Alex Murdaugh’s sister-in-law stunned the courtroom on Tuesday, detailing for the first time how the former lawyer assured her that his wife and son “did not suffer” when they were fatally shot in June 2021—allegedly by him.
Murder victim Maggie Murdaugh’s older sister, Marian Proctor testified that her brother-in-law even provided his own theory about the mindset of their killer.
“He said that he did not know who it was, but he felt like whoever did it had thought about it for a really long time,” Proctor told Colleton County jurors.
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In another conversation after Maggie, 52, and Paul, 22, were found shot to death, Proctor said, Murdaugh seemed more focused on clearing his son’s name in connection with a fatal 2019 boat crash than finding the murder suspect. At the time, Paul was facing charges for his role in the drunken crash that killed his 19-year-old friend.
“I thought that was so strange because my No. 1 was to find out who killed my sister and Paul,” Proctor testified as Murdaugh cried at the defense table several feet away.
Prosecutors allege that it was Alex Murdaugh who fatally shot his wife and son near the dog kennels of their family’s hunting estate in a depraved attempt to garner public sympathy and evade mounting questions about his years-long scheme to steal millions from his client and law firm. Murdaugh’s defense team, however, insists he had no motivation to murder family members who, multiple witnesses have testified, were his greatest priority.
He has pleaded not guilty and faces up to 30 years in jail.
As the only member of Maggie and Paul’s family to testify in court so far in the three-week trial, Proctor’s testimony could be crucial to both the prosecution and defense arguments about what happened on June 7, 2021. While her testimony about Murdaugh’s conversations after the murders raises questions about his state of mind, Proctor also admitted that her sister and her brother-in-law had a “very good relationship.”
“They had a comfortable life. Maggie was happy,” Proctor said, noting that her sister was not involved with the family’s finances. “It wasn’t a lavish life, but it was a comfortable life. Money was never an issue for her, that she knew about.”
But after the 2019 boat crash, Proctor said, the Murdaugh family struggled under media and community scrutiny. Maggie even began staying at their beach house in Edisto, South Carolina, to get away from the spotlight, she said.
“That was a devastating blow for their family. It was a horrible accident, but it was an accident. Maggie felt like the Hampton community had turned against her. Paul was being mistreated,” Proctor said, seemingly squelching the prosecution’s argument that the Murdaughs were having marital troubles.
Proctor said Maggie was at the beach house on the day of the murders when Alex Murdaugh summoned her back to the hunting estate. Breaking down in tears, Proctor said that the last time she spoke with her sister, she encouraged Maggie to go because of his father’s deteriorating health.
Hours later, Proctor said, she learned the news that Maggie and Paul had been murdered.
“I just couldn’t believe it. I didn’t think it was true. I said there has to be a mistake,” she said, adding that she instantly traveled to the hunting estate to be with the family.
Proctor said that even though she was at the house, she did not talk to her brother-in-law “a lot” because he “was just really busy” and “the whole town was coming to see him.” But Proctor told the jury that when she did talk to Murdaugh, the conversation was strange.
“We never talked about finding the person who could have done it. It was just odd,” she said. “I just thought his priority should have been focusing on finding out who killed Maggie and Paul.”
As the months wore on, Proctor said, the whole family—except for Murdaugh—was “sort of living in fear because we thought this horrible person was out there.” But by September 2021, Murdaugh had resigned from his law firm after admitting to stealing missions, confessed to a two-decade opioids addiction, and attempted a suicide plot to score a hefty insurance payout.
“Then things started to change a little bit,” she added.
