Alex Murdaugh trial - live: Defendant will testify tomorrow, report says as defence details ‘sloppy’ scene

There are conflicting reports as to whether disgraced former attorney Alex Murdaugh will take the stand and speak in his own defence at his double murder trial in South Carolina.

Reports in local media citing multiple sources claim that Murdaugh will take the stand on Thursday at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro. Other reporting states that Murdaugh’s defence team is still in discussions with him and a decision will come late Wednesday or early in the morning.

In dramatic testimony, Murdaugh’s former law firm partner at PMPED Mark Ball described a chaotic crime scene on both the night of the murders and the next day – with evidence left out in the elements or left behind altogether.

Mr Ball — a witness for the defence — also insisted he has “no doubt” that the disgraced attorney was at the scene of the killings by identifying the voice of his friend of 34 years in a video shot by son Paul minutes before he and his mother were brutally murdered.

The defence is attempting to fight back against a trove of circumstantial evidence from the prosecution including cellphone and car data, the damning video, and apparent holes in Murdaugh’s alibi.

Alex Murdaugh murder trial

• Will Murdaugh testify? It’s looking very possible

• Murdaugh’s defence witness has ‘no doubt’ disgraced attorney is in kennel video

• Alex Murdaugh defence witness claims Maggie was killed by 5’2” shooter

• Alex Murdaugh’s surviving son gives stoic testimony in murder trial

• Wife and son found ‘bags of pills’ month before murders

• New car data places Murdaugh at the spot where wife’s phone was dumped

Defence team to make final decision on testimony tonight or in morning

23:05 , Oliver O'Connell

The Post and Courier’s chief investigative reporter Avery Wilks reports that a decision to put Alex Murdaugh on the stand is still yet to be made, and the defence team will meet with him tonight to discuss the possibility.

Will Alex Murdaugh testify at his murder trial? It’s sounding like it will happen

22:49 , Oliver O'Connell

As Alex Murdaugh’s bombshell trial for the killings of his wife Maggie and son Paul draws near a close, one crucial question looms: Will he testify?

Over nearly five weeks of trial, jurors have heard from nearly 70 witnesses including law enforcement officials who responded to the fatal shootings in the Murdaugh’s Islandton hunting estate on 7 June 2021, and relatives, longtime friends and house staff of the family.

Now, with the defence prepared to wrap its case on Friday, all eyes are on Mr Murdaugh more than ever.

On late Wednesday afternoon, local news outlet WCBD reported that the disgraced legal scion will make the risky move of taking the stand for his own defence.

Andrea Blanco has the latest.

Will Alex Murdaugh testify at his murder trial?

Murdaugh will testify on Thursday, report says

22:34 , Oliver O'Connell

Riley Benson, anchor for WCB2 News 2, reports that defendant Alex Murdaugh will take the stand tomorrow to speak in his own defence.

Buckle up, people.

Court adjourns

22:21 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Newman calls an end to today’s proceedings.

Tomorrow it is possible we may get testimony from the defendant himself.

The trial resumes at 9.30am on Thursday.

22:19 , Oliver O'Connell

In redirect, it is again argued that only a small movement would turn on the screen.

During re-cross-examination we return to the issue of step counts with Conrad asking if the steps recorded by Murdaugh’s phone would also record if he stopped for any period of time.

Mr Sturgis responds that if Murdaugh had stopped completely for a period of time the phone would likely have stopped recording steps and begun a new entry for when he restarted moving.

22:14 , Oliver O'Connell

At 9.06pm, after the final orientation change of Maggie’s phone, two seconds later comes the call from Murdaugh.

At 9.06.52pm his SUV starts its journey from Moselle to Almeda. Eight seconds later the screen goes off for 24 minutes.

Conrad stresses what we heard during the prosecution’s case: that with the screen off, there would be no record of an orientation change. The significance being that it would not record a change if thrown from a car window during that period.

22:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Prosecutor John Conrad cross-examines Mr Sturgis.

He establishes that the way in which iPhones record orientation changes has changed since the murders, with updates to iPhone software.

Conrad also establishes that both Paul and Maggie’s phones locked for the final time within seconds at 8.49pm on the night of the murders.

Mr Sturgis agrees that someone has Maggie’s phone in their hand between 8.53pm and 8.55pm.

Conrad suggests that the phone was placed in a vehicle, specifically saying a golf cart.

21:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Regarding the phone’s camera, Mr Sturgis shows that it was activated for one second, not by the phone attempting to identify a face to unlock as the prosecution has suggested, but becuase someone touched the camera icon on the screen or swiped left.

21:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Moving on to the orientation changes and times when the screen was on or off, the defence’s questioning of Mr Sturgis is trying to establish that the phone may have been thrown from a car at 9.06pm (the last orientation change, and when the screen was on), two minutes before Murdaugh passed the location at which it was found.

Mr Sturgis says that it takes very little motion to wake up the screen on an iPhone and the screen was off at 9.08pm as Murdaugh drove by.

Murdaugh passed the location again at 9.59pm on his way home and the phone screen was off then as well.

21:28 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Sturgis is asked about the Murdaugh family’s phone data — GPS, steps, distance etc. He says that the step data is more accurate than the distance data.

New Witness: Micah Sturgis, Barefoot Investigations

21:13 , Oliver O'Connell

The defence’s next witness is Mike Sturgis, a digital forensic investigator from Barefoot Investigations.

