Witness testimony continues in Alex Murdaugh double murder trial (2023)

22:52

The court is in recess until Wednesday morning.

Dailymail.com's coverage of the Alex Murdaugh trial ended today.

The trial will resume at 9:30 am. m. Wednesday with Lieutenant Dove back in the booth.

22:36

'Call me baby': Alex Murdaugh's text to Maggie is the last activity on her phone

A text message from Alex Murdaugh to his wife Maggie saying "Call me baby" is the last activity on her phone the night she was killed, Lt. Dove testified.

This message arrived at 21:47. m. It was never read.

Just before that, there was a missed call from Alex at 9:45 am.

Prior to that, Rogan Gibson's unread text appeared.

Lieutenant Dove also reviewed the health data report on Maggie's phone.

It has been observed that the 'steps' are recoded based on body movement and are not 100% accurate.

At 8:17 am, shortly after Maggie's phone was turned off, 38 steps were recorded.

Another 59 steps were recorded between 20:53. m. and 20:55 m.

During this time, the orientation changes and the camera activates for a second, but the phone does not unlock, the expert testifies.

No further action was taken until the next day, when the phone was discovered and recalled.

22:23

Lieutenant Dove testified on the stand that there was a one-second activation of the camera on Maggie's phone.

He said the data shows Maggie's phone's orientation changed (from portrait to landscape) minutes after her phone was dropped overnight.

Most likely, the phone is moving and the camera is firing in the background trying to find a face for the biometric unlock, Dove said.

The phone went down at 20:49:31. m. and remained closed until 1:10 pm the next day.

There's no record of what the camera shows, but Dove said if it was Maggie's face, it would have been unlocked. He noted that it could have been pointed at anything, like the floor or a wall.

22:06

Maggie's text messages are being reviewed by Lieutenant Dove for the court.

The last message read on your phone was at 8:49 pm. m.

Alex Murdaugh texted his wife at 9:04 pm. m. She never read.

Call data reviewed with Dove in the booth included findings that her phone was disconnected from a power source at 8:17 pm. m.

The next time the phone was opened was when a family group message arrived.

There is a group text between John Marvin, Maggie, Alex and other family members that was received at 8:31 pm. m. It was read about 16 seconds after it was sent.

The message was from John Marvin talking about his plans to visit his sick father.

Another revised text was by Alex's sister, Lynn G. It was read at 8:49 pm. m. and it said she was in court all week.

The following text message came from Rogan Gibson at 9:34 pm. m. I was not read.

21:46

Alex Murdaugh called his wife Maggie five times the night of the murders, she never answered.

Lt. Dove reviewed the call log on Maggie's phone and told the court that Alex Murdaugh called her three times within the space of a few minutes.

Around the same time, he abandoned the property.

He also called her twice on the way back to the estate. None of the five calls were answered.

The first call was at 21:04:23. m.

The second call was at 21:06:14. m.

And the third call was at 21:06:51

On the way back to the estate, he would have called Maggie.

At 21:45:32 and again at 22:03:58

21:36

Call log shows Maggie Murdaugh's last call was to a 'Barbara'

Lieutenant Dove's direct examination continues as he reviews the call log on Maggie Murdaugh's phone from the night of her murder.

He said Maggie's last call was to 'Barbara' at 7:50 pm. on June 7, 2021.

The call lasted 2 minutes and 46 seconds.

20:59

Maggie Murdaugh's phone was on airplane mode when the specialist got it and she had five missed calls from 'Alex'

Maggie Murdaugh's cell phone was on, but in airplane mode, when a cell phone specialist received it as part of the evidence for the murders.

Lieutenant Britt Dove, who evaluated the cell phones belonging to Alex, Maggie and Paul, is now on the stand. He performed a full physical extraction of Cellebrite files and reports on his phone.

He said that Maggie had five missed calls from Alex, one missed call from Buster and two from John Marvin.

Photos were taken of your home screen, as well as your notification and location settings.

There are also several unread text messages, he said.

A complete hard drive copy of Maggie's phone was produced as evidence.

If the complete report from Maggie's phone were printed, it could be up to 9,000 pages long, Dove said.

