Paul Murdaugh had been calling and texting his friend on the evening of June 7, 2021, when suddenly the youngest of Alex Murdaugh’s sons stopped responding.Paul and his friend, Rogan Gibson, had been discussing Gibson’s puppy, who was staying at the dog kennels on the Murdaugh’s 1,770-acre h…
Alex Murdaugh looked “clean from head to toe” in his first interview with investigators just hours after his wife and son were brutally shot to death, according to testimony prosecutors elicited on the third day of Murdaugh’s double murder trial.
Alex Murdaugh wasn’t crying when officers arrived at his Colleton County hunting property on the June 2021 evening his wife and son were shot to death, first responders testified on Jan. 26 in his murder trial.Nor did Murdaugh appear to be covered in blood, though he had told dispatchers he …
Cell phone evidence in Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial will show the former Hampton lawyer was with his wife and son just a few minutes before they were brutally shot and killed, state prosecutor Creighton Waters told a Colleton County jury in his opening statement.A week after the June …
Prosecutors and Murdaugh’s attorneys did agree to a brief ceasefire in their fights over certain elements of the trial, including the highly debated blood spatter evidence.
Today was the first day of Alex Murdaugh's murder trial and it was a media spectacle. People from all over came to see how the trial would play out, but before any of that begins, the court needed to tackle the issue of jury selection.
It's here: The murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, who is accused in the shooting deaths of his wife and younger son, begins today in Walterboro. It is expected to last three weeks and will be nationally televised on Court TV.The first order of business is jury selection.
When my editors asked me to write about Alex Murdaugh’s hometown of Hampton, South Carolina, they warned me that few locals wanted to talk to the press.They were right.
Over the past 18 months, state investigators have indicted disgraced former attorney Alex Murdaugh 19 times. The state grand jury has leveled nearly 100 criminal charges against him, alleging everything from insurance fraud and theft to money laundering and drug trafficking.
This week, investigative reporter Avery Wilks is answering a handful of mailbag questions about the Murdaugh saga. Let's dive right in.
Alex Murdaugh’s defense attorneys are taking a swing at another key element of the state’s case ahead of next month’s double murder trial in Colleton County.In a 12-page legal filing, they have asked Judge Clifton Newman to deny prosecutors’ request to introduce Murdaugh’s alleged financial …
For more than a decade, Alex Murdaugh lived a double life, state prosecutor Creighton Waters told the judge at a recent court hearing.On one hand, Waters said as he raised his left arm for dramatic effect, was the person the highly respected Hampton trial attorney “professed to be to the out…
In a series of pre-trial hearings since the July double murder indictment of Alex Murdaugh, a sign of the power the disgraced former attorney’s family once wielded in this corner of South Carolina hung conspicuously in the back of the courtroom.As Murdaugh, restrained in shackles, was escort…
The imminent threat of “personal, legal and financial ruin” drove once-respected Hampton attorney Alex Murdaugh to brutally murder his wife and son last June, state prosecutors have alleged in an explosive new court filing.In fatally shooting Maggie and Paul Murdaugh outside the Colleton Cou…
Every few weeks, the mailman would leave the same package in my mailbox.Inside the tan envelope, I’d invariably find a CD and a printed copy of an email I’d recently sent Richland County officials requesting the latest recordings of Alex Murdaugh’s jailhouse calls.
South Carolina’s system of investigating potential misconduct by state judges is like a black hole.Plenty goes in: complaints, questions, news reports raising concerns. But hardly anything ever comes out.
A verdict has been reached. Former Hampton banker Russell Laffitte was found guilty on all counts for helping disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh steal nearly $2 million from clients.
Russell Laffitte is retaking the stand this morning to answer questions from prosecutors, after testifying for more than three hours last week.
The trial for former Hampton County banker Russell Laffitte appears to be in its waning days, and the former Palmetto State Bank CEO is expected to take the stand today.
The question of the death penalty emerged almost immediately after Alex Murdaugh was indicted this summer on murder charges in the June 2021 slayings of his wife, Maggie, and son Paul.
The trial for former Hampton County banker Russell Laffitte began in Charleston's federal court on Tuesday. Laffitte is accused of helping Alex Murdaugh steal from personal-injury clients and using bank money to prop up Murdaugh’s shaky financial situation. Here are some highlights from the …
Former Hampton County banker Russell Laffitte is scheduled to stand trial tomorrow, Nov. 8. This is the first case stemming from the Alex Murdaugh saga to be heard by a jury.Need a refresher on Laffitte and the charges against him? Here's a recap.
