Murdaugh jury needed 45 minutes to reach a unanimous verdict, juror says

Alex Murdaugh juror Craig Moyer says jury only needed 45 minutes to convict him of murder - The Washington Post
A juror in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial said the jury only needed 45 minutes to reach a unanimous verdict and convict Murdaugh for the killings of his wife and son. But it didn’t take long into deliberations before everyone got on the same page, Moyer said. “About 45 minutes later after all of our deliberating, we figured it out,” he told ABC News.

.— Good Morning America (@GMA)
@ABC EXCLUSIVE: Juror speaks out after disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh found guilty of double murder: “The evidence was clear." @evapilgrim reports. https://t.co/CYnlbsgPB3 pic.twitter.com/DuJiuAxlTC March 3, 2023 The revelation came just hours after Murdaugh, the disgraced former South Carolina attorney, was convicted on all counts on Thursday night. Murdaugh, 54, will be sentenced on Friday to between 30 years and life in prison without the possibility of parole. No victim impact statements were presented during the sentencing. When the guilty verdict was announced, Murdaugh tensed his shoulders and shook lightly while standing and waiting to hear his fate. Murdaugh blinked repeatedly as the clerk read the guilty verdict on all counts. His eldest son, who goes by Buster, had his hand on his face and stared into space. He squeezed his eyes and wiped his nose as his face reddened. On Friday, Murdaugh, dressed in a brown inmate jumpsuit, continued to maintain his innocence during the sentencing hearing. Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22, were shot and killed at the estate on June 7, 2021. Alex Murdaugh’s defense attorneys said at the trial’s start that no physical evidence tied him to the shootings, which took place about 50 miles from Charleston. Prosecutors said Murdaugh killed them to gain sympathy and obscure his having swindled his law partners and clients out of nearly $9 million, adding that he’s since tried to “manufacture an alibi.” The case entered the cultural zeitgeist and sparked popular docuseries on Netflix and HBO Max; CNN and Court TV have carried the trial live, and media outlets covered the trial aggressively since it started Jan. 25. Legal observers were surprised at how quickly the jury came to a verdict. Many expected deliberations to stretch into next week, and a possible hung jury that would lead to yet more waiting. “The quick decision shows they didn’t have any reasonable doubt in their minds at all,” said Miller Shealy, a law professor at Charleston School of Law. “The jury didn’t buy that it could be anyone else.” Moyer said he was one of the jurors who didn’t buy Murdaugh or his testimony. “A good liar, but not good enough,” he told ABC. What pushed the jury toward a unanimous guilty decision, Moyer said, was video evidence in which Murdaugh’s voice is heard moments before the murders. Moyer said he was “certain” he had heard Murdaugh’s voice. “You could hear his voice clearly,” he said, “and everybody else could, too.” He added, “The evidence was clear.” Moyer said that when Murdaugh took the stand, he didn’t see a person who showed remorse or compassion. “I didn’t think much of him,” he said. Moyer also did not agree with the defense’s argument that Murdaugh did not have enough time to commit the crimes. The juror also accused Murdaugh of not really crying during his testimony. When asked why he believed that, Moyer said he was able to look into Murdaugh’s eyes and see for himself. “He didn’t cry,” the juror told “Good Morning America.” “All he did was blow snot.” Ben Brasch contributed to this report.