20:44

Alex Murdaugh's cousin says his relationship with the kids "was always good"

Alex Murdaugh's cousin, John Bedingfield, testified on Tuesday as a witness, saying the legal son's relationship with his children "has always been good".

Murdaugh went to Bedingfield, who is also a firearms dealer, looking for guns for his children at Christmas 2016.

He is on trial for the murders of his son Paul and his wife Maggie. His other son, Buster, was in court on Tuesday.

20:19

New photos show kennels where Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were killed

An aerial view of the kennels where Alex Murdaugh's wife Maggie and son Paul were shot dead in 2021 was seen in photographic evidence released by the court on Tuesday.

The kennels are on the family property in Moselle, South Carolina.

Murdaugh previously told 911 that he had checked his wife and son for a pulse, but when police arrived, they saw no blood on it.

The disgraced attorney is accused of shooting his wife and son at the 1,700-acre hunting lodge in Islandton on June 7, 2021.

19:52

John Bedingfield, who is Murdaugh's cousin, is now on the stand after the lunch break.

The SCDNR officer has a side business as a firearms dealer.

He suggested the .300 Blackout AR-15 rifles mentioned in the case for Murdaugh to buy for his children when they look for firearms to shoot pigs with.

Murdaugh reached out to his cousin for weapons before Christmas 2016. Bedingfield recommended the Blackout, which can be used with a suppressor (silencer).

Mufflers are used for night hunting and are legal in South Carolina.

Although Murdaugh wanted suppressors for both weapons and paid for them, Bedingfield was unable to sell them because Murdaugh was unable to complete the necessary paperwork.

Murdaugh consulted his cousin again in April 2018 about a third Blackout .300 rifle because Paul had misplaced his.

The rifle lacked scope due to its high price: $1,500 to $1,800 each.

Murdaugh paid $9,188 for the first two Blackout .300 rifles in 2016 and the third at a later time was $875 because it had no thermal sights or suppressor.

It was Maggie, Paul's mother, who collected the weapons when they were ready.

19:46

Court publishes final texts between Maggie Murdaugh, her son Paul and their friend Rogan Gibson

The court released more photos of the evidence at the Alex Murdaugh murder trial on Tuesday as testimony continued.

Previous testimony by SLED agent Jeff Croft revealed Paul and Maggie's last text messages and calls on the night of the murders.

He interviewed Rogan Gibson, a friend of Paul Murdaugh, who had telephoned Paul, Maggie and Alex Murdaugh on the night of the murders.

Screenshots of calls and text messages with the Murdaughs from Gibson's phone were incorporated into the evidence.

June 7 - 8:40 pm: Gibson receives a call from Paul that lasted four minutes.

20:44: Another call from Paul

8:49 pm: Gibson sent Paul a text message, but there was no response.

The text said:

See if you can get a good picture of him. Marion wants to send him to a vet. Make him sit and stay. It shouldn't move too much.

Between 9:10 pm and 10:08 pm, Gibson tried calling Paul several times.

9:34 pm: Gibson texts Maggie: "Have Paul call me."

9:58 pm: Gibson texted Paul simply with the word: 'I'.

There were missed calls from Alex Murdaugh to Gibson at 10:21 pm, 10:24 pm, 10:25 pm, and 10:30 pm.

19:37

More crime scene photos on Murdaugh's property released by court

More photos of the crime scene where Alex Murdaugh's wife Maggie and son Paul were killed were released and shown in court this week, along with displays that could not be seen in real time.

1. SLED agents retrieve carcasses from Moselle

2. Marker trajectory analysis

3. Interview by Alex on 10/6/21 with SLED

4. Moselle Arsenal

5. SLED collecting .300 Blackout shells outside the weapons room

6. An outdoor shooting room at the Moselle shooting range

7. Agents recovered .300 Blackout munitions from the interior

19:09

What happened in Paul Murdaugh's boating accident that killed Mallory Beach?

Paul Murdaugh, 22, was charged with recklessly driving a boat while intoxicated when it crashed into the Archer's Creek Bridge in Beaufort County in February 2019.

There were six friends on board, including 19-year-old Mallory Beach, who died after being thrown from the boat. Her body was found in the water by a fisherman a week later.

Murdaugh was later charged with three crimes, including causing Beach's death.

He was awaiting trial when he and his mother, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, were found shot dead at their hunting ground in June 2021.

