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54-year-old Alex Murdaugh was accused of fatally shooting his wife, Margaret, and their son, Paul, in 2021. The following year, in July 2022, former attorney Murdaugh was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
Alex Murdaugh’s double homicide case has been making headlines since June 2021. On Wednesday, February 8, 2023, presiding Judge Clifton Newman called for a sudden recess and requested everyone to evacuate the building.
His trial, which was being held at the South Carolina courthouse, was put to a halt after a supposed security breach. Courthouse personnel reportedly received a bomb threat and immediately evacuated the establishment. The trial further resumed at 2.30 pm ET once the area was marked all-clear.
A bomb threat halted Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial that took place in a South Carolina courthouse
The high-profile murder trial entered its third week when it was put to a halt after a reported bomb threat. Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman, who was presiding over the case, called for a recess at around 12.30 pm ET. Shortly after that, the judge said:
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have to evacuate the building at this time. So, we’ll be in recess until we discover what’s going on.”
A spokesperson for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division released a statement addressing the alleged security breach and said:
“A bomb threat was received by Colleton County courthouse personnel. The building has been evacuated and SLED along with the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the threat. No additional information is available from SLED at this time.”
During this time, authorities took Alex Murdaugh to an unidentified location in a car. Footage showed spectators, journalists, and court staff rushing out of the establishment. Authorities transported the jurors in vans and brought in police dogs to investigate the area. In addition, a bomb squad was called in to look into the situation.
At around 2.30 pm ET, the area was marked all-clear, and the high-profile murder trial resumed. Authorities are yet to find out who called in the bomb threat, which now seems to be a hoax. They claimed that the person who called the threat reportedly had a male-sounding voice. According to local reports, the bomb was allegedly placed in the judge’s chambers.
A spectator named Marty Yates, who was present in the courtroom at the time, said:
“Alex was taken by the police, but they grabbed the family and rushed them out ahead of us. And then we all evacuated the building and have scattered around.”
It is not yet clear whether or not the bomb threat was related to the ongoing murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, who belongs to a prominent American legal family. However, everyone was asked to evacuate the courtroom shortly after a new witness had taken the stand to testify. Alex Murdaugh’s attorney Dick Harpootlian told news outlets that the evacuation happened due to a “bomb threat.”
The murder trial unearthed a series of charges for several legal and financial offenses, including money laundering, forgery, and breach of trust with fraudulent intent. Alex Murdaugh reportedly stole around $6.2 million from several clients and funds.
Around six months after Alex Murdaugh allegedly killed his wife and son, prosecutors accused him of being involved in a drug ring. However, Murdaugh has maintained his stance regarding his family’s death, stating that he didn’t kill them.
According to the former lawyer, he discovered his wife and son were shot to death. Alex Murdaugh pleaded not guilty to the homicide charges. However, if convicted, he could face prison time of about 30 years.
The defense attorney claims nothing directly links Murdaugh with the double-homicides
Over the last week, defense attorneys and prosecutors have been arguing about whether the jury should hear testimony regarding the financial wrongs that the former attorney is accused of. Judge Newman permitted the aforementioned testimonies, as he believed that would possibly lead to an alleged motive behind the double homicide.
According to prosecutors, Alex Murdaugh murdered his wife and son to gain sympathy since investigations were taking place to look into the missing funds of his law firm.
Prosecutors further added that over $790,000 went missing from Alex’s former law firm. It was revealed that former colleagues began investigating if he was involved, however, and stopped inquiries after Paul and Margaret were killed.
On Wednesday, Annette Griswold, a colleague at Murdaugh’s paralegal testified, saying:
“He’s been lying this whole time. He had these funds. He lied to me. That feeling in the back of my mind was correct.”
The firm’s chief financial officer, Jeanne Seckinger, claimed:
“He was successful not from his work ethic, but his ability to establish relationships and to manipulate people into settlements and clients into liking him. The art of bulls**t, basically.”
However, Alex Murdaugh’s attorneys contended that there is no direct link between him and the alleged murders of his son and wife. They also claimed that the prosecutors have more evidence regarding his financial misdeeds, rather than the homicide case.
