Alex Murdaugh murder trial: Experts weigh impact of bomb threat on jury
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WALTERBORO, S.C. – South Carolina attorney Justin Bamberg said the bomb threat called into the Colleton County Courthouse Wednesday could derail Alex Murdaugh's murder trial.
"The biggest question is what impact would something like this have on the jury — even when there’s no reason for the jurors to be scared," Bamberg, of Bamberg Legal, told Fox News Digital.
It's possible that some members of the panel of four men and eight women were so rattled by the bomb threat they will try to get off the jury, he added.
The trial was interrupted Wednesday at about 12:30 p.m. when a call came into the court's general sessions phone line.
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Justin Bamberg stands outside the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., Feb. 2, 2023. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital )
Judge Clifton Newman calmly halted the trial moments after the state called its 38th witness.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have to evacuate the building at this time, so we'll be in recess until we discover what's going on," he calmly said.
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The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division dispatched a bomb squad to sweep the building, and the trial resumed at about 3:10 p.m. The judge did not address the bizarre incident in open court.
The Colleton County Courthouse is evacuated during Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial in Walterboro, S.C., Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital )
Bamberg, who represents several victims whose settlements were stolen by the disgraced attorney, suspects a random person was behind the alarming phone call.
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"My gut instinct would be that it’s not someone tied to the case just because that would be astronomically stupid," he told Fox News Digital.
He said bomb threats aren't unusual in high-profile cases.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Bomb Squad officers arrive at the Colleton County Courthouse after a bomb threat caused the courthouse to be evacuated in Walterboro, S.C., Wednesday, February 7, 2023. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital )
Bamberg noted that, during the closely watched 1995 trial of Susan Smith, the proceeding was also interrupted by a bomb threat.
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Smith was later convicted of drowning her two young sons in a case that garnered international headlines.
Attorney Justin Bamberg arrives at the Colleton County Courthouse Feb. 1, 2023, in Walterboro, S.C. (Mark Sims For Fox News Digital)
The local attorney has attended the majority of Murdaugh's trial but was not present Wednesday.
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Murdaugh's former law firm, now known as the Parker Law Group, paid back the allegedly stolen funds and then some, Bamberg said.
Alex Murdaugh is led out of the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., Feb. 8, 2023. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)
Philip Holloway, criminal defense attorney with the Holloway Law Group, called the threat "not at all uncommon" and said it was unlikely to affect the outcome of the trial.
"Sometimes, we see [bomb threats] when someone wants to delay a foreclosure," Holloway said. "There could be a number of reasons why someone would want to blow up a courthouse."
Wednesday marked the 11th day of Murdaugh's murder trial. The disbarred attorney is accused of gunning down his 22-year-old son, Paul Murdaugh, and executing his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, on the family's hunting estate in Islandton.
Alex Murdaugh and his defense attorney Jim Griffin listen to testimony during his trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (Joshua Boucher/The State/Pool)
Prosecutors have argued that the scion of a once powerful legal dynasty committed the brutal slayings to prevent his decade-long financial schemes from coming to light.
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He had allegedly embezzled nearly $9 million from his clients' settlements and from the law firm his great-grandfather founded in 1910.
Murdaugh has been indicted on 99 financial crimes spanning 19 indictments.
He has denied the allegations.
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