Accused killer and former prosecutor Alex Murdaugh could take the stand in a South Carolina courtroom Thursday, where he’s being tried for the murder of his wife and son.

An attorney for the 54-year-old defendant asked the judge in the case to limit what prosecutors could ask Murdaugh in regard to the June 2021 shooting of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, who were found dead on the family’s property.

Judge Clifton Newman said he would not issue a ruling in advance on what lines of questioning prosecutors could pursue if and when Murdaugh takes the stand.

A former Murdaugh law firm partner testified Wednesday that more than a dozen people paraded around the possibly compromised crime scene before investigators arrived. Prosecutors grilled him for alleged inconsistencies in what Murdaugh told police.

In addition to the double murder, Murdaugh faces charges including insurance fraud and filing a false police report for a botched assisted suicide.

Buster Murdaugh, the defendant’s surviving son, testified his father was “destroyed” and “heartbroken” after his wife and youngest son were killed. Murdaugh patted his son on the backside following his dramatic testimony Tuesday.

Many defense attorneys find themselves torn over whether to subject their clients to cross-examination. During Kyle Rittenhouse’s 2021 homicide trial in Wisconsin, where Rittenhouse was found not guilty, the defense fared well by putting their client on the stand. Wisconsin criminal defense attorney Patrick Cafferty told local station WTMJ, “I think it’s such a difficult decision for defense lawyers because many of us have seen it go south.”

William & Mary Law School professor and jury researcher Jeffrey Bellin told Time roughly half of the defendants in criminal trials testify.

On the one hand, testifying would allow Murdaugh to refute testimony that doesn’t favor his case. However, it would also open him to tough personal questions.

CNN reports Murdaugh “wants” to take the stand, according to a source familiar with the defense team.

CBS News reports the defense could close its case on Friday, which would put Murdaugh’s fate in the hands of a jury next week. Prosecutors told jurors Murdaugh shot his 22-year-old son, Paul, twice with a shotgun from close range and used an AR-style rifle to kill his 52-year-old wife. If convicted, Murdoch could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

With News Wire Services