Investigators found .22 caliber shell casings nearby and noted her green Ford pickup truck was missing. "No, I did not," Alex Murdaugh said. A few days later, he confessed responsibility for Hodella's murder. During hours of questioning on Thursday, Alex Murdaugh's attorney asked if he believed his "financial house of cards was about to crumble" on June 7, 2021, to which Alex Murdaugh replied, "Absolutely not.". Murdaugh's story that he tried to stage his own murder in a suicide plot in order for his son Buster to collect his life insurance has been treated with skepticism, especially after the man involved in the incident, Curtis Eddie Smith, said he was set up. Local News Everett. READ MORE 5. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. Kauffman had just graduated from high school with apparently few prospects and a group of friends who "ran the streets," and McMahan had recently lost his job at a local plant. The boys wanted to drive to Florida and check out the theme parks with the two teenagers. I think it is fair to say that there arguably has been a systemic failure when someone with a record this terrible, who has completed a lengthy sentence for homicide, is under very serious consideration for killing his mother and he remained on the street, Philadelphia DA Krasner said. Instead, she paid $2000 to Erik McBee and Karen Molina-Pompa, who were friends with Steven Jr and Alysa. [15] In spite of the guilty plea, prosecutors pushed for another death sentence, aiming to prove aggravating factors during the commission of Kirk's murder. By the start of the summer, the 22-year-old McMahan was hanging out with 18-year-old Kauffman and his high school -age friends, and both, according to Lofreddo, were doing drugs. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia newsletters. I didn't know whether he was trying to get me to say that that shirt, if I was to be asked that if that was the shirt he was wearing that day.". Updated: Dec. 10, 2020 at 7:42 PM PST. Since the murders, Murdaugh who says he was living with a decades-long opioid addiction has been disbarred and faces more than 100 further charges in which he's accused of financial crimes, including stealing millions of dollars from clients. On May 15, Leslie Ruiz-Basilio, a mother of two, was shot to death by a masked man while working at an Elsmere, Delaware, Metro by T-Mobile store. 15) Tony von Carruthers: In February of 1994, Tony shot his mother, her teenage associate, and his drug dealer in the Memphis area. The warnings did not sway Medinilla in accepting the public defender's recommendation. During the trial, which began last month, prosecutors have presented more than 60 witnesses and evidence, including body camera footage of police arriving at home following the murders and an interview Alex Murdaugh gave to police two months later, in which he denied killing his wife and son. The police held a press conference to explain the crimes to the public on the afternoon of June 11, and immediately got a tip from a man who saw resident Jamie McMahan driving the pickup that day, which he was certain the unemployed 22-year-old could not afford. They followed her home, and McMahan told Kauffman they'd use her pickup to commit the robbery. Nor was Murdaugh's parents' house searched for the as-yet-undiscovered murder weapons, potential bloody clothes, or other evidence. Parole officials did not object to a recommendation by the public defender to sentence Gibson to time served plus 18 months probation. Gibson was released from prison and sent to Level IV Community Corrections custody. It was tragic, the way we lost them., He told Dateline that, Cody was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.. Later, after they picked him up in a church parking lot, he allegedly stated: Whats done is done, prosecutors allege. On June 11, 1997, police were contacted by a farmer and landlord, Joe Hollop, in the town of What Cheer, Iowa. For several days, McMahan and Kauffman spent the cash "like crazy," said Quinn but by the time the foursome got to Disney World in Orlando, the girls wondered how they'd actually come by so much money. Soon after the murder, he had a tattoo inscribed on his lower right arm indicating the date of the murder, accompanied by an image of a knife. Alex Murdaugh faces about 100 other charges for allegations ranging from money laundering to staging his own death so his surviving son could cash in on his $10 million life insurance policy. Without a doubt.". Donna Thorngren shot her husband, Curtis Curt Thorngren, three