A juror in Alex Murdaugh’s double homicide trial said he believed the legal scion’s slain son Paul helped solve his own murder after police found cell phone video placing Murdaugh at the crime scene minutes before the killings.
James, who is 22 years old, the same age Paul was when he was gunned down, along with his mother Maggie, told Fox News Digital that the jury prayed together before delivering the guilty verdict in the rural South Carolina courtroom on Thursday.
‘We prayed before we went in, we prayed before we came out to give the verdict,’ James said. ‘That was a huge factor in us being able to sit comfortably with our decision.’
After six weeks of dramatic testimony, the jury took just less than three hours to deliver a guilty verdict. James revealed that initially, nine out of the 12 jurors voted guilty and three voted not guilty.
They continued to deliberate, discussing the evidence including the dog kennel video which James called a ‘crucial piece of evidence,’ before voting again.
This time, the vote was unanimous. Murdaugh was found guilty and sentenced the following day to two life sentences, which he will serve consecutively.
James, who is 22, the same age Paul Murdaugh was when he was killed, served on the jury that convicted Alex Murdaugh in the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul
The jury deliberated for less than three hours Thursday before finding Alex Murdaugh guilty
Buster Murdaugh, Paul Murdaugh, Maggie Murdaugh and Alex Murdaugh are pictured a month before Maggie and Paul were gunned down at their Moselle estate in South Carolina in 2021
After a long six-week trial of hours-long testimony, many were shocked by the fast verdict. It was noted several reporters in the courtroom that the jurors were not taking notes.
But James revealed to Law & Crime that the jurors were not allowed to take notes but they wrote down questions they had on paper in the jury room during 15-minute breaks. While some questions were answered later in testimony, other questions were discussed during the vote.
He said that about 30 minutes before they took the second vote, they were asked about ordering dinner. But they were still sorting through their questions and by the second vote, they had an unanimous guilty verdict.
‘We were all pretty sure we knew what had happened, and we knew who had pulled the trigger,’ James added.
James, who did not want to give his name, is a graduate of Clemson University who works in construction, spoke to the news outlet following the sentencing, wearing a suit and a U.S. Constitution tie, that he often wore throughout the trial.
The juror went on to say that in a way, Paul solved his own murder with the video he recorded placed Alex Murdaugh at the dog kennels minutes before the mother and son were slaughtered.
‘It says a lot that somebody that couldn’t speak, somebody that couldn’t be a witness was able to be a witness even after they passed away,’ he said.
Maggie’s body was found a few yards to the right of the doghouse while Paul’s was in the doorway of the feed room at the kennels (far right)
Read Related Also: All of the Particulars on E!’s 2022 Emmy Awards Crimson Carpet – E! On-line
A stuffed chicken is seen in a dog cage at the kennels where Maggie and Paul were killed
Murdaugh had repeatedly denied being at the kennels on the night of the murders. But police recovered video recorded on Paul’s phone at 8:45 p.m., four minutes before prosecutors say he and his mom were killed.
The video was played in court and several people close to the family testified that they clearly heard three voices on the video – Paul, Maggie, and Alex. They had been talking about their dog Bubba catching a chicken.
‘I think it’s incredible timing on Paul’s part,’ James said. ‘I don’t think that anyone would have ever known that he was down there if it wasn’t for that video. I think that there’s a lot of evidence that points towards Alex, but I feel like that does solidify it.’
When Alex took the stand toward the end of his trial, he admitted that he lied about not being at the kennels during that time frame.
However, throughout the trial and even after the guilty verdict and sentencing, the disgraced legal scion continued to claim that he would never hurt his wife and son.
James noted that there was ‘enough evidence there gathered by SLED (South Carolina Attorney General’s Office) and produced by Paul,’ and that Murdaugh’s testimony did not decide his fate.
However, it did show the jury how easily Murdaugh was able to deceive people with his lies.
‘I think that he’s good at being able to talk to people, and I think part of the way that he’s able to be so good at talking to people is that he’s convincing,’ James told Law&Crime in another interview.
‘And I think whenever he’s convincing, he’s convincing himself as well. And I think he’s able to do that because he often meshes the truth with a lie.’
Murdaugh spoke briefly, telling the judge: ‘I am innocent. I would never hurt my wife Maggie and I would never hurt my son Paul Paul.’ He was sentenced to life in prison
He added that the prosecution’s argument that Murdaugh was on the edge of financial ruin was a good theme, but not a persuasive motive.
‘I don’t think I’d ever be able to answer why somebody would do something like that,’ he said.
‘But I know that there are people in the world that don’t make sense, and they do things without making it make sense. So I don’t know that there is an answer other than that it happened and that it shouldn’t have.’
James said that there was one thing he did believe from Murdaugh. That he loved Maggie and Paul.
‘It’s something that’s important to be seen for Paul and Maggie,’ James said. ‘I also think that regardless, this is an incredibly difficult time for the family. And I hate it for all of them.’
Many of the jurors returned to court on Friday to hear Judge Clifton Newman sentence Alex Murdaugh to two consecutive life sentences for the murders of Maggie and Paul. His defense team plans to appeal.
