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Watch live: Day 7 of the Murdaugh trial

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WALTERBORO S.C. (NewsNation) — The murder trial for Alex Murdaugh enters into day seven on Thursday, as a big question remains: will evidence on Murdaugh’s alleged financial crimes be used in the trial?

Court ended Wednesday with a cliffhanger. Judge Clifton Newman said he would rule Thursday morning on whether evidence of Murdaugh possibly stealing from clients and his family law firm could be admitted.

Prosecutors opened the door by asking one of Paul Murdaugh’s friends in the last question of the day if he knew anything about Alex Murdaugh “being confronted on the morning of June 7, 2021, about $792,000 of missing fees from his law firm?” The friend answered no.

NewsNation will stream the trial. You can watch it on this page when it begins at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Prosecutors said fear that this theft was about to be exposed led Murdaugh to kill his wife and son to get sympathy and buy time to cover up the crimes. The defense said it’s absurd to think a lawyer would believe the brutal deaths of his family would not bring more scrutiny into his life.

On Wednesday, jurors saw key evidence for prosecutors, a video from the son’s phone of a dog at the kennels near where Alex Murdaugh’s son Paul was killed with a shotgun and wife Maggie was shot several times with a rifle at the family’s Colleton County hunting lodge on June 7, 2021.

A timeline from prosecutors said the video indicates Alex Murdaugh was near the kennels that night, something he denied. His defense team used the same data to suggest Alex and Maggie Murdaugh’s phones were not together at the time.

Earlier this week, jurors watched as the defense cross-examined investigators and crime scene technicians about evidence gathered at the scene where his wife and son were found shot to death.

The defense raised questions about the gathering and preservation of the evidence, and also gave jurors a chance to form their own opinions, sharing a video of Alex Murdaugh talking to investigators.

At question is whether Murdaugh said “I did him so bad” or “They did him so bad” as he sobbed and spoke to state agents during a recorded interview three days after Murdaugh’s wife and son were killed.

Murdaugh, 54, is standing trial on two counts of murder in the shootings of his 52-year-old wife and 22-year-old son. Murdaugh faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.