He is a former police officer and an expert in cell phone forensics.

21:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Mixon says she has never seen a blue tarp laid out in the house.

The blue tarp or blue raincoat was an earlier feature of the trial, with the prosecution alleging it was used to wrap up the missing firearms used to kill Maggie and Paul.

No further questions.

21:07 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Mixson testifies she called Mr Murdaugh on the afternoon of 7 June 2021 to ask him to come to Almeda later on that day because his mother was “agitated” and crying a lot after his father, Randolph Murdaugh III, was taken to the hospital. According to call records, that was at 3.58pm.

New Witness: Barbara Mixson

21:03 , Oliver O'Connell

The next witness for the defence is Barbara Mixson, housekeeper to Libby Murdaugh, Alex’s mother. She has worked for the Murdaughs for more than 40 years.

She tells the court the Murdaugh family was like her family and they would visit the house often to see Ms Libby. She says Alex would come by practically every day and Maggie was like a daughter and a friend.

20:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Meadors ends his cross-examination and Harpootlian promised a five-minute redirect.

He continues to press Mr Zercie about the preservation of the shoe prints.

After a very brief re-cross from Meadors about how many powerpoints he produced, Judge Newman calls the afternoon break.

The defence team has succeeded in calling into question the procedures followed by SLED at the crime scene but appears to have failed to establish much else.

20:38 , Oliver O'Connell

There is an extended back-and-forth over photographs of footprints at the crime scene. As Avery Wilks of the Post and Courier notes, we are now four and half weeks into this trial and the significance of the footprints to the case is unknown.

20:36 , Oliver O'Connell

As questioning continues about footprints at the crime scene, Harpootlian objects to Meadors “badgering” the witness.

Judge Newman concedes that while they have limited space, Meadors should stand back a few feet.

20:13 , Oliver O'Connell

Attorney John Meadors is cross-examining Mr Zercie.

He jumps on small details in the witness’ testimony in an apparent attempt to fluster him. Mr Zercie calmly explains his methodology and his testimony, saying that he does not read witness statements of explanations from investigators as they are not necessarily reliable and he does not “want to be subject to bias, accusations or undue influence from others”.

19:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Zercie’s direct examination concludes with a summation of his criticism of SLED’s work at the crime scene.

Watch Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial LIVE

19:40 , Oliver O'Connell

19:36 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Zercie testifies that Paul’s body should not have been covered with a sheet, especially not a fabric one, as trace evidence could be picked up by the sheet. In addition, the rain may have soaked through the sheet and biological matter may have seeped the other way.

He says he saw no indication the sheet was preserved.

Court resumes

19:27 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury is brought back in as the trial resumes.

Defence attorney Dick Harpootlian is continuing his direct examination of witness Kenneth Zercie, a crime scene reconstruction expert.

A bodycam video taken on the night of the murders is shown. It shows officers stepping into the feed room (where there was much biological evidence from the killing of Paul) without protective coverings on their feet.

As the footage is graphic, it is not shown publicly to the court.

Watch: Witness ‘infuriated’ by state of crime scene

19:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh murder trial witness ‘infuriated’ by state of ‘sloppy’ crime scene

New Netflix documentary sheds light on tragic death of Mallory Beach

19:06 , Oliver O'Connell

Clémence Michallon reports on how two filmmakers are rectifying how Mallory Beach’s death became a footnote to the Murdaugh murder case.

Her death became a footnote in the Murdaugh murder case. Now, her story is being told

Murdaugh’s defence witness has ‘no doubt’ disgraced attorney is in kennel video

18:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh’s high-profile murder trial took another dramatic turn on Wednesday when one of his own defence witnesses insisted he has “no doubt” that the disgraced attorney was at the scene of the killings.

Mark Ball, Mr Murdaugh’s former law firm partner at PMPED and longtime friend, delivered bombshell testimony in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, where he identified Mr Murdaugh’s voice in the video taken at the dog kennels minutes before the murders.

Mr Ball told the court he has “no doubt” at all that the three voices in the footage belong to Mr Murdaugh, his wife Maggie and his son Paul.

Moment Alex Murdaugh’s defence witness identifies him in kennel video

Murdaugh trial hears ‘piece of Paul’s skull the size of a baseball’ was left at crime scene

18:22 , Oliver O'Connell

Jurors at Alex Murdaugh’s high-profile double murder trial heard on Wednesday that a piece of his son’s skull “the size of a baseball” was left behind at the crime scene by South Carolina investigators.

In dramatic testimony in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, Mr Murdaugh’s former law firm partner at PMPED Mark Ball described a chaotic crime scene on both the night of the murders and the next day – with evidence left out in the elements or left behind altogether.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Alex Murdaugh trial hears ‘baseball-sized piece of Paul’s skull’ was left at scene

Court breaks for lunch

18:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Court breaks for lunch.

The defence case will resume at 2.15pm.

17:49 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Zercie is entered into the court record as a qualified expert in fingerprint analysis, footprint analysis, tire print analysis and crime scene examination. The state does not object.

He is testifying about the correct way to take crime scene photographs so they are useful later. He discusses lighting and angles.

Harpootlian interrupts him to ask him about his career in the police force.

