Murdaugh Jurors Explain Verdict, Egg Incident

Three of the jurors who found Alex Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife and son appeared on the Today show Monday—and they said it might have been a hung jury if not for a video taken on the night of the murders. Prosecutors said the voice of Alex Murdaugh could be heard in a video taken at dog kennels on the family property minutes before the shooting. "I think it probably would have been a hung jury had it not been for that video," said juror Gwen Generette. "It's like he spoke from the grave," she said of Paul Murdaugh, who took the video on his cellphone. Generette said that when deliberations began, nine jurors said Murdaugh was guilty, two said not guilty, and one was undecided.

Differences among the jurors were resolved swiftly, with a verdict reached within three hours. The jurors said that Murdaugh's testimony didn't help his defense and that his emotions appeared fake, NBC reports. "We already know that he's a lawyer," juror James McDowell said. "He's able to be emotional with cases. He's able to be emotional with himself. I think we were able to read right through that." They said they didn't believe his tears during testimony. "He turned it on and off. It wasn't genuine," Generette said. Another juror, Amie Williams, said that while Murdaugh's motive for murdering his wife and son might never be known, his numerous alleged financial crimes likely played a role.

"We could only consider it as part of the motive," Williams said. "It helped in showing that he was very convincing and manipulative." The jurors explained why a juror dismissed near the end of the trial had to retrieve eggs from the jury room. They said that in an example of how close-knit the jury became during the six-week trial, the woman had brought three dozen brown eggs to give to fellow jurors. Murdaugh, who was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences Friday, still faces dozens of other charges, including defrauding clients and misappropriating funds at his law firm, People reports. (More Alex Murdaugh stories.)