Day 20: State rests, defense puts up first witnesses in Murdaugh murder trial

Alex Murdaugh, a once prominent Hampton-based attorney from a well-known politically connected family, is on trial in the deaths of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul.

Murdaugh has pleaded not guilty. He faces life in prison without parole if found guilty. The trial started Jan. 23 with jury selection, opening arguments and the initial round of witness testimony. For now, the trial is expected to stretch at least through Friday, Feb. 17.

4:36 p.m. — Court adjourned

Judge Clifton Newman has adjourned court until Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.

Court won’t be held next Monday in observance of Presidents’ Day.

After bringing the defense’s first two witnesses to the stand, attorney Dick Harpootlian said the next available witness will deliver a “lengthy” testimony that would run late if given today.

4:22 p.m. — Defense calls Colleton County Sheriff’s PIO

Colleton County Coroner Richard Harvey has left the stand. The defense’s second witness is Shalene Tindal, who works as the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office public information officer.

Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian questioned Tindal about a joint statement put out by SLED and the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office on June 8, 2021.

In the release, the organizations said there was “no danger to the public” following the murders of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.

The defense raised issue with the press release throughout the early stages of the prosecution’s case, claiming the release indicates SLED had already eliminated other suspects from its investigation, honing in on Murdaugh.

A second press release was later issued that removed the “no danger to the public” line, Tindal testified, but SLED never addressed the initial release.

4:15 p.m. — Colleton coroner wrote deaths occurred at 9 p.m.

The defense’s first witness, Colleton County Coroner Richard Harvey, has taken the stand.

Harvey said he arrived at the scene of the crime around 11:04 p.m. on June 7, 2021. The first thing he did was estimate time of death.

On Paul and Maggie Murdaughs’ death certificates, Harvey said he estimated time of death to be 9 p.m.

Prosecutors argued Maggie and Paul were likely killed around 8:50 p.m., since outgoing phone activity from their cellphones stopped around then. Based on the warmth of the bodies, and the lack of rigor-induced joint stiffness, Harvey said the pair was likely dead one to three hours.

Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian asked about the potential range of that estimation, and Harvey confirmed it could realistically be anywhere from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

4:10 p.m. — Defense calls first witness

The defense has called its first witness, Colleton County Coroner Richard M. Harvey.

Harvey arrived at Moselle on June 7, 2021, at 11:04 p.m.

4 p.m. — Judge denies motion for directed verdict

After prosecutors rested their case, defense attorney Jim Griffin moved for Judge Clifton Newman to issue a directed verdict in the Alex Murdaugh double-murder trial, arguing the state failed to prove its case.

A directed verdict, if issued by a judge, concludes the case in the defense’s favor.

Griffin argued that the state failed to prove Murdaugh’s involvement through direct evidence, and only presented circumstantial evidence, such as interviews disproving his claims to have never been at the kennels.

The state failed to prove a time of death, Griffin argued, only using cellphone data from Maggie and Paul Murdaugh to estimate a time of death. No DNA was ever discovered linking Murdaugh to the killings directly and no murder weapon was ever found, he said.

Newman denied the motion.

“In this case we have had … 18 days of direct and circumstantial evidence, and the law makes no distinction between the weight or value to be given to either direct evidence or circumstantial evidence, nor is a greater degree of certainty required of circumstantial evidence than of direct evidence,” Newman said.

“Cases can be proven by direct evidence, circumstantial evidence or a combination of the two. At this stage of proceedings, there is evidence to support a guilty verdict if it is believed by the jury. I therefore deny the motion for a directed verdict.”

3:53 p.m. — State rests its case

Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters said the state will “formally” rest its case after a brief recess for what he described as “housekeeping matters.”

Earlier today, defense attorney Dick Harpootlian indicated the defense is prepared to call witnesses for brief testimonies ahead of a long weekend. Court will not be held Monday, in observance of Presidents’ Day.

Harpootlian said the defense will bring witnesses for longer stints at the stand starting next Tuesday.

