Alex Murdaugh murders: Jury selection set to begin in trial for double murder of wife, son

The bodies of Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and their 22-year-old son, Paul Murdaugh, were found on the family property on June 7, 2021

ByEva Pilgrim ABCNews logo
Monday, January 23, 2023
Alex Murdaugh murders: Jury selection for double murder trial of wife, son set to begin
A high profile murder trial is getting under way Monday. Jury selection is slated to start in South Carolina for Alex Murdaugh.

SOUTH CAROLINA -- A high-profile murder trial is getting underway Monday. Jury selection is slated to start in South Carolina for Alex Murdaugh.

The disgraced South Carolina attorney will go to trial accused in the brutal murders of his wife and son.

SEE ALSO | Alex Murdaugh story: Key dates in investigations into prominent South Carolina family, murders

"There's still a lot of unanswered questions," said ABC News legal contributor Dan Abrams.

Prosecutors add Google and Snapchat representatives to their witness lists, giving a glimpse of what's to come in the trial.

ALSO SEE | Disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh will not face death penalty in trial for wife, son's deaths

Murdaugh's son, Paul, reportedly sent a Snapchat video to his friends just hours before his murder.

Meanwhile, the defense filing a motion to block blood spatter evidence from the trial.

"The prosecution's expert initially did not find blood spatter on the shirt. He says he then did a different kind of testing and was able to find it," Abrams explained.

RELATED | Murdaugh murders: Alex Murdaugh's attorneys say investigators manipulated, destroyed evidence

It was June of 2021 when Alex Murdaugh made a 911 call, claiming he had found his wife Maggie and their 22-year-old son Paul shot to death outside their family's hunting lodge.

Then, in July, Murdaugh was indicted by a South Carolina grand jury for the double murders. At his indictment hearing, Murdaugh plead not guilty.

Prosecutors said Murdaugh murdered his family to try to gain sympathy and distract from financial crimes. To date, he's facing more than 100 financial related charges and is accused of stealing more than $8.5 million from more than a dozen victims, including friends, family, and clients of his family's law firm.

"They're going to have to have specific evidence linking him to that scene, proof beyond a reasonable doubt, not that he was up to no good, but that he actually murdered his wife and son," Abrams said.