Alex Murdaugh received a life prison sentence without the possibility of parole for the murders of his wife and son. CNN's Anderson Cooper speaks with Creighton Water, the lead prosecutor in the double murder trial. #CNN #News
How lead prosecutor knew Alex Murdaugh was ‘manufacturing an alibi’
The brilliance and wisdom of this judge is so satisfying
No, he is just trying to perpetuate the myth that our justice system is a good one. The justice system nabbed this one killer. But in just looking at the tactics used to get there, it’s easy for me to see how they can be employed much the same way against an innocent person.
he sounds quite unprofessional to me, though not as much as the prosecutor.
Adore his presence and patience xxxxx
@Alison ❤
Paul solved his and his mom’s murder with that video. Such a sad story.
@kim thomas
Appreciate the explanation.
@Brett Phillips
Thank you for the explanation. It’s very chilling that his wife and son obviously didn’t know he was preparing to kill them. I recall hearing in the news the judge or prosecutor calling him a monster. Whoever said it was absolutely right.
@Brett Phillips
Imagine how rabid a person has to be to commit a greater crime of a double murder in order to cover up lesser crimes. SMH
@Dev CarterIt was only a minute long too and it confirmed Alex was there just minutes before their deaths. He said he wasn’t at the kennels at first. Then changed his story.
@Dev Carter you could hear Alex voice. He claimed he found them but, the time of the video and his alibi didn’t add up
With the absolutely overwhelming amount of evidence against him, how can anyone, let alone his family members still believe he’s innocent?
They’re either delusional or there something off in all of the family’s DNA.
Denial is very powerful. So is cognitive dissonance. Or it’s just true unconditional love.
His brothers and son Buster”s personal identities are tied up with family name, plus Alex is someone they love. Often it is easier to lie to one’s self, then reevaluate who you are in light of a such a soul crushing revolution. If you have not listened to the Murdaugh Murders podcast, find out he one with the phone conversations between Alex and Buster. The power this man holds over his son is on full display.
@skywriting33 what about unconditional love for a mother and brother? May be it’s about Alex’s power over at least Buster.
@Katie Hettinger yes I’ve heard it and Buster sounds controlled by Alex – but once Alex is behind bars, at least then I’d expect Buster’s love and grief for his slain mother and brother to override that control, hopefully as he matures and reflects. As for Alex’s siblings, they will possibly continue to put Alex first. Lyn was shaking her head as Judge Newman addressed Alex at sentencing.
This man sought justice and succeeded. Well done to Mr. Water. Such good work and effort.
My
At least get his name right 😂, it’s Waters
One thing I’ve. noticed about the murdaughrer, is that when he lies he tries to romance you with his eyes, staring straight at you. I imagine he did that to a lot of people over the years. People refer to others in a court setting formally, they don’t use nicknames or pet names. The use of Mags and Pau pau was so obviously coached to make him seem more human. But the thing is, why does anyone who claims to be innocent have to be coached at all? Innocent people don’t need to lie.
Interesting take. I was really taken aback by the “Pau Pau” nickname use. It rang hollow. It made him sound more like a murderer rather than less which clearly was his ploy. As one juror said: “he’s a good liar, but he’s not good enough.”
He wasn’t coached..it was his choice, he is a lawyer, he was trying to convince the jury that he was innocent, how close he was to his son n wife, humanize himself, actually it sounded so fake and childish when he called them “Paupau and Mags” after mowing them down.
@Challenge L also, if you noticed when he was asked to talk about his relationships with Maggie and Paul he didn’t discuss relationships whatsoever. All he did was basically talk about qualities and characteristics of Maggie and Paul. Very different than talking about their relationships with him. He didn’t even touch upon them.
@Chris Durham, don’t forget about Bus, RoRo, and PapaT. 🙂
Mr. Waters was an absolutely brilliant lead on this case. You could see Alex’s eyes when Mr.Waters walked back and forth. It was with such distain.
As was Attorney Metters.
I agree, it was the _MONSTER IN HIM_ showing in his eyes
Meadors
I adore this judge. A true man of integrity and the ability to remain calm but stern when necessary. I wish this man nothing but blessings. ❤
@macforme judge might also killed his son? Because he’s not understanding how Alex is feeling of losing a son.
This judge was amazing. What a calming and awe inspiring presence without ego! Thankful for his service.
The judge’s lost his own son in January, he died of heart attack. He was in his 30s 😢
@Chris Durham I loved the rocking chair bit!!! It was always a quick one two then to business.
@Elizabeth Verrill how do you know that Judge Newman had the option to step down from the case. I know what you really mean by that, especially seeing how everyone is so positive about him. Then you come with the backhanded compliment.
