Alex Murdaugh murder trial live updates: Court to resume at 9:30 Thursday with cross of FBI expert
The video at the top of the story will show a live feed of today's proceedings or a replay upon completion.
Day 13 of the double murder trial for disgraced and disbarred South Carolina attorney Richard "Alex" Murdaugh continues today at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, part of the 14th Judicial Circuit where Murdaugh's ancestors once held legal power for 85-plus years as solicitors.
Murdaugh, the fourth generation of a legal dynasty in Hampton County, is charged with shooting to death his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, at their Colleton County home on June 7, 2021. After a verdict is reached on those charges, Murdaugh, jailed in the state capital on a $7 million bond, must then stand trial on roughly 100 financial and drug-related charges.
Check back for updates throughout the day.
Here is the latest:
Court to resume at 9:30 a.m. Thursday with cross of FBI expert
Court adjourned at roughly 4:35 p.m. Wednesday, and will reconvene at 9:30 a.m. Thursday with the cross examination of FBI expert Falkofske by Murdaugh defense attorney Phil Barber.
State retrieves Murdaugh's vehicle data; FBI analyst testifies
After court resumed Wednesday afternoon, testimony got technical with statements from SLED forensics expert Brian Hudak and Dwight Falkofske with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Hudak testified that he helped retrieve the entertainment system and OnStar module from Murdaugh's 2021 Chevy Suburban, the vehicle that Murdaugh was driving on the night of the murders.
Falkofske, an electronics engineer and automotive forensic specialist in the FBI's electronic device analysis until, testified about the FBI's analysis of this data.
Because the devices were encrypted, it took the FBI roughly a year to decode and analyze it. Not location data was salvageable, but call log data was available and Falkofske was able to determine when the vehicle was placed in and out of park, and other details of its movements.
The analysis showed that the vehicle's entertainment center became active around 9:04 p.m. on June 7, 2021, and the vehicle was cranked and taken out of gear around 9:06 p.m. - roughly 16 minutes after investigators believe Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were killed. The vehicle was placed in and out of gear several times between then and 10:05 p.m. The vehicle was placed in park at 9:22 and taken out of park at 9:43 - which could possibly be when Murdaugh said he visited his mother in Almeda.
Murdaugh called 911 at 10:07 p.m. to report finding the bodies.
Colleton County Courthouse evacuated during middle of murder trial
UPDATE: Court resumed around 3:07 p.m. Wednesday, after law enforcement cleared the building.
Around 12:27 p.m., Judge Clifton Newman ordered that the courtroom be evacuated for unknown reasons, until possibly 2:30 p.m.
Sources at the scene have told journalists that it is a possible bomb threat, but that is unconfirmed at this time.
There are several student groups in attendance for field trips in today's session.
Murdaugh rehab text regrets hurting 'ones he loved the most'
During Griswold's testimony, lead prosecutor Waters entered into evidence a text from Murdaugh to Griswold that was sent after the murders and Murdaugh's initial arrests - texts that were sent while the disgraced lawyer was in drug rehab.
The text read, in part: "The worst part is, I did the most damage to the ones I love the most."
Following Murdaugh's termination from his family's law firm in September 2021, Murdaugh had issued a statement admitting a long-time opioid addiction. Later, amid his financial crime indictments, he was also charged in a multi-county drug trafficking scheme.
Following Griswold's testimony, Michael Gunn, a principle founder of Forge Consulting, testified that Murdaugh's alleged "fake Forge" activities were not legitimate, nor where they associated with his Forge operations - adding more names in the financial-crime-motive coffin put forward by the state.
Murdaugh's paralegal is 4th witness to identify his voice in Paul's video
On Wednesday, Griswold became the fourth witness to identify Murdaugh's voice on a cell phone video taken by his murdered son, Paul, right before he was killed.
The video, uploaded around 8:40 p.m. on the night of the murders, has three voices in the background. Griswold said she as "100 percent positive" that one of the voices on the video was Murdaugh's, despite the claim from the defendant that he was not there at the time of the murders. Prosecutors and investigators believe that Paul and Maggie were shot around 8:50 that night.
Previously, Murdaugh's longtime law partner, Ronnie Crosby, and two of Paul Murdaugh's friends, also identified his voice in the video.
Paralegal feared retaliation, described Murdaugh as 'Tasmanian Devil'
Murdaugh's primary paralegal, Annette Griswold, who helped bring his alleged financial crimes to light, described the fear of retaliation and gave the court an insight into Murdaugh's "Tasmanian Devil" personality.
While pondering on whether to bring her suspicions about Murdaugh's alleged wrongdoing to senior law firm officials at the PMPED firm in Hampton, her daughter advised her to "get her resume ready. Once you turn this in, they are going to fire you."
Griswold described Murdaugh as "intelligent" about the law, but erratic in his work habits. "He like to float in in the late mornings, early afternoon."
