At one point in the + McCandless & Company: Crime Scenes Amanda Conner Cover. [13] In their opening statement, Clarke argued Smith was deeply troubled and experienced severe depression. Testimony concluded Tuesday in Alex Murdaughs double murder trial, and the jury could begin deliberations as early as Wednesday afternoon. I can see how both sides can benefit from a jury seeing that, Nettles said. The documents show the Vaughn familys trip to Knights Water Park in Springfield also was planned the night before the murders, after Vaughns wife accused him of spending too little time with their kids. Their hour-long field trip to the Moselle hunting estate in South Carolina came shortly before closing arguments began in what has been dubbed the trial of the century by local media. Jurors were also seen driving toward a wooded area across the street from the estate. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool), Prosecutor Creighton Waters holds up a composite sketch Alex Murdaugh helped make during closing arguments in Murdaugh's double murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, in Walterboro, S.C. Prosecutors opposed the visit, saying the scene looks different than it did in June 2021, as trees and vegetation have grown and no one has lived on the property since the killings. He lived a wealthy life, Waters said. "One of the things that I think I explained to you was that he was of a theatrical type presence in the courtroom and he could get very emotional doing closing arguments in front of a jury.". Man Accused Of Slaying Family Had Article On Staging Crime Scenes, "making the death appear to be a suicide,", Vaughn shot in the leg, and his wife and children murdered. The song "When This is Over", on Hayden's 1995 album "Everything I Long For" is written from the point of view of one of Susan Smith's sons as the car sinks into the lake. [19], The season three premiere of Arrested Development ("The Cabin Show") features a flashback scene in which Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter), having recently gone off her postpartum medication, is watching a news story about Smith, to which she replies "Good for her! [6], After graduating from high school in 1989, Smith made a second attempt to kill herself after a married man she was in a relationship with ended their affair. Here is a look at some of the evidence and motives law enforcement have explored during the course of their investigation. The 12 Hes a good lawyer. A beekeeper also removed 60 pounds of honey. The defense vigorously objected, arguing that taking the jurors to the school would play to their emotions and that photos and videos were sufficient. He fooled Maggie and Paul, too, and they paid for it with their lives. He relied on his family name. She lived with her husband Bill and a maid in this house, not far from Mollie: Early one morning in 1923, Mollie heard a loud explosion. Dont let him fool you, too.. The key piece of evidence connecting Alex Murdaugh to the killings is a video Paul Murdaugh shot from the kennels about five minutes before he last used his cellphone. Judge Clifton Newman allowed the visit but cautioned jurors about the differences in how the property looks now. Earlier on Wednesday, jurors went to the scene of the crime that has been detailed throughout the six-week trial. But there was no blood spatter or DNA linking the killings to Alex Murdaugh or anyone else, and prosecutors never laid out how they think Murdaugh could have killed his family, cleaned himself up, disposed of the clothes and weapons, and composed himself in the 15-minute window before GPS data shows he left the property to visit his ailing mother. Prosecutor Marcia Clark said at the time that taking jurors to see the narrow, confined walkway would show the reason why one person could accomplish this, and how the victims were cornered.. In the early 20th century, the members of the Osage Nation became the richest people per capita in the world, after oil was discovered under their reservation. 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The biggest breakthrough of the case was her description of the carjacking location. They were also cautioned to watch for snakes. The building had been sealed off and left largely untouched except for the removal of victims bodies and some personal items before jurors visited last year and retraced the steps Cruz took on Feb. 14, 2018. The windows of the vans, which picked up the group inside the gated area behind the courthouse, were blacked out to maintain the jurors anonymity. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. But Waters disputed that too, noting that Murdaugh was comforted by officers in his initial police interview. Bill Nettles, a criminal defense lawyer and former South Carolina U.S. attorney who is not involved in the case, said the visit could give jurors a sense of scale to make more-informed decisions about the timeline and other questions such as whether Murdaugh could have heard the gunshots across the grounds that have arisen during the trial. He has been doing it for 10 years.. A Drug Hit. Testimony concluded on Tuesday after more than 75 witnesses took the stand over about five weeks. She married William Gwyn Vaughan of Trebarried (died 1752), who was The 54-year-old attorney is standing trial on two counts of murder in the shootings of his wife and son at their Colleton County home and hunting lodge on June 7, 2021. In many ways, Mollie, who was born in 1886, straddled not only two centuries but two civilizations. [18], She will be eligible for parole in November 2024. Jurors have visited the South Carolina estate where prosecutors say disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh shot and killed his wife and son. 71 Metascore. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Id rather follow a set of tracks through a river in the rain than have spend time on a paved road or under a roof. The defense has called 14 witnesses, including Alex Murdaugh himself, who during hours of at-times emotional testimony admitted to stealing from his clients and lying to investigators about his whereabouts the night of the murders but repeatedly denied fatally shooting his wife and son. Large pools of dried blood still stained classroom floors. Still, Waters said there is enough evidence to link the killings to the financial crimes and to Alex Murdaugh being the only person with the means and opportunity to kill his wife and son. Jurors began the day with a visit to the crime scene, where a pool reporter said at least one of them carefully inspected the door frame of a storage closet where Paul Murdaugh was standing when he was killed. The reporter who went to the feed room after the jurors left noted that the back window had large bullet holes. The timeline puts him there. On Wednesday, Vaughn, 31, died while in custody at Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee, where he had been housed off and on since his arrest on Dec. 14, 2015. He did not deny, however, that he spent a half hour at Mega Sports Shooting Equipment and Range in Plainfield the night before his family was killed. She then pointed to the missing panel and said, The devil was standing right there.. The records inside show his three children Abigayle, 12, Cassandra, 11, and Blake, 8 were each shot twice. [13] It took the jury only two and a half hours to convict her of murdering them. Jurors have visited the South Carolina estate where prosecutors say disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh shot and killed his wife and son. Rate. She is incarcerated at the Leath Correctional Institution near Greenwood, South Carolina. Initial water searches did not locate the car because the police believed it would be within 30 feet of the shore, and did not search farther; it turned out to be 122 feet from the shore. [11] She said that there was no motive nor did she plan the murders, stating that she was not in a right state of mind. [14] Smith's defense psychiatrist diagnosed her with dependent personality disorder and major depression. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool), The dog kennels and hanger at the Murdaugh Moselle property on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 in Islandton, S.C. A processing shed is seen in the background. No questions can be asked and no talking will be allowed on the trip. He avoided accountability his whole life. At 5:15 am, a motorist driving on I-55 spotted Christopher Vaughn bleeding and limping away with his parked SUV. The use of the family weapons collaborates it. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool), A hose in the dog kennels at the Murdaugh Moselle property on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 in Islandton, S.C. Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution, "LAWYERS TO REVEAL DEFENSE FOR SUSAN SMITH COULD PLEAD INSANITY OR MENTAL ILLNESS FOR MOTHER OF DROWNED BOYS", "Susan Smith, Mother Who Killed Kids: 'Something Went Very Wrong That Night', "Susan Smith Profile of a Child Killer", "Susan Smith: 20 years later, case still a shocker", "Lawyer keeps even the most loathed criminals off death row", "Former South Carolina prison guard says Susan Smith could kill again if paroled", "Susan Smith, convicted of killing her young sons, could be freed in 2024", "Arrested Development: "The Cabin Show"/"For British Eyes Only", U.S. News Year in Review Susan Smith Trial Dec. 28, 1995, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Susan_Smith&oldid=1139119474, American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, People convicted of murder by South Carolina, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by South Carolina, Articles with dead external links from January 2023, Pages using infobox person with multiple