain the focal point
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  Speaker 2: of the nation's attention. Because the stakes are so high,
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  Speaker 2: the prosecution is not backing down. While the state has
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  Speaker 2: a brief window to appeal, the Attorney General's office is
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  Speaker 2: already signaling its intent to move forward with a new trial.
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  Speaker 2: They are aiming for a speedy retrial, likely before the
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  Speaker 2: end of the year. Alan Wilson made it clear that
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  Speaker 2: while he respects the High Court's decision, he believes the
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  Speaker 2: pursuit of justice for Maggie and Paul Murdach requires a
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  Speaker 2: return to the court room.
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  Speaker 1: The state has fifteen days to ask the State Supreme
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  Speaker 1: Court to reconsider its decision. We have ninety days to
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  Speaker 1: appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court. However, it is
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  Speaker 1: currently my intention to seek a speedy retrial in the
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  Speaker 1: case against Alec Murdall.
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  Speaker 2: Murdall's defense team, led by Dick Harpoutlian and Jim Griffin,
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  Speaker 2: is viewing this ruling as a massive validation. They have
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  Speaker 2: maintained from day one that while their client is a thief, liar,
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  Speaker 2: and insurance cheat, he is not a murderer. They argue
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  Speaker 2: that he has been consistent in his denial of killing
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  Speaker 2: his family since the moment he called nine one one
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  Speaker 2: in twenty twenty one. In their joint statement, the defense
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  Speaker 2: team noted they look forward to a new trial more
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  Speaker 2: Crime and Justice news After this, Murdall's defense team likely
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  Speaker 2: already preparing to attack the prosecution's lack of physical evidence.
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  Speaker 2: During the first trial, the defense hammered home the fact
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  Speaker 2: that no DNA evidence linked Murdall to the sh shootings,
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  Speaker 2: despite the killings occurring at extremely close range with powerful weapons,
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  Speaker 2: No blood spatter was found on Murdaw or his clothing. Furthermore,
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  Speaker 2: those murder weapons were never found. Prosecutor's smoking gun remains.
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  Speaker 2: The kennel video, Murdau claimed he hadn't seen his wife
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  Speaker 2: or son for at least an hour before they were killed.
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  Speaker 2: That alibi was decimated when investigators cracked the passcode on
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  Speaker 2: Paul's phone. They found a video recorded at the dog
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  Speaker 2: kennel's just five minutes before Paul's phone activity ceased forever.
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  Speaker 2: In the background of that video, you can hear Murdau's voice,
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  Speaker 2: Hey he got.
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  Speaker 1: Burdens now, Hey, Bubba, it's a guineas a chickat.
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  Speaker 3: A cash podcast quick.
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  Speaker 2: The prosecution's theory was that Murdaw, spiraling from opioid addiction
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  Speaker 2: in the impending exposure of his twelve million dollar financial
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  Speaker 2: shell game, killed his family to create a diversion and
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  Speaker 2: buy himself time. But the Supreme Court's unanimous ruling didn't
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  Speaker 2: focus on the strength of that video. It focused on
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  Speaker 2: Becky Hill. The justices were scathing, stating that Hill's behavior
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  Speaker 2: egregiously attacked Murdall's credibility. The court found she used her
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  Speaker 2: access to whisper to jurors, telling them not to be
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  Speaker 2: fooled or confused by Murdall's testimony. One juror, Myra Crosby,
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  Speaker 2: described these interactions in detail, and.
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  Speaker 3: She said, the defense has decided that they're going to
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  Speaker 3: put Alex on the stand. And she said, now, I
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  Speaker 3: don't want you to be fooled by what they say.
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  Speaker 3: Play close attention to his body language, his movements. You're
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  Speaker 3: going to hear a lot of things.
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  Speaker 2: The Supreme Court stated Hill placed her fingers on the
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  Speaker 2: scales of justice, denying Murdaw his right to a fair trial.
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  Speaker 2: The motive for this interference, according to the court, was
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  Speaker 2: the siren call of celebrity. Hill was working on a
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  Speaker 2: book titled Behind the Doors of Justice the Murdaw Murders,
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  Speaker 2: and the Court suggested she wanted a guilty verdict to
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  Speaker 2: boost sales. That book was later pulled due to plagiarism allegations.
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  Speaker 2: Bill has since pleaded guilty to lying about her actions,
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  Speaker 2: including showing graphic crime scene photos to the media. Murdall's
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  Speaker 2: lawyers have called her conduct breathtaking and unprecedented. The Justice
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  Speaker 2: is also issued a warning for the next trial be
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  Speaker 2: cautious with the financial evidence, while the prosecution used the
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  Speaker 2: twelve million dollar theft to establish motive. The court ruled
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  Speaker 2: that details about Murdaw's stealing from disabled or vulnerable victims
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  Speaker 2: should be restricted next time to avoid unfairly prejudicing the jury.
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  Speaker 2: Despite this, Chief Prosecutor Creighton Water stands by his aggressive approach.
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  Speaker 2: The Supreme Court multiple times and the order said that
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  Speaker 2: this was viable evidence of motive, but ultimately gave us
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  Speaker 2: some guidance about the extent. That's how it works. Waters remarked,
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  Speaker 2: you don't hit a home run if you're afraid to
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  Speaker 2: strike out. As we look toward the twenty twenty six showdown,
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  Speaker 2: the legal world remains transfixed. Alex Murdall remains in prison,
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  Speaker 2: Becky Hill remains disgraced, and the search for a fair
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  Speaker 2: resolution continues. For the latest crime and justice breaking news,
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  Speaker 2: be sure to tune in tomorrow on your favorite podcast
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  Speaker 2: app with this crime alert. I'm Sidney Silvani