Alex Murdaugh double murder trial: Closing arguments begin Wednesday. Here's what to expect.

COLLETON COUNTY COURTHOUSE, WALTERBORO, SC – After 27 days of legal proceedings – five and a half weeks – closing arguments are set to begin sometime Wednesday in the double murder trial of disgraced and disbarred South Carolina attorney Richard “Alex” Murdaugh.

Murdaugh, who was indicted in July 2022 for the June 7, 2021, shooting deaths of his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, is facing life without the possibility of parole if convicted. The State has declined to pursue the death penalty in this high-profile case that has become a true-crime craze and an internationally followed murder mystery.

After the jury visits the scene of the crime at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, court is expected to resume Wednesday at 11 a.m., or shortly after, and aside from any last-minute motions or unexpected matters of law, closing arguments will begin around midday.

Tuesday's Alex Murdaugh trial updates: Testimony ends in double murder case. Jury headed to Moselle.

In closings, the State will present its closing argument in full, followed by the defense’s closing argument. The State will then have one final session to reply or rebut any new claims or new information the defense introduces in its closings.

Judge Newman has indicated that he is not included to set a time limit on closings, but each side indicated they would need roughly two hours.

Here is how closing arguments from both sides will likely resonate with the jury:

S.C. Attorney General’s Office hopes to finish strong

The State will likely strive to put together the many pieces of circumstantial evidence into a narrative that the jury will follow and believe. Here will be the most probably key points:

• From pending lawsuits to criminal charges, Murdaugh was facing a “perfect storm” of financial and legal exposure on the morning of the murders, when he was confronted by his own law firm for stealing legal fees, and that storm threatened to burst the dam and release – and publicly reveal – a decade-long, multi-county crime spree.

• Maggie and Paul had confronted Murdaugh about his drug abuse, and after a 20-year addiction he was not the same person everyone in the community and family thought he was.

• Murdaugh lured Maggie and possibly Paul to the family’s Moselle estate that night with the intention of killing them.

• From the moment he called 911, to his first interactions with police the night of the killings, Murdaugh lied early and often and suggested other suspects to “anyone and everyone who would listen,” say prosecutors. Several of Murdaugh’s statements are inconsistent with physical evidence and witness testimony.

Alex Murdaugh murder trial: The State's evidence likely to impact the Colleton County jury

• A cell phone video taken by Paul puts Murdaugh at the crime scene mere minutes before his family members were killed – despite the fact that Murdaugh repeatedly said he wasn’t there.

• A family weapon was used to kill Maggie, and likely Paul as well, say investigators.

• The spent rifle casings found near Maggie’s body were cycled through a family weapon that left matching casings around the Moselle property, and shotgun shells found near Paul also matched the type of shells found around the home.

• Cell phone and vehicle forensic data reveal that Murdaugh made a mad dash to his mother’s home and back after the killings – driving as fast as 80 mph on dark, deer-populated country roads.

• Two witnesses indicated that Murdaugh was either coaching or asking them to collaborate his stories after the fact.

• Murdaugh, who took the stand last week and emotionally wept in front of the jury, claiming he would never hurt his family, is a veteran personal injury lawyer who lied to and stole from his family, friends and clients for years, while being known for making emotional appeals to manipulate juries and win cases.

Alex Murdaugh’s defense to discredit police, create reasonable doubt

Murdaugh’s attorneys have said repeatedly that they don’t have to prove a thing – just create reasonable doubt. Here is how they will try to finish that task:

• Stress that while Murdaugh may have committed other, “lesser” crimes, he is a loving, doting father and husband who would never have committed the brutal murders he is accused of.

• The State has no “smoking gun” – there is no murder weapon in evidence, and there are no eyewitnesses. There is also a lack of other, direct physical evidence to seal the deal and pinpoint Murdaugh, such as fingerprints, foot or tire marks, DNA or conclusive gunshot residue.

• The State’s motive – that Murdaugh killed his family to distract from his financial crimes and gain sympathy – is illogical and totally ridiculous, his attorneys have claimed and will continue to argue.

• This is likely the work of two shooters, or someone outside the family who had a grudge.

• The State zeroed in on Murdaugh early as their prime suspect and did not fully investigate other suspects.

• Reinforce their claims of sloppy police work and poor crime scene investigation. Had police done their job properly, the defense claims, they might have been able to find the “real killers.”

• While Murdaugh may have lied, state police lied, too – to both the victim’s families and to the Colleton County Grand Jury in order to get an indictment on Murdaugh with no direct evidence.

• Much of the State’s evidence, such as false blood spatter, DNA and gunshot residue, is highly questionable.

What’s next after closing arguments in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial?

Once final arguments are complete, Newman will “charge” the jury with instructions on the law and their duties, and the jury will begin to deliberate. It is mostly likely that the jury will have the case for deliberation by sometime early Thursday.

It is likely that a verdict could be announced by week’s end, which could give closure to the victims in both Maggie and Paul’s families, and answers to a waiting and watching public.

Regardless of the outcome of this trial, Murdaugh reminds jailed on a  $7 million bond for roughly 100 other criminal charges, primarily stealing money from law partners and clients. Murdaugh has publicly admitted to many of these charges – even in testimony on national television – and is likely to spend the balance of his life in prison regardless of the murder verdict.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Alex Murdaugh trial: Closing arguments Wednesday. What to expect.