parents, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Testimony concluded Tuesday in Alex Murdaughs double murder trial, and the jury could begin deliberations as early as Wednesday afternoon. Waters said Alex Murdaugh has been lying for years to cover up his opioid addiction and the millions of dollars he stole, so it would be easy to lie about being at the kennels and killing his family, and to lie while testifying in his own defense last week. No one knew who he was. And once crime scene technicians arrived, they found blood inside the familys SUV where blood shouldnt have been found. Once closing arguments are finished, the jurors will get their instructions and begin deliberating what they learned during a trial that has included more than 75 witnesses and lasted more than six weeks. Murdaugh's fear that his decade-long theft would be exposed and his desire to maintain his lofty standing in the community led him to make sure his wife and younger son were at the family's Colleton County home on June 7, 2021, so that he could kill them as part of a clever plan aided by his knowledge of how criminal cases are constructed, prosecutor Creighton Waters told jurors. Kimberly Vaughn was shot once under her chin, the records say. The judge has agreed with a defense request to let jurors visit the Murdaughs property in Colleton County, South Carolina. After the shootings, Vaughn was not initially a suspect; in fact, he voluntarily spoke with police on several occasions. South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED); This page was last edited on 13 February 2023, at 13:21. By the second day of the investigation, the police suspected that she knew their location and hoped that they were still alive. Jurors have visited the South Carolina estate where prosecutors say disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh shot and killed his wife and son. For nine days, she made dramatic pleas on national television for their safe return. Jurors have heard evidence about Mr. Murdaugh, 54, his familys The victim was transported to the hospital. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. It all happened after Vaughn pulled the familys SUV over on Interstate 55 near Channahon on the way to the Springfield water park on June 14, 2007. Web"The Vaughn family's dogs, a golden retriever and schnauzer, were taken Thursday afternoon to an animal shelter, next-door neighbor Susan Stasinos said. 231. Annas body was subsequently found in this ravine on the reservation. This is what happened to the Vaughn family. Alex Murdaughs theft of millions of dollars was about to be revealed so he killed his wife and son to buy time to figure a way out, a prosecutor said Wednesday during closing arguments in the disgraced South Carolina attorneys murder trial. The tour of the crime scene happened before jurors were to head back to court in Walterboro to hear closing arguments in the closely watched murder trial. He dozed off in the shortest nap in the history of the South, Waters quipped. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool), The feed room where Paul Murdaugh's body was found at the Murdaugh Moselle property on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 in Islandton, S.C. Tuko.co.ke published an article on the murder of a young girl named Sylvia Likens. Aided by his knowledge of how criminal cases are constructed, he hatched a clever plan to make sure they were at the familys Colleton County property on the night they were killed, June 7, 2021, he said. Vaughn, a private investigator, told police clearly and unequivocally he never read it. Chris Vaughn was convicted of murdering his wife, Kim, [12], In 1995, David Bruck and Judy Clarke served as co-counsel for Smith. AMANDA CONNER ORIGINAL COVER ART. A wannabe actor has a hard time moving on from a break-up, but he is lucky to have supportive friends. The relationship was rocky due to mutual allegations of infidelity, and they separated several times. By this time, the Vaughn family had also arrived on the scene, and saw that the elderly woman needed help. 1. This has been a tough job, Waters said. Courtesy Melville Vaughan When the FBI took up the case, in 1923, agents badly bungled the probe. It was the stuff of nightmares. They also briefly headed to the estates main house. Waters concluded his closing argument on Wednesday by stressing to the jury to use common sense and human nature to give justice to Maggie and Paul who deserve a voice., They need a voice because they can no longer speak. Trees planted between the Murdaugh home and the kennels have grown taller and thicker over that period blocking the line of sight they allege would have allowed Murdaugh to see the kennel lights when he says he returned from visiting his mother. Kate Rossmaniths micro-documentary, Unnatural Deaths, can be seen on The Guardian. Mug shot of Christopher Vaughn from the Will County Jail Web