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The jury in the double murder trial of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh — who is accused of killing his wife and younger son at the family’s property in 2021 — will travel to the site of the brutal killings on Wednesday ahead of closing arguments.
The bodies of Margaret Murdaugh, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22, were found dead from multiple gunshot wounds near the dog kennels at the family’s estate Moselle in June 2021, authorities said.
Alex Murdaugh, 54, who called 911 to report the discovery, was charged with their murders 13 months later.
The defense argued that it would be useful for the jury to visit the 1,772-acre hunting estate in Islandton to get a sense of the space in which the killings took place.
“You just can’t really appreciate the spatial issues without actually seeing them,” defense attorney Richard Harpootlian told the court on Monday.
Prosecutors had argued against the visit to Moselle, given that the property has changed in the 20 months since the killings, but Judge Clifton Newman ruled in favor of the defense on Monday.
The jurors are slated to travel to the property, which is under contract for $3.9 million, Wednesday morning amid tight security. No questions can be asked and no talking will be allowed on the trip.
