Celebrity

Murdaugh’s Fall From Grace Ends In Life Sentence For Murder

Published

2 years ago

2023-03-03

SC, WALTERBORO — Alex Murdaugh was a well-known lawyer in a rural area of South Carolina. On Friday, he was given a life sentence for killing his wife and son at their large estate. This was the end of a legal family that had served the community for decades.

Even though Murdaugh played college football, was a high-powered attorney, and had a good name, the judge reminded him that he had to take the portrait of the defendant’s grandfather down from its place of honor in the courtroom to make sure the trial was fair. This was in the peaceful Lowcountry, which Murdaugh’s family had dominated since the days of Jim Crow.

Murdaugh maintained his innocence throughout the sentencing process and his six-week trial. But Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman was curious whether he had nightmares about the mutilated bodies of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh or how he had shamed his family’s three-generation reputation for justice by cheating, stealing, and ultimately killing.

You have my utmost respect, as I have said before. However, I have done everything correctly. “I would never harm my wife Maggie or my son Paul-Paul,” Murdaugh said.

It could have been someone else and not you. There’s always the possibility that it was the monster you’ve become,” Newman suggested.

Murdaugh stood before the judge in the same Colleton County courtroom.

Murdaugh stood before the judge in the same Colleton County courtroom where his family has been elected prosecutors for over 80 years. A century ago, Murdaugh’s ancestors established the most influential law firm in adjacent Hampton County. For decades, virtually everyone who went before a judge had a Murdaugh either at their back or staring them down, regardless of where they stood about the law.

Prosecutor Creighton Waters noted a daily stare.

I met his gaze directly. He always gave me the cold, hard eye whenever he passed me by during this ordeal. And when Alex Murdaugh looked at me, I saw the genuine article,” Waters said.

Even though prosecutors chose not to pursue capital punishment, Newman still imposed the maximum sentence of two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.

“Over the past century, your family — including you — have been prosecuting people here in this courtroom, and many have received the death penalty, probably for lesser conduct,” the judge said.

Waters stated that none of Murdaugh’s family members or his wife’s parents and relatives wished to speak on behalf of the prosecution before sentencing. Murdaugh was always supported in court by his family, including his brother and remaining son.

They became more convinced he did not do it after six weeks of trial. “They are completely on his side,” said defense attorney Jim Griffin after the hearing.

Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering his son, 22, and his wife, 52,

Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering his son, 22, with two shots from a shotgun, and his wife, 52, with four or five shots from a rifle after the jury deliberated for less than three hours on Thursday.

Craig Moyer, a juror, told ABC News that the jury polled itself right after deliberations began and that the result was nine guilty verdicts. The other three were quickly persuaded.

The juror believed the prosecution’s contention that the most important evidence was a video that had been stored on his son’s phone for an entire year and which had been shot just minutes before the murders at the same kennels near where the bodies would be found.

All three Murdaughs are audible on the video, but Alex Murdaugh insisted for 20 months that he hadn’t been at the kennels that night. On the stand, he admitted to investigators that he had lied to them about his whereabouts at the kennels, claiming that he was paranoid about law enforcement because of his opioid addiction and had pills in his pocket the night of the killings.

“A skillful liar. But,” Moyer said, “it’s not good enough.

And what about all the weeping Murdaugh did, allegedly even while testifying? As far as we know, Moyer did not purchase them.

It was “all he did was blow snot,” Moyer said. There will be no tears shed. His eyes met mine. I was practically touching him.

The courtroom was once again jammed for the hearing on Friday. The intertwining of high-stakes politics, finance, and high-class privilege in the Murdaugh case has made it a global phenomenon among true crime fans.

The prosecution had no hard evidence, such as confessions or blood spatter

After spending the night crafting a sign reading “Murderer,” Tracy Kinsinger showed up at the courthouse carrying it.

Truthfully, “he disgraced himself, his family, the community, and his profession,” Kinsinger said. That’s a fancy way of saying, “it’s shameful.”

Murdaugh was escorted into the courthouse with his head lowered so he didn’t see the sign.

The prosecution had no hard evidence, such as confessions or blood spatter, that could link the defendant to the Murdaugh killings. Despite this, they had a mountain of circumstantial evidence, including the video that placed Murdaugh at the scene of the killings just five minutes before his wife and son stopped using their cell phones permanently.