18:10

What is a Faraday bag?

VanHouten was asked about Faraday's bags while at the booth on Tuesday.

Faraday bags block signals received by an electronic device such as a cell phone, car key or laptop.

VanHouten says Faraday bags aren't the only way to get that remote wipe protection.

He said there are other ways to do this, like turning off the phone, removing the SIM card or putting it in airplane mode.

18:04

18:00

The former SLED agent testifies that the software program allowed him to hack into Paul's phone more than 100 times a day

The next witness called to the stand is Jonathan VanHouten, a former South Carolina police officer who now works as a civilian digital forensic examiner for the US Secret Service.

He was tasked with checking Paul Murdaugh's phone after SLED asked for help unlocking the phone.

Paul's phone had not been erased when investigators entered, VanHouten testifies.

VanHouten said he used Cellebrite Premium, software that can use digital "brute force" to unlock phones.

He testified that he was able to access his phone a maximum of 145 times a day.

A 4-digit phone code can take 10,000 attempts and about 68 days. Although it is a 6-digit code, it can take 1 million attempts and 19 years.

VanHouten unlocked the phone and returned it to SLED a few days later.

He added that the password was a variation of Paul's date of birth.

17:57

Police Witness Says He Couldn't Unlock Paul Murdaugh's iPhone

The next witness called to the stand is Sgt. David McManigal, Charleston County Sheriff's Office, assigned to the US Secret Service Cyber ​​Fraud Task Force.

He was given Alex Murdaugh's cell phone and tasked with redacting the details to a certain timeframe of interest to protect attorney-client confidentiality.

He didn't change any data on Paul's phone because he couldn't unlock it.

17:42

Court confused after defense questions Verizon analyst

Cell phone data collected from Alex Murdaugh and his wife Maggie and son Paul, along with others, should help pinpoint the timeline of the murders.

But questioning by Verizon analyst Anthony Knecht left the court and others baffled.

In his testimony, Knecht used the phone numbers and codes to describe the calls and whether they went to voice mail or simply went unanswered.

Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian seemed to take issue with her explanations, continuing to ask her to clarify and repeat the codes.

'Are you losing me, or am I losing you?' Harpootlian asked.

Testimony and earlier records show that Maggie and Paul stopped answering their cell phones and made no calls after a certain point on the night of the murders. However, Murdaugh tried calling Maggie several times.

16:56

Verizon analyst testifies at Alex Murdaugh murder trial

The prosecution called a new witness to the stand after a brief delay.

Anthony Knecht is an analyst and record keeper for Verizon Wireless.

Cell phone data collected from Alex, Paul and Maggie Murdaugh's phones was entered as evidence. Data was also collected from the phone of Alex's other son, Buster.

Details of Moselle gardener Claude 'CB' Rowe and Paul's friend Rogan Gibson have also been collected and brought to light.

The phone details of Connor Cook and his father Marty Cook were also collected. Connor was one of the passengers in the 2019 boating accident that killed Mallory Beach. Paul was accused of crashing that boat while drinking with his friends.

Knecht at the booth Tuesday explains what a rough record of cell phone data will show.

Call date and time

Network switching router (hub)

Cell ID (specific cell tower)

input x output

Phone number

Data/Network Type

16:35

Murdaugh wasn't the only person the investigation focused on, says Croft.

SLED agent Croft testified in the deposition on Tuesday that Murdaugh was not the only person the investigation focused on.

"It absolutely wasn't just focused on Alex Murdaugh," he said in response to a question from the prosecution.

He said he was non-aggressive in cross-examination on June 10, 2021. The audio was played in the courtroom.

Croft said the interview was not an "interrogation, but an "information-gathering type interview".

16:10

Prosecution criticizes notion of two-shot defense

Prosecutor Creighton Waters began his redirection questioning.

He dismissed the defense's idea that there might have been two shooters because of the distance between Paul and Maggie's bodies and the shells surrounding Maggie's body.

'Can people move?' asked Waters.

He repeated to himself.

Croft replied: 'People can move, yes sir.'

15:45

Did Murdaugh say 'I' or 'they'? Croft said she stands by her testimony that she heard Murdaugh say 'I did so badly'

Did Murdaugh say 'I' or 'they'?