So how do you know that he has the option?
The judge was awesome. Well done to State and jurors. Justice was done.
This was the first time that I’ve found myself fixated on a trial of anyone, ever. But in the end I felt like I was one of the jurors and I voted “guilty” right along with them.
100% agree, I was so fixated on this case.
@osiris Blanche oh you need to watch the documentary.. Paul was an awful kid
That’s sad to punish innocent. Why why why would Alex kill his family? There are no evidence and state made so many mistakes and feel like target Alex
@Alice in Chains don’t make assumptions based on the Netflix series. I do feel like boat accidents – could Anothny cook and his friends kill Paul and Maggie?
@Alice in Chains Yep! That documentary was a definite eye opener! Not that Maggie or Paul deserved any of this, at all, but the fact is, they, as in all of them, were not the greatest people! And those boys had their behavior covered up many times by both parents and other family members! In fact, the brother/uncle John Marvin, how he seemed so decent and everyone kind of liked him on the stand, well any footage there was, where incidents had happened, John Marvin was always right there with Alex, in on the cover-ups! I think Alex not wanting the trial moved out of the county, because he thought he could manipulate, like he always had, definitely BIT him in the butt, because that jury finally saw the real Alex, once and for all and we’re DONE with the Murdaugh’s crap after all these years! He deserves to be where he now is!
Wow, this guy makes a great point- the family legacy & his addiction & issues stemming from his wife(divorce) & son(all kinds of stuff) are like a perfect storm, along with his own ego & power trip.
Briliant analogy to a storm, Waters is a smart, humble and eloquent attorney. Justice was thankfully served.
With no physical evidence to speak of and no murder weapons found and the fact that he actually planned this out pretty well, even down to electronic data to support an alibi, if that video had not only been recorded, but recorded within a couple of minutes of them being killed, there was a good chance he might have gotten off
Absolutely!
True. “Who ever did this planned it for a really long time.”
I think he was probably planning it for at least a little bit. But I still don’t understand how he planned to explain away the guns being theirs. Can you imagine how scared and probably dumbfounded Maggie was between the time he killed Paul and got the other gun? I’m sure it was a very minute amount of time but still time for her to try to compute what the heck was happening.
He’s a cold son of a gun though.. for one thing I can’t imagine putting a gun point blank against someone’s head and just pulverize it then not even blink as you get a different gun and do it again. Anyone’s head much less my spouse and child. I can’t even imagine what that would take. And then calling both of them to tell them to be home and then going around with Paul cutting up and laughing knowing what you were going to do in a few minutes. He didn’t just panic that they’d found his pills and snap.. this dude is cold and calculating..and selfish with just no capability of remorse or second guessing. I wonder why buster was spared though.. maybe he already knew about everything. I don’t know. I can’t get in his head and to be honest I’m glad I can’t.
Buster wasn’t in town, thays why he was spared.
Mr. Waters did an excellent job as a prosecutor in this case. He took Alex apart bit by bit and laid him bare. Great judge also. Fair, respectful, and deliberate.
After the case I wanted to learn more about the judge because he was a class act! I con only imagine as a officer of the court, a former lawyer, husband, father, and human the empathy he felt for the victims. His son died January of an heartache so he knows the loss of a child, a son, so to have someone murdered their wife and son shows the juxtaposition of life.
We live in a county were people call lies truth and they are motivated by pride, power, money, and greed. We each must do our part to improve or world, that also means not helping others in wrong doing including crimes! Judges, lawyers, politicians, and law enforcement please continue to improve your policies, protocols, and procedures; continue to hold each other accountable like you do with most of the general public…. Help to bring honor and respect back to your professions!
did you mean died of a heart attack?
To those asking about the motive, these are my thoughts on it. Alex’s son Paul had become a massive liability because he had a civil case for wrongful death. This was likely going to cost the family millions. Alex was all about money and image. His son was going to cost him a lot of money and the whole thing destroyed their image within the community. The whole family behaved like they were the victims, when a young woman lost her life. They showed no concern for her loved ones and were more concerned about their legacy and standing within the community.
I think Alex, most of all, was furious about this. As he said to his sister-in-law, his prime goal was to restore the image and legacy of his son… Which to me really means that he could not tolerate the consequences of his and his sons actions, since he allowed his son to drive the boat while drinking.
Alex has a massive ego and came from a very wealthy dynastic family and was incredibly entitled, manipulative, and clearly a very disturbed man. His drug addiction also probably played a part.
His wife, I suspect, and his son Paul, started to get wise to his financial schemes. His wife wanted to buy a new house and she was in major denial about the huge sum of money the civil lawsuit was probably going to cost them. Basically they were both massive liabilities in Alex’s twisted mind, when Alex was the real liability, since he was stealing from so many people, and from his law firm, and was hiding his massive drug addiction, thus putting his family at tremendous risk.
