The judge presiding over the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh ruled Monday to allow the jury to visit the South Carolina home where he is accused of fatally shooting his wife and son before deliberations begin.
The disgraced South Carolina legal scion, is accused of killing his wife Maggie, and son, Paul on June 7, 2021, near a row of dog kennels on his Lowcountry hunting estate called Moselle in Islandton, South Carolina.
Murdaugh's lawyer argued it was important for the jury to see the home, so they can appreciate the "spatial issues" relating to the events that occurred the night of slayings. Prosecutors opposed the trip, arguing that it's been nearly two years since the killings and that home is visibly different, but Judge Clifton Newman agreed to schedule the visit.
ALEX MURDAUGHT TRIAL: TOP 5 TESTIMONY HIGHLIGHTS FROM SOUTH CAROLINA COURTROOM
The jury trip is bad news for the prosecution, according to former special prosecutor and Fox Nation host Nancy Grace, who warned on Monday that it heightens the chance of the case resulting in a "mistrial."
"I hate to bring this up, but we all remember the O.J. Simpson debacle where he was acquitted on double murder. Well, in that case…Johnnie Cochran convinced the judge to have a visit for the jury, and they went to Simpson’s home. Guess what, there is going to be a jury trip to Moselle, the hunting lodge and the dog kennel where Maggie and Paul were gunned down. That is fraught with the possibility of a mistrial," Grace warned during an interview on "America Reports."
The "Crime Stories" host said she "disagrees" with the judge's ruling, arguing that if the jury comes in contact with even one person "with a sign that says Murgaugh did it," the defense will move to render the trial invalid.
JUDGE JEANINE PIRRO: ‘I WOULD BET MY HOUSE’ ON A HUNG JURY IN ALEX MURDAUGH TRIAL
Murdaugh took the witness stand last week for cross-examination in the Walterboro, South Carolina, Colleton County Courthouse, where he admitted to repeatedly lying to investigators, friends and family, claiming he was never at the Moselle dog kennels the night his loved ones were gunned down.
But when prosecutors played a cellphone video from Paul Murdaugh's phone that captured Alex's voice at the minutes before Paul and Maggie were shot, Murdaugh changed his story, confirming that he was there that night, while insisting that "other than lying to them about going to the kennel, I was cooperative in every aspect of this investigation."
ALEX MURDAUGH: TIMELINE OF ONCE-POWERFUL SOUTH CAROLINA LAWYER'S SPECTACULAR DOWNFALL
Grace, who was in the courtroom during much of the murder trial, said she believes he is still "lying" about the critical time period that placed him at the murder scene.
Her Fox Nation special, "Murdaugh Family Murders: A Timeline," which is now available for streaming, offers a deep analysis into the timeline and key details in the tragic case.
"I don’t have to be a clairvoyant to figure out he’s lying," Grace said. "Four, 5 minutes when we believe the double murder went down. He did not realize his voice was caught on a cell phone video his son was taking for a friend of the friend’s dog. You hear him in the background placing… himself at the scene of the double murders about two or three minutes before they go down," she told host Sandra Smith.
"So, what, am I supposed to believe in 3 or 4 minutes, two assailants race in and gun down his wife and son, and he comes back in an hour and goes ‘what’?" Grace asked.
Murdaugh, who has pleaded not guilty to the slayings, could face life behind bars if convicted.
