One of the jurors that convicted Alex Murdaugh uncovered his cover to tell how it took the jury just 45 minutes to unanimously find him guilty of double murder.
Craig Moyer appeared on Good Morning America Friday morning to explain why he and fellow jurors found Murdaugh guilty of killing his wife Maggie and son Paul on their South Carolina property in June 2021.
“He was a good liar, but not good enough,” Moyer said, breaking his anonymity to speak about the blockbuster trial that gripped America.
When the jury entered the deliberation room yesterday, nine were already convinced of Murdaugh’s guilt – including Moyer.
Two found him innocent and another juror was undecided.
Moyer revealed Friday that it took just 45 minutes of deliberation to convince the other three jurors he was guilty.
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Craig Moyer appeared on Good Morning America Friday morning to explain why he and his colleagues believed Murdaugh was guilty
Alex Murdaugh will return to court for sentencing on Friday. He faces life imprisonment
“You start thinking, you go through the evidence and everyone has been talking quite a bit.
“About 45 minutes later, after all our deliberations, we figured it out. The evidence was clear.’
Moyer said the nail in Murdaugh’s coffin was a video shot by his son Paul just before the murders, in which his voice could be heard in the background.
Murdaugh had always denied being near the dog kennel where the bodies of his wife and son were found, but admitted in court that he lied and was heard in the video.
Moyer also said the jury was unconvinced by Murdaugh’s emotional testimony on the witness stand.
“I didn’t see any real remorse or compassion or anything like that. He never cried.
‘He just blew snot. [There were] no tears. I saw his eyes,’ Moyer said.
The defense claimed Murdaugh did not have enough time. I think there is just enough time to shoot his wife and son, clean up, visit his mother and then return to the scene where he called the police.
Alex Murdaugh with wife Maggie and their sons Buster (left) and Paul (right)
Prosecutor Creighton Waters also appeared on GMA on Friday to reveal his cross-examination strategy
However, Moyer said he and the jury felt they had “just enough time” to do all of those things.
He also said they were put off by Murdaugh’s apparent willingness.
“His replies, how fast he was on defense, and his lies…just consistent lies.”
Murdaugh will return to court for sentencing this morning. He faces life imprisonment.
He showed no emotion yesterday when he was found guilty.
He had cried on the witness stand and told the court about his crippling opioid addiction and money problems, but insisted he had not killed his wife and son.
Buster Murdaugh with his head in his hands yesterday after his father was found guilty of murder
Pictured: Alex Murdaugh’s sister Lynn exits Colleton County Court
Prosecutor Creighton Waters also appeared on GMA on Friday to reveal his cross-examination strategy.
“He’s been able to talk himself out of responsibility his whole life. Such people are confident in their own ability to do so.
“I was convinced that he would testify. My strategy was to find out who he was.
‘You know, he wouldn’t even admit in front of a jury that he was rich.
“The idea was to get him to talk about himself and his life and then go into the details of his new story, which he was telling the world for the first time.”
Among those on trial yesterday was Buster Murdaugh, the legal heir’s only surviving son.
Buster has never said if he believes his father’s innocence, but he has been summoned to testify for his defense team.
He told the court his father was “devastated” by the killings.
Maggie’s relatives, including her sister, also testified for the prosecution. She said she found it odd that her brother-in-law wasn’t looking for who killed his wife and son.
“I just thought his priority should have been to find out who killed Maggie and Paul,” Marian Proctor said.
John Marvin Murdaugh, brother of Alex Murdaugh, listens to testimony during his brother’s double murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse
Maggie’s body was found a few yards to the right of a kennel, while Paul’s lay by the door at the end of the kennel. dr Ellen Riemer described how Paul’s brain was shot out of the back of his head with a shotgun and that the organ arrived at the morgue “in a separate bucket.”
In his closing arguments, Waters told the jury, “No one knew who this man was.
“He had avoided responsibility all his life, he had relied on his family name, he had a powerful family, he wore a badge and used it as an authority, he lived a prosperous life – but now he finally faced utter ruin .”
He added that the legal scion “is the kind of person for whom shame is an extraordinary provocation,” and faced with financial ruin his “ego couldn’t bear… he became a family wrecker.”
He concluded the speech with the fervent plea: “This defendant fooled everyone, everyone.
“Anyone who thought they were close to him, he fooled them all, and he fooled Maggie and Paul too, and they paid the price with their lives.
‘Don’t let him fool you too.’