times at their home in Meridian, Idaho, and then tried to stage the incident like a burglary. The high-profile family is linked to five deaths, two of which patriarch Alex is on trial over. In a frantic 911 call on March 1, Michelle Gibson tearfully told police about a grisly discovery she made at 2 a.m. in the familys Peoria, Ariz., home. She was only 21 and she had been used and abused, Clayton told Dateline. Gibson then doused his home with kerosene and set. When police went to her home shortly after 9:30 a.m., they found the door unlocked and Garber, sitting in a chair with her breakfast in reach, shot twice in the head and twice in the chest. The story of how Gibson escaped a lengthy prison term two months ago is revealed in documents . Elsmere police later contacted Philadelphia police, saying the man they were looking for fit the description of a man Philly officers were after in a Fairhill Dunkin store murder. Is anyone feeling that the mom has strong narcissistic vibes, I worked on both cases. In an ensuing high-speed chase, he eventually crashed into another vehicle, from which the other driver had eight ribs broken, and Gibson suffered injuries that required numerous stitches on his head. The bodies of Margaret Murdaugh, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22, were found dead from multiple gunshot wounds near the dog kennels at the family's home near Islandton, South Carolina, in June 2021, authorities said. Four of the murders Gibson is linked to happened in May and June. On Wednesday, June 9, Krasner approved murder charges against Gibson in Lugos slaying. And then, Steven Jr. appeared with a knife and stabbed his father multiple times. Young Women in Salt Lake City Fearful of Serial Killer, Barbara Jean Rockys Sisters Speak Out on Reopening Her Case. However, SLED took the shirt to a former police officer who runs a "forensics consulting company" from his home, where he conducted what the defense equated to "science fair experiments" before issuing two reports. William Clyde Gibson III (born October 10, 1957) is an American serial killer and rapist who is currently on Indiana's death row for the sexually-motivated murders of two women in 2002 and 2012, in addition to serving a 65-year sentence for a third murder committed in 2012. Neither the prosecution nor the Netflix production is obliged to provide a motive in order to accuse Murdaugh of murder, but in its absence, both jurors and viewers alike will likely be left wondering what exactly they are being told to believe happened on the night of June 7, 2021. Alex Murdaugh called 911 just after 10 p.m. on June 7, reporting that his wife and son had been shot "badly.". In May 2003, Gibson sued the prison authorities, claiming that they had improperly denied him access to Seroquel and for housing him in squalid conditions, but the suit was thrown out by a federal judge, who considered it baseless. Clayton said that the half-siblings went for a walk to the local grocery store that day. Prosecutor Creighton Waters asked him to recount what he did during a "crucial" four-minute period around 9 p.m. that night, when Alex Murdaugh said he was in his home getting ready to visit his mother. Schultz's family and friends knew them both: Her best friend, Amanda Fenton, said they were friends with McMahan, and even Schultz's grandmother, Sonja Schultz, had met him. "All kids that I knew in the town of Oskaloosa were either on it, making it, selling it. [1], From an early age, Gibson displayed odd behavior, having trouble speaking to others, struggling at school, and preferring to stay home with his mother. McMahan had borrowed but not yet returned the same friend's .22 caliber handgun. Miller said Gibson violated probation by fighting with other offenders and was sentenced to six more months in prison, followed by 18 months of probation. Found the resolution to each, I know who really killed Chanin, her husband did not, I have so many questions about this story. Waters asked Alex Murdaugh if phone calls he made during that time, including to his wife, was to "manufacture an alibi. Kauffman eventually confessed. Keith Gibbson In a shocking twist, barely 24 hours after the release of the Netflix documentary, Murdaugh himself took the stand on Thursday, waiving his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination in order to tell his side of the story. Michelle then dialed 911 and told the operator they had returned home from shopping to find Steven had been murdered. But by weighting it so heavily within the series, the murders