Car data mapped Alex Murdaugh’s movements the night of the murders. What it shows

Jurors on Friday got a much clearer picture of Alex Murdaugh’s movements the night his wife and son were murdered.

S.C. Law Enforcement Division agent Peter Rudofski led jurors through data from Murdaugh’s car that recorded his movements and speeds on June 7, 2021, including around the times his wife, Maggie, and youngest son, Paul, were shot and killed by the dog kennels at the family’s rural Colleton County home.

Prosecutors and investigators only received the data last Saturday from General Motors, the manufacturers of Murdaugh’s Chevrolet Suburban.

Rudofski laid out Murdaugh’s trip earlier June 7, 2021, to and from the house, called Moselle, and Murdaugh’s law firm in Hampton, showing his average speed was around 37 miles per hour. He arrived home around 6:42 p.m.

Murdaugh left for his mother’s house at 9:07 p.m., less than 20 minutes after prosecutors estimated the murders occurred. He passed the spot where Maggie’s phone was later found, the prosecutors noted, then accelerated to an average of 52 miles per hour on the 15-minute drive to Almeda, hitting highs of 74 miles per hour.

On cross-examination, defense attorney Phil Barber said that the data could show a continuous acceleration by Murdaugh after he turned onto Moselle Road from the driveway, moments after he sent Maggie a text that he was leaving. A combined timeline of Murdaugh’s movements with data from Maggie’s phone suggests the phone was moving around the time Murdaugh was leaving the house.

Murdaugh arrived at his mother’s house at 9:22 p.m., then started his car again at 9:43 p.m., but prosecutors noted he idled at the home for more than a minute. He arrived back at the house at Moselle at 10 p.m., reaching a maximum speed of 80 miles per hour on the way back.

Rudofski notes that as a law enforcement officer, he has driven with sirens through the area before, and would not recommend driving at such high speeds.

“You have deer that will run out in front of you,” he said.

Once back at Moselle, Murdaugh then can be tracked driving to the kennels at 10:05 p.m., driving at about 28 mph and arriving in under a minute, where he says he found his wife and son murdered.

He called 911 at 10:06:14, about 17 seconds after car data shows he arrived at the kennels. Barber noted that Murdaugh could have seen the bodies from his car as he pulled up to the kennels, explaining the quick phone call to 911. Rudofski said he couldn’t testify based on the movements of Murdaugh’s car what he may or may not have seen.

He left the kennels at 10:11 p.m. to return to the main house, then returns to the kennels at 10:13 p.m. Murdaugh told police he returned to get a shotgun that he was holding when deputies arrived that night.

Prosecutors also showed the court new information extracted from the victim’s phones. A month before the killings, Paul texted his father on May 6 , 2021, that “Mom found several bags of pills in your computer bag.” That same day, records show Maggie did an online search for “white pill 30 on one side rp.” Three weeks later, Maggie searched again on May 26, 2021, for “green gel pill p30.”

Earlier in the week, Maggie’s sister, Marian Proctor, testified that Maggie called Paul her “little detective” because he would find unprescribed pills his father kept around the house. Murdaugh, who has said he struggled with a lengthy opioid addiction, also referred to Paul as a “little detective” during an interview with SLED agents on June 10, 2021.

Barber introduced another text, sent from Murdaugh to Maggie, arguing it showed the loving nature of the family. “I am very sorry that I do this to all of you. I love you,” it said.

Rudofski said that as far as he could see from the data, Maggie never responded.

▪ 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

▪ 10:06:14 — Murdaugh calls 911 to report that he found Paul, Maggie’s bodies

▪ 10:11:54 p.m. — Murdaugh leaves the kennels, returns to the main house

▪ 10:13 p.m. — Murdaugh returns to the kennels

Island Packet reporter Blake Douglas contributed.

This story was originally published February 17, 2023 at 11:55 AM.

Bristow Marchant

The State

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Bristow Marchant covers local government, schools and community in Lexington County for The State. He graduated from the College of Charleston in 2007. He has almost 20 years of experience covering South Carolina at the Clinton Chronicle, Sumter Item and Rock Hill Herald. He joined The State in 2016. Bristow has won numerous awards, most recently the S.C. Press Association’s 2024 education reporting award.  Support my work with a digital subscription