Alex Murdaugh admits he lied about dog kennels story to public until trial — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00Mr. Ward, if you keep making an issue
2. 0:01about first time I you hearing these
3. 0:03things, when when I got arrested and I
4. 0:05went to jail,
5. 0:07we began reaching out to you to talk to
6. 0:09you about all of these things to try to
7. 0:11tell you everything that I'd done to
8. 0:13give you all these details to help y'all
9. 0:15go through these financial things and up
10. 0:18until the time that y'all charged me
11. 0:20with murdering my wife and child, you
12. 0:23would never
13. 0:24uh
14. 0:26give Jim Griffin
15. 0:29a response to our invitations to sit
16. 0:32down and meet with you.
17. 0:34So, you're telling me I never responded
18. 0:35to Jim Griffin? Is that what you're
19. 0:36saying here today?
20. 0:38I'm telling you
21. 0:39Are you saying that you ever before
22. 0:40yesterday reached out to anyone through
23. 0:43yourself or through your attorneys and
24. 0:45reached out anyone in law enforcement or
25. 0:46the prosecution and told them the story
26. 0:48about the kennels? Are you telling me
27. 0:49that?
28. 0:50I'm what I'm telling you Mr. Ward
29. 0:52first, please, sir. Answer my question
30. 0:54first. Did you ever reach out to anyone
31. 0:57in law enforcement or the prosecution
32. 1:00and tell that story that you told us
33. 1:02jury yesterday about the kennels before
34. 1:04yesterday?
35. 1:06Did I ever reach out to law enforcement
36. 1:08to say I want to tell you about the
37. 1:10kennels? No, sir, I did not.
38. 1:12What I
39. 1:12This is a Fifth Amendment line.
40. 1:15Pardon?
41. 1:16This questioning about him volunteering
42. 1:18information on these charges violates
43. 1:21his Fifth Amendment rights and we
44. 1:22strongly object. Any more we would have
45. 1:25to make a motion.
46. 1:27He brought it up though.
47. 1:28Objection is overruled.
48. 1:31What I did was So, you
49. 1:34Answer my question first, sir.
50. 1:35Yeah, but I think he did not bring it.
51. 1:37He was talking about financial stuff.
52. 1:38Mr. Mr.
53. 1:49Yes or no question.
54. 1:52Before yesterday
55. 1:54did you ever bring up what you told this
56. 1:56jury about that kennels
57. 1:58to anybody in the prosecution or anybody
58. 1:59in law enforcement?
59. 2:02No, I I didn't have the opportunity to,
60. 2:04Mr. Waters, because you
61. 2:08would not respond to my invitations to
62. 2:11reach out and tell you about all the
63. 2:13things that I'd done wrong.
64. 2:16And to talk about bringing this to a
65. 2:18head, to talk about bringing this to
66. 2:21closure. I understand how many people I
67. 2:23hurt.
68. 2:24I understand um how angry my partners
69. 2:28are and how hurt they are. And I
70. 2:30understand how hurt these people that I
71. 2:32stole money
72. 2:34from are. I understand how hurt they
73. 2:37are. And one of the things that I
74. 2:39believe is
75. 2:40getting past this may help them get some
76. 2:43closure. And so, since at least January,
77. 2:47I've been trying
78. 2:49to sit down with y'all
79. 2:52to talk to y'all.
80. 2:53Okay.
81. 2:54And never
82. 2:56never
83. 2:57ever
84. 2:58got a response to the multiple requests.
85. 3:01Multiple requests?
86. 3:02Yes, sir, multiple requests. I I I would
87. 3:04ask about this.
88. 3:05Mark Ball. Let's Let's ask this, sir.
89. 3:08Sir?
90. 3:09Did Mark Ball ever hear your story to
91. 3:12the
92. 3:12jury about the Kennels until yesterday?
93. 3:15Your buddy and law partner, Mark Ball?
94. 3:18Mr. I haven't spoken to Mark Ball since
95. 3:19I went to rehab.
96. 3:21Okay.
97. 3:22And these were the same law partners
98. 3:24that you were listening to the night of,
99. 3:25is that Is that what you testified to
100. 3:27this jury earlier?
101. 3:30You testified to that earlier, did you
102. 3:31not?
103. 3:33I I don't understand your question.
104. 3:34Didn't you testify earlier that you were
105. 3:36listening to your law partners on the
106. 3:37night of the incident?
107. 3:40Did Was I listening to them?
108. 3:41Yeah, you testified to that. It's a
109. 3:43simple question, sir.