New witness: Kenneth Zercie

17:38 , Rachel Sharp

The next witness is called to the stand.

Kennth Zercie is a crime scene reconstruction expert.

The defence said that the testimony will take some time but Judge Newman said the witness could testify for about 30 minutes before the court takes a break for lunch.

17:36 , Rachel Sharp

During a brief redirect from the defence, Mr Cooke is asked if – in his professional opinion – it would have been likely that Mr Murdaugh would have been required to hand over all his finances.

The prosecution repeatedly objects.

After a brief recross, the witness steps down.

17:35 , Rachel Sharp

Under cross-examination, Mr Cooke admitted that, had the 10 June 2021 hearing have gone forward, there “could have” been a ruling to compel Mr Murdaugh to disclose his finances.

A hearing for the lawsuit was scheduled to take place on 10 June 2021. It was postponed because of the murders.

17:32 , Rachel Sharp

Under cross-examination from Mr Waters, Mr Cooke testifies that he was not aware of the true state of Mr Murdaugh’s finances at that time.

He did not know that his client had been stealing millions from his law firm, he said.

17:27 , Rachel Sharp

REMINDER: Attorney Mark Tinsley previously testified about the lawsuit he brought against Mr Murdaugh on behalf of the family of Mallory Beach and how it was putting his finances under increased scrutiny at the time of the murders.

Mr Tinsley told the court the Mr Murdaugh claimed he was broke and couldn’t pay the settlement he was asking for his clients.

He didn’t believe this – so he filed a motion compelling Mr Murdaugh to reveal his finances.

A hearing for the suit had been scheduled to take place on 10 June 2021. The proceedings were derailed because of the murders.

Mr Tinsley said that if the family was the “victim of an unspeakable tragedy”, Mr Murdaugh’s financial troubles would go away – at least temporarily.

17:23 , Rachel Sharp

Mr Cooke is asked about the motion to compel in the boat crash case.

He says that he wasn’t too concerned about it because he doesn’t think the Beach family attorney had a legal right to Mr Murdaugh’s finances at that point.

“I won’t say that we weren’t concerned about it... but there was a number of factors that made us think this was a defensible case and that there was not an existential threat against Alex,” he says.

17:17 , Rachel Sharp

Mr Cooke says he felt that the lawsuit against Mr Murdaugh was defendable.

He says it was “negligent parenting” and argues that all of the parents of the teens involved that day could then also fall under this.

CONTEXT: Paul was allegedly drunk driving a boat of his friends including Mallory Beach in February 2019 when it crashed and they were thrown overboard. The rest of the group survived but Beach’s body washed up days later.

Paul was charged with boating under the influence and faced up to 25 years in prison.

The Beach family also filed a lawsuit agianst Mr Murdaugh.

New witness: Dawes Cooke Jr

17:10 , Rachel Sharp

The next witness Dawes Cooke Jr has been called to the stand.

Mr Cooke Jr is a lawyer in South Carolina and is now defending Alex Murdaugh in the boat crash case.

He said he joined his legal team in December 2020.

17:05 , Rachel Sharp

After a brief re-cross which again focused on Mr Murdaugh’s voice being in the kennel video, the witness steps down.

17:04 , Rachel Sharp

Mr Ball says he now “doubts everything” about Mr Murdaugh after learning about his alleged financial crimes.

But he says he can’t say one way or another whether he thinks Mr Murdaugh killed Maggie and Paul.

“I’ve spent 33 years in one place. I’ve put everything in it... and it’s gone.... because of his acts,” he says of the law firm.

“And when it comes to that, I’m mad as hell. But on the other hand, I’m not saying he’s done what he’s been accused of.”

16:59 , Rachel Sharp

During a brief redirect, defence attorney Jim Griffin suggests a reason why Mr Murdaugh might not want to get involved in finding his wife and son’s killer.

Following the 2019 boat crash involving Paul – where 19-year-old Mallory Beach died – Mr Murdaugh had been accused of trying to meddle in the investigation.

He fell under scrutiny in a state grand jury investigation for alleged obstruction of justice.

CONTEXT: Paul was allegedly drunk driving a boat of his friends including Beach in 2019 when it crashed and they were thrown overboard. The rest of the group survived but Beach’s body washed up days later.

Paul was charged with boating under the influence and faced up to 25 years in prison.

16:51 , Rachel Sharp

Back to the botched hitman plot...

On 3 September 2021, Mr Ball says the PMPED clients confronted Mr Murdaugh about the stolen money.

The next day, he says he received a call telling him that Mr Murdaugh had been shot.

“My first thougth was ‘don’t tell me that jacka** killed himself?” he says.

When he was told that “someone shot him”, Mr Ball says he “didn’t believe that”.

“I went straight to the scene. I didn’t believe him,” he says.

On the scene, he met other PMPED partners and told them “I don’t buy it”.

They found the knife in the grass used by Mr Murdaugh to slash his own tire and noted that he didn’t even have a spare tire.

Mr Ball agrees with Mr Waters that Mr Murdaugh “manufactured himself as a victim” as soon as he was about to be held accountable for the financial crimes.

16:46 , Rachel Sharp

Mr Ball spotted a golf cart parked to the left of the Murdaugh house on the night of the murders, he testifies.

NOTE: Questions remain about how Maggie and Paul travelled down to the kennels that night. Witnesses have testified that Paul would never have walked there.

