美国国家公共电台 NPR--Alex Murdaugh denies murders, but admits to lying to police

Alex Murdaugh denies murders, but admits to lying to police

Transcript¹

The salacious murder trial of a prominent South Carolina attorney took a new twist when Alex Murdaugh took the stand in his own defense² in the killings³ of his wife and son.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

In South Carolina, disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh took the witness stand Thursday. He admitted to lying to police when he said he was nowhere near the crime scene the night his wife and son were murdered in the summer of 2021. South Carolina Public Radio's Victoria Hansen was inside the courtroom and has more on this story that we warn contains graphic⁴ details of gun violence.

VICTORIA HANSEN, BYLINE⁵: Defense attorney Jim Griffin got right to it, pointing to a family-owned weapon like the ones the state says were used to kill Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JIM GRIFFIN: Mr. Murdaugh, did you take this gun or any gun like it and blow your son's brains out on June 7 or any day or any time?

ALEX MURDAUGH: No, I did not.

HANSEN: The towering 6-foot-4 Murdaugh sat calmly, facing jurors, turning briefly⁶ to answer his attorney.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MURDAUGH: Mr. Griffin, I didn't shoot my wife or my son any time ever.

HANSEN: But a video police just extracted last fall from the cellphone of Murdaugh's murdered son may have prompted him to make a stunning⁷ admission regarding his whereabouts the night his loved ones were killed.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GRIFFIN: Were you, in fact, at the kennels⁸ at 8:44 p.m. on the night Maggie and Paul were murdered?

MURDAUGH: I was.

HANSEN: The video reveals Murdaugh's voice, along with his wife and son's, at the family's dog kennels just minutes before the prosecution⁹ says they were shot to death. Murdaugh testified he wasn't truthful¹⁰ initially¹¹ because he was paranoid from an opioid addiction¹².

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MURDAUGH: I don't think I was capable of reason, and I lied about being down there. And I'm so sorry that I did.

HANSEN: After apologizing, the 54-year-old's demeanor¹³ quickly changed, and he became chatty as he shared the rest of his alibi¹⁴. He says he went back to the family's home, lied down on the couch with the television on, then went to check on his mom, who has Alzheimer's disease.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MURDAUGH: I went in, and I sat down on my mom's hospital bed, and I just talked to her for a minute. My mom was awake.

HANSEN: But the caregiver for Murdaugh's mom has testified the ailing¹⁵ woman was asleep. What's more, Shelly Smith told jurors Murdaugh walked into his mother's home days later carrying what looked like a blue, vinyl tarp, bundled up with something inside. Murdaugh denied doing so. Investigators¹⁶ have testified they later found a blue raincoat with gunshot residue¹⁷. But it was the lies regarding Murdaugh's whereabouts the night of the murders prosecutor¹⁸ Creighton Waters focused on.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CREIGHTON WATERS: The first time that law enforcement officers that you've talked to and the prosecution and here in open court ever heard you say that you lied about being in the kennels was today in this court.

MURDAUGH: Yes, I'm aware of that.

HANSEN: Waters has spent much of his case trying to prove Murdaugh has repeatedly lied to keep a secret lie from being exposed - a life of allegedly embezzling¹⁹ millions from friends, clients and colleagues at the family law firm. He argues Murdaugh murdered his loved ones because his crimes were about to be exposed. He needed a distraction²⁰ and wanted sympathy. Murdaugh admitted Thursday to swindling millions from people who were vulnerable.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

WATERS: These were real people, aren't they?

MURDAUGH: No, they're very real people. And, you know, one of the saddest parts of this whole thing is, is, you know, they're people that I still care about, and I did them this way.

HANSEN: But Murdaugh insists he's no killer²¹, emphasizing that's what he's on trial for - the murders of his wife and son.

For NPR News, I'm Victoria Hansen in Walterboro, S.C.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE CIVIL WARS AND T BONE BURNETT'S "WITNESSES TO HUNGER")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

4 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

7 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

8 kennels   

n.主人外出时的小动物寄养处，养狗场；狗窝( kennel的名词复数 )；养狗场

参考例句：

• We put the dog in kennels when we go away. 我们外出时把狗寄养在养狗场。
• He left his dog in a kennels when he went on holiday. 他外出度假时把狗交给养狗场照管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

10 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

11 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

12 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

13 demeanor   

n.行为；风度

参考例句：

• She is quiet in her demeanor.她举止文静。
• The old soldier never lost his military demeanor.那个老军人从来没有失去军人风度。

14 alibi   

n.某人当时不在犯罪现场的申辩或证明；借口

参考例句：

• Do you have any proof to substantiate your alibi? 你有证据表明你当时不在犯罪现场吗？
• The police are suspicious of his alibi because he already has a record.警方对他不在场的辩解表示怀疑，因为他已有前科。

15 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

16 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 residue   

n.残余，剩余，残渣

参考例句：

• Mary scraped the residue of food from the plates before putting them under water.玛丽在把盘子放入水之前先刮去上面的食物残渣。
• Pesticide persistence beyond the critical period for control leads to residue problems.农药一旦超过控制的临界期，就会导致残留问题。

18 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

19 embezzling   

v.贪污，盗用（公款）( embezzle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Accordingly, object embezzling waste to be carried temporarily the schedule of administration. 因此，反对贪污浪费就提上了临时中央政府的议事日程。 来自互联网
• Some were sentenced for taking bribes, others executed for embezzling funds. 有的因受贿而被判刑，有的因侵吞公款而被判处死刑。 来自互联网

20 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

21 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。