COJ #199 - 'Dearest Creighton': What Team Murdaugh Learned From the Colucci Playbook With Attorney Mandy Powers Norrell

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Mandy Matney (1:15)

Cups Up. Mandy Powers Norrell is joining us this morning. I'm so excited for this episode. We have a lot to talk about. Cups Up, guys.

Liz Farrell (1:24)

Yeah, it's been a while. Yes.

Mandy Matney (1:25)

So Murdaugh is crazy again.

We're back in crazy land. As expected. Liz, you want to tell us what has gone on in the last week?

Liz Farrell (1:38)

It's so hard to say it without laughing, right? It's the level of absurdity that this case had to begin with. You think that they can't top themselves, but they always top themselves.

This past week, we learned that Greg Alexander, the police chief of Yemesie, appears to be under investigation by the state grand jury for his potential or alleged role in helping someone move the murder weapons, the Maggie and Paul murder weapons, the Night of the Murders, and the bloody clothes, and then bringing a change of clothes to ELEC. So that is like we were talking before we started recording a rumor that we had all heard immediately.

So as we asked in True Sunlight this week, the question is, why now? Why is this? And especially as you're seeing Team Murdoch use this as, I guess, an opportunity to show that the state is hiding discovery from them, and that there's a whole lot of things going on that they're going to need. I think all of this is a ploy to get that court date extended out. I think Dick did not like hearing Judge Deborah McCaslin tell him that once she puts it on the calendar, it's going to take an act of Congress to get it moved. I think he's trying to show himself and the world that he is Dick Harpootlian, and he can get this court date moved. That's what I think right now.

Mandy Powers Norrell (3:02)

I think he probably would love to have some extra time, you know? I mean, it's like April is coming on fast with fiery will.

Liz Farrell (3:11)

Yeah, but they did this once before. So I think that's the thing.

What are we looking at when we're talking about a second trial like this? What is the defense looking to do, and then what is the prosecution looking to do? Based on what you're seeing so far?

Mandy Powers Norrell (3:25)

I think that the defense has the benefit of seeing what the prosecution has presented, how they present their case, where their strengths are and where their weaknesses are.

The defense is looking to say, where can we poke holes in that? Where can we widen the gaps of confusion? And if we try this again, now that's assuming the prosecution puts on the exact same case in the exact same way. And they did a great job in the first trial, but like we were talking before we started recording, there were some questions that people left with. And I think the prosecution, they've said, this won't be the same trial. This will be a new trial. This will be fresh information. And I think that's what we're seeing with the rumored grand jury investigation, is they're looking to answer some of the questions that people left the first trial.

Liz Farrell (4:17)

I just want to ask this really quickly to both of you. This is what gets me is like, because obviously one of the questions is like, what happened to the murder weapons? And that gets thrown out like, he didn't, they don't even have the murder weapon. And it's like, isn't that like step one of how to cover up your murder is get rid of the weapon? Like it doesn't, why are we relying on that as a reason we should, oh, nevermind.