The judge at Alex Murdaugh’s double-murder trial is set to decide today whether or not jurors can hear testimony about the bizarre September 2021 roadside shooting – which later turned out to be a botched hitman plot.

On 4 September 2021 – three months on from the 7 June 2021 murders of Maggie and Paul – the disgraced attorney was ambushed in what he initially claimed was a drive-by shooting along a road in Hampton County.

He survived and called 911, claiming he was changing a tire on his vehicle when someone opened fire on him from another car.

He was taken to hospital where he was treated for what police called a “superficial gunshot wound to the head”.

But, Mr Murdaugh’s story about the incident quickly unravelled.

One day after the shooting, Mr Murdaugh entered rehab for a 20-year opioid addiction and announced he had resigned from his law firm PMPED.

One week later on 13 September, he then confessed to law enforcement that he had orchestrated the whole saga, paying an alleged hitman to shoot and kill him in an assisted suicide plot so that his surviving son Buster could get a $10m life insurance windfall.

He told investigators that he had paid Curtis “Eddie” Smith – a former law firm client, distant cousin and allegedly his drug dealer – to carry out the shooting.

Both he and Mr Smith were arrested and charged over the incident.

Judge Clifton Newman will hear arguments from the defence and prosecution on Wednesday morning about the inclusion of evidence at 9.30am ET on Wednesday – before jurors return to Colleton County Courthouse at 10.30am ET.

The ruling could pave the way for hotly-anticipated testimony from Mr Smith – a former client, distant cousin and alleged drug dealer of Mr Murdaugh’s.

It’s a dramatic saga that now includes murder, a botched hitman plot, multi-million-dollar fraud schemes and a series of unexplained deaths.

The now-disbarred attorney denies the allegations and has pleaded not guilty.

Mr Murdaugh’s trial got underway at Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro on 23 January.

Here are the key revelations from the trial so far:

The footage was taken from the bodyworn camera of Colleton County Sheriff’s Sgt Daniel Greene when he became the first law enforcement officer to respond to the scene of the brutal slayings at the Murdaugh family’s 1,700-acre estate back on 7 June 2021.

In the video, the seemingly-upset legal scion is seen repeatedly asking the officer if his wife Maggie and son Paul are dead and asking “did you check” their bodies to see if they’re still alive.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Alex Murdaugh is expected to testify in his trial for the alleged double murders of his son and wife, according to new reports.

Mr Murdaugh is accused of shooting his wife Maggie and son Paul dead at the family’s sprawling 1,700-acre property in Islandton, South Carolina, on the night of 7 June 2021. The prosecution has argued in court that the disgraced legal scion committed the murders to distract from his mounting financial and legal scandals.

Andrea Blanco reports.

The man who took care of the dogs at Alex Murdaugh‘s home testified Tuesday during the disgraced attorney’s double murder trial that puddles of water were not where they should have been and the dogs were in the wrong kennels when police arrived after Murdaugh’s son and wife were killed.

But under cross-examination, Dale Davis acknowledged that the hose, which he said he meticulously hung up before leaving the afternoon of the killings, could be seen on the ground in video investigators said was taken just before the shootings.

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Maggie Murdaugh’s sister has revealed how Alex Murdaugh reassured her that his wife and son did not suffer when they were brutally murdered.

Questioned by the prosecution, Ms Proctor recounted the moment she found out her sister and nephew had been killed. Ms Proctor became emotional as she testified that she initially could not wrap her hand around the tragedy, and thought there had to be a mistake.

Andrea Blanco reports on her testimony.

The prosecution wants to play a recorded statement from Murdaugh admitting he had Cousin Eddie shoot him in the head on the side of the road and wanted to die so Buster could get life insurance, The insurance company wouldn’t pay out if it was a suicide.