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The double homicide trial of disbarred South Carolina attorney and accused killer Alex Murdaugh could run into the middle of March, multiple sources familiar with the timing of the proceedings have confirmed to this news outlet.
A revised trial schedule has reportedly been approved by S.C. circuit court judge Clifton Newman – who originally budgeted three weeks for these proceedings (January 23 – February 17, 2023).
The latest schedule would extend the trial by another three weeks – with a projected end date of March 10, 2023.
Is this extension a surprise? No … not at all. In fact, I suspect this won’t be the last extension issued in connection with this trial … which has settled into a somewhat irregular rhythm as it approaches the end of its second full week.
Jury selection and pre-trial motions in this case were handled faster than expected, with opening arguments coming on the third day of the trial (some had projected the jury selection process to take up to a week).
The following day - last Thursday - lead prosecutor Creighton Waters and his team of attorneys began presenting the state's evidence against Murdaugh. They are currently in their sixth full day of presenting evidence - although the proceedings have been interrupted by a debate over the admissibility of evidence related to financial crimes Murdaugh has either confessed judgment to or been accused of committing.
This debate has devolved into something of a "trial within a trial" - one taking place outside the presence of the jury over whether or not jurors will be able to hear certain testimony from witnesses for the prosecution.
Ironically? The debate over the admissibility of this evidence was one of the issues essentially skipped during the pretrial motions phase of the proceedings ...
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR ...
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.
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