that many assumed would be central to the docuseries are largely lost in the story. At this point, we knew we were dealing with the same people.". Two crucial witnesses throughout the trial were Murdaugh housekeeper Blanca Turrubiate-Simpsonand caregiver Mushell "Shelly" Smith, who worked for Murdaugh's parents taking care of his mother, who has dementia. [3] At the subsequent trial for this case, his lawyer claimed that he was mentally ill and requested a competency evaluation, which the court granted. [4] Despite these diagnostics and his refusal to complete the rehabilitation program, he was deemed unlikely to re-offend. Famous Alabama Murders Some of the most famous Alabama murders over the years include the 2005 murder of Charles Newman, who was killed on Halloween night by Andrew Lackey, later named the "Halloween Killer;" the 1941 Gibson Family Murders; and the 2001 unsolved murder of Shannon Paulk. After spending some time at local bars, the pair found themselves at an apartment complex in New Albany. James Waybern Hall: The murderer known as "Big Jim" killed 4 people, including his wife, in Arkansas between 1944 and 1945. On June 5, a masked man carrying a revolver forced Christine Lugo, also a mother, into a Dunkin store in Philadelphias Fairhill neighborhood. But the cloud of suspicion over the Murdaughs didn't begin with the murders of Maggie and Paul. The trial adjourned Thursday evening while prosecutors were in the middle of questioning Murdaugh about his financial dealings as a lawyer -- during which he admitted to stealing money from several clients. [2] Due to this, he was found competent to stand trial and accepted an Alford plea, for which he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment at the Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in La Grange. Officials concluded this after a month . If you have any information in this case, please contact the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department at 606-678-5145. Linda Gibson and Cody Garrett were found murdered in a field outside of Somerset, Kentucky, on July 7, 1994. Philadelphia police were then contacted by Elsmere police, and both agencies began working very closely together, Vanore said. The Dupont De Ligoness Family Murders Coverup Theory Explained. Murdoch?" The narrative jumps from speculation about the stress the family was under following the boat crash, to a ghoulish reconstruction of Murdaugh walking around the bodies of his wife and son, overlaid with the audio from his 911 call. Linda Gibson and Cody Garrett were found murdered in a field outside of Somerset, Kentucky, on July 7, 1994. Firstly, Murdaugh's former close friend Chris Wilson testified that on September 3, he had been told by Murdaugh's law firm partners that Murdaugh had been stealing money. According to the Pulaski Sheriffs Department, after investigating the scene, it seemed that Linda and Cody had been murdered elsewhere, and their bodies were then dumped in the field, which was only two miles from the road on which they were last seen. Without objection from probation and parole officials, the judge accepted the public defender's recommendation for time served and placed him on 18 months of probation, Miller said. Secondly, Griffin used the opportunity to tell the juryabout acontroversialblood spatterreport to argue a rush to judgment by law enforcement. Medinillas office did not respond to a request for comment from NBC10. Crucial testimony also established that Murdaugh's father was in terminal condition (he later died three days after the murders on June 10, 2021), which the defense has argued would cause enough sympathy and distraction from the financial matters. "Having two murders and a bank robbery all within a circle of eight miles? The trial has drawn a packed courtroom, with lines outside. On Tuesday, June 7, Gibson was arrested on suspicion of pistol-whipping a Rite Aid clerk during another Wilmington robbery. Firefighters responded to reports of smoke rising from a yogurt shop on West Anderson Lane. Prosecutors wrapped their cross-examination by showing a clip of body-camera footage of the first deputy arriving at the scene of the killings, prior to SLED's arrival, during which Waters noted that Alex Murdaugh also "told the same lie. Gibson walked across his lawn, crossed the road separating his home from his barn, and stepped into the wooden structure. On March 1, 2013, Michelle, Steven Jr, and Alysa left their home under the pretense of going shopping; this was to be their alibi. While the documentary