February 23, 2023 Alex Murdaugh testifies in murder trial

The prosecution began its cross-examination of disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh on Thursday afternoon, pressing him about his financial trouble, his theft of clients' money and his relationship with law enforcement in the area where he lived.

Murdaugh took the stand in his own self-defense after he pleaded not guilty to the murder of his wife and son.

Use of badges: Prosecutor Creighton Waters presented two badges into evidence, one that was Murdaugh's grandfather's badge after he retired and another that he said he considered to be his badge. Murdaugh testified that he usually keeps it in his car and that while he did not consider himself law enforcement, he carried a badge as a "volunteer assistant solicitor" for two decades.

The prosecutor pressed Murdaugh on how he used the presence of the badge to influence a desired outcome with law enforcement. He presented a photo of Murdaugh with the badge hanging out of his pocket at the hospital on the night of a fatal boat crash involving his son Paul, even when he testified he was not acting in an official capacity.

Murdaugh testified that he also installed blue lights installed in the law firm's vehicle that he drove.

Stealing from clients: Murdaugh admitted to stealing millions of dollars from clients and his law firm, which ultimately led to his resignation from the firm, then known as PMPED and since renamed Parker Law Group. Several members of the firm have testified in-depth about discovering Murdaugh’s alleged misdeeds.

The prosecution spent a lot of time going through these allegations because they accuse Murdaugh of killing his wife and son to distract from an array of alleged financial crimes, for which Murdaugh separately faces another 99 charges.

"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.

Before he took the stand, Judge Clifton Newman denied a defense request to limit the scope of questioning Murdaugh will face, specifically in regard to alleged financial crimes.

Pill addiction: Muraugh testified that he was addicted to pills for about 20 years. Despite the addiction, he said he was still able to maintain his practice and was "certain none of my partners knew I had an addiction."

Murdaugh testified that his opioid use was "certainly a cause" of his financial problems, but not the only cause. He said that he was using some of the money he stole from clients to buy pills, but not all of it. Some money was being used to fund what the prosecution called a "wealthy lifestyle," a term Murdaugh said he would not take issue with.

The cross-examination is set to resume Friday at 9:30 a.m. ET.

CNN's Dakin Andone, Dianne Gallagher, Randi Kaye and Alta Spells contributed reporting to this post.

After the jury was excused, defense attorney Dick Harpootlian asked the judge to pause the cross-examination of Alex Murdaugh so the defense could call two out-of-town witnesses for which they are incurring expenses. 

Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters responded saying, “I think the defense would have to concede that I’ve been very, as accommodating as I can throughout this, but I do not want to interrupt my cross. They, they took a very long time today and the state’s entitled to the same consideration without interruption.” 

When asked by Judge Clifton Newman to project how many hours he would need to complete his cross-examination Waters said he was bad at estimating, but said, “three, four, something like that.”

Harpootlian told the court there would be a huge financial impact if he had to keep the witnesses there over the weekend. 

“I understand the dilemma, but I’m not going to require the state to break up the cross-examination of this witness,” Newman said.

The murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, who is accused of killing his wife and son, has been adjourned until Friday morning at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Cross-examination of Alex Murdaugh is underway, with lead prosecutor Creighton Waters asking questions.

Alex Murdaugh, testifying in court Thursday, described how he decided to ask a man who he was initially intending to get pills from to instead shoot him.

Murdaugh, describing what happened before the September 2021 shooting, said he gave a lot of his pills to his brother and knew withdrawal symptoms were coming. He said he called and asked someone to bring him more pills.

When asked if that transaction actually happened, Murdaugh said he didn't know because after withdrawal symptoms started, Murdaugh said he changed his plan.

"I meant for him to shoot me so I would be gone," Murdaugh testified.

Some background: Murdaugh was shot in the head on a roadway on September 4, 2021 but survived.

That same month, Murdaugh turned himself in to the Hampton County Law Enforcement Center in South Carolina after he admitted that he asked a former client to kill him during a fake car breakdown so Murdaugh’s oldest son, Buster, could get the insurance payout, police said.

Alex Murdaugh admitted to stealing clients' funds, tying his financial situation to his drug addiction.

"My addiction is to opiate painkillers, specifically oxycodone, oxycontin," Murdaugh testified on Thursday, saying he believes his addiction stemmed from surgery he got for an old college football injury. He said he needed a few surgeries, and he started getting addicted to hydrocodone around 2004 before moving on to oxycodone around 2008.

"It just escalates. It escalates," he said.

Murdaugh said he went to a detox facility three times, and he's been drug-free for "535 days — and I'm very proud of that."

Murdaugh confirmed he was confronted by his law firm partners on Labor Day weekend in 2021 about stealing money, and he admitted to setting up a fake account. He also said he told his partners about his addiction.

He said he was forced to resign from his law firm after being confronted by his law partners.

Court is taking a brief recess in the trial of Alex Murdaugh.

Murdaugh, who is on trial for murder in the deaths of his wife and son, had been testifying in his own defense.

Alex Murdaugh said his wife Maggie was a "special person" and that he would never do anything to harm her.

"She was just as beautiful inside as she was outside," he said while crying during his testimony Thursday.

Maggie was devoted to her two sons, Buster and Paul, he said.

Maggie was able to speak easily with all types of people, Murdaugh added.

"She could put on the most elegant ball gown and go to the governor's mansion and hang out with, you know, the most affluent people, whatever, or she could come down to, you know, she could go to a food bank in Hampton or Walterboro and fit in with everybody at both places," he said.

"I would never hurt Maggie, ever," he said when asked by defense attorney Jim Griffin if he'd ever do anything to harm her.

Alex Murdaugh is continuing his testimony after the court returned from a lunch break.

Murdaugh is on the stand in his own self-defense. He is accused of murdering his wife and son.