The twenty-first century televised adaptation of William Faulkner’s Snopes family saga – As Murdaughs Lay Dying – proceeds apace, but the prosecution, which should easily take down Big Daddy Murdaugh, the obvious murderer, has run into a shrapnel of trouble.
Used to be all sorts of firearm evidence – stuff like gunshot residue – could put a case over the top; but now that all-American clans like the Murdaughs own forty trillion guns which they’re always toting around and shooting off, almost any piece of gun evidence is, er, shot down. When your entire house, car, wardrobe, fields, and gardens are gun-residue saturated, it’s hard to determine which residue comes from family-slaughtering and which comes from, you know, jest reglur family fun.
February 9th, 2023 at 2:13PM
I think you misinterpreted the report on the car data. It took a long time to crack the data but the car’s information clearly shows that he was at his mother’s house only 20 minutes; that messes up Murdaugh’s claimed timeline which held that he was there for 40 minutes. Far from running into shrapnel, the prosecution has advanced virtually without challenge.
At the beginning of the trial it looked like the prosecution case has a lot of holes and weak spots. As it presented the evidence over the last two weeks, however, it has been building a pretty solid case. Of course the defense will have a lot to say when it gets its turn.
This story has dominated the news in my neck of the SC woods ever since the boat crash, so I’ve been following the trial with more than usual attention.
February 9th, 2023 at 3:09PM
Hi Dennis: I too, from the distant climes of Bethesda, am following this hideous family murder closely. I don’t mention the car data in my post because yes I agree that it’s incredibly strong evidence for the prosecution. I’m simply noting that reasonable doubt being what it is, the prosecution’s probable inability to prove the residue came from Alex in commission of familicide will hurt its case.
February 9th, 2023 at 3:12PM
I forgot to mention that your Faulkner comparison was brilliant.
February 9th, 2023 at 3:19PM
Thank you, thank you!