In the end, he decided to clean house…To kill his very own son and wife. I think he also believed this would garner him sympathy and take attention away from his crimes. It may not seem logical to a good person, but to a crooked, selfish, deranged, master-manipulator, and all round monster, it was the scheme he came up with, likely after considerable time and planning.
I also believe he used two different kinds of guns to try to make it look like there were two shooters. He had a lot of experience and thought he could get away with it. I’m so glad he didn’t.
By killing Paul, the lawsuit doesn’t go away, but he figured there would be great sympathy for him with a deceased wife and son, and suspicion toward the victims filing the lawsuit. It would be significantly delayed too and he could pay back the firm for monies stolen somehow. He engaged in another insurance fraud after that. It’s enough motive for a psychopath.
Your summary is the first time I can begin to understand his motive. That Paul was a liability makes sense. And, that his Wife may have been clueless about his financial troubles and he didn’t want to disappoint her, so he killed her to avoid the disgrace. Or he was trying to protect her from the truth, so he offed her. Really selfish.
Thank you. Good thinking. 🏆
I concur with every thing you said but the fact he shot Paul first so Maggie would see her son dead and that he took 5 shots to kill her his real anger was with her. I don’t think he meant to blow Paul’s head off but he sure did MAGGIE. My take for her he had given her every thing she had asked for, he never made her work her only role was to bear him sons, to be a good and faithful wife and to look after him. She had moved out of the house and had told her sister she was scared of him. When they found his hidden stash that was the last straw for her and she was taking steps to divorce him. Nearly all the property was in her name and the property she was killed at she owned 3/4 and he owned 1/4. She supposedly refused to sign any more loan documents for the banks ending his chance of getting another loan. His ego was so bruised and it enraged him. Hence the 5 shots to Maggie. But that’s just my take. Had little to do with his drug habit. It was blown out of proportion to garner some kind of sympathy or excuse for what he had done. He lies about every thing and I don’t think any one could take 100 tablets a day and function in any reasonable way especially in a court proceeding
This makes a lot of sense. I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that he killed them because he thought they were becoming a liability. It’s just crazy because he had planned everything and he really believed that he could get away.
Now, you don’t just wake up and plan on murdering your family. He and his family must have gotten away with so many crimes in the past big or small that he really thought he could get away with murdering his own family. There’s definitely more to this case than what meets the eye. This is just my assumption. he must have seen his father, grandfather getting away with crimes, always having a way around with law. and him being a drug addicted lying narcissistic psychopath didn’t help his case either. I believe all these things led to him killing his family. There could be more but one thing is for sure, this family is very sus and the househelp and Buster’s partner deserve justice aswell so their cases should be reopened.
I’m gunna go out on a limb and say Alex was not only a user but a dealer. Plus I think there was a gambling problem and possibly hookers involved. But let’s get real that dude wasn’t popping that many pills a day or he’d be dead.
So true what Waters said about Murdaugh tending to nod his head forward when telling a lie—just fast forward to the beginning of this video and Murdaugh does exactly that when he said to the Judge he would never hurt his wife and kid. Interesting point made by Waters about how guilty people have a way of trying to convince others and even themselves when denying unspeakable acts.
Excellent work from the prosecution team, the judge was impeccable. I’ve been watching in England and hooked. This was the correct decision by the jury. Taking the stand, maybe a mistake but that kennel video, the lying and the time scale from AM all were the undoing of him. RIP Maggie and Paul.
Mr. Waters, you nailed it!!! You have no idea how much healing will occur for so many victims of a narcissist/sociopath. The courts are 99.9% duped (as we all were) and they win cases and destroy their families in the process. My only experience is in the Family Courts. I have so much compassion for Maggie, Paul, & Buster. I woke up one day after 22 years and realized my life was a lie. For the first time I looked into his eyes and realized there was no soul. I can identify with each comment you have shared. Thank you for getting it!!! I’m grateful another narcissist didn’t get away with the destruction of their family. It is extremely healing❣️ it gives me hope!!! Thank you!!! Please thank your team!!! Y’all are 😇’s!!!
It is clear, especially in his arguments but in this video too, that he did a ton of research into all the various aspects of this case. From the body language and deceptive cues, to alex’s relationship with shame, to his understanding of alex’s narcissism and how it could be used against him, Waters did an absolutely fantastic job. I could see inspiration from Greg’s analysis about the head-nodding @The Behavior Panel, the generational shame insight from Dr. john @Hidden True Crime, and so many more great content creators. You nailed it Creighton and team, great job 👍