Croft said he stands by his testimony that he heard Murdaugh say "I did so badly".

Recorded audio of the interview with Murdaugh on June 10, three days after the death of his wife and son, was played repeatedly at a slower speed in the courtroom.

Croft said he has yet to testify that he heard "I did a lot wrong".

Griffin plays the "I/Them" audio. It plays in real time and slows down to 1/3 speed.

Agent Croft still says he doesn't hear them.

Griffin: You agree, the jury decides.#AlexMurdaugh pic.twitter.com/9MSgtE81z0

— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson)January 31, 2023

15:39

SLED agent admits he didn't follow up on Murdaugh over hearing him allegedly say 'I did it so wrong' in recorded video

Croft admitted in testimony on Tuesday that he had not followed up on Murdaugh's alleged statement "I did very wrong" in an earlier interview with police.

The defense asked again what he heard Murdaugh say during the interview three days after the murders.

"I'm 100% sure of what I heard and what I believe he said," he said.

Croft said he heard Murdaugh utter the words "I did it so wrong" between sobs during a taped June 10 interview.

But to some on and off the court, it felt like Murdaugh was saying, "They did it really badly."

The defense asked Croft why he didn't challenge Murdaugh in the comments.

Griffin: 'What was going through your mind making that mental note when you heard or misheard 'Did I do it so wrong?' Was I not a good father? Did I pamper you? Or did I kill him?

Croft said the plan was to follow Murdaugh and they had an interview with him again in August 2021, but Croft says they never got through.

Croft also said he doesn't remember whether he made a physical note on paper in his notes about the "I did it so wrong" comment.

15:32

Crime scene diagram shows where the shooter could be

The defense showed a diagram of the scene and points out how the shells of the automatic rifle with which Maggie, wife of Alex Murdaugh, was killed would have fallen.

Point to markers 5, 6, and 7 to explain the rifle's trajectory. And he said the casing would have fallen to the right and just behind the shot.

Croft said, "The shooter is likely to be on the upper side in these rounds."

Jim Griffin points to markers 5, 6, and 7. "From what Croft just explained about the rifle's ejection path, where would the shooter be?"

Croft: The marksman will likely be on top of these rounds.#AlexMurdaugh pic.twitter.com/pOqm56EtGE

— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson)January 31, 2023

15:24

Croft says he found no ammunition on the property to match the shotgun shells that killed Paul

SLED agent Croft testified that he found no ammunition on Alex Murdaugh's Moselle property to match the shotgun blasts that killed his son Paul.

"And you didn't find similar munitions on the Moselle on June 8th or any time after?" griffin asked

'I don't,' he replied.

Griffin claims that the shot that took off Paul's head was a steel shot. No steel ammunition was found on the property.

Croft identified several shotguns and ammunition found on the Moselle Road estate after the murders.

All of them have been put to the test. However, the defense claims that neither was the murder weapon, which they say was never found.

14:57

Officer SLED testifies that the weapons in the murders of Alex Murdaugh's wife and son were never found

SLED Jeff Croft has returned to the booth where he is being questioned by defense attorney Jim Griffin.

Have you ever found any murder weapons that you know of? Griffin asked.

"Not that I know of," replied Croft.

Croft is a weapons and ammunition expert who searched the gun room on June 8, 2021, the day after Alex Murdaugh's wife Maggie and son Paul were murdered in their South Carolina home.

Croft was looking for rifles and shotguns that could fire the rounds located at the scene, he said.

On Monday, prosecutors had Croft produce an array of rifles and shotguns that were seized from the weapons room.

14:27

LOOK: Live Stream of Alex Murdaugh Double Murder Trial

A live stream of the Alex Murdaugh murder trial will be broadcast on the Dailymail.com home page.

You mayCheck this pagewhen the trial starts at 9:30 am. E.T.

14:26

Alex Murdaugh arrives in court in South Carolina for murder trial

Alex Murdaugh arrived in court in South Carolina for his double murder trial.

The disgraced legal heir hid his handcuffed hands under his coat as he was taken to Colleton County courthouse for the fourth full day of testimony in the high-profile case.

Murdaugh's family, including surviving son Buster, brother John Marvin Murdaugh, and sister Lynn Murdaugh Goettee, arrived in court a short time later.

