The defense for Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced South Carolina lawyer accused of killing his wife and a son, called into question the integrity of the crime scene in the second day of their case while also trying to distinguish between Murdaugh’s alleged deceptions, including financial misconduct, and the double murder charges he is on trial for.
Mark Ball, a former law partner who once considered Murdaugh a close friend, testified Wednesday morning in Walterboro that there were no roadblocks at the crime scene and that he was able to freely wander throughout Murdaugh’s property in Moselle after the killings.
“There was a piece of Paul’s skull, about the size of a baseball, laying there,” he recalled seeing, referring to Paul Murdaugh, the son Murdaugh is accused of killing.
The defense questioned Ball about what he encountered that day, seeking to discredit the investigators’ handling and preservation of the crime scene.
It was a misty day with intermittent drizzling, and water was dripping off the shed onto Paul’s body, Ball said.
Ball testified that he was concerned that the crime scene had water “dripping all over the place.”
While Ball is upset with Murdaugh for the financial misdeeds and for destroying the law firm they’d worked at for decades, he also said that doesn’t mean he killed Margaret, 52, and Paul, 22.
After Murdaugh resigned from the law firm, Ball discovered evidence of misappropriated funds when he went through Murdaugh’s desk. “I’m not sure I know that person,” he said.
“I’m mad as hell,” he said. “But on the other hand, I’m not saying that because he did that he’s done what he’s accused of.”
It’s still possible the jury will hear from Murdaugh himself.
Before jurors entered the courtroom at the start of the day, defense attorneys said their client is still considering taking the stand. They expressed concerns, however, about his right not to self-incriminate and sought to pre-emptively limit the scope of the prosecution’s…
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