The prosecution began its cross-examination of disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh on Thursday afternoon, pressing him about his financial trouble, his theft of clients’ money and his relationship with law enforcement in the area where he lived.
Murdaugh took the stand in his own self-defense after he pleaded not guilty to the murder of his wife and son.
Use of badges: Prosecutor Creighton Waters presented two badges into evidence, one that was Murdaugh’s grandfather’s badge after he retired and another that he said he considered to be his badge. Murdaugh testified that he usually keeps it in his car and that while he did not consider himself law enforcement, he carried a badge as a “volunteer assistant solicitor” for two decades.
The prosecutor pressed Murdaugh on how he used the presence of the badge to influence a desired outcome with law enforcement. He presented a photo of Murdaugh with the badge hanging out of his pocket at the hospital on the night of a fatal boat crash involving his son Paul, even when he testified he was not acting in an official capacity.
“I guess I would want… as I said, a badge has a warming effect with other law enforcement,” Murdaugh said. “If I was seeking any advantage, as you say, then I guess that would be what it was.”
Murdaugh testified that he also installed blue lights installed in the law firm’s vehicle that he drove.
Stealing from clients: Murdaugh admitted to stealing millions of dollars from clients and his law firm, which ultimately led to his resignation from the firm, then known as PMPED and since renamed Parker Law Group. Several members of the firm have testified in-depth about discovering Murdaugh’s alleged misdeeds.
The prosecution spent a lot of time going through these allegations because they accuse Murdaugh of killing his wife and son to distract from an array of alleged financial crimes, for which Murdaugh separately faces another 99 charges.
“I admit candidly in all of these cases, Mr. Waters, that I took money that was not mine and I shouldn’t have done it. I hate the fact that I did it. I’m embarrassed by it. I’m embarrassed for my son. I’m embarrassed for my family,” he said.
Before he took the stand, Judge Clifton Newman denied a defense request to limit the scope of questioning Murdaugh will face, specifically in regard to alleged financial crimes.
Pill addiction: Muraugh testified that he was addicted to pills for about 20 years. Despite the addiction, he said he was still able to maintain his practice and was “certain none of my partners knew I had an addiction.”
Murdaugh testified that his opioid use was “certainly a cause” of his financial problems, but not the only cause. He said that he was using some of the money he stole from clients to buy pills, but not all of it. Some money was being used to fund what the prosecution called a “wealthy lifestyle,” a term Murdaugh said he would not take issue with.
The cross-examination is set to resume Friday at 9:30 a.m. ET.
CNN’s Dakin Andone, Dianne Gallagher, Randi Kaye and Alta Spells contributed reporting to this post.