More than 75 witnesses and nearly 800 pieces of evidence were presented to the jury, including accounts of Murdaugh’s betrayal of friends and clients as well as his failed attempt to stage his death in an insurance fraud scheme, as well as details about a fatal boat crash in which his son was implicated, the housekeeper who died after falling in the Murdaugh home, and the scene of the murders.

The disbarred lawyer admitted to stealing millions from the family business and clients, claiming he needed the money to support his drug habit. Murdaugh had already been awaiting trial on roughly a hundred other charges, including insurance fraud and tax evasion, when he was arrested for murder.

Lawyers for Murdaugh’s defense have already announced their intention to appeal because the judge decided to admit evidence of crimes for which their client has not been convicted.

They portrayed Alex as a horrible person. “And that’s why they offered it,” Griffin explained.

After sentencing, Murdaugh was returned to the Colleton County jail to gather his belongings before being transferred to an evaluation center in Columbia. Like all new inmates receiving life sentences, he will be transferred to a maximum security state prison within the next month or so.

SOURCE – (AP)

Celebrity

Jason Kelce Smashes Football Fan’s Phone

Published

3 weeks ago

2024-11-02

Geoff Brown

Jason Kelce Smashes College Football Fan's Phone

Retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce destroyed a Penn State football fan’s phone after the alleged heckler called his brother, Travis Kelce, a fag.

In now-viral footage published on X (previously Twitter) on Saturday, Nov. 2, the retired Philadelphia Eagles great was seen accompanied by football fans outside Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa., for the Penn State-Ohio State game.

As the individual capturing the tape lifted a fist to Jason, 36, and called his name for a fist bump, another man nearby hurled the homophobic slur at the retired Philadelphia Eagles star.

Hey, Kelce. How does it feel that your brother is a queer dating Taylor Swift?” the man questioned, referring to Travis, 34, who has been seeing Swift since 2023. Jason turned around seconds later, snatched the man’s phone, and crushed it to the ground.

“Looked like a Penn State student was getting in Kelce’s face for no reason,” the original X user who submitted the video remarked. “Wild scene in State College.”

“Kelce how does it feel that your brother is a f****t for dating Taylor Swift?”

Jason Kelce proceeded to slam this kids phone on the ground.

Looked like a Penn State student was getting in Kelce’s face for no reason. Wild scene in State College pic.twitter.com/3PEdZXWhSg

— Chives (@jarrett_daveler) November 2, 2024

Additional footage on X shows Jason smashing the phone on asphalt before picking it up and walking away. The phone’s owner, wearing a Penn State hoodie at the time of the incident, was shown in many videos strolling closely behind Jason and recording him before the conflict occurred.

Another footage published on X, which appears to have been filmed after Jason shattered the man’s phone, showed the hooded Penn State supporter trudging through a mob to pick up his phone off the ground.

“Give me my phone, bro,” he seemed to say to Jason.

The NFL alum seized the gadget first, then stood in front of the man and asked, “Who’s the fag now?” Others appeared to interfere.

The incident occurred while Jason was at Beaver Stadium for an appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay. The Ohio State Buckeyes won Saturday’s game 20-13 over the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Romantic Date Night

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Romantic Date Night Has Alarming Details.

Celebrity

Shaun White’s Proposal To Nina Dobrev Was Romantic Gold

Published

3 weeks ago

2024-10-30

Kiara Grace

Shaun White, the Olympic snowboarding champion, already has an impressive medal tally, but his surprise proposal to Nina Dobrev deserves a gold medal.

On Wednesday, the couple announced their engagement on Instagram. Dobrev posted photographs of the two hugging under an arch of white roses and showing off her five-carat Lorraine Schwartz engagement ring.

“RIP boyfriend, hello fiancé,” Dobrev said in the caption.

However, the photographs only tell half the tale, as Shaun devised an elaborate plan to surprise Dobrev with his proposal.

Shaun White’s Proposal To Nina Dobrev Was Romantic Gold

According to a Vogue interview published Wednesday, Shaun said he assembled a team of people from the couple’s inner circle and Vogue personnel to trick Dobrev into thinking she had been invited to an intimate dinner party with Anna Wintour.