16:42 , Rachel Sharp

Mr Waters then asks Mr Ball about the night of the murders.

He confirms that he didn’t see any blood on Mr Murdaugh that night.

When he returned to the scene the next day and went to the kennels, Mr Ball said that he himself got covered in blood.

It was “on my shoulder areas and my pants,” he said.

NOTE: Jurors have already heard that there was no blood on Mr Murdaugh’s clothing – despite him claiming that he moved both Maggie and Paul’s bodies to check for signs of life.

16:37 , Rachel Sharp

Mr Waters is going through a list of law firm clients that Mr Murdaugh allegedly stole money from.

Mr Ball tells the court how he had to tell the clients that their money had been stolen by the disgraced attorney and pay them back all the funds they lost.

He said that the clients were all “very nice people”.

One of the victims was a defendant with “a brain injury”. Mr Ball said he had to explain to him and his parents what had happened.

Another victim was an officer injured in the line of duty.

Court is back in session

16:30 , Rachel Sharp

Prosecutor Creighton Waters continues to cross-examine Mark Ball.

Alex Murdaugh trial hears how ‘piece of Paul’s skull the size of a baseball’ was left behind at crime scene

16:19 , Rachel Sharp

Jurors at Alex Murdaugh’s high-profile double murder trial heard on Wednesday that a piece of his son’s skull “the size of a baseball” was left behind at the crime scene by South Carolina investigators.

In dramatic testimony in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, Mr Murdaugh’s former law firm partner at PMPED Mark Ball described a chaotic crime scene on both the night of the murders and the next day – with evidence left out in the elements or left behind altogether.

Mr Ball, who knew Mr Murdaugh for three decades and was close to the family, said that SLED had released the crime scene back to the Murdaugh family by the morning of 8 June 2021 – just hours on from the murders.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the story:

Alex Murdaugh trial hears ‘baseball-sized piece of Paul’s skull’ was left at scene

16:08 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Newman calls for the mid-morning break.

Court resumes in 10 minutes.

16:07 , Oliver O'Connell

He reiterates that Maggie was everyone’s friend and Paul was a good kid.

Returning to the finances, Mr Ball testifies that there was a conscious decision to put the inquiry into the missing $792k in legal fees on hold after the murders.

“The man just lost his wife and child. There’s no way we’re going to be cruel. We’ll get back to it later. And we did.”

16:04 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Ball testifies that even before the discovery of Murdaugh’s theft from the firm, he was often confronted over misspending and other issues relating to money.

This ranged from using the company credit card for personal expenses to cashing a check intended for his brother.

“He just wasn’t a very good rule-follower at all.”

15:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Relating to the myriad of phone data the jury has been shown, the prosecution wants to ensure it is clear to the jury that it would have been odd for Murdaugh to have left his phone at the house when he went to the kennels (Paul’s video proving he went there).

In deliberately leaving the phone at the house they intend to show that Murdaugh planned to kill Maggie and Paul.

“He was an obnoxious user of the cellphone,” Mr Ball testifies. “I would think it would be unusual to Alex to go anywhere without his phone.”

Mr Ball also says Murdaugh was a good lawyer and very tactical. When asked if Mr Ball has effortlessly lied to him for years, Mr Ball concedes that he “didn’t know it, and didn’t catch him”.

“The way he was doing it was very, very cunning,” he adds.

15:53 , Oliver O'Connell

Water walks Mr Ball through the Murdaugh family’s storied history in the state and how that legacy was very important to the defendant.

Asked if SLED agents were polite and respectful to the family at Moselle in the aftermath of the murders, Mr Ball testifies: “In looking back, they probably were too much.”

15:49 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Ball says he and his colleagues were very focused on finding out who killed Maggie and Paul.

Waters points at Murdaugh: “He was not, was he?”

Mr Ball responds: “I have said that. But I don’t know, Mr Waters, how I would respond” in that same situation.

He never spoke about wanting protection for Buster following the murders says Mr Ball. On 4th of July he came to a party at Ronnie Crosby’s house and brought a pistol in a bag with him which was odd. He ended up leaving it there (much like Paul left firearms lying about).

15:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Ball testifies that Murdaugh told him the version of events in which he had not gone to the kennels and had laid down on the couch at the house “at least three times”.

The witness says he has no doubt that it is Maggie, Paul, and Alex’s voices on the kennel video.

He also tells Waters that Murdaugh seemed traumatised and his story changed a bit over time as to whether he checked Paul or Maggie first.

15:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Direct examination ends and Creighton Waters begins cross-examination for the state.

He asks Mr Ball of Murdaugh: “He was pretty good at hiding who he really was, wasn’t he?”

“Obviously,” responds the witness.

“You just testified you didn’t really know this man, did you?” follows up Waters.

Mr Ball says: “Obviously I did not.”

15:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Ball testifies how he felt after 3 September when the financial crimes came to light he was no longer sure he knew his friend anymore. He says he knew him as a family man who would always take calls from his wife and sons.

Of Paul he says: “Paul has been sort of demonized by this whole affair. It’s not fair.”

Mr Ball says that, like other young people, Paul made mistakes, but was “a good kid”.

He describes the PMPED firm as a family that was “betrayed” by Murdaugh when he stole the money.

15:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Ball testifies Murdaugh was much more concerned about the criminal charges against Paul relating to the boat crash over the civil case against him. He says the family and law firm thought the civil case was defensible.

15:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Ball testifies that SLED played him the 8.44pm kennel video filmed by Paul minutes before his death. He told the agents that he recognises Alex Murdaugh’s voice on the video in addition to Maggie and Paul, having known him for 34 years.

This appears to completely undermine Murdaugh’s alibi that he was asleep on the sofa in the main house.

When asked about the “I did him so bad” versus “they did him so bad” video of Murdaugh being interviewed, Mr Ball says he hears “they”.

15:19 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Ball’s testimony is underlining the faults in the initial investigation and the handling of the crime scene by first responders and SLED.

The sloppy state of the crime scene and the ability for anyone to walk into the main house and then clean up raises big questions as to whether things were handled properly.

15:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Ball testifies that once the crime scene had been released, he went to the kennels and was upset to find shot pellets all over the feed room and a large chunk of Paul’s skull — the size of a baseball — lying on the ground.

“It really infuriated me.”

He asked SLED agents on site if they needed to collect up some of that stuff and was told they had all they needed.

15:07 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Ball testifies SLED agents told the collection of lawyers and Murdaugh family members to leave the kennels and go up to the main house. He asked if that was wise as he was concerned for safety reasons (was the killer still around) and whether anyone should be in the house as the investigation was still underway. SLED said it was OK.

“Where does the crime scene start and stop?” he wondered.

When they got to the house it didn’t look as if anyone had been in to search the property yet.

Despite his concerns about it potentially being an active crime scene, he helped clean up the house including putting away the pots and pans from dinner. He recalls one being put in the sink and some in the refrigerator — which matches housekeeper Blanca’s testimony as to how she found the house.

14:59 , Oliver O'Connell

Describing the weather, Mr Ball recalls water from the misting rain running off the roof of the kennel and dripping onto Paul’s body and running off onto the concrete apron in front of the feed room.

“Quite frankly, it just pissed me off,” he said as it was a crime scene and he thought it was disrespectful to Paul. He remembers that a tent was put up over Maggie but he didn’t see one erected over Paul while he was there.

He also says that law enforcement and first responders were walking all over the crime scene, including between the shed and the kennel where the two bodies were lying.

Mr Ball recalls Murdaugh as saying: “Look at what they did to them.”

14:54 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Ball recalls the night of 7 June 2021, how he found out about the shootings, and how he showed up at Moselle Road the night.

He testifies that he arrived at Moselle around 10.50pm, roughly two hours after the murders.

Mr Ball says he parked behind a police car and there were no barriers or roadblocks anywhere. He said there was talk with the sheriff of blocking off the scene but no one did.

“People just kept piling in. More and more people kept showing up,” he says. After midnight, some 90 minutes later “there were a good many cars up there”.

New Witness: Mark Ball,

14:47 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury is brought in and the first new witness takes the stand, lawyer Mark Ball who was a partner at PMPED with Murdaugh.

He now works with the Parker Law Group and has practiced law for 33 years.

Mr Ball is a friend of Murdaugh’s and his wife a friend of Maggie’s. Their children grew up together.

Watch the Alex Murdaugh murder trial LIVE

14:44 , Oliver O'Connell

14:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Newman sides with the prosecution and will not limit what they are allowed to question Murdaugh about on the witness stand.

He says that for the court to issue a blanket order limiting the scope of cross-examination is “unheard of” to him.

Murdaugh testimony teased as court resumes

14:39 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Clifton Newman is at the bench.

Defence attorney Jim Griffin stands to raise an issue with defendant Alex Murdaugh’s potential testimony.

He asks for the court to restrict the prosecution from questioning Murdaugh about his financial crimes in cross-examination unless they are brought up in direct examination.

Prosecution attorney Creighton Waters argues that the witness may be cross-examined on any matter connected with the case including credibility — which he says goes right to the heart of the case. He reminds Judge Newman he has ruled the financial crimes as germane to the case.

When a defendant takes the stand they waive the right to self-incrimination.

What to expect in court today:

14:10 , Rachel Sharp

Day 21 of Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial will resume at 9.30am ET on Wednesday morning.

The defence will call more witnesses to the stand as they continue to try to pick holes in the prosecution’s case that Mr Murdaugh killed his wife and son in order to distract from a string of scandals.

Among the defence witnesses yet to be called are other members of Mr Murdaugh’s family including his brother John Marvin Murdaugh – and Mr Murdaugh himself.

The defence is expected to wrap up its case sometime on Friday.

Day 21 summary:

13:50 , Rachel Sharp

Another juror excused – Judge Clifton Newman began the day by excusing another juror because they were taken ill. Only two alternates now remain.

Defence’s Twitter scandal – Defence attorney Jim Griffin was scolded by the judge for sharing a post on Twitter calling the murder investigation “sloppy”.

Buster speaks out – Murdaugh’s surviving son Buster testified in his father’s defence, saying that he was “destroyed” after the murders.

Shooter’s height questioned – Defence expert Mike Sutton testified that the ballistics evidence suggests the shooter is 5’2” tall. Murdaugh is 6’4”.

‘Tempting’ comment – Defence attorney Dick Harpootlian shocked the court when he appeared to point a gun at the prosecution table and joked: “It’s tempting.”

