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The double homicide trial of disbarred attorney/ accused killer Alex Murdaugh was interrupted by a bomb threat midway through through its third week on Wednesday.
The threat – which was determined to have been unfounded – prompted an evacuation of the Colleton County courthouse shortly after 12:20 p.m. EST. Court did not resume session until shortly after 3:00 p.m. EST.
S.C. circuit court judge Clifton Newman announced the evacuation of the building at 12:23 p.m. EST during the testimony of special agent Brian Hudak of the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED). Hudak – a computer crimes technician – had just been called to the stand to testify on behalf of the state when Newman called for the building to be cleared.
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“Ladies and gentlemen we have to evacuate the building at this time,” Newman announced calmly. “So we will be in recess until we discover what’s going on.”
Initial reports indicate the threat was delivered to the courthouse via telephone. According to our sources, the caller told courthouse personnel that a bomb had been placed in judge Newman’s chambers.
Sources familiar with the situation said the call came through the main courthouse switchboard, and that SLED is leading the effort to ascertain the identity of the caller(s).
K-9 crews with the Colleton County sheriff’s department were spotted entering the building at around 1:00 p.m. EST to investigate the threat. A special bomb unit from SLED was also summoned from nearby Charleston County to assist in the investigation.
At 12:55 p.m. EST, SLED public information director Renée Wunderlich issued a statement confirming what happened.
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“A bomb threat was received by Colleton County courthouse personnel,” the statement noted. “The building has been evacuated and SLED along with the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the threat. No additional information is available from SLED at this time.”
Despite no initial indication the threat was credible, law enforcement officers told this news outlet they were taking “every precaution” nonetheless. That included an extensive “sweep” of the building, which was concluded at approximately 2:30 p.m. EST.
Judge Newman reconvened court shortly after 3:00 p.m. EST – two-and-a-half hours after the threat. Of interest? Newman did not address the threat with the jury upon reconvening the proceedings.
To keep tabs on the latest developments regarding this situation, pleased keep track of our live feed …
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.
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5 comments
Probably called in by a juror who just could not stand another minute of it all.
Gotta wonder if the timing of the threat was related to any specific witness or Hizzoner or either the prosecution/defense teams …. OR just some media-hungry nut-case … Kudos to Hizzoner for staying absolutely calm in his announcement to evacuate as well as his thoughtful rulings over the course of the trial.
The only bomb in that courthouse is the defense’s case.
Would it be possible for Alec or someone close to him to have arranged for this “distraction” furthering
the idea that he and his family were targets of a vendetta as a result of his “misdeeds’?
Todays lovely text revealed in court. If by ‘did the most damage to the ones I love’ he means slaughtering them, then yeah. He did do them some damage. He’s says he’s getting ‘better’. Enough to see what a horror trail of destruction, death and deceit he’s left in his wake? People other than his wife and son mysteriously died as well, benefitting him by doing so. If he was once a decent man and let himself lose his soul because of drugs, I feel sorry for him but what he did for decades-robbing people of their money to the tune of millions, essentially killing the people who were supposed to receive money, and blasting his family into oblivion certainly means he deserves whatever Hell awaits him. How he can wake up each day and not go insane from the knowledge of what he and he alone has done is a wonder.