suggested the unraveling of the Murdaughs' finances was due to the boat crash, trial testimony suggests that the law firm was already looking into inconsistencies surrounding funds relating to some of Murdaugh's cases, the severity of which was revealed to him that day. Later that evening, one of the two boys, Erik McBee, 16, who worked at Popeyes Chicken, allegedly beat a sleeping Steven Gibson in the head with a baseball bat, according to the prosecutors complaint. William Clyde Gibson III (born October 10, 1957) is an American serial killer and rapist who is currently on Indiana 's death row for the sexually-motivated murders of two women in 2002 and 2012, in addition to serving a 65-year sentence for a third murder committed in 2012. [8] Later that day, Gibson was arrested for drunk driving in Whitis' car, and was charged with her murder five days later. Alex Murdaugh faces 30 years to life in prison without parole if convicted of the killings, for which he has pleaded not guilty and adamantly denied. Alex Murdaugh is accused of killing his wife and son. Michelle insisted that Steven had physically abused her and that she feared for her life. Subsequent text messages indicated she was concerned about Murdaugh's wellbeing when she decided to return to the Moselle property. Donna Thorngren shot her husband, Curtis Curt Thorngren, Dr. Mark Wangler killed his wife, Kathy Wangler. Couple Is Killed in Alleged $750,000 Murder-for-Hire Plot Designed to Keep Suspect's Affair Secret, Suspect Arrested and 'Charged with Murder' in Killing of Houston Teen Diamond Alvarez: Authorities, How a Camping Trip Among 4 Arizona Teens Ended in Murder, After 12-Year-Old's Murder, Police Arrest Teen and Suspect's Father, Who Allegedly Drove Son to Scene, 'Big Family, Old Money, New Drama': Inside the Powerful S.C. Family at Center of Murder Mystery, Alex Murdaugh Arrested, Charged with Insurance Fraud and Filing a False Police Report, Murder and QAnon: Inside the Case of Matthew Coleman, Accused of Killing Kids with Spear Gun, Ohio Teen Faces Murder Charge in Deadly Alleged Plot to Kill 13-Year-Old Friend's Mother, Wrong Woman Kidnapped and Killed in Alleged Love Triangle Murder-for-Hire Plot: Police, Missouri Woman Allegedly Killed Man to Frame Another Who Questioned Her Role in His Wife's Unsolved 2011 Murder, Celebrity Baker Charged in Murder-for-Hire Plot to Kill Ex-Boyfriend, Fianc Allegedly Planned Murder of Colo. [3] After his release, he married an artist in June 1980, but after he was diagnosed with infertility, Gibson intensified his drug usage, supposedly smoking upwards of 20 marijuana joints a day. Theres blood everywhere! Gibson cried. [4], During his imprisonment, where he was ordered to attend a sex offender rehabilitation program, Gibson refused to admit responsibility for his crime and was thus deemed ineligible to participate. According to Clayton, the Gibson family had always lived in the Somerset, Kentucky, area. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. McMahan's mother and Kauffman's father got together in 1979 and eventually married. Krasners office has approved murder charges against Gibson in the North Philadelphia killing of 40-year-old Dunkin manager Christine Lugo over the weekend. After the crash, and while Beach was still missing, the Murdaugh family sprang into action to pull as many strings as necessary to protect Paul, even appearing to try and frame his friend Connor Cook as the driver of the boat, according to interviews Cook and his parents gave the Netflix docuseries. Steven Jr. then later drove [a] large knife he was holding into his fathers chest at least three times, the documents say. [4], After being released from jail, Gibson continued hanging around bars, but on February 21, 2006, he stole the purse and $300 from a female acquaintance. Smith testified that she was at Murdaugh's parents' house when he visited the night of the murders, before he said he discovered Maggie and Paul's bodies. After going through a four-day withdrawal, he was examined by the prison's psychiatrist, Dr. Daniel Howerton. His father, Alex Murdaugh, a local attorney and the son of Randolph Murdaugh III, owns the boat.. The Pulaski County Sheriffs Department and the Somerset Police Department are conducting the investigation. During his deployment, he was awarded badges for marksmanship and hand grenade usage, but at this time, he developed an addiction to drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD, which he often mixed with alcohol. 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