Judge Suspends Juror Murdo from Trial for ‘Inappropriate’ Behavior Shortly Before Debate Begins

The high-profile case of Alex Murdo, a disgraced South Carolina lawyer charged with the murders of his wife and son almost two years ago, was filled with twists and turns that could rival a TV movie.

On Thursday, he received another one.

In the morning, the defense was supposed to begin their closing argument — one of the last steps before jury deliberation began — Judge Clifton Newman dismissed the juror for talking to outside parties about the trial — including giving his opinion on the evidence she saw, according to WTOC. -TV.

A Savannah, Georgia radio station reported that Newman announced in court that an unnamed juror would be removed from the panel.

“The juror had contacts or discussions in the case with at least three individuals,” Newman said in court on Thursday.

“While the conversation does not appear to have been as extensive,” the judge said, “it involved a juror giving his opinion on the evidence obtained up to the point in the trial when the conversation took place.

“In order to preserve the integrity of the process and the interests of both the state and the defense in a fair trial, this juror will be removed and replaced by another juror.”

As noted by the WTOC, the jury has not yet begun deliberations.

The radio station reported that Newman reassured the juror of her conduct, even though he removed her from the case.

“I’m not suggesting that you intentionally did anything wrong, but to keep the process fair and fair to all parties involved, we’re going to replace you with one of the other jurors,” he said. , according to WTOC.

However, Newman’s move adds another wrinkle to a case that began on June 7, 2021, when Murdo called 911 to report the discovery of the bodies of his wife, Margaret, and son, Paul, who had been gunned down outside the family home’s dog kennel. estate in Islandon, South Carolina.

At the time, Paul Murdo was facing charges in connection with his death during a 2019 boat party, according to the New York Times case timeline.

Speaking last week as a witness, Reuters reported that Murdo suggested that the murders of his wife and son were related to the fact that someone was avenging these deaths.

Less than a month after the deaths, South Carolina law enforcement announced it had reopened an investigation into the death of a 19-year-old man whose body was found in 2015 based on information unearthed during the investigation into Murdo’s murder.

Murdo resigned from his family’s well-known law firm in early September after being accused of misusing the firm’s funds, according to USA Today.

In September 2021, he revealed that he had been shot while checking a flat tire on the road. South Carolina law enforcement later said that Murdo admitted to hiring a man, a former client named Curtis Smith, to shoot him to secure a $10 million life insurance payout for his surviving son, according to the Times chronology.

That same month, authorities announced they had reopened an investigation into the death of a housekeeper at the Murdo estate in 2018.

In October, as scheduled, Murdo was arrested at a detox center in Florida and charged with swindling the housekeeper’s sons of millions in money related to her death.

According to the schedule, Murdo agreed to pay $4.7 million to his sons in December.

In June 2022, as scheduled, Murdo and Smith were charged with two counts of conspiracy, including one related to oxycodone.

A month later, Murdo was charged with the murders of his wife and son. According to the schedule, he was charged with tax evasion in December.

His murder trial began on 23 January.