Undeterred by the property's $3.9 million asking price or its violent past, a buyer came forward to place the "Moselle" estate under contract, Kelly Jean Kelly reported last month.
State and private labs are so backlogged that many people are waiting a week or more to hear news of whether they are among the hundreds of victims of the pandemic in South Carolina.
While 2017 will be remembered in a multitude of various ways, there's no denying it was a monumental year. It was a year that saw Donald Trump take the helm of the U.S. presidency and, seemingly, the national media focus too. The total solar eclipse ushered in a craze that swept the country …
Scallops don’t seem to demand a strict recipe to be followed, they adapt to what the cook has on hand. Once the scallops are sauteed until brown, a flavorful acid liquid such as dry vermouth, lemon juice or white wine can be added and cooked down until it is reduced, then heavy cream added. …
Steven Satterfield’s Southern Foodways Alliance symposium lunch of blue-corn nachos with black-eyed peas; smoked trout with Jimmy Red grits; duck confit succotash and sweet corn ice cream sandwiches inspired countless attendees to reach for their phones -- which in turn apparently stirred th…
Get your guacamole while you can: Avocado prices are projected to surge as the result of a strike by Mexican growers.
There are two ways to approach a masterpiece. One method involves reading up on the work’s creation, content and critical analysis prior to experiencing it, so as not to miss out on a single nuance. And then there’s the no-prep style of prep, in which you just let greatness wash over you.
A novelty food item that reportedly inspired five-block long lines at the Calgary Stampede will debut this fall at the Coastal Carolina Fair.
Summerville needs to change its motto — “Flower Town in the Pines” just doesn’t seem to fit these days.
Wednesday morning will start off with patchy and dense fog in Charleston, then forecasters say the day will be sunny and warm with a high near 85.
The Lowcountry’s interstates are fairly clear for drivers commuting Wednesday morning.
Emanuel AME’s former secretary is suing the church and the Rev. Norvel Goff for ending her employment after she questioned the handling of donations that poured into the church after a gunman killed nine worshippers.
COLUMBIA — Fresh from an off week after a trying first half to the season, South Carolina’s football players are talking about a new start. It might really feel that way if Jake Bentley trots out Saturday to take the first snap behind center.
WASHINGTON — First-time buyers may be entering the U.S. home market in greater numbers than industry watchers had assumed.
Bishop England and Oceanside Collegiate qualified for the Class AAA state golf championships with strong performances in the AAA Lower State qualifier on Monday in Loris.
MOUNT PLEASANT — A homebuilder has been ordered to stop work on five houses at Sullivan’s Pointe that would exceed the town’s height rules, although the town approved the plans and issued building permits.
The gateway between the Cooper River and Lake Moultrie will be out of service for three months except weekends starting Monday.
WASHINGTON — Airlines would be required to refund fees when checked bags are “substantially delayed” under a proposal released Tuesday by the Transportation Department, one of a series of steps the Obama administration says it’s taking to boost consumer protections for passengers.
It started with one child. An ornery first-grader named Jawan Dent who’d pitch fits to avoid doing his schoolwork.
CLEMSON — Brent Venables remembers how gassed his guys were by early December, when the Clemson defense was on fumes trying to fend off North Carolina in the 2015 ACC Championship.
Charleston has been named as the nation’s top small city for the sixth time in a row.
COLUMBIA — After completing a perfect record last season in SEC play, the South Carolina women’s basketball team has been projected to reach even more rarefied heights.
All of the Charleston food-and-beverage pros named to Zagat’s newly-released 30 Under 30 list qualify for the age-restricted designation: They have to produce photo identification before the rating guide will bestow the honor, previously awarded in cities such as New York City, San Francisco…
All lanes of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge are back open after a crash Tuesday morning, but police say to expect heavy traffic in the area.
A group of mostly white churchgoers from the Northeast gathered at Emanuel AME Church on Monday with a group of mostly black parishioners to eat and form friendships amid the divisive election season.
Mother Nature has a way of stripping away man’s myths.
COLUMBIA — Larenz Bryant has started one game in his career at South Carolina. The senior linebacker will make his second Saturday against Massachusetts.
HARTSVILLE — Speakers at a Statehouse hearing accused lawmakers of holding a series of meetings around the state largely to rally support for tightening South Carolina’s gun laws.