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Welcome to day sixteen of the double homicide trial of disbarred South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh – the man at the center of the ‘Murdaugh Murders’ crime and corruption saga. Today kicks off week four of this trial – with prosecutors in the office of S.C. attorney general Alan Wilson preparing to wrap up their case.
Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters said the state should rest no later than the end of Wednesday, while defense attorneys led by Dick Harpootlian have indicated their case should take approximately a week.
To recap: Murdaugh stands accused of killing his wife, 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh, and youngest son, 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh, on his family’s hunting property in Colleton County, S.C. on June 7, 2021. He pleaded not guilty to those charges and is currently standing trial in Walterboro – a town located in the Lowcountry region of the Palmetto State, which Murdaugh’s family ran like a fiefdom for more than a century.
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Last week saw some incredibly compelling testimony as prosecutors called former Murdaugh housekeeper Blanca Simpson to the stand. Simpson told enraptured jurors Murdaugh attempted to convince her after the fact that he was wearing a different shirt than the one he actually wore on the night of the double homicide. That clothing has yet to be seen again, incidentally.
This conversation reportedly took place in August of 2021 – shortly after Murdaugh was confronted by officers of the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) about his alibi being shredded.
To view Friday’s live feed, click here. To watch our latest ‘Week in Review’ on the Murdaugh trial, click here.
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THE POLLS …
At the opening gavel of each day of the trial, we will launch two new polls asking readers to weigh in on 1) whether they think Alex Murdaugh is guilty or not guilty of murdering his late wife, Maggie Murdaugh and, 2) whether they think he is guilty or not guilty of murdering his late son, Paul Murdaugh.
The goal of our daily polls is to track how perceptions of Murdaugh’s guilt or innocence related to the murders of his two alleged victims has evolved over the course of the trial.
As of last Friday, 86 percent of respondents believed Murdaugh was guilty of killing is wife compared to five percent who said he was not guilty and eight percent who were unsure. Similarly, 86 percent believed he was guilty of killing his son compared to six percent who said he was not guilty and seven percent who were unsure.
Here are today’s polls …
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QUESTION ONE …
Based on the information you have now, is Alex Murdaugh is guilty or not guilty of the murder of Maggie Murdaugh?
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QUESTION TWO …
Based on the information you have now, is Alex Murdaugh is guilty or not guilty of the murder of Paul Murdaugh?
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THE FEED …
5:46 p.m. EST – The State has completed their direct examination. Dick Harpootlian tells Judge Newman that his cross will take many hours. They will continue in the morning at 9:30 a.m. EST.
5:43 p.m. EST – Paul’s cause of death was shotgun wounds to the head and chest. Paul’s manner of death was homicide. Maggie Murdaugh’s cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds and her manner of death was homicide. Dr. Riemer describes it as “Death at the hands of another.”
5:37 p.m. EST – The diagram of Maggie’s injuries has been admitted into evidence. Dr. Riemer states that Maggie and Paul Murdaugh’s stomach contents indicated they had a lot of recently digested food fragments that looked identical. Maggie had 600 ml and Paul had 500 ml of food in their stomachs. She tells Waters that Maggie did not appear to have defensive wounds. Maggie’s toxicology report indicated caffeine was the only substance in her system and no alcohol or drugs.
5:27 p.m. EST – The State has entered photos of Maggie Murdaugh’s autopsy and injuries into evidence. Again, all of these images are under seal per Judge Newman’s order and will not be shown.
5:20 p.m. EST – Dr. Riemer tells Waters that she believes the shots to Maggie’s abdomen and thigh were first based on the trajectory of the gunshots stating, “this is the most likely logical sequence of shots that she sustained.”
5:15 p.m. EST – Dr. Riemer testifies that there was another entrance wound to the back of Maggie’s head near the base of her skull which went in a downward direction. It caused a lot of exit wounds to the right side of her lower back. When asked how they reconcile the initial wounds going upward and the last wounds going downward, Riemer states that the initial shot hit her kidney which is very painful. She theorizes that the pain caused Maggie to bend over or on the ground when she was shot subsequently.
5:10 p.m. EST – Maggie was also shot through her left wrist. A fourth gunshot entered on the side of her left breast exiting on the top of her left chest. This bullet traveled upward and continued through the left side of her face and lower ear area. This fourth shot would have been immediately fatal as it entered her brain. Neither the wrist wound nor the head wound had stippling.
5:04 p.m. EST – Dr. Riemer states Maggie Murdaugh sustained a total of five gunshot wounds from a minimum of four shots. She is creating a similar diagram of Maggie Murdaugh’s injuries for the jurors to follow. Dr. Riemer testifies that Maggie was shot with a different weapon and her injuries were consistent with an assault rifle. According to Riemer, Maggie had an entrance wound through her abdominal wall that traveled through her body exiting the left side of her back. She was shot through the left thigh with the exit wound through the back of her left thigh. These had a parallel trajectory. Riemer states these wounds would not have been immediately fatal.