110. 3:44I
111. 3:45I'm I'm sure I was. It When are you
112. 3:47talking about?
113. 3:48On June 8th in the early morning hours.
114. 3:50You testified to this jury that you were
115. 3:51listening to them, but you never told
116. 3:53them the kennel story either, and they
117. 3:55heard it for the first time yesterday as
118. 3:56well, isn't that correct?
119. 4:00Y- Yes, that's the first time they heard
120. 4:02it. That was the time
121. 4:03that Ronnie Crosby ever heard that would
122. 4:05have been yesterday?
123. 4:07If he was listening, that would have
124. 4:08been the first time he heard it.
125. 4:09First time Johnny Parker ever heard that
126. 4:11was yesterday?
127. 4:13Yes.
128. 4:14First time Danny Henderson, who was
129. 4:16representing you in the boat case, ever
130. 4:18heard that was yesterday?
131. 4:20Yes, yesterday is the first time that I
132. 4:23have said that
133. 4:25openly.
134. 4:29But that that's not what you were asking
135. 4:30me, Mr. Waters, but
136. 4:32you go ahead.
137. 4:33First time your brother Randy heard that
138. 4:35was yesterday?
139. 4:36If he was listening.
140. 4:53And Mr. Waters, just to be clear, I was
141. 4:56begging for a meeting with y'all to try
142. 4:58to bring this to a close, to to talk to
143. 5:00y'all about everything up until the time
144. 5:04that y'all charged me with hurting
145. 5:05Maggie and Paul. Now, at after that
146. 5:08point in time
147. 5:12I stopped, obviously.
148. 5:15that you were begging for a meeting
149. 5:17and informa- and you but you admit
150. 5:18information was never conveyed
151. 5:21that you wanted to
152. 5:23change your story after multiple
153. 5:24interviews with law enforcement about
154. 5:27what happened that night, including the
155. 5:29most important fact of all, which is
156. 5:30when the last time you supposedly saw
157. 5:33your wife and son alive was.
158. 5:34I don't know exactly what was conveyed
159. 5:38or not because to you because I wasn't
160. 5:41part of it. All I know is what I was
161. 5:43trying to do was to sit down.
162. 5:48I understood to bring all this to a
163. 5:51close that y'all would want me to sit
164. 5:53down and go through all of these
165. 5:55financial things, all of these things
166. 5:58that I'd done wrong.
167. 5:59And to try to bring that to a close.
168. 6:02I was
169. 6:03repeatedly trying to sit down with
170. 6:06y'all.
171. 6:06The reality is, Mr. Murdaugh, is the
172. 6:08reason why no one's ever heard that
173. 6:10before is because you had to sit in this
174. 6:12courtroom and hear your family and your
175. 6:14friends one after the other come in and
176. 6:16testify that you were on that kennel
177. 6:18video. So, you, like you've done so many
178. 6:20times over the course of your life, had
179. 6:22to back up and make a new story that
180. 6:24kind of fit with the facts that can't be
181. 6:26denied. Isn't that true, sir?
182. 6:27No, sir, that's not true.
183. 6:29Okay.
184. 6:32You've done that over and over again
185. 6:33over the years with all of this that
186. 6:34we've been talking about, haven't you?
187. 6:37I've done what over and over again?
188. 6:38The second that you're confronted with
189. 6:41facts that you can't deny,
190. 6:43you immediately come up with a new lie.
191. 6:47Isn't that correct?
192. 6:50Mr. Waters, as we've established, I have
193. 6:52lied many times, but I can't sit here
194. 6:55and tell you that you what are you
195. 6:56talking about facts that I can't deny?
196. 6:58That
197. 7:00I would disagree with that proposition
198. 7:02that you're putting out that that was
199. 7:03what I did all the time, but in in doing
200. 7:06that, I admit again that I have lied
201. 7:09to people that trusted me.
202. 7:18So, we can agree
203. 7:20that
204. 7:21the prosecution and law enforcement
205. 7:25and so many of your friends and family
206. 7:28heard for the first time your story
207. 7:30about the kennels yesterday after all
208. 7:33these weeks of testimony.
209. 7:35Can we agree on that?
210. 7:38That law enforcement,
211. 7:40Mhm.
212. 7:40my partners,
213. 7:42and my friends
214. 7:44heard me say that for the first time.
215. 7:46Yes, I agree with that.
216. 8:06Would you agree with me
217. 8:20that your own lawyer was repeating your
218. 8:22story that you were at home napping
219. 8:25as late as November of '22
220. 8:28on national television?
221. 8:31I don't I don't know.
222. 8:33You don't know that?
