Surviving Son: Alex Murdaugh 'Heartbroken' After Slayings

As the Alex Murdaugh double-murder trial in the slayings of his wife and son continues in South Carolina, his surviving son's testimony and a lawyer's tweet made headlines Tuesday.

• Son testifies: Buster Murdaugh, Alex's surviving son, testified in his father's defense and said his dad was "destroyed" and "heartbroken" in the aftermath of the killings, reports CNN. “I walked in the door and saw him, gave him a hug,” said Buster. He was “just broken down,” Buster said, adding his father was crying and couldn’t really speak.
• The call: Buster, 26, also recalled his father's phone call to inform him of the deaths, per Fox News. "He asked me if I was sitting down, and I was like, yeah, then he sounded odd, then he told me that my mom and brother had been shot," Buster testified. "I was in shock." Buster said he knew his father had struggled with drugs and once went to a detox facility, but he also portrayed the family as close-knit.

• A tweet: The judge admonished defense attorney Jim Griffin for retweeting a Washington Post column headlined, "Alex Murdaugh trial reveals a sloppy investigation." Judge Clifton Newman asked Griffin if the tweet was "part of your defense strategy." Griffin said he meant no harm—"I just retweeted an article that was in the newspaper"—and agreed to stop tweeting until the trial was over. The judge likened him to NBA star Kyrie Irving, who got into hot water for retweeting an antisemitic post.

(More Alex Murdaugh stories.)