Alex Murdaugh shaves head for latest mugshot after learning his...
Gruesome Maggie Murdaugh autopsy photo leaks after being caught on livestream
The judge in Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial blasted the courtroom gallery Friday, claiming a spectator leaked a gruesome autopsy picture not meant for public viewing — but The Post has found the photo was erroneously published in a livestream by WGN News.Buster Murdaugh got ‘very drunk’ with dad 2 months after mom, brother murdered.Investigators want to exhume body of Alex Murdaugh’s dead housekeeper
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After handing down two consecutive life sentences to Murdaugh for killing his wife, Maggie, and son Paul in 2021, Judge Clifton Nowman addressed the photos.
“There is a complaint now regarding the posting of autopsy photographs, they came from within the courtroom, based on the direction of the photographs,” Newman said.The gory photo shows Maggie Murdaugh deceased and with an entry wound just below her left ear.
“It did not come from the audience, it came somehow from within the well of the court,” Newman said.
Lawyer lifting off the screen cover, revealing the photo.
A prosecutor accidentally showed an autopsy image of Maggie Murdaugh.
But The Post found that the photo was shown on a Tuesday livestream by WGN News. Sick trolls then took screengrabs of it and started spreading it on internet message boards.
The photo was displayed on one of the prosecution’s screens during the state’s closing arguments. Dr. Ellen Reimer, a pathologist with the Medical University of South Carolina, returned to the stand to discuss the autopsy when a prosecuting attorney lifted the screen’s cover, revealing the photo.
Photo of the screen with the image, blurred to avoid showing the graphic content.
Newman said he thought the leak came from someone inside the court.
A spokesperson for WGN said in a statement: “During Tuesday’s hearing the pool camera reacted slowly during the presentation of certain photographic evidence, which was visible at a distance on-air for a few seconds.
“The pool camera was not operated by WGN-TV, and we have since removed the video from our streaming platforms.
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Newman compared the leak to Vanessa Bryant’s recent $29 million award in her suit against LA County, after sheriff’s and fire department employees circulated photos from the scene of the helicopter crash that killed her husband, Kobe Bryant, and daughter Gianna.
Photo of Alex and Maggie on a boat.
Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of killing his wife, Maggie, and son Paul.
“One of the reasons we sought to seal graphic photos, because the parties have a right to privacy, a right to those matters not being publicly disclosed,” Newman said. “If anyone has heard about the recent settlement that … Kobe Bryant’s wife just made with Los Angeles County and others out there over certain disclosures of information involving the death of Kobe Bryant — liability can be substantial and it’s a risk for the most part that’s not worth taking.”
“We will let everyone judge themselves accordingly within that regard,” he concluded.
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Alex Murdaugh, 54, was found guilty in the six-week murder trial Thursday after the South Carolina jury deliberated for a mere three hours.
The disgraced legal scion, who also stands accused of 99 financial crimes, insisted “I’m innocent” during his Friday sentencing. The court sealed graphic photos in the case from the start of the trial out of respect for the victims. The photo in question was shown as evidence on Tuesday during the reply testimony of Dr. Ellen Riemer, the MUSC pathologist who conducted the autopsies on Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.
Newman warned against sharing the picture and brought up the lawsuit filed by the family of Kobe Bryant against Los Angeles County. Bryant’s widow was awarded $28.5 million in a settlement after accusing first responders of sharing grisly photos of Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and other victims killed in a helicopter crash in 2020.
“Liability can be substantial,” Newman said. “And it’s a risk for the most part that’s not worth taking.”Murdaugh is facing two counts of first-degree murder and 99 charges related to financial misconduct after his wife Maggie and son Paul were shot and killed in the dog kennels at the family’s estate on June 7, 2021.
On Monday, February 27, 2023, forensic pathologist Jonathan Eisenstat and blood spatter expert Tim Palmbach were among the 14 witnesses called by the defense. Both witnesses refuted details from Maggie and Paul Murdaugh’s autopsies.
Eisenstat testified that he concluded that Paul Murdaugh was shot in the head from behind with the gun pressed against his head based on his examinations. Alex Murdaugh was seen sniffling and wiping his eyes during the testimony which included graphic photos of the victims’ bodies and autopsies.Maggie Murdaugh, which was accidentally shown on a livestream of her husband and killer’s trial, has been posted on message boards on the internet. The judge in the case excoriated unknown spectators for leaking the graphic image, but the New York Post says it determined it came from the televised feed. “During Tuesday’s hearing the pool camera reacted slowly during the presentation of certain photographic evidence, which was visible at a distance on-air for a few seconds,” WGN confirmed to the newspaper