5:00 p.m. EST – Dr. Riemer testifies that toxicology testing was conducted on Paul Murdaugh as is standard practice at MUSC when an autopsy is performed. The only thing Paul Murdaugh had in his system at the time of his death was caffeine. Dr. Riemer states the first shotgun wound was to Paul’s chest following which he remained standing and sustained the second gunshot wound to the left shoulder and head.
4:57 p.m. EST – Court has resumed. The jury is being brought back in. Creighton Waters is resuming his direct examination of Dr. Riemer. Dr. Riemer testifies that she saw no indication of defensive wounds on Paul Murdaugh.
4:44 p.m. EST – The jury has been sent to the jury room for a few moments.
4:42 p.m. EST – A scrape on Paul’s face is consistent with him falling after being shot and hitting his face. She refers to this as a terminal collapse.
4:31 p.m. EST – Dr. Riemer identifies additional images taken during the autopsy of Paul Murdaugh. She identifies a large shotgun would defect from the top of Paul’s left shoulder. Pellets traveled to the left side of his head and a large exit wound was located in the back of the right side of his head. His face was completely intact indicating his head was turned to the left when he was shot the second time. She states it was an “extremely severe, immediately fatal injury.” She continues to state his brain was ejected from his head and was brought to the autopsy separately in a bucket.
4:27 p.m. EST – Dr. Riemer states that when Paul Murdaugh was shot, his arm was down by his side.
4:24 p.m. EST – Dr. Riemer is showing the jury images from Paul Murdaugh’s autopsy. All autopsy and graphic images of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh are under seal by order of Judge Newman.
4:21 p.m. EST – Dr. Riemer states that injuries Paul sustained from the first shot were not fatal.
4:17 p.m. EST – The wadding from the shot to Paul’s chest got stuck in his chest cavity. Pellets exited from the left arm and back and there was stippling on Paul’s body. Stippling is burns caused by gunpowder from a shot fired close in proximity. They can’t say exactly how close, but states the standard is within 2-3 feet.
4:10 p.m. EST – Dr. Riemer testifies that she performed autopsies on both Margaret and Paul Murdaugh on June 10, 2021. She testifies that there were two shotgun wounds on Paul Murdaugh. Dr. Riemer is diagramming the shotgun wounds for the jury. The first shot suffered by Paul Murdaugh went into his chest and exited his axillary.
4:04 p.m. EST – Dr. Riemer states her principle responsibility at work is to conduct autopsies to determine cause of death. She estimates she has completed around 5,500 autopsies and testifies in court cases across the nation. The State moves to qualify Dr. Riemer as an expert in forensic pathology with no objections.
3:58 p.m. EST – Court has resumed. The State calls Dr. Ellen Riemer who is a Pathologist with MUSC. She is detailing her work experience, education, training, and qualifications.
3:41 p.m. EST – The jury is sent to the jury room for a break.
3:39 p.m. EST – Goude asks Zapata if they determine what items to analyze. Zapata states that they analyze items requested and nothing additional. No further questions from the State.
3:37 p.m. EST – When the cartridge cases came in, Zapata confirms she analyzed them for touch DNA. She said in her experience there has not been a very good yield of DNA on these items because of the heat involved in firing a gun.
3:35 p.m. EST – The defense has completed cross examination. Savanna Goude is on re-direct.
3:32 p.m. EST – Zapata confirms her attendance at an evidence review meeting on January 5, 2023. She states she recalls talking about the results of the testing on the shirt, but cannot testify to spatter analysis or conversation regarding Tom Bevel or Deputy Kinsey as that is not her specialty. Zapata tells the court that she does not recall any discussion of a blue button down shirt in any of her meetings regarding evidence.
3:29 p.m. EST – Zapata is explaining studies comparing LCV tests with HemaTrace tests. She confirms her HemaTrace tests showed test results were negative for human blood.
3:24 p.m. EST – Zapata states that she had a discussion with Creighton Waters about her HemaTrace report, but that she wasn’t asked about the spatter report as that is not her expertise. She was made aware of Bevel’s report after her analysis was complete.
3:19 p.m. EST – An April 20, 2022 meeting was scheduled with the Attorney General. Zapata testifies she reviewed her reports to prepare for that meeting. When asked if there was any discussion of blood spatter in this meeting, Zapata says she “does not remember.” She states at some point they did discuss the HemaTrace results on the shirt and believes this discussion occurred during the April 20, 2022 meeting. She is unsure if the blood spatter report was discussed at the same time as her HemaTrace report.