White claimed that his publicist emailed Dobrev a forged invitation to the event, which was scheduled to take place at the Golden Swan in New York City.

Dobrev accepted the invitation, joking that Shaun made it “look so legitimate.”

He even asked Dobrev’s stylist to outfit her in Chanel for the event.

Dobrev said she recognized what was happening when she entered the venue and saw White standing beneath the flowery arch.

Shaun’s Proposal To Nina Dobrev Was Romantic Gold

“I went into shock,” Dobrev admitted, later adding that White “said all the right things” before she agreed.

According to the publication, after Shaun proposed, the couple partied into the early morning hours with close friends and relatives.

“Best night of my life,” Shaun captioned his Instagram story on Wednesday.

The duo first became romantically involved in 2020, and they have since publicly recorded their relationship, globe vacations, and White’s Olympic farewell on social media.

SOURCE | CNN

Celebrity

Hollywood Actress Teri Garr Passes Away at 79

Published

3 weeks ago

2024-10-30

Geoff Brown

Hollywood Actress Teri Garr Passes Away at 79

Teri Garr, known for her roles in classics like "Young Frankenstein" and "Tootsie," has passed away at 79.

Hollywood actress Teri Garr, known for her roles in classics like “Young Frankenstein” and “Tootsie,” has passed away at 79. She died Tuesday of multiple sclerosis “surrounded by family and friends,” said publicist Heidi Schaeffer.

Admirers took to social media in her honor, with writer-director Paul Feig calling her “truly one of my comedy heroes. I couldn’t have loved her more” and screenwriter Cinco Paul saying: “Never the star, but always shining. She made everything she was in better.”

Throughout her career, the performer, often known as Terri, Terry, or Terry Ann, seemed destined for show business from a young age.

Her father was Eddie Garr, a well-known vaudeville comic, and her mother was Phyllis Lind, one of the original high-kicking Rockettes at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. Their daughter began dancing classes at six and was performing with the San Francisco and Los Angeles ballet companies by age fourteen.

She was 16 years old when she joined the road crew of “West Side Story” in Los Angeles, and she began starring in small roles in films as early as 1963.

In an interview from 1988, she described how she landed the role in “West Side Story.” After being rejected at her initial audition, she returned the following day dressed differently and was accepted.

Teri Garr, a comedian

Teri Garr then found steady work as a movie dancer, appearing in the chorus of nine Elvis Presley films, including “Viva Las Vegas,” “Roustabout,” and “Clambake.”

She has also appeared on various television shows, including “Star Trek,” “Dr. Kildare,” and “Batman,” and was a featured dancer on the rock ‘n’ roll music show “Shindig,” the rock concert performance “T.A.M.I.,” and a cast member of “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.”

Her breakthrough role was as Gene Hackman’s girlfriend in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 thriller The Conversation. This led to an interview with Mel Brooks, who offered her the Gene Wilder’s German lab assistant role in Young Frankenstein if she could speak with a German accent.

“Cher had this German woman, Renata, making wigs, so I got the accent from her,” Garr once said.

The film established her as a great comic performer, with New Yorker film writer Pauline Kael calling her “the funniest neurotic dizzy dame on screen.”

Her big smile and off-center appeal helped her land roles in “Oh, God!” with George Burns and John Denver, “Mr. Mom” (as Michael Keaton’s wife), and “Tootsie,” in which she played the girlfriend who loses Dustin Hoffman to Jessica Lange and discovers he has dressed up as a woman to revive his career.

A gift for spontaneous humor

Teri Garr, best known for comedy, has shown in films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Black Stallion, and The Escape Artist that she can also tackle drama.

She had a gift for spontaneous humor, frequently playing David Letterman’s foil during early guest appearances on N.B.C.’s “Late Night With David Letterman”.

Her appearances grew so frequent, and the pair’s good-natured bickering so convincing that rumors of romantic involvement circulated for a while. Years later, Letterman acknowledged those early appearances with helping the program become a success.

During those years, Garr began to experience “a little beeping or ticking” in her right leg. It started in 1983 and expanded to her right arm, but she thought she could handle it. By 1999, her symptoms had gotten so bad that she saw a doctor and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

After disclosing her diagnosis, Garr became a spokesman for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, giving hilarious remarks at events in the United States and Canada.

Source: AP
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