RECAP Day 21: Defence witness suggests Maggie was killed by 5’2” shooter

13:30 , Rachel Sharp

A defence witness in Alex Murdaugh’s high-profile double-murder trial has suggested that Maggie was gunned down by a 5’2” shooter – and not her 6’4” husband.

Mike Sutton, a forensic engineer who specialises in external ballistics, took the witness stand on Tuesday as the defence fights back against the trove of circumstantial evidence laid out by the prosecution over the past four weeks.

Based on the projection of one of the bullets at the crime scene, Mr Sutton told the court that he believes the assailant who shot Maggie with an AR-15-style rifle had to be 5’2” to 5’4”.

Mr Murdaugh is 6’4” tall.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Alex Murdaugh defence witness suggests Maggie was killed by 5’2” shooter

RECAP Day 21: Murdaugh’s surviving son Buster gives stoic testimony

13:10 , Rachel Sharp

Alex Murdaugh’s only surviving son Buster gave stoic testimony as his father looked on smiling in the South Carolina courtroom where he is on trial for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul.

Buster – who has attended the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, every day since the start of the high-profile trial in a show of support for his father – was the first witness called to the stand by the defence on Tuesday morning.

During calm, controlled testimony, he appeared to water down – but not refute – some key points in the prosecution’s case, including his father’s behaviour on the day of the murders, the clothes he was wearing and the police interview where he appeared to unwittingly confess to killing his wife and son.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Alex Murdaugh’s surviving son Buster gives stoic testimony in murder trial

WATCH: Alex and Maggie Murdaugh’s surviving son testifies

12:50 , Rachel Sharp

Alex and Maggie Murdaugh’s surviving son Buster Murdaugh testified in court on Tuesday where his father stands accused of murdering his mother and brother Paul.

In the aftermath of the murders, Buster said that his father had been “destroyed” and “heartbroken”.

It marks the first time the 26-year-old has ever spoken out publicly about the murders or his father’s string of alleged crimes.

Watch his testimony here:

Murdaugh trial viewers shocked as defence lawyer makes joke while pointing gun

12:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh’s defence attorney caused a stir at his murder trial as he cracked a joke while appearing to put a gun at the prosecution table.

Attorney Dick Harpootlian made his daring joke in the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Tuesday during testimony by Mike Sutton, a forensic engineering expert witness for the defence.

Andrea Blanco has the story.

Alex Murdaugh’s lawyer makes ‘tempting’ joke while pointing gun at prosecution

Bombshell voicemail shows Murdaugh’s wife and son found ‘bags of pills’ before murders

11:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A bombshell voicemail message has revealed that Alex Murdaugh’s wife Maggie and son Paul found “bags of pills” in the accused killer’s bag just one month before their murders.

The message, on 6 May 2021, shows Paul confronting his father about the discovery of the drugs – at a time when the disgraced attorney claims he was spending up to $60,000 a week to feed a 20-year opioid addiction.

“I am still in EB because when you get here we have to talk. Mom found several bags of pills in your computer bag,” it says, referring to Edisto Beach, the Murdaugh family’s beach home.

Rachel Sharp has the story.

Alex Murdaugh’s wife and son found ‘bags of pills’ one month before murders

10:30 , Oliver O'Connell

New car data places Alex Murdaugh at the spot where wife’s phone was dumped

09:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Newly obtained car data has placed Alex Murdaugh at the spot where his wife’s phone was later found dumped – before he quickly sped away from the scene.

The data, handed over by General Motors just last week, shows the disgraced legal dynasty heir left the family home in his 2021 Chevy Suburban at 9.07pm on the night of 7 June 2021 – just minutes after he allegedly shot and killed his wife Maggie and son Paul.

Rachel Sharp reports.

New car data places Alex Murdaugh at the spot where wife’s phone was dumped

08:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Key revelations from the Alex Murdaugh murder trial... so far

07:30 , Oliver O'Connell

It’s a dramatic saga that now includes murder, a botched hitman plot, multi-million-dollar fraud schemes and a series of unexplained deaths.

The now-disbarred attorney denies the allegations and has pleaded not guilty.

Mr Murdaugh’s trial got underway at Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro on 23 January.

The prosecution has now wrapped up its case with the defence beginning its own case on 17 February – where Mr Murdaugh is expected to take the stand.

Here are the key revelations from the trial so far:

‘Confession’, bloody scene and ‘clean’ shirt: Key moments from Alex Murdaugh trial

Surviving son Buster gives stoic testimony as dad smiles on at murder trial

05:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh’s only surviving son Buster gave stoic testimony as his father looked on smiling in the South Carolina courtroom where he is on trial for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul.

Buster – who has attended the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, every day since the start of the high-profile trial in a show of support for his father – was the first witness called to the stand by the defence on Tuesday morning.

Read on:

Alex Murdaugh’s surviving son Buster gives stoic testimony in murder trial

Murdaugh’s son recounts father telling him mother and brother were murdered

04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

‘He sounded odd’: Alex Murdaugh’s son recounts father telling him about murders

Judge compares defence attorney to Kyrie Irving after he shared ‘sloppy investigation’ post

03:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The judge in Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial has compared one of his defence attorneys to Kyrie Irving as he scolded him for a social media post branding the criminal investigation “sloppy”.