3:17 p.m. EST – Zapata states after she developed her DNA reports, she made a phone call to relay the results to Agent Ghent. She says her notes only indicate she updated Ghent on the findings of the rain coat during that call. She is unsure when she was made aware of the spatter report done by Tom Bevel.
3:14 p.m. EST – Zapata testifies that she was told after the shirt was sent, she was told it was being sent for blood spatter analysis. She clarifies that she did not know the shirt had been sent for additional analysis until it had already been sent.
3:07 p.m. EST – 74 cuttings are identified. None of those 74 cuttings were positive for blood using HemaTrace analysis.
3:01 p.m. EST – The first report Zapata produced with DNA results was dated June 25, 2021. The second report was dated July 25, 2021. Zapata confirms she attended a meeting on July 26, 2021. The purpose of the meeting was to explain the results of her DNA report. She states she was not asked to perform HemaTrace tests in that meeting, but was asked on August 10, 2021. She performed those tests the same day and testifies that the results of her tests were negative.
2:54 p.m. EST – Zapata is shown the shirt Murdaugh was wearing and identifying the cuttings she took from it. The only location on the shirt where Paul Murdaugh’s DNA was found was on item A.
2:50 p.m. EST – Zapata confirms that Paul Murdaugh’s DNA was found on the shotgun shells in the feed room and stated that this would not be unusual given the crime scene. The blood found on the steering wheel included blood from Maggie. She states she cannot state how the DNA profile got on the steering wheel, but admitted one possibility is that Murdaugh got blood on his hands while checking Maggie for a pulse.
2:45 p.m. EST – Zapata tells the court that the unknown DNA found under Maggie’s fingernails was not submitted to CODIS because it didn’t meet the threshold. She describes the DNA found as a very partial, low level profile foreign to Maggie Murdaugh.
2:40 p.m. EST – Zapata confirms the only items analyzed from Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were their fingernail clippings and buccal swabs. She also confirms that the male DNA found under Maggie’s fingernails was neither Paul nor Alex Murdaugh’s. Phillip Barber asks if additional analysis was possible and she states that it was not due to the large number of related males in their testing pool. Barber asks Zapata if she was aware that Maggie had gotten her nails done that afternoon. She was not aware.
2:37 p.m. EST – Court has resumed. Waters informs the court that the next witness after Sarah Zapata is the pathologist. Due to the graphic nature of the photo exhibits, both sides ask that no images be viewable by the public.
2:00 p.m. EST – Redacted video exhibits have been released by the court. I will post them as we get them uploaded.
1:10 p.m. EST – Court is in recess until 2:30 p.m. EST for lunch.
1:07 p.m. EST – Zapata states no confirmatory testing was completed on Murdaugh’s pants.
12:57 p.m. EST – Missing from the State’s presentation of DNA is relatable comparisons of the significance of the numbers. The significance of all these numbers are going to be lost on the jury if they don’t explain the gravity of them.
12:33 p.m. EST – Zapata is now reviewing cuttings analyzed from Murdaugh’s shirt and shorts.
12:28 p.m. EST – Zapata explains that Claude “CB” Rowe was included in the analysis because she could not say from looking at his DNA profile and comparing it to the evidence that he could be excluded. When that happens, she runs the statistics to compare them to that profile and that’s why that comparison was made. The result of that comparison is the DNA profile is approximately 11 times more likely if Margaret Murdoch and an unidentified, unrelated individual contributed to the mixture than if Margaret Murdaugh and CB Rowe contributed to the mixture. She explains this is a result in support of that second scenario, not the first scenario like the others discussed. She further explains that she could not visibly exclude Rowe. The result supported that contributors were Maggie Murdaugh and an unknown, unrelated individual.
12:22 p.m. EST – Zapata is now reviewing swabs collected from the steering wheel of Murdaugh’s Suburban.
12:06 p.m. EST – The analysis of the shotgun shells showed Paul Murdaugh as contributor to DNA profile. Swabs from the feed room door were analyzed and Zapata states her testing indicated it was a single source DNA profile of Paul Murdaugh.
12:00 p.m. EST – Zapata states she received 24 buccal swabs for comparison in the Murdaugh case. She’s counting to be sure. Zapata explains the process they utilize to process buccal swabs.
11:57 a.m. EST – Goude asks Zapata if there are occasions where they are unable to make comparisons to specific individuals. She explains that if there are individuals that are related, and maybe the DNA profile that we’re comparing them to is lower level, they can’t distinguish between them. In these instances, they won’t make comparisons.
11:46 a.m. EST – Zapata explains that personal hygiene habits can affect how much DNA a person leaves behind. She states that if you’ve just washed your hands there may not be as many skin cells left behind.
11:36 a.m. EST – Court has resumed. The State calls Sarah Zapata to the stand. Zapata is a DNA analyst with SLED.