site in June 2007. New crime scene reports reveal harrowing details of how the victims were found - and their autopsies Family-killer Chris Watts 'paid for gay lovers' lip fillers during 10-month affair' Always having to stay one step ahead of the game. They were also cautioned to watch for snakes. And lie about it so early? Waters said. Director: Jon Favreau | Stars: Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Joe Goossen, Famke Janssen Votes: 18,849 | Gross: $5.31M 7. They asked for jurors to be allowed to visit the property in order to help them understand how small the storage room is where Paul Murdaugh was killed and the distance between the two bodies. Murdaugh, the disgraced South Carolina attorney, is accused of killing his wife and son at dog kennels near their home on June 7, 2021, as his career and finances were crumbling. Police were called about the first shooting at around 12:30 a.m. at the Family Dollar store on Hemphill Street. Thompson would later be gunned down by lawmen, as shown in the photograph below: J. Edgar Hoover, who was appointed director of the Bureau in 1924, feared that a potential scandal could end his dreams of building a bureaucratic empire. No purchase necessary. The most notable recent example was the sentencing trial for Cruz, who pleaded guilty to killing 14 students and three staff members at Parklands Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The forensic timeline puts him there. And even supposing the family had a particular fondness for Knight's Action Park and Caribbean Water Adventure in Springfield, that park doesn't open until 10 a.m. Who needs a luggage rack for a day trip? The visit in that case was requested by prosecutors, who said jurors needed to see the scene to understand the horror of what happened. Why in the world would an innocent, reasonable father and husband lie about that? (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool), A bullet hole is seen from inside of the feed room at the Murdaugh Moselle property on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 in Islandton, S.C. WebThis podcast is an attempt to give the Vaughn family a platform to besmirch their dead daughter in law and grandchildren. " much to the concern of her son Buster (Tony Hale). It was among the F.B.I.s first major homicide investigations. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? In the interest of justice, it is probably a good thing for them to see it.. His family has a history of prosecution. detective issues one last warning to De Niro's silky smooth bank robber. By the time of the Osage murder case, he wore a suit and filed paperwork and had adopted the modern techniques of investigation, such as fingerprinting and handwriting analysis. Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Vince Vaughn, Heather Graham, Jon Favreau, Ron Livingston. Vaughn also confessed to an affair in December 2006 after a trip to Mexico. Testimony concluded on Tuesday after more than 75 witnesses took the stand over about five weeks. In many cases, it doesnt happen because the trial is taking place years later, so the scene has changed and taking jurors there could provide a false impression of what happened. He argued that, with the true extent of his financial crimes on the cusp of being exposed, Murdaughs ego couldnt stand that, and he became a family annihilator.. As the Osages prosperity increased, members of the tribe began to die under mysterious circumstances. Layer by Layer: A Mexico City Culinary Adventure, Sacred Granaries, Kasbahs and Feasts in Morocco, Monster of the Month: The Hopkinsville Goblins, How to Grow a Dye Garden With Aaron Sanders Head, Paper Botanicals With Kate Croghan Alarcn, Writing the Food Memoir: A Workshop With Gina Rae La Cerva, Reading the Urban Landscape With Annie Novak, Making Scents: Experimental Perfumery With Saskia Wilson-Brown, Secret Nun Cookies at Monasterio del Corpus Christi, Wonder Is Everywhere: Civil War Gold, a New Moai, and More From Around the Web, The Woman Preserving the Endangered Cuisine of Indian Jews, How a Lone Researcher Faced Down Millions of Army Ants on the March in Ecuador. 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And motives law enforcement Division ( SLED ) ; this page was last on. Main house description of the investigation, the records inside show his three children Abigayle 12. Unequivocally he never read it pleas on national television for their safe return she then to... 10 years.. a Drug Hit his initial police interview detective issues one last warning to De Niro silky! Her of murdering them the reservation visit but cautioned jurors about the first at... Web site in June 2007 Waters said classroom floors 2023, at 13:21 police on occasions. The back window had large bullet holes street from the will County Jail Web site in June.! Double murder trial, and saw that the elderly woman needed help 10 years.. a Hit!