At the start of day 19 of the disgraced legal scion’s trial in the Colleton County Courthouse on Tuesday, Judge Clifton Newman questioned Mr Murdaugh’s attorney Jim Griffin about one of his tweets about the case.

On Saturday, Mr Griffin shared a link to a The Washington Post op-ed titled: “Alex Murdaugh trial reveals a sloppy investigation.”

Rachel Sharp has the story.

Alex Murdaugh judge compares defence attorney to Kyrie Irving

How Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial became a circus

02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Murder. A botched hitman plot. Mystery deaths. Millions of dollars of stolen money. Opioid addiction.

The case involving Alex Murdaugh appears to have it all when it comes to drama and plot twists.

It’s then little surprise that his murder trial now going on in Walterboro, South Carolina, has captivated the public all across America.

But it should then also come as little surprise to see the high-profile case spilling out into a spectacle far beyond the testimony jurors are hearing in the courtroom.

In just one dramatic week, the trial has been rocked by a bomb threat, apparently obscene gestures and bad behaviour from the Murdaugh family members, a controversial GoFundMe account and a Covid-19 outbreak among jurors.

Here’s how Mr Murdaugh’s murder trial has descended into a circus:

How Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial became a circus

Behind the sensational true-crime saga, a human story of loss

01:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Clémence Michallon speaks to Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason, directors of the new Netflix documentary about the Murdaugh case and its impact on the community.

Murdaugh murders: Behind the sensational true-crime saga, a human story of loss

Murdaugh trial viewers shocked as defence lawyer makes ‘tempting’ joke while pointing gun at prosecution

00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh’s defence attorney caused a stir at his murder trial as he cracked a joke while appearing to put a gun at the prosecution table.

Attorney Dick Harpootlian made his daring joke in the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Tuesday during testimony by Mike Sutton, a forensic engineering expert witness for the defence.

Andrea Blanco has the story.

Alex Murdaugh’s lawyer makes ‘tempting’ joke while pointing gun at prosecution

Murdaugh defence witness suggests Maggie was killed by 5’2” shooter – not her 6’4” husband

Tuesday 21 February 2023 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A defence witness in Alex Murdaugh’s high-profile double-murder trial has suggested that Maggie was gunned down by a 5’2” shooter – and not her 6’4” husband.

Mike Sutton, a forensic engineer who specialises in external ballistics, took the witness stand on Tuesday as the defence fights back against the trove of circumstantial evidence laid out by the prosecution over the past four weeks.

Based on the projection of one of the bullets at the crime scene, Mr Sutton told the court that he believes the assailant who shot Maggie with an AR-15-style rifle had to be 5’2” to 5’4”.

Mr Murdaugh is 6’4” tall.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Alex Murdaugh defence witness suggests Maggie was killed by 5’2” shooter

Tuesday 21 February 2023 22:29 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Sutton’s testimony concludes.

Court will resume at 9.30am tomorrow.

Tuesday 21 February 2023 22:21 , Oliver O'Connell

Harpootlian bring up the SLED report in which the bullet defects in the feed room, dog house, small animal cage (quail pen) etc were documented and labelled.

Mr Sutton confirms that he read the report and used it as a source as part of his investigation.

Harpootlian keeps emphasising that much of the evidence collected was done so by SLED.

Mr Sutton also says in response to a question that different ammo would not have made a difference to his audio tests.

Tuesday 21 February 2023 22:06 , Oliver O'Connell

Fernandez presses Mr Sutton on the many variables that could affect the trajectory of a bullet or shotgun pellet — including whether the victim or shooter were moving.

Mr Sutton concedes that none of those are within the realm of his expertise.

Cross-examination concludes and Harpootlian begins redirect.

Tuesday 21 February 2023 21:53 , Oliver O'Connell

Fernandez calls into question the trajectory linked to the bullet hole in the paper-product end of the quail pen and the study of it, given the lightweight material and that a projectile was not found.

He asks whether Mr Sutton considered that the shooter may not have been a 5’2” person standing, but could’ve been a taller person crouching.

Mr Sutton responds that he did, and notes that he also took into account the positioning of the shell casings.

There are objections when Fernandez keeps referring to the shooter as an 11 or 12-year-old on account of their alleged height.

Mr Sutton concedes that shell casings may have been moved or ricocheted or may have been ejected in an unorthodox manner.

Tuesday 21 February 2023 21:29 , Oliver O'Connell

Fernandez’s questioning regarding Mr Sutton’s expertise in gunshot spread is particularly pointed but the witness is remaining calm as he answers.

Tuesday 21 February 2023 21:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Moving on to the study of the audio evidence, Fernandez establishes that the shots fired were not an exact replication of what was used in the murders. They were not conducted with the exact same guns or ammunition.

Fernandez also contends that no test was done about the background noise in the courtroom when the recording of the shot was played. Further, he shows a photo of the trees that had grown up between the kennels and the house in the 19 months between the murders and Mr Sutton’s tests that may have muffled the sounds of the shots.

Mr Sutton contends that this would have made little impact on the ability to hear the sounds of a gunshot over a TV and other appliances in the house.

Tuesday 21 February 2023 21:06 , Oliver O'Connell

There was an awkward back and forth between Mr Sutton and Fernandez over the chart showing the speed of the SUV over time. One of the axes of the chart is not labelled so it is difficult to tell when Murdaugh passed the place where Maggie’s phone was discovered.