2:50 p.m. — Defense moves to explain Alex’s quick 911 call

On June 7, 2021, Alex Murdaugh drove to the kennels at 10:05:57 p.m.

Shortly after, he found Paul and Maggie Murdaugh’s bodies and called 911.

Data from Murdaugh’s phone shows the first call, misdialed as “9111,” was made around 10:06:14 p.m., about 20 seconds after he allegedly first found his wife and son slain.

During his questioning of SLED special agent Peter Rudofski, lead prosecutor Creighton Waters hinted it was unusual Murdaugh claimed he found the bodies, checked their pulses, attempted to turn Paul’s body over, and called 911 in that 20-second period.

Defense attorney Phil Barber attempted to undercut that suspicion by theorizing Murdaugh’s headlights may have illuminated the bodies as he drove down to the kennels, causing him to park quickly and rush out of the vehicle.

Rudofski didn’t give a straight answer as Barber pressed him to agree the situation was possible. Rudofski said he wasn’t on the stand to testify to “hypotheticals,” but the data presented in SLED’s timeline.

2:34 p.m. — Cross-examination of final state witness begins

Court is back in session with SLED special agent Peter Rudofski at the stand, the state’s final witness.

Defense attorney Phillip Barber is conducting the cross-examination.

1:10 p.m. — Court in lunch recess

Court has entered lunch recess until 2:15 p.m.

SLED special agent Peter Rudofski will be cross-examined when court resumes.

Just before the recess, prosecutors revealed a new piece of evidence showing Paul Murdaugh wanted to discuss Alex Murdaugh’s drug abuse about a month before the murders.

1:03 p.m. — Paul called out Alex’s drug use month before murder

On May 6, 2021, Paul Murdaugh left a voicemail for his dad, Alex Murdaugh, after discovering drugs in one of his work bags.

“I am still in EB (Edisto Beach) because when you get here we have to talk,” the voicemail transcript read. “Mom found several bags of pills in your computer bag.”

On the same day, and later on May 26, 2021, Maggie Murdaugh made several Google searches trying to identify the pills she and Paul discovered.

12:18 p.m. — State makes its final case

SLED agent Peter Rudofski remains on the stand as prosecution’s final witness.

Rudofski’s testimony has been dominated by the presentation of a timeline of June 7, 2021, detailing the movements, phone activity and car activity of Alex, Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.

Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters emphasized the span from around 8:45 to 8:50 p.m. Paul’s phone locked “forever” at 8:49:01 p.m., while Maggie’s cellphone locked seconds later at 8:49:31 p.m.

Murdaugh’s phone “wakes up” at 9:02 p.m., recording 282 steps after around three hours of inactivity.

Murdaugh has repeatedly denied being at the kennels with Maggie and Paul. Over the course of prosecutors’ case, eight separate witnesses have identified his voice in a video Paul took at the kennels around 8:45 p.m., minutes before the state suggests he and Maggie died.

With a lack of physical evidence such as a murder weapon, prosecutors have leaned heavily on discrediting Murdaugh’s alibi to prove he was at the scene. They’ve also introduced a plethora of evidence related to his failing finances and career to point to a motive for the murders.

After Rudofski is cross-examined this afternoon, the defense will begin calling witnesses.

11:25 a.m. — Prosecution will rest today

Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters said SLED agent Peter Rudofski, who is currently on the stand, will be the state’s final witness.

Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian said the defense has several “shorter witnesses” prepared to take the stand today after Rudofski’s cross-examination.

10:55 a.m. — GPS data shows Alex visited mother for 20 minutes

According to GPS data pulled from Alex Murdaugh’s car, he arrived at his mother’s house at 9:22:39 p.m. on June 7, 2021, the night his wife and son were killed.

He left his mother’s home at 9:43:18 p.m., SLED agent Peter Rudofski testified. His stay was roughly 20 minutes, lining up with previous testimony from his mother’s caretaker, Mushelle “Shelley” Smith.

