BREAKING: Bomb Threat Suspends Alex Murdaugh Murder Trial, Courthouse Forced To Evacuate
Feb. 8 2023, Published 2:45 p.m. ET
The murder trial of once-prominent South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was disrupted on Wednesday after a bomb threat forced the courthouse to evacuate, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The eleventh day in court was suspended for safety precautions around 12:30 PM. The father accused of killing his wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, was escorted off the premise.
The wild moment added yet another bizarre layer to the case that has seen sinister twists and turns.
"A bomb threat was received by Colleton County courthouse personnel," South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) told Fox News Digital of the evacuation. "The building has been evacuated and SLED along with the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the threat. No additional information is available from SLED at this time."
Prior to the bomb threat evacuation, the judge allowed the prosecution to introduce past financial crimes Alex was accused of as evidence of a motive.
The prosecution intended to use the allegations to drive home their theory that the father gunned down his wife and son on June 7, 2021, at the family's private hunting ranch, Moselle, to deflect attention from his alleged criminal activity.
The prosecution attempted to paint a picture for the court of the lengths the father was allegedly capable of resorting to in order to save himself.
The state called Michelle "Shelley" Smith, the caretaker of Alex's elderly mother, to the stand. Smith testified that she saw Alex the night that Maggie and Paul were killed.
Smith claimed that Alex showed up at his mother's house while she worked the night shift on June 7, 2021. The caretaker described Alex as "fidgety" and stated that the unexpected visit was unusual.
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Smith recalled Alex arriving between 8:30 and 9:30 PM based on a television show that they were watching at that time.
The caretaker contradicted Alex's claim that he was at his mother's home for 30 to 40 minutes and testified under oath that the suspect's visit was brief, lasting around 15 to 20 minutes.
Additionally, Smith recalled Alex returning to the home days later, around 6:30 AM, carrying a "blue tarp" under his arm.
Smith said that after she greeted Alex at the door, the former attorney went upstairs before returning to offer financial help for her wedding expenses — and gave her instructions on what to say if she was asked about his whereabouts the night of the murders.
A search conducted at the mother's home recovered a "balled up" blue rain jacket, tucked away in an upstairs closet, that tested positive for gunshot residue. A blue tarp was also found by investigators in a storage container.
Before the caretaker's testimony, a video Paul recorded minutes before he was killed by a shotgun blast to the head was introduced.
Prosecutors claimed Alex's voice could be heard in the clip, which went against the father's story that he was not home at the time of the brutal slayings.