Mr Sutton tries to retrieve a laptop in which both axes are labelled but Fernandez insists he uses the chart that has been entered into evidence as he did earlier. This appeared to demonstrate that during Mr Sutton’s direct examination, he was guessing as there was no time label on the chart.

Tuesday 21 February 2023 20:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Fernandez hints heavily that much of Mr Sutton’s work is based on guesswork. He contends that it is creating a hypothesis and testing it with reconstructions.

He has no certification in the reconstruction of shooting incidents and is not a firearms expert.

Tuesday 21 February 2023 20:43 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury is brought back in and cross-examination of Mr Sutton by prosecutor David Fernandez begins.

Mr Sutton says that his report provided to defence was finalised yesterday but says that is standard.

He gets paid $350/hour for his services and has worked 40-50 hours on the case. He also worked on the Mallory Beach boat crash death case. Both are with defence attorney Jim Griffin.

Tuesday 21 February 2023 20:22 , Oliver O'Connell

Harpootlian reapproaches the question of the phone being thrown from the window and manages to ask it in a way that does not cause an objection.

Mr Sutton says that if thrown from a car an object such as a phone would hit the ground at 45mph (as the car was going that speed) and would tumble or slide to a stop over a distance. He says that the leaves, shrubs etc by the roadside might stop it travelling as far as it might.

Looking at the speeds Murdaugh travelled on the return journey when he hit 80mph, Mr Sutton notes that this was just for a second, with Harpootlian suggesting that it may have been him overtaking another vehicle. Mr Sutton says that while he hit these high speeds it was just for a short time and therefore his average speed was not much affected.

Direct examination concludes and the court takes a short break.

Tuesday 21 February 2023 20:14 , Oliver O'Connell

Harpootlian has more success in asking whether Murdaugh would have been able to see the bodies of Maggie and Paul as he approached in the car with his headlights on that night.

Mr Sutton says he believes that the headlights would have illuminated the area around the shed and kennels but he says he cannot say what Murdaugh may have seen that night.

Tuesday 21 February 2023 20:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Sutton also looks at a chart of the speed of Murdaugh’s SUV as he drove from the house to Almeda to his parents’ home.

Harpootlian is trying to match Murdaugh accelerating to the moment that Maggie’s phone was discarded on the side of the road. The state initially contended that he would have possibly slowed down to throw the phone from the vehicle as he passed that point.

The chart shows the car was more or less accelerating past this point from approximately 42mph to 45mph.

Harpootlian tries to ask about how the phone would be thrown or would travel through the air if ejected from a car window. There is an objection that it is beyond his expertise. The objection is sustained.

Tuesday 21 February 2023 19:57 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Sutton moves on to his second area of expertise — whether the sound of a shotgun or a rifle could be heard in the main house if fired at the kennels.

The distance is 1,100 feet and he testifies that there is a lot of vegetation and other factors that would muffle the sound.

He explains they had the air conditioning, refrigerator, and television on as they would have been that night when they fired their test shots.

The shotgun was fired within and just outside the feed room. The Blackout rifle was fired just outside the kennels and was much louder, Mr Sutton says.

The results were 165db for the rifle and 155db for the shotgun.

An audio recording is played in the court and the shots are barely audible (for the recording the TV was not on).

In his professional opinion, Mr Sutton says no one in the house would have been able to hear the shots from within the Moselle Road house.

Tuesday 21 February 2023 19:48 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Sutton explains the tests he carried out to establish the shotgun blasts that hit Paul.

In the feed room, one of the shots went through the back window and hit a tree outside. Mr Sutton ran a string from the tree through the hole in the glass and into the room. This corresponded to where Paul was standing when the first buckshot hit him in the chest (blood ran down onto the floor leaving footprints from his sneakers).

Following this string, the shooter would have to be firing from the hip to hit Paul at the right angle from the doorway of the feed room approximately three feet away.

The second shot that hit paul in the shoulder and head would also have to be fired from the hip at a much greater angle.

Court resumes after lunch

Tuesday 21 February 2023 19:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Court is back in session and the jury is being brought back in.

Direct examination of defence witness Mike Sutton continues with attorney Dick Harpootlian.

Murdaugh defence witness suggests Maggie was killed by 5’2” shooter – not her 6’4” husband

Tuesday 21 February 2023 19:18 , Oliver O'Connell

A defence witness in Alex Murdaugh’s high-profile double-murder trial has suggested that Maggie was gunned down by a 5’2” shooter – and not her 6’4” husband.

Mike Sutton, a forensic engineer who specialises in external ballistics, took the witness stand on Tuesday as the defence fights back against the trove of circumstantial evidence laid out by the prosecution over the past four weeks.

Based on the projection of one of the bullets at the crime scene, Mr Sutton told the court that he believes the assailant that shot Maggie with an AR-15-style rifle had to be 5’2” to 5’4”.

Rachel Sharp watched his testimony.

Alex Murdaugh defence witness suggests Maggie was killed by 5’2” shooter

Murdaugh’s son recounts father telling him mother and brother were murdered

Tuesday 21 February 2023 19:02 , Oliver O'Connell

‘He sounded odd’: Alex Murdaugh’s son recounts father telling him about murders

Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website