223. 8:34No, in jail we don't we don't get
224. 8:36newspapers and the the TV we have is
225. 8:39limited, so
226. 8:40So, your own lawyers, at least as late
227. 8:42as November '22, didn't know the story
228. 8:45that you've told to this jury after 5
229. 8:47weeks of your family and friends coming
230. 8:48in and saying, "Yeah, that's him on that
231. 8:49video."
232. 8:50I don't
233. 8:50Objection, Your Honor. That violates
234. 8:51attorney-client privilege communication.
235. 8:53Totally improper.
236. 8:54He is against the law.
237. 8:55Totally improper.
238. 8:57This is a response.
239. 8:58He uh has brought up his communications
240. 9:01with counsel and and now I that is fair
241. 9:03game, Your Honor.
242. 9:06His communications through counsel with
243. 9:08our alleged communications with
244. 9:09prosecution.
245. 9:11He didn't
246. 9:12There's There's no attorney-client
247. 9:14privilege to national television
248. 9:16interviews.
249. 9:18The objection is overruled.
250. 9:37Are you waiting for me answer, Mr.
251. 9:39Waters, or did I answer?
252. 9:40I think the point's made.
253. 9:41All right, sir.
254. 9:44You said you were unaware of that
255. 9:45national television interview. Is that
256. 9:47what you said?
257. 9:49Unaware of what national television
258. 9:51interview?
259. 9:52where your lawyer repeated that story as
260. 9:54late as November of 2022. Your story
261. 9:56that you were actually home asleep at
262. 9:58the house.
263. 10:00The only The only national
264. 10:04TV uh
265. 10:06ad that I'm aware of is not ad, program
266. 10:11is one
267. 10:12um
268. 10:13that Mr. Griffin was involved in. Was a
269. 10:17Are you referring to like a Dateline
270. 10:19something?
271. 10:20I'm talking about HBO.
272. 10:21Okay, HBO. All right, like so yeah,
273. 10:24I am aware of that. And And what I
274. 10:26believe the case to be is that I believe
275. 10:29that when that was in its works that Mr.
276. 10:33Griffin made those statements sometime
277. 10:37substantially before
278. 10:39um
279. 10:40November of '22 as early as around the
280. 10:44very beginning of
281. 10:462021.
282. 10:48Well, let's talk uh
283. 10:51At least what I understand to be the
284. 10:52case.
285. 10:52All right. Well, let's talk some more
286. 10:53about your testimony from yesterday.
287. 10:57And you're telling this jury, even them
288. 10:59something as clear as the Skolnick
289. 11:00video,
290. 11:01that your story doesn't change when you
291. 11:03have to make them fit the facts that no
292. 11:04longer can be denied. Is that what
293. 11:06you're telling this jury?
294. 11:08I don't understand that question. Say
295. 11:10that again.
296. 11:11I said you're telling this jury
297. 11:14that you don't change your story to make
298. 11:17the facts fit evidence you can no longer
299. 11:19deny like what's been going on in this
300. 11:21courtroom.
301. 11:23I'm not telling the jury any
302. 11:26thing
303. 11:27about that.
304. 11:28All right, good.
305. 11:30All right, let's move on. Let's talk
306. 11:31some more about that issue. Um
307. 11:35Let's talk about
308. 11:40the confrontation on June the 7th with
309. 11:43Jeanie Sekinger, which you said was no
310. 11:45big deal.
311. 11:47Isn't that what you testified? Words to
312. 11:49that effect?
313. 11:51I
314. 11:52I think what I testified to is that to
315. 11:54me it certainly didn't seem like a
316. 11:56confrontation. Jeanie came to me and was
317. 12:00almost apologetic. And this is what I
318. 12:04believe, Mr. Waters, is I believe that
319. 12:07what Jeanie Sekinger
320. 12:09and my partners have had to go through
321. 12:13since September
322. 12:15has been hard.
323. 12:19I
324. 12:20I
325. 12:20I know they I mean, I could see it.
326. 12:23Um I could see the hurt
327. 12:27that I caused them.
328. 12:28And and I know that they're betrayed.
329. 12:31And I know that they're angry.
330. 12:33And I know that they're hurt.
331. 12:35And
332. 12:36I want to make clear to this that
333. 12:39while I disagree with what Jeanie said
334. 12:42as to it being a confrontation, cuz I
335. 12:46don't believe that it was. I don't think
336. 12:47that she was lying. I think that she
337. 12:49feels it. I I I think that, you know,
338. 12:52she believes that that's the case
339. 12:54after all this time that she's had to
340. 12:57deal with this. But on June the 7th,
341. 12:59when she came to me, she was almost
342. 13:01apologetic. She she
343. 13:03you you heard her to say that she said
344. 13:06that she wouldn't be doing her job if
345. 13:08she didn't do this. And it was made
346. 13:10clear to me that
347. 13:13someone had said this.