Murdaugh’s account of his visit has been inconsistent. In an Aug. 11, 2021, interview with SLED agent David Owen, Murdaugh said he visited his mother for 45 minutes to an hour. Previously, Murdaugh told Owen he visited for 25 to 30 minutes.

Maggie and Paul Murdaugh’s outgoing cellphone activity stopped around 8:50 p.m.

• 6:24:18 p.m. — Alex Murdaugh leaves his Hampton law firm
• 6:42:54 p.m. — Murdaugh arrives at family’s property, Moselle
• 9:07:06 p.m. — Murdaugh leaves Moselle for his mother’s home at Almeda
• 9:22:39 p.m. — Murdaugh arrives at Almeda
• 9:43:18 p.m. — Murdaugh leaves Almeda
• 10:00:00 p.m. — Murdaugh arrives back to Moselle’s main house
• 10:05:06 p.m. — Murdaugh leaves Moselle house to the estate’s kennels
  
  
• 10:05:57 p.m. — Murdaugh arrives at kennels to discover Paul, Maggie Murdaugh’s bodies
• 10:11:52 p.m. — Murdaugh leaves kennels, returns to main house for gun

Colleton and Hampton County 911 dispatchers testified Murdaugh called 911 at about 10:06 p.m.

10:30 a.m. — Prosecutors to introduce Alex’s GPS data

SLED agent Peter Rudofski said he constructed a report using GPS data recovered from Alex Murdaugh’s car for the day Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were killed.

The evidence was previously unavailable. Last weekend, prosecutors said they were contacted by General Motors and told the company had recovered specific location data from the car’s computers.

Earlier information pulled from the car’s electronics indicated whether the car was in park or not, but not whether it was moving. Using that data, prosecutors constructed a rough timeline of when Murdaugh was driving from Moselle to visit his mother’s home at Almeda, and how long he was there.

10:15 a.m. — State calls next witness to show murder timeline

The state has called SLED agent Peter Rudofski to the stand.

Rudofski said he constructed the state’s timeline of the June 7, 2021, murders of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh given the available evidence.

During the prior cross-examination of SLED senior special agent Ryan Kelly, defense attorney Dick Harpootlian argued investigators should not have interviewed Alex Murdaugh while he was in the hospital to get details about the Labor Day weekend shooting.

The head wound he’d received and medication from his hospital stay, Harpootlian said, likely compromised his competency during the interview.

Harpootlian railed against Kelly for not requesting medical records from the hospital, but Kelly indicated the hospital legally would not have turned over those records the day of the interview. The records were later received by court order, Kelly said.

During and before the interview, Kelly testified Murdaugh was fully coherent and understood investigators’ questions.

9:30 a.m. — SLED agent back on stand as court resumes

With the state having not yet rested its case in the double-murder trial, court is back in session with SLED special agent Ryan Kelly back on the stand — this time under questioning by defense attorney Dick Harpootlian.

Most of Thursday, the 12-member jury heard Kelly testify about Murdaugh after he called 911 Labor Day weekend to report he’d been shot on the side of the road. From a rehab facility after the shooting, Murdaugh spoke to Kelly and another SLED agent, for the first time telling the truth about the Labor Day weekend shooting and the alleged involvement of Curtis “Eddie” Smith, who provided Murdaugh with opioids over the years.

Smith, who is on the witness list, has not taken the stand and it’s unclear whether he ever will.

Judge Clifton Newman allowed testimony about the Labor Day weekend shooting after he said defense attorneys “opened the door” when they mentioned Smith in a cross-examination of another witness.

The state is expected to rest its case Friday, with the defense taking at least a week.

Court will not be in session Monday because it is a holiday, President’s Day.

This story was originally published February 17, 2023 at 9:08 AM.

Blake Douglas

The Island Packet

Blake is the Hilton Head Island reporter for the Island Packet. A Tulsa, Oklahoma native, Blake has written for his hometown Tulsa World, as well as the Charlotte Observer. He graduated in May 2022 from the University of Oklahoma with a journalism degree.