Alex Murdaugh: Yes, 'I Lied.' No, I'm Not a Murderer

Alex Murdaugh took the risky step of testifying in his own defense on Thursday, and he insisted in person that he didn't murder his wife and son in South Carolina. But the 54-year-old disbarred attorney also admitted lying about his whereabouts the night they were killed in 2021.

• “I did not shoot my wife or my son any time—ever,” Murdaugh said, per the Washington Post. At another point, he said, “I would never intentionally do anything to hurt either one of them—ever.” While on the stand, he referred to his 52-year-old wife, Maggie, as "Mags," and his 22-year-old son Paul as "Paw Paw."

• In a big moment, Murdaugh admitted that he lied to investigators about not being at the dog kennels where the murders took place on the night the pair was killed. "I lied about being down there, and I’m so sorry that I did,” he said, per the New York Times. Murdaugh said he did so because his opioid addiction made him "paranoid" and distrustful of police. “I knew, since I was the person who found PawPaw and Mags, that I was a suspect." He cried as he described finding their bodies.
• As the AP notes, victim Paul Murdaugh had recorded a video shortly before the murders, and multiple witnesses testified that Alex Murdaugh's voice could be heard on it. On Thursday, Alex Murdaugh admitted they were correct and that he had seen his wife and son at the kennels before the killings. “Oh, what a tangled web we weave," he said. "Once I told a lie—I told my family—I had to keep lying.” Murdaugh says he believes someone angry about a fatal boat crash Paul had been involved in is responsible for the murders.

(More Alex Murdaugh stories.)