11:16 a.m. EST – Judge Newman has called a 10 minute recess.
11:14 a.m. EST – If an item comes to Nguyen that tests presumptively positive, she states it comes to her for additional confirmatory testing. No further questions from the defense or the State.
11:07 a.m. EST – Nguyen tells Barber that she collected Maggie and Paul’s fingernail cuttings, but did not test their clothing.
11:00 a.m. EST – Savanna Goude has completed direct examination of Rachel Nguyen. Phil Barber is conducting cross examination for the defense. He begins by asking Nguyen about the processing of the .300 Blackout cartridges. She confirms there were six processed.
10:53 a.m. EST – I’ve embedded the DNA reports from SLED which were included in the motion to exclude filed by the defense on November 23, 2022.
10:40 a.m. EST – Nguyen testifies that a swab taken from a steering wheel tested positive for blood. It was also sent on for additional analysis. Fingernail clippings from both Paul and Maggie Murdaugh are entered into evidence.
10:30 a.m. EST – A presumptive test for blood taken from a camouflage Benelli was positive. It was sent on to another lab for additional analysis.
10:25 a.m. EST – Two fired shotgun shells submitted to the laboratory for processing for touch DNA are admitted into evidence.
10:16 a.m. EST – The State calls Rachel Nguyen to the stand. Nguyen works for SLED as a forensic scientist in the DNA laboratory. She details her job responsibilities for the court along with her training and educational background. Nguyen is certified as an expert in forensic serology.
‘10:09 a.m. EST – The jury is being brought into the courtroom. The State calls Ryan Kelly to the stand. Kelly is a Senior Special Agent with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Kelly confirms buccal swabs taken of Renee Beach, Robin Beach, Phillip Beach, John Marvin Murdaugh, Michael List, Ronald Freeman, and Curtis Eddie Smith. He describes the process for collecting DNA utilizing buccal swabs. The State moves to admit these into evidence with no objections. The State has no further questions. The defense has no questions.
10:06 a.m. EST – Harpootlian tells the court that they will need time to have their experts review the data the State received from GM. Judge Newman states that it is an unexpected witness and agrees that the defense should have adequate time to prepare.
10:01 a.m. EST – Waters states that GM has provided additional data from Murdaugh’s car. Waters spoke with Jim Griffin over the weekend. Dick Harpootlian states there is a massive amount of data and they are going through it. The data shows car speed, GPS as well as additional data that can be helpful.
9:57 a.m. EST – Both Waters and Harpootlian would like to limit the audience in the courtroom as a preventative measure as well as request attendees wear a mask. Judge Newman states he cannot order social distancing with the jurors and will not require masks, but is encouraging those in the courtroom to wear them.
9:51 a.m. EST – Creighton Waters states he has the same concern as the defense. Harpootlian asks Judge Newman for a mask. Judge Newman says they have 3 alternates left and need 12 to deliberate. Judge Newman suggests the clerk draw from the alternates to determine who will become a member of the regular panel with no objections. Juror number 441 and 326 will become members of the regular panel.
9:47 a.m. EST – Court has resumed. Judge Newman states two jurors have tested positive for Covid. They will not be able to continue. Two alternates will be moved to the regular panel. Dick Harpootlian states his concern is that symptoms don’t show up for five days and wants to discuss delaying the trial. Harpootlian states a doctor has come into test the jurors today and will come back on Wednesday to testing. The jurors will be wearing a mask and Newman recommends that everyone wear a mask.
8:05 a.m. EST – Courtesy of the amazing Brandi Churchwell here is a timeline based on evidence introduced at the trial thus far that has been drawing tons of attention on social media. Brandi is planning on releasing an updated one soon … so be on the lookout for that!
(Click to View)
7:38 a.m. EST – In case you missed it, here was our founding editor Will Folks‘ take on that Fox News report about the accommodations of Alex Murdaugh’s attorneys …
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6 comments
If they’d vaxxed the jurors first then they wouldn’t have caught the COVID, just saying.
Are you a physician or a virologist?
If Dickey Poo had COVID at the end of December, would he not still have antibodies? He is pulling out all the stops to get a mistrial.
Paul’s video and the other cell phone evidence seals the deal! He did it. He is a demon in a man’s body. He was angry Paul got him caught up in the financial parts bc of the boat accident. He couldn’t stand thinking of his wife with someone else while he (alex) was rotting in prison. The s.o.b. deserves to be sent down the road the same stops as the ones he sent down the same road!
This was confusing…
Dick made such a big deal about masks….they why is Dick not wearing his mask. Dick. If they were all vaxxed before the hearing they possibly would “die suddenly” and we wouldn’t have a jury…idiot. He did it, this is waste of everyone’s time including my own.