She also stated that it was a running joke among the staff that Murdaugh was a "Tasmanian Devil," who came into the office "spinning" through, shouting everyone's name. But that demeanor changed after the killings, and Murdaugh seemed to have his "ass on his shoulders" and would shout at staff in anger.
PMPED paralegal describes Murdaugh's alleged stealing, lies, coverups
Murdaugh's former paralegal, Annette Griswold, took the stand mid-morning Wednesday to describe Murdaugh's efforts in allegedly using a fake "Forge" account to steal millions from his family law firm and multiple clients. The state has contended that Murdaugh killed his family in an effort to distract from his financial crimes, and buy time and sympathy.
Griswold described how Murdaugh gave her specific instructions to use "Forge," a fake account, and not "Forge Consulting," a legitimate firm, when making out checks and disbursements. When questioned by her about it, Murdaugh lied and told her it was basically a sub-account, like a savings account, for Forge Consulting.
"I was just trying to go along with it, because I thought it was valid," said Griswold.
Attorney fees and client fees were then routed to the "fake Forge" account, she said, and ultimately stolen by Murdaugh. Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters went over several case examples of Murdaugh's alleged financial crimes with Griswold, which were entered into state's evidence.
But, just before June 7, 2021, when the murders occurred, Murdaugh's actions began throwing up "yellow flags" for Griswold, who grew suspicious enough to bring his actions to the attention of the law firm's CFO, Jeannie Seckinger, who testified Tuesday. Seckinger confronted Murdaugh about missing legal fees on the morning of the killings.
She also testified that she and Seckinger were on "high alert" that something was wrong with Murdaugh and his actions in the days leading up to the murders, and added detailed testimony about missing fees in a product liability case involving Mack Trucks that was handled by Murdaugh and Bamberg attorney Chris Wilson - the case Seckinger confronted Murdaugh about on the day of the murders.
Murdaugh defense questions GSR results, which can last for years
During cross examination questioning of SLED gunshot forensics expert Megan Fletcher, Murdaugh defense attorney Jim Griffin questioned whether small amounts of GSR implicated Murdaugh in any wrongdoing, or of being in the vicinity of a fired weapon.
Upon questioning, Fletcher confirmed that the small amounts of GSR on Murdaugh's hands, clothing and seatbelt could likely have come from transfer contact with a firearm, and not actually shooting a firearm. Murdaugh had a weapon in his possession for protection when police arrived that night, and it was taken into evidence and is not believed to be one of the murder weapons.
Griffin's line of questioning also brought forth the fact that GSR particles can last for years on inanimate objects such as a rain jacket, unless they are brushed off or washed off. Fletcher agreed that GSR could have been transferred to the blue raincoat at almost any time prior to the killings. Fletcher also testified that she didn't know when any of the GSR particles were transferred to any of the items in evidence.
Griffin also questioned the witness as to why a blue tarp found in Murdaugh's mother's home was not tested, or why she didn't test the blue raincoat for fingerprints. There was earlier debate on whether or not a previous witness saw a blue raincoat or a blue tarp.
Griffin further questioned why the blue tarp, also found at his mother's Almeda home, wasn't tested for GSR.
During redirect, Assistant Attorney General John Meadors confirmed with Fletcher that the high levels of GSR on the raincoat could have rubbed off from a recently fired firearm, such as a potential murder weapon.
Fletcher added detail to her earlier testimony, stating that the raincoat was a size "Large," and that the entire garment had 52 confirmed particles of GSR on it upon testing - 38 on the inside and 14 on the outside.
Murdaugh defense to 'fire back' at gunshot residue results, testimony
When court resumes at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Murdaugh defense attorney Jim Griffin is expected to fire back at evidence and testimony from S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED) Trace Evidence Analyst and forensics expert Megan Fletcher.
On Tuesday, Fletcher testified that small amounts of gunshot primer residue, commonly called GSR, were found on Murdaugh's hands and his vehicle's seatbelt, as well as on the shirt and shorts he was wearing when police arrived at the murder scene. Murdaugh had called 911 around 10:07 that night to report that he had found the bodies. Fletcher also testified that a "significant amount" of GSR was found on a raincoat seized from Murdaugh's mother's home near Varnville much later.
The raincoat evidence will likely be strongly disputed by Griffin in cross, because a witness testified that roughly a week after the killings she saw Murdaugh carrying a "blue vinyl" object into his mother's home, but could not positively ID it as a raincoat. The defense will try to establish doubt that there is any connection between Murdaugh and that raincoat.
Griffin will also likely question the GSR on Murdaugh's hands and clothes by pointing out that the suspect told police he went to his residence to grab a shotgun and defend himself in the event the shooter was still on the property. Police arrived and found Murdaugh with the shotgun and took it into evidence. Fletcher had also testified that it is possible for a person to get trace amounts of GSR on their hands just by touching a firearm, and not firing it.
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This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Alex Murdaugh trial live updates: Get the latest from courtroom
