Life for Murdaugh · University of Idaho · Jussie Smollett
Plus: your podcast help requested
the true crime that's worth your time
TGIF, jerks. Thanks to everyone here who recommended The Traitors, UK edition. As I recall, at least one of you noted that many folks say that UK host Claudia Winkleman surpassed the charms of US host Alan Cumming. I am inclined to agree, especially after finishing the season last night. She brought a warmth and genuine enthusiasm to the gig that I really liked.
That true-crime-adjacent competition show is available on Peacock, as is the US version and the version I will launch into this weekend, The Traitors: Australia. (So NO SPOILERS, y’all.) In addition to being generally fun to watch and mock, the show is a fascinating lesson in groupthink, paranoia, and the rush to assume guilt — and it gives glorious lie to the cultural assumption that people know in their gut when someone is guilty or innocent. It really should be required viewing for anyone who doesn’t get, say, how the Salem witch trials (or its many more contemporary equivalents) went down.
Meanwhile, I am also looking down the barrel of two longer runs this weekend (I’m training for a half marathon later this year) and am desperate for podcast recommendations that will keep me going. My stipulations:
Can’t be too bleak (sorry, The Coldest Case in Laramie), I need to keep my spirits up!
Can’t involve anything adjacent to woman abducted and harmed while out alone and vulnerable, as that’s the last thing I want to be worrying about as I am running along being out alone and vulnerable
Can’t be too repetitive, as I will be listening to multiple episodes in a row and redundant info will crush my will to continue
Any ideas you have will be welcomed with gratitude, and while you’re at it, tell us what true crime you’re watching, listening to or reading this weekend. — EB
A day after a jury found ubiquitous true-crime subject Alex Murdaugh guilty in the deaths of his wife and son, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The six-week trial ended yesterday, and the jury returned to the courtroom after only three hours of deliberation, as reported by the AP and basically every outlet on the planet.
Their decision: guilty of two counts of murder, with Judge Clifton Newman capping the proceedings by saying that “the evidence of guilt is overwhelming.” A snip:
Through more than 75 witnesses and nearly 800 pieces of evidence, jurors heard about betrayed friends and clients, Murdaugh’s failed attempt to stage his own death in an insurance fraud scheme, a fatal boat crash in which his son was implicated, the housekeeper who died in a fall in the Murdaugh home, the grisly scene of the killings and Bubba, the chicken-snatching dog.
In the end, Murdaugh’s fate appeared sealed by the cellphone video taken by his son Paul, who he called “Little Detective” for his knack for finding bottles of painkillers in his father’s belongings after the lawyer had sworn off the pills.
Testimony culminated in Murdaugh’s appearance on the witness stand, when he admitted stealing millions from clients and lying to investigators about being at the dog kennels where the shootings took place but steadfastly maintained his innocence in the deaths of his wife and son.
Newman, prosecutors, and Murdaugh and his team reconvened at 9:30 this morning, where Newman sentenced Murdaugh to two consecutive life sentences, NPR reports. Murdaugh will remain in prison “the rest of your natural life,” Newman told him, shortly after Murdaugh addressed the court. “Good morning, your honor. I am innocent,” he said. “I would never hurt my wife Maggie, and I would never hurt my son, Paw-Paw. Thank you.”
Coverage and punditry is still rolling out as I write this, but here’s a roundup of the most useful coverage so far:
Former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life after murder convictions [USA Today]
Murdaugh juror says cellphone video sealed disgraced attorney's fate: ABC News exclusive [ABC]
Why America is obsessed with the Alex Murdaugh murder trial [NPR]
Alex Murdaugh will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing his wife and son [CNN]
Alex Murdaugh Convicted of Murdering Wife and Son [New York Times]
This is maybe a weird thing to admit, but I feel myself more inclined to watch Netflix’s recently released Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal now that we’ve reached a conclusion.
Though the trial has been predictably (given the overall Murdaugh brand) bananas, I still wasn’t sure that a Southern jury would convict this rich white good old boy for a damn thing. I feel oddly relieved, and like I can embark on the popular docuseries secure in the knowledge that justice — albeit delayed — will come. Like I said, probably weird. Thank you for listening! — EB
We’ve got some bad news for Zack Bagans. The Ghost Adventures star is a habitual (figurative) punching bag of mine, as much for his bullshit insistence on spiritual deception as for his tendency to purchase crime-related real estate, then exploit the structure’s history for his dog-and-pony act. (With apologies to both dogs and ponies.)
There’s one building, at least, that will be spared Bagans’s shenanigans: the King Street residence in Moscow, Idaho where Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves were allegedly killed by Brian Kohberger last November.
“The owner of the King Street house offered to give the house to the university, which we accepted,” University of Idaho Scott Green said in a memo sent to the school’s community. “The house will be demolished. This is a healing step and removes the physical structure where the crime that shook our community was committed.”
Perhaps Green (or, more precisely, whomever he worked with on this memo) was thinking about Bagans, too. “Demolition also removes efforts to further sensationalize the crime scene,” he wrote. “We are evaluating options where students may be involved in the future development of the property.”
Meanwhile, newly released court documents reveal a little more about what investigators were looking for when they searched Kohberger’s parents’ residence. WNEP reports that multiple warrants, which were unsealed this week, suggested that police were “asking for any and all, any and all, any and all because they are early in the investigation, and they are looking for anything to tie it together,” a defense attorney pundit (that is, unaffiliated with the case) told the station.
Included in the items seized were “medical gloves, a black sweatshirt, socks, shorts, sneakers, and a buccal swab.” Also pulled: “the dust container from a vacuum cleaner, 13 possible hair strands (one of which may belong to an animal), a ‘Fire TV’ stick, a pillow with a ‘reddish/brownish stain’ and a computer tower,” Law & Crime reports. If you’re interested in pouring over the warrant and affidavit docs, they’re online. Kohberger remains in custody, and is expected to return to court for a preliminary hearing in June. — EB
I find the Jussie Smollett case extremely uncomfortable. There are a lot of reasons for this, all of them pretty obvious — as a big pinko lib, as well as someone who worries about folks in possible mental-health crisis, it’s a frustrating story. That’s why, when I saw the news that yesterday that Smollett is pushing back against his December 2021 conviction for five felony counts of disorderly conduct for making a false report to police, I sighed.
Smollett’s defense is requesting a new trial with a different judge, CNN reports, and argues that he was treated more harshly than other folks facing similar accusations because he’s a celebrity. The filing, however, does not appear to disagree with the central issue of the initial trial, that Smollett staged and lied about the alleged attack. Instead, it focuses on the penalties related to the alleged hoax.
It’s odd to me that Smollett and his team aren’t just letting this go, and are instead pushing for yet another trial, during which all these embarrassing and maddening details (the supposed $3,500 payment made to the allegedly false attackers, the “this is MAGA country” dialogue, seemingly all fake) will be reiterated.
Wouldn’t it be in Smollett’s best interests (for his career, for his wellness) to lay low for a little bit longer, engage in a podcast/talk-show apology tour, then move on? Or is the bias and abuse claimed by his defense team worth the stress and trouble? According to his defense team’s filing, it’s the latter, as “If Mr. Smollett’s convictions are allowed to stand, this case will set a dangerous precedent by giving prosecutors a second bite at the apple any time there is dissatisfaction with another prosecutor’s exercise of discretion.” — EB
Next week on Best Evidence: Steve Coogan and Jimmy Savile, oh boy.
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