WALTERBORO, South Carolina — The powerful legal team of Alex Murdaugh is renting an extravagant wedding venue on 500 acres in Walterboro, South Carolina, during his client’s sensational double murder trial, Fox News Digital has learned.
The property, called Eden at Gracefield, is the temporary home of Murdaugh’s top defense attorneys, Dick Harpootlian, Jim Griffin and their entourage.
The team rented the five homes “set among quiet lakes and woods” about eight miles from the Colleton County courthouse for just under the list price of $20,475 per week.
“We gave them a little discount because of the length of stay,” said Laura Walker, who runs the place with her businessman husband, Paul Walker.
ALEX MURDAUGH: TIMELINE OF THE SPECTACULAR FALL OF THE ONCE-POWERFUL SOUTH CAROLINA LAWYER
Alex Murdaugh’s defense attorney, Jim Griffin (inset). Murdaugh’s legal team is staying at a lavish wedding venue that includes the Manor House (pictured). (Patrick Brickman/Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)
The third week of Murdaugh’s double murder trial wrapped up Friday. He is accused of shooting to death his wife Maggie Murdaugh and his 22-year-old son, Paul Murdaugh, on June 7, 2021, on the family’s hunting estate known as Moselle.
Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters has argued that Murdaugh committed the heinous murders to divert attention from his decade-long financial schemes, including the embezzlement of millions from his law firm and clients.
BOAT CRASH VICTIM MURDAUGH’S DEATH IN FOCUS IN DOUBLE MURDER TRIAL
The interior of the Manor House, one of five luxurious properties Alex Murdaugh’s legal team rented during his trial in Walterboro, South Carolina. From left to right, clockwise: the kitchen, living room, foyer, dining room, and a guest bedroom. (Patrick Brickmann)
The defense has portrayed the disbarred attorney as a loving family man incapable of inflicting such appalling injuries on his loving wife and child.
The Walkers aren’t particularly interested in the details of what has become the biggest trial in South Carolina history since Susan Smith was convicted of drowning her two children.
Alex Murdaugh (center) speaks with attorney Jim Griffin during Murdaugh’s double murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina on February 3, 2023. (Sam Wolfe/The State, Pool)
“I don’t really pay much attention to it,” said Laura Walker. “My husband and I are extremely busy.”
Murdaugh’s team wasn’t the only party interested in the opulent digs. “
The other party had also visited this property,” said Paul Walker. “It was the state attorney general’s office, but they were too late.”
The main entrance to Eden’s property at Gracefield in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)
State prosecutors and agents from the South Carolina Division of Law Enforcement, based about 100 miles north of Columbia, ended up at the best hotel in town: a Hampton Inn and Suites renovated about five years ago.
The Eden estate, purchased by local property developer Boots Fishburne in the 1930s, sits directly opposite where Paul Walker’s grandfather, a poor farmer, owned land.
AELX MURDAUGH IMPLICATES GARDENER AFTER MURDERS, VIDEO SHOWS
A tree-lined driveway leads to the barn and rental homes at the stately Eden at Gracefield estate in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)
The Walkers bought the property several years ago and painstakingly dismantled and renovated each residence and an 8,000-square-foot barn that was used for wedding receptions. The venue has 77 weddings booked this year alone.
The most magnificent home on the property, the Manor House, overlooks a 27-acre pool and lake with illuminated fountains.
The living room in the Tobacco Barn House at Eden at Gracefield in Walterboro, South Carolina. (Courtesy of Eden at Gracefield)
The imposing Mediterranean-style residence features crystal chandeliers, an onyx foyer and a 12-foot kitchen island.
The sordid days of the legal team turn into sumptuous nights with an in-house cook preparing three meals a day.
“They all probably meet at the Manor House, and that’s probably where she does the most cooking,” Laura Walker said of the chef. “It’s a beautiful kitchen with a double oven and gas stove.”
MURDAUGH DOUBLE MURDERS: SOUTH CAROLINA INVESTIGATORS RELEASE NASTY 911 CALLS
The Hampton Inn and Suites in Walterboro, South Carolina, where the prosecution team for the Alex Murdaugh murder trial is staying. Chief Prosecutor Creighton Waters. (Rebecca Rosenberg/Joshua Boucher via The State, pool)
The extension also features the rustic Tobacco Barn, which features whimsical fairy lights hung above the bed in the master bedroom.
“The men like to stay there,” she added of her guests.
Privacy was of the utmost importance to Murdaugh’s team and they requested that the rear entrance remain locked during their stay.
Prosecutor Creighton Waters and defense attorney Dick Harpootlian speak after the jury is excused in the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh at the Colleton County Courthouse on Thursday, February 2, 2023. (Joshua Boucher/The State/Pool)
They enter the property through a wrought iron gate that opens onto a charming driveway lined with oak trees covered in Spanish moss.
It’s unclear how Murdaugh, who says he’s broke, is paying off Harpootlian, a Democratic state senator, and Griffin, whose team’s housing budget has already exceeded $60,000.
The experience for the state’s 16 or so employees is not nearly as glamorous. They are sharing the Hampton Inn and Suites with more than 30 members of the press, including Fox News Digital.
Alex Murdaugh, left, speaks with defense attorneys Dick Harpootlian, center, and Jim Griffin during Murdaugh’s double murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, Monday, February 6, 2023. . (Jeff Blake/The State/Pool)
The Hampton Inn, whose rooms face either I-95 or the parking lot, isn’t cheap either. The increasing demand has sent his nightly rate to approximately $300.
But Murdaugh’s legal team could soon join his opposition at the two-star hotel if the trial drags into next month.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
They have to vacate Eden at Gracefield at the end of February for a wedding scheduled for the first week of March.
“They know it. They’re going to have to find another place to stay,” Laura Walker told Fox News Digital. “I’m not going to cancel someone’s wedding. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
