Alex Murdaugh's Hail Mary: Legal scion WILL take the stand tomorrow trends now

Speculation that Alex Murdaugh will take the stand in his defense today has reached fever pitch - with lines forming outside the courtroom early this morning. 

The defense team held last minute talks into the night over plans to throw a legal Hail Mary by calling their client to the stand to deny he killed his wife and son.

The report comes after the alleged killer's defense Wednesday confirmed for the first time publicly that Alex, 54, wants to testify in the double murder trial.

But the 54-year-old first demanded prosecutors be banned from grilling him about his financial crimes. Alex is accused of stealing more than $10million from his law firm before Maggie, 52, and Paul, 22, were executed on the night of June 7, 2021, at the family's 1,800-acre hunting estate at Moselle, South Carolina.

Defense attorney Jim Griffin told the judge: 'We are asking for an order excluding the State from being able to question Mr Murdaugh in cross examination on matters relating to the financial crimes ... We need a ruling today from the court at some point in time before tomorrow. We are not putting him up today.'

But Judge Clifton Newman rejected the request, stating: 'For the court to issue a blanket order limiting the scope of cross-examination, that's unheard of to me.' 

Prosecutor Creighton Waters argued 'obviously the general rule is that cross-examination is wide open', adding that the financial crimes are essential to proving Alex's motivation for killing his wife and son.

The State claims the disgraced attorney was 'out of options and out of time,' faced with soaring debts and with a looming wrongful death lawsuit after a 19-year-old girl was killed in a boat crash during which Paul was allegedly driving his father's boat while drunk.

On the day of the murders, Alex had been confronted over $792,000 that had gone 'missing' from his firm. In the months after the murders it would be uncovered that he had stolen almost $9million from clients and partners at his family's law firm dating back to 2011.

Later that week, he was due in court for a hearing to disclose his financial assets after claiming he was broke to the lawyers of Mallory Beach's family - the girl killed in Paul's boat wreck.

Legal experts have told DailyMail.com that Alex would be rolling the dice if he takes the stand.

Lori Murray, a former prosecutor from South Carolina, said last week: 'It's virtually unheard of to call a defendant to the stand to testify in his own defense because when you do, you open your client up to cross examination which is basically a publicized interrogation with leading questions.

'Instead, most defense attorneys focus on a lack of evidence against their client or, as in this case, shoddy police work. Remember the burden is on the state to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

'The defendant has no burden to prove his own innocence. However, in some cases, like this one, there are some facts that can only be explained by the defendant taking the stand. Alex almost has to take the stand to explain why he lied about his alibi and where his clothes are.'

The defense is now calling witnesses after the prosecution rested its case on Friday. 

Alex's sole surviving son Buster was called to the stand Tuesday to give emotional testimony of how his father called him to tell him his mother and younger brother had been shot dead.

Describing the night he learned of the murders, Buster said his girlfriend Brooklynn White, also 26, had overheard the phone call with his father.

'She just started packing stuff and I kind of sat there for a minute and I was kind of in shock,' he said.

Buster said they drove to Moselle and arrived in the early hours of the morning.

He described his father as 'destroyed ... he was heartbroken, I walked in the door and gave him a hug and he was broken down.'

Buster

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