348. 13:15Um that I I had to make sure that income
349. 13:19came through the firm, that I couldn't
350. 13:21structure money. In other words, I had
351. 13:24the impression that there was concern
352. 13:28that maybe
353. 13:30like Mark Ball and Ronnie Crosby said
354. 13:32that maybe I was hiding hiding
355. 13:35fees because of the civil boat case. But
356. 13:39that conversation was so quick, Mr.
357. 13:41Waters, that you keep using the the term
358. 13:45confrontation. I didn't take it as a
359. 13:47confrontation.
360. 13:48And you're telling this jury you're not
361. 13:50making that issue fit
362. 13:53make your story fit with those facts by
363. 13:55saying, "Ah, it wasn't a big deal and
364. 13:57Genie
365. 13:59she's hurt, so she's overreacting now."
366. 14:01No, that's not what I'm saying.
367. 14:03and testify.
368. 14:04What I'm saying is exactly what I just
369. 14:06testified to, that
370. 14:08to me on that day, that was not a
371. 14:11confrontation. It ended almost as
372. 14:14quickly as it began, and
373. 14:19I didn't think about it again for
374. 14:22a period of time until after
375. 14:25everything happened.
376. 14:27You You testified earlier you get
377. 14:28paranoid if a police officer turns out
378. 14:30behind you, but you're not getting
379. 14:31paranoid when Genie comes in here and
380. 14:34says, "I need an answer about these
381. 14:36fees?"
382. 14:37No, because I believe you took them. No,
383. 14:40things like that
384. 14:41wouldn't cause
385. 14:43the paranoid thought and the and the
386. 14:45paranoid thinking it was always related
387. 14:48to pills. It was always, "Okay,
388. 14:51that reaction that somebody just gave me
389. 14:53do
390. 14:53It was always related to pills.
391. 14:55Do Do they know something? Did something
392. 14:58somebody said it was
393. 15:01I mean,
394. 15:02the times that's what when I when I had
395. 15:05to deal with paranoid thinking
396. 15:08that, you know, if a if a judge
397. 15:10confronted me in the courtroom about a
398. 15:11piece of evidence or if
399. 15:15uh
400. 15:16Genie asked me about that, those those
401. 15:18are not things that
402. 15:20gave me
403. 15:22paranoid thinking.
404. 15:24Okay.
405. 15:27And you testified the same thing about
406. 15:28the boat hearing on June 10th.
407. 15:30Not worried about it. No big deal.
408. 15:32Correct?
409. 15:34No, I didn't say that it was no big
410. 15:36deal, but
411. 15:39I said that
412. 15:40my
413. 15:42main concern about those motions coming
414. 15:44up on June the 10th
415. 15:48dealt more with the venue motion than
416. 15:52they did with the
417. 15:54motion to compel. I believe is what I
418. 15:56said.
419. 15:56Are you telling this jury that you
420. 15:57didn't testify yesterday that you
421. 15:59weren't concerned about it?
422. 16:03I wasn't overly concerned about it.
423. 16:06Okay.
424. 16:06And I'm sure I had some level of concern
425. 16:09because the venue motion was
426. 16:12it was a it was a big issue in the case.
427. 16:15Well, were you concerned enough about it
428. 16:16to bow up with Mark Tinsley at the Trial
429. 16:18Lawyers Conference and say, "What are
430. 16:19you doing, Bell?"
431. 16:20No.
432. 16:21Absolutely, unequivocally, never
433. 16:24happened.
434. 16:24Okay.
435. 16:41If
436. 16:42the Ferris fee issue
437. 16:45comes to light on June the 7th,
438. 16:49you're not going to be able to borrow
439. 16:50money from Johnny Parker anymore, are
440. 16:52you?
441. 16:53If the Ferris fee, hypothetically
442. 16:55speaking, if the Ferris fee came to
443. 16:57light on June the 7th,
444. 16:59well, here here.
445. 17:02Any point in time, if the Ferris fee
446. 17:04came to light, Johnny Parker would not
447. 17:05loan me money.
448. 17:06Okay.
449. 17:06If if if Johnny knew that I had taken
450. 17:10fees,
451. 17:12I would not have been able to borrow
452. 17:13money from Johnny Parker.