COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. — John Meadors has been practicing law in the Midlands for 35 years. In that time, he's worked as a criminal defense attorney and a prosecutor.
In January, Meadors was hired by the State Attorney General's Office to assist in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial.
With little time to prepare, Meadors quickly learned the state had a star witness in the case -- a witness that never took the stand, and a witness Meadors never met, until just recently.
"Come here, Bubba. Hey, Bubba."
John Meadors is a dog lover, especially this dog, a 10-year-old Labrador Retriever named Bubba, who happened to play a key role in the State's prosecution of Alex Murdaugh.
"A lot of folks think they may have a sixth sense, I don't know," Meadors said. "I thought about it and maybe Bubba knew what was coming, grabbing the chicken, having Alex say 'Bubba.'"
In fact, Bubba was a key part of Meadors' closing arguments in Murdaugh's double murder trial.
Bubba was Maggie Murdaugh's dog and was at the dog kennels the night of the murders. And, because of Bubba, we know Alex Murdaugh was there, too.
Bubba's actions prompted Murdaugh to speak to the dog, not knowing he was being recorded by his son Paul.
"He locked himself into not going to the kennels. As you know, when the kennel video came out, it was impossible for him to get around his previous lies," Meadors said. "And that's why I've said, and I will say again, law enforcement did an incredible job in handling the interviews and getting him to commit to a story, which the jury didn't believe.
When asked if he was aggravated at the defense saying law enforcement did a poor job in this investigation, Meadors bristled.
"I took offense because they were putting law enforcement on trial, and they came from a family that had been prosecutors there and said what a terrible job law enforcement did," Meadors said. "While he didn't give the most valuable piece of information that was out there, he was there and he was the one obstructing and withholding. I found that hypocritical and offensive, I did."
Meadors didn't join the prosecution team until just weeks before the case went to trial, but he knew he had something that was undeniable: Proof that Alex Murdaugh lied to investigators, a witness to 2 murders that spoke volumes without speaking at all.
"I don't think there's a more unconditional love and any other way Bubba could have showed his love for Maggie than what he did," Meadors said. "It was just so tragic all the way around, just as tragic as it gets, and I did find it ironic that man's best friend, in this case woman's best friend, was the key witness."
Bubba is now living with Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson, the Murdaugh's former housekeeper and friend. While she didn't want to go on camera for our story, Blanca said Bubba has adjusted well to his new home.