7 Bombshell Confessions Alex Murdaugh Made on the Stand

On Thursday and Friday, Alex Murdaugh testified in his own trial, where he was grilled by prosecuting attorney Creighton Waters, who believes that the former South Carolina attorney murdered his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul on June 7, 2021. Throughout hours of testimony, the state's attorney brought up every detail of the case – from Murdaugh's drug addiction and financial crimes to the murders – and all the lies in between. Here are the biggest bombshell confessions Alex Murdaugh made while testifying in his own murder trial. 

He Used Badges to Influence Law Enforcement

Alex, who came from a long line of influential solicitors, confesses to using his grandfather's badge to influence law enforcement. Waters presented two badges into evidence and showed pictures of the badge dangling from Murdaugh's pocket the night of the infamous boat crash. "I guess I would want… as I said, a badge has a warming effect with other law enforcement," Murdaugh said. "If I was seeking any advantage, as you say, then I guess that would be what it was."

He Stole and Lied

Much of the questioning on Thursday surrounded Murdaugh's financial crimes and how he repeatedly lied to his clients while looking them in the eye. "I admit candidly in all of these cases, Mr. Waters, that I took money that was not mine and I shouldn't have done it. I hate the fact that I did it. I'm embarrassed by it. I'm embarrassed for my son. I'm embarrassed for my family," he said.

He Claims He Took 1,000 to 2,000 Milligrams of Oxy Per Day

During his testimony, a lot of focus was put on Murdaugh's pill addiction and his family's reaction to it. Despite the 20-year addiction, he said he was still able to maintain his practice and was "certain none of my partners knew I had an addiction." He maintains that his drug use was "certainly a cause" of his financial problems. He says he took "30-milligram pills instant-release oxycodone, probably mixed in with some OxyContin, which is made of oxycodone — it's just time release." Sometimes he would take "maybe 1,000 milligrams or 1,200 milligrams on a day I didn't take as much or didn't have as much, up to, I mean — there were days, many days, a lot of days, most days were more than that, and many days would be … more than 2,000 milligrams a day." Waters says: "You're taking 60 (pills) a day or something like that?" state prosecutor Creighton Waters asked Murdaugh about the time between January and June 2021. "There were days where I took more than that … there were days that I took less than that," he says. 

He Had "Paranoid Thoughts" Which Is One of the Reasons He Lied to Cops

After confessing on Thursday that he lied to law enforcement repeatedly about not being at the dog kennels shortly before Paul and Maggie were murdered, Waters continues to ask him why he lied about it. He claims that his law partners advised him not to talk with anyone without a lawyer. "That was just one of the many things that I believe led to that situation, sitting in there, where those paranoid thoughts came to me," he says, adding that his "distrust of SLED," or the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, was another factor that contributed to his paranoia, and "the fact that I have a pocket full of pills in my pocket."

He Believes a "Random Vigilante" Killed Paul and Maggie

Murdaugh believes that Paul and Maggie were killed by people who were angry at Paul about the boat crash – random people who read about it in the news or in the "vile social media posts" – not anyone who was actually involved in the crash. Waters refers to it as a "random vigilante," and uses the opportunity to bring up all the theories the defense has presented so far. "So what you're telling this jury is that it's a random vigilante, the 12-year-old, 5' 2" people that just happen to know that Paul and Maggie were both at Moselle on June 7th, that knew that they would be at the kennels alone on June 7th, that knew that you would not be there, but only between the times of 8:49 and 9:02, that they show up without a weapon assuming that they're going to find weapons and ammunitions there, that they commit this crime during that short time window, and then they travel the same exact route that you do around the same time to Almeda. That's what you're trying to tell this jury?" he says. Murdaugh responds: "You've got a lot of factors in there Mr. Waters, all of which I do not agree with, but some of which I do."

He Lied About the Roadside Shooting So Buster Wouldn't Know He Tried to Kill Himself

Regarding the roadside shooter, Murdaugh is asked by Jim Griffin during redirect why he lied and made up the story that someone he didn't know tried to kill him while he was changing a tire, even giving a false sketch description. "My main concern at that point was that I did not want Buster knowing that I had tried to do that [die by suicide]. That was my motivation in telling that story," he says. 

He Didn't Think His Dog Kennel Lie Wound Hinder the Investigation

"Did you believe the information of whether you were there or not there (at the kennels) would advance their (SLED's) investigation in any way?" Griffin asks him. Alex responds no, "Because they were fine and doing good when I left there."