Pro IQRA News Updates. 
Alex Mordeau: The prosecutor says a “growing storm” of crimes drove him to kill his wife and son
The jury in Alex Mordeau’s double murder trial will soon begin considering the innocence or conviction of the accused murderer for the brutal June 7, 2021 murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul.
On Thursday morning, the defense will present closing arguments in Colleton County Court in Walterboro as the disgraced attorney’s legal team hopes to plant reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors.
Then, after an argument refuting the state, the jury will begin deliberation — bringing the 54-year-old one step closer to finding out his fate.
It comes after Attorney General Creighton Waters delivered the state’s three-hour closing argument on Wednesday.
He laid out the case against Mr. Murdow from the “rising storm” of financial troubles that led to the murders to an appeal to the jury to give a voice to the victims who he said had been deceived by the defendant as much as anyone else.
“Don’t let him fool you, either,” Waters urged the jury.
Earlier on Wednesday, jurors also toured the crime scene where Maggie and Paul were brutally shot by kennels on the grounds of the family’s Moselle estate.
Watch live – Alex Murdaugh’s defense team delivers closing argument
Griffin plays clips from the testimony of housekeeper Blanca Turiopat Simpson and dog sitter Dale Davis who both say of a love affair between Murdaugh and Maggie and Paul being his best friend.
He builds on the argument that it didn’t make sense for Murdhom to suddenly kill him just because his financial crimes were about to come to light.
“What kind of feeling do you make?”
He raises his voice and adds, “This is their theory of the case. If you do not accept it beyond a reasonable doubt, ladies and gentlemen, I concede that the verdict must be not guilty because there is no reason to do it, for no reason at all.”
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 2, 2023 15:51
Griffin argues against the prosecution’s time-of-death calculation, invoking their theory that Paul and Maggie died when they did because they stopped using their phones.
He says they maintain that if you don’t respond to a text once you receive it, you’re dead.
Several witnesses testified that Paul was always on his phone and was in the middle of a text conversation with Rogan Gibson about the video he made of Puppy Cash when he suddenly stopped responding.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 2, 2023 15:47
Griffin says Murdaugh lied about being in the kennels because he’s a junkie and that’s what junkies do.
Play kennel video.
“Four minutes later, the state will have you believe Alex Mordeau blew his son’s brain out of his head after a conversation about Bubba,” the family dog who attacked a chicken.
“There is nothing in this tape to suggest any strife, any conflict, any anger…anyone scared, anyone running, anyone jogging. Nothing. It’s Maggie and Paul and Alex in the doghouse. That’s it.”
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 2, 2023 15:44
Regarding the infamous blue raincoat, Griffin notes that no one in the family recognized him as Murdow or anyone else.
He also says Slade misled Murdaugh’s brother John Marvin as to where to find him.
Griffin says the evidence presented to the Colleton County grand jury for the indictment “wasn’t true”—the GSR on the raincoat, the bloodstains, and how they said the guns were loaded.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 2, 2023 15:39
After the roadside shooting, Griffin says, Mordo was an “easy target” for SLED.
He then accuses them of “fabricating evidence against Alex”.
As a former state and federal attorney general, Griffin says, “I don’t make this claim lightly.”
“They get a report that Alex’s shirt has high-velocity blood splatter on it. … It means you’re feet from the gunfire.”
When this was proven wrong, Griffin says, he moved on to the “clean master theory” in which Mordeau is rinsed with a hose after the murders.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 2, 2023 15:35
He continues, saying that despite Mordo’s insistence that SLED should pull the data from his SUV, thinking it would show he didn’t move anywhere with Maggie’s phone and dumped it on the road to Almeda.
SLED fails to do as it says and has not followed through. The data only came when GM called during the trial.
Regarding Maggie’s phone, he said they didn’t store it properly to prevent location data from being overwritten. Her phone was put on airplane mode. It should have been put in a Faraday bag, Griffin insists.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 2, 2023 15:30
Griffin walks the jury through what he views as SLED’s failures during the investigation.
What happened to the hair in Maggie’s hands?
Why didn’t SLED take footprint impressions from around the feed room?
Why wasn’t there a more professional crime scene search?
He went back to his argument that “there is no danger to the public” showing that they had already decided that Mordo was the killer.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 2, 2023 15:23
Turning to the evidence heard at trial, Griffin begins with the issues of the joint statement by the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office and SLED where they said the day after the murders that there was “no danger to the public.”
He argues that Mordeau was considered the prime suspect from day one.
“Does that tell you that on June 8th, law enforcement decided it must have been Alex Mordo? It is a fair question to ask yourselves. It is a question that has not been fairly answered in this trial.”
Griffin continues to say that since then Murdo has been “at the mercy of SLED” to remove himself from the investigation cycle.
He adds: “Slade has miserably failed to investigate this case. And had they done qualifying work, Alex would have been kicked out of that department a year ago, two years ago. But he would have been disqualified.”
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 2, 2023 15:19
Griffin also makes a point in explaining the legal system in Scotland where there are three options: guilty, not guilty and not proven.
In the United States, he says, not confirmed with not guilty.
He points out that finding Mordo “not guilty” does not mean he is innocent.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 2, 2023 15:15
Mordo’s defense begins closing out
Attorney Jim Griffin provides closing arguments for defendant Alex Murdaugh.
He begins by praising the jury system in this country but wishes there was some interaction between the jury and the lawyers so he could answer their questions.
Griffin plans to try to answer the questions he thinks they might have after hearing all of the evidence.
He makes a great point in reminding the jury that Mordo is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Griffin compares what they do to instant replay in sports. The referee’s decision remains in effect unless instant replay shows conclusively that the call was foul.
The decision here is that Murdaugh is innocent and the evidence must prove conclusively that he is not.
When they vote for a jury, Griffin says, “If there is any reasonable reason for you to hesitate when you write the word ‘guilty,’ the law requires you to write the word ‘not guilty.'”
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 2, 2023 15:06
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