Alex Murdaugh's family arrives.#MurdaughTrial pic.twitter.com/H1nGRfEK60

— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson)January 31, 2023

Alex Murdaugh arriving this morning.#MurdaughTrial pic.twitter.com/10WaF38Wz4

— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson)January 31, 2023

14:18

What to expect when court resumes on Tuesday

The Alex Murdaugh double murder trial will resume at 9:30 am. m. E.T.

The legal heir arrived at the courthouse and entered the building, hiding his handcuffed hands under his coat.

SLED Agent Jeff Croft returns to the witness stand, where he will be cross-examined by defense attorney Jim Griffin.

14:04

Alex Murdaugh said he killed his son?

I did it so wrong.

That's what an SLED agent, Jeff Crofton, testified on Monday that Alex Murdaugh cried during an interview taped three days after Murdaugh's wife and son were killed.

But to others on and off the court, it felt like Murdaugh was saying, "They did it really badly."

Prosecutors stopped the video several times to give Croft a chance to emphasize some of Murdaugh's comments.

At one point, Murdaugh said his wife was home hours before the murders when he and their son returned from the property.

Later in the interview, Murdaugh can be heard saying "It's so bad", before Croft's unclear comment sounded as if Murdaugh was implying that he had killed his son.

In court, Murdaugh appeared to shake his head when Croft told what he heard. The court ended on Monday before the defense could cross-examine the officer.

13:59

SUMMARY: Here's What Happened This Week At Murdaugh's Trial

Murdaugh, 54, is on trial on two counts of murder in the shooting of his wife and son at their Colleton County home and hunting lodge on June 7, 2021.

Maggie, 52, was shot multiple times with a rifle and Paul, 22, was shot twice with a shotgun near the property's kennels. Murdaugh faces 30 years to life if he is convicted.

On Monday, SLED agent Jeff Croft testified that Murdaugh uttered the words "I did so wrong" in an interview taped three days after the murders. The audio was played back to the court.

But to others on and off the court, it felt like Murdaugh was saying, "They did it really badly."

In court, Murdaugh appeared to shake his head when Croft told what he heard. The court ended before the defense could cross-examine the agent.

Also on Monday, the defense continued to question the way state officials collected and analyzed evidence from the murders.

Murdaugh starts crying in police interview in 2021

Murdaugh broke down in tears on the 2021 taping after bringing up a minor disagreement he had with his wife over visiting family.

She was a wonderful girl and a wonderful wife. And she was a great mother,' he said.

When he told Croft about his son, he said he wasn't focused and would stay with family and friends across the state, leaving his belongings behind rather than taking them home.

"He did it with clothes, he did it with guns, he did it with my boats," Murdaugh said.

Defense suggests there may be two shooters

In Monday's cross-examination of SLED Melinda Worley, defense attorney Dick Harpootlian focused on fingerprint identification, one of Worley's specialties.

She told him that one of the prints in the blood near where Murdaugh's son was shot came from an officer.

"Is this the scene preservation your standards demand?" Harpootlian asked.

"Not exactly, no," Worley replied.

Harpootlian also had Worley work on a rough diagram of the angles of the shots at Paul and Maggie Murdaugh, noting a significant disparity between the directions from which the shots came at each victim.

Worley said this can happen when a shooter is moving.

One explanation would be movement. One explanation would be two gunmen,” Harpootlian said.

SLED Worley questioned about crime scene as Murdaugh sobs in court

Worley was asked Monday about photographs of the bodies, pellets, from the scene, as well as clothing and nail clippings from the autopsies.

Alex Murdaugh continued to sway and wipe his eyes during more graphic testimony, including when Harpootlian showed a photo of his wife's body to ask Worley if there might be a footprint on his wife's calf that was not formally documented when the shoe was examined. scene.

Worley said he wasn't sure.

13:57

Alex Murdaugh double murder trial resumes today

The trial of legal descendant Alex Murdaugh will resume at 9:30 am. m. local time Tuesday morning in Walterboro, South Carolina.

Jurors will return to the Colleton County Courthouse for the fourth full day of testimony in the high-profile case.

First, the defense will begin questioning SLED agent Jeff Croft.

The trial is expected to last about three weeks.