Video of the Killings of a Dad and His Son, Alex Murdaugh, in Islandton, South Carolina, during the June 7, 2021 Boat Accident

On Monday the jury in Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial was told about the autopsy information and the body camera videos released by the court.

The jury saw the video earlier this year, but on Monday, the public was allowed to see what happened when he placed the call.

According to Murdaugh, the night of the killings, his wife and his son were murdered at the family’s mansion in Islandton, South Carolina. The defense portrays Murdaugh as a loving father and husband being prosecuted after a poor investigation, while the real killers are at large.

The deputy asks where the gun is, and Murdaugh tells him it is leaning against Murdaugh’s vehicle. The deputy checks Murdaugh’s shirt before talking further.

Murdaugh has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime in the killings of his wife, Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, and his 22-year-old son Paul on June 7, 2021.

This is a long story and it involves a lot of people. a few months back my son was in a boat wreck Murdaugh says that he has been getting threats. “Most of it’s been benign stuff. We didn’t take serious, you know, he’s been getting like punched. Um, I, I know that’s what it is.”

When he was asked when he was last with the pair, Murdaugh answered ” earlier tonight,” before explaining that at one point he had left the house to visit his mother, which was about 15 minutes away.

The experts says the video seemed to be recorded near the kennels where the bodies of Paul and Maggie would be found. Murdaugh has maintained in interviews with law enforcement he was not at the kennels before he found the bodies. Police said he called 911 at 10:07 p.m.

At the time of the killings, Murdaugh was facing a lawsuit stemming from a boat crash in February 2019 that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach. Murdaugh owned the boat and Paul Murdaugh was allegedly driving it at the time of the accident.

Alex Murdaugh was scheduled to face a hearing in that case on June 10, 2021 – and that could have led to the disclosure of his accounts and revealed his alleged financial misdeeds, the state has contended in pre-trial filings. It was canceled after the deaths ofMaggie and Paul.

The court heard the cross-examination of Dr. Ellen Riemer, who testified a day earlier about the victims’ fatal injuries, and Murdaugh appeared upset.

Alex Murdaugh cried when Riemer detailed the extent of the wounds to his son and wife, and dabbed his eyes and clenched his jaw. He shook his head as he listened.

Paul Murdaugh was shot twice with a shotgun, Riemer said. Riemer said that the shot hurt his lung, but it wasn’t fatal. The second shot entered through the top of his left shoulder and entered the left side of his neck and head and came out the right side of the top of the head.

Paul’s hands were down when he was shot, Riemer testified, telling the court, “I don’t see anything on his hands that would indicate he had his hands up to his face in anticipation of the injury that was about to happen,” Riemer testified.

The shot began at her chest, going through the left side of her face. Riemer said she attributed that to the first two shots causing Maggie to double over, with her head bent over. This wound would have been immediately fatal, she said. The last gunshot, Riemer testified, was to the back of the head.

Alex Murdaugh in the State of the Art: The Killings of his wife and Son by a Former South Carolina Attorney Revisited

The jurors will be tested again on Wednesday. Judge Newman told jurors they would wear masks and have a positive attitude, despite prosecutors and defense attorneys discussing postponing the day’s proceedings.

With prosecutors nearing the end of their case, attorneys for Alex Murdaugh are strongly considering putting the disgraced former South Carolina attorney on the stand in his own defense in the trial for the killings of his wife and son, according to a source familiar with the defense’s thinking.

The defense is expected to make the decision in the next couple of days, the source said. But the decision will be made late and perhaps at the last second, the source said, after the prosecution is done presenting its case at some point this week. No final decision has been made, the source said.

After returning home from a visit to his mother, Murdaugh says he discovered his wife and son dead of gunshot wounds. The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office – which is prosecuting the case because of the Murdaugh family’s ties to the local solicitor’s office – has accused the 53-year-old of carrying out the killings to distract attention from a series of alleged financial crimes prosecutors say he was committing.

On the day of the killings, Murdaugh wanted his daughter to come to their hunting property in Islandton. She said she talked to her nephew, who was at Edisto Beach, and that he didn’t want to leave. Proctor said it made sense that Alex would need Maggie there because the health of his father, who lived not far from Islandton, had deteriorated.

“He said that his goal was to find out who killed my sister and Paul,” she said, as her voice began to break.

“We never … talked about finding the person who could have done it. It was not normal. We were afraid because we thought the person was out there.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/14/us/alex-murdaugh-trial-tuesday/index.html

The Murdaugh Family: A Trial Trial Revealed in a Case of Cross-Examination of a Hunting Dog

He described the routine, noting that part of cleaning involved hosing the kennels down with a hose that he would then roll up in a coil and hang outside – carefully, so as to avoid kinks or breaks in the hose.

Under cross-examination, Davis acknowledged the hose could be seen on the floor of the kennels in the video Paul filmed the evening of the murders. Paul did not follow the same procedures when rolling up the hose as he did.

Davis said that he was very particular about how he rolled the hose up. “If you notice, there’s pressure on that hose. Somebody used that hose after I did because it’s twisted.”

The defense team Tuesday questioned Davis about his perception of the Murdaugh family and Alex Murdaugh in particular. Davis had earlier made comments referring to Alex and his wife as “lovey dovey,” he acknowledged, and testified under cross-examination he had never seen Alex Murdaugh raise his voice at Maggie.

When one of the dogs was badly injured, Davis was asked about the incident by a defense attorney. The decision was made to put the dog down, Griffin said, which Davis agreed with.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/14/us/alex-murdaugh-trial-tuesday/index.html

On the finding of soot on Paul’s skin and a shooting spree by a shotgun to commit suicide: Re-direct on Riemer

On re-direct, Riemer underscored she did not find soot on Paul’s skin as would have been expected from a shot fired from a barrel no further than 6 inches from the wound. She said that she found a stippling on the wound to Paul’s chest with a weapon up to 3 feet away. The stippling wasn’t present on his other wound.

“A lot of what was in that book when they’re talking about those contact wounds, they’re exploring someone using a shotgun to commit suicide, correct?”

“Frequently contact wounds do indicate a suicide, but potentially people can be shot by another also at contact range,” Waters said, noting Riemer’s finding for Paul’s manner of death was homicide.