The video above will play a live video stream of the Monday, Feb. 27 proceedings in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial or a replay upon completion.
After five weeks of often tedious and grueling testimony from more than 70 witness in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial, the Colleton County jury will be taking a field trip this week – to the scene of the crime, Moselle, where Murdaugh’s wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, were graphically gunned down on June 7, 2021.
Over the State’s objections – due to the amount of time that has passed since the killings and the crime scene becoming overgrown or changed in some way – Judge Clifton Newman granted Murdaugh attorney Richard Harpootlian’s request for the visit. However, jurors and attorneys will only be allowed to visit the dog kennels where the shootings occurred, and not the primary residence or other areas.
Law enforcement officers will be on hand to secure the scene, primarily because large numbers of curious people following the case have been visiting the area during the trial and trespassing or taking “selfies.”
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It is unclear in what capacity the media will be allowed to cover the jury’s trek to the crime scene. That is pending further information and decision from the court, said Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill. She said she hoped to know more in the afternoon.
As Murdaugh faces life in prison without parole in the double murder case, which is now in its sixth week, it is unclear when that field trip will occur, however. The defense has one more witness to call after the lunch break Monday, and then expects to rest. After that, the state has roughly 4-5 rebuttal witnesses. Closing arguments could begin Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning – following the site visit – with the jury possibly deliberating by weeks’ end.
Alex Murdaugh’s brother, John Marvin Murdaugh, takes witness stand for defense
On Monday, Feb. 27, John Marvin Murdaugh, brother of Alex Murdaugh took the witness stand for the defense.
John Marvin Murdaugh described going to the double murder scene and cleaning the crime scene.
“We were just in disbelief,” he said. “I had to do it (clean the crime scene) for Paul.”
Check back for updates from Monday’s proceedings.
Alex Murdaugh’s experts say “two shooters” used execution style blasts
Murdaugh’s defense called two paid, expert witnesses to counter previous testimony from the state – and not surprisingly both offered opinions that differed from the State’s witnesses.
Dr. Jonathan Eisenstat, an expert in forensic pathology, disputed the accuracy of Colleton County Coroner Richard Harvey’s estimated time of death and testified Monday morning that Paul and Maggie were not killed in the exact manner in which two of the State’s experts said – but rather they were shot execution style in point blank range or contact blasts to the skull.
Eisenstat also testified that whoever shot Paul pressed the gun barrel into his skull and would have been covered with blood spatter and biological material, but he did admit that the Maggie’s shooter could have been much taller than she was.
Cross examination revealed that Eisenstat did not perform any direct testing on the bodies but relied on evidence and documents provided by the defense – while getting paid more than $10,000 for only two days in the courtroom.
Tim Palmbach, an expert in crime scene and blood spatter analysis, along with shooting incident reconstruction, echoed Eisenstat’s findings in every way – then took it a step further by theorizing that two shooters killed Paul and Maggie. He stated that the blow to Paul’s head would have actually stunned the shooter and perhaps even injured him by flying matter – rendering him unable to quickly kill the second victim, at least temporarily.
“The totality of the evidence suggests a two-shooter scenario,” said Palmback. “Why would one shooter bring two long weapons to an event?”
Cross examination raised the question of why crime scene evidence, such as the lack of shotgun pellets in the bottom of the dog kennel feed room door behind the victim, Paul, did not support his theory.
Court is expected to resume at 2:45 p.m. with the defense’s final witness.
Check back for updates from Monday’s proceedings.
Alex Murdaugh murder trial: The State’s evidence likely to impact the Colleton County jury
What evidence will have an impact on the Colleton County jury in the Alex Murdaugh trial, and will it stick? What is the State’s most powerful evidence?
Here’s Michael DeWitt’s analysis of what may transpire this week in court.
Witness list in the Alex Murdaugh trial
Murdaugh is now one of the dozens of people to take the witness stand in this case.
The parade of witnesses that have already taken the stand and could still potentially take it ranges from investigators with different South Carolina police departments to Alex Murdaugh’s still-living son, Buster. Testimony from those witnesses was on hold Friday morning as Judge Clifton Newman heard arguments and debated whether to allow evidence of the former South Carolina attorney’s alleged financial crimes and other “bad acts” as motive in the deaths of Murdaugh’s wife, Maggie, and son, Paul.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Murdaugh trial live stream, updates: Week 6 begins with final witnesses
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