Alex Murdaugh trial – live: Bombshell call reveals Murdaugh confessing to ‘side of road’ shooting plot

After a dramatic u-turn by the judge, jurors in Alex Murdaugh’s double-murder trial finally heard testimony about the bizarre September 2021 roadside shooting.

Three months after the murders of his wife and son, Murdaugh claimed he was ambushed and shot in the head in a drive-by shooting.

Jurors heard the 911 call Murdaugh made, his hospital interview with police, and a phone call with investigators a few days later, which he made from a rehab facility.

In the phone interview, Mr Murdaugh confessed he had in fact orchestrated the entire botched hitman plot with Curtis “Cousin Eddie” Smith so his surviving son Buster would inherit a $10m life insurance windfall. He also dismissed any drug connection with the murders of Maggie and Paul on 7 June 2021 in Islandton, South Carolina.

Also on Thursday, the court heard gripping testimony from a crime scene expert who recreated the details of the brutal murders.

Physically assisted by the lead prosecutor, Dr Kenny Kinsey showed the court the angles at which Murdaugh’s son and wife were shot at close range by the family’s dog kennels. He also revealed the likely cause for a tread mark on Maggie’s calf.

Watch the Alex Murdaugh double-murder trial LIVE

Alex Murdaugh murder trial

• Alex Murdaugh trial shown sketch of fake shooter in failed hitman plot

• Alex Murdaugh trial hears bizarre 911 call after botched hitman plot

• Alex Murdaugh trial: Killer ambushed son and shot wife as she fled

• Moment Murdaugh is asked by police if he killed wife and son

• Court hears Murdaugh was spending $50,000 a week on drug habit

• Murdaugh police interview exposes wild inconsistencies between his alibi and witness accounts

15:00 , Oliver O'Connell

There is a moment of levity and a ripple of laughter across the court as Kelly says that some of the best confessions he’s received were from defence attorneys.

“Not this defence attorney,” counters Harpootlian.

The defence strategy might be to establish that Murdaugh was badly wounded and then very cooperative.

Cross-examination ends.

14:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Through this somewhat hostile back and forth, Harpootlian establishes that Murdaugh reached out proactively to confess to orchestrating the roadside shooting incident and making up the story about an unknown assailant.

He was brought back to South Carolina from rehab and taken into custody.

14:53 , Oliver O'Connell

Defence attorney Dick Harpootlian begins by questioning Kelly about the wounds suffered by Murdaugh after the roadside shooting.

Kelly says he is not a doctor but agrees he told the family that Murdaugh had been shot in the head and states he has never denied that.

The tone of the questioning is combative. Harpootlian is picking at every detail and Kelly making him work for every point of fact.

At one point, Judge Newman reprimands Harpootlian, reminding him that he cannot testify.

Court resumes

14:38 , Oliver O'Connell

The trial resumes for what is expected to be the final day of the presentation of the prosecution’s case against Murdaugh.

Judge Clifton Newman presiding. Agent Ryan Kelly is on the witness stand and will be cross-examined by the defence team regarding the alleged botched roadside hitman job targetting Murdaugh, that he has admitted setting up.

The jury is brought in.

Watch the Alex Murdaugh double-murder trial LIVE

14:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Day 20: What to expect in court today

14:00 , Rachel Sharp

The trial will resume at 9.30am ET on Friday.

The day will begin with the cross-examination of SLED Senior Special Agent Ryan Kelly.

Alex Murdaugh’s defence attorney Dick Harpootlian told the court it would be a lengthy cross so it was postponed until today because the trial had a hard stop at 4.30pm ET on Thursday,

Agent Kelly testified about the bizarre September 2021 roadside shooting of Mr Murdaugh.

On 4 September 2021 – three months on from the murders – the disgraced attorney was ambushed in what he initially claimed was a drive-by shooting along a road in Hampton County. He checked into rehab the following day, announcing that he was struggling with a 20-year opioid addiction and that he had resigned from his law firm PMPED.

But, Mr Murdaugh’s story about the roadside shooting soon unravelled and he confessed to law enforcement that he had orchestrated the saga, paying Curtis Eddie Smith to shoot and kill him in an assisted suicide plot so that his surviving son Buster could get a $10m life insurance windfall.

Both Mr Smith and Mr Murdaugh were then arrested and charged over the incident.

On Thursday, jurors heard both the 911 call and a hospital police interview in which Mr Murdaugh lied that he had been ambushed and shot.

Then, jurors heard his 13 September 2021 police interview where he confessed to orchestrating the entire plot.

Prosecutors are likely to rest – or be close to resting – their case in court today.

WATCH: Moment Alex Murdaugh claims he was shot by gunman on side of the road

13:45 , Rachel Sharp

In court on Thursday, jurors heard a hospital police interview on 4 September 2021 in which Alex Murdaugh lied that he had been ambushed and shot.

That day – three months on from the murders – the disgraced attorney called 911 claiming he was shot in a drive-by shooting along a road in Hampton County.

But, Mr Murdaugh’s story about the roadside shooting soon unravelled and he confessed to law enforcement that he had orchestrated the saga, paying Curtis Eddie Smith to shoot and kill him in an assisted suicide plot so that his surviving son Buster could get a $10m life insurance windfall.

Listen below to the fake account Mr Murdaugh gave to police as he was being treated for a “superficial” wound to the head:

RECAP Day 19: Murdaugh grimaces as trial hears his bizarre 911 call after being shot in the head

13:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A visibly uncomfortable Alex Murdaugh grimaced as prosecutors played his 911 call after he was shot in a botched assisted suicide plot.

On the nineteenth day of Mr Murdaugh’s trial, juries heard a bizarre call he made to 911 dispatchers moments after being shot in the head on the side of a road in Hampton County in September 2021. The shooting happened nearly three months after his son Paul and wife Maggie Murdaugh’s murders, which Mr Murdaugh is now accused of perpetrating to distract from his many financial and legal troubles.

Mr Murdaugh initially claimed he was ambushed in the drive-by shooting while changing a tyre on his vehicle but soon after admitted to conspiring to pay a hitman to shoot him dead so that his surviving son Buster would inherit a $10m life insurance windfall.

Andrea Blanco reports on Thursday’s bizarre revelations.

Alex Murdaugh reacts to trial hearing his 911 call after being shot in the head

RECAP Day 19: Murdaugh’s detailed sketch of fake shooter in botched hitman plot exposed at trial

13:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury in Alex Murdaugh’s trial has finally been presented with evidence of his botched hitman plot months after the murders of his wife and son - including a sketch of the nonexistent man he claimed shot him.

SLED Senior Special Agent Ryan Kelly was called by the prosecution on Thursday to testify about the day Mr Murdaugh was shot in the head on the side of a road in Hampton County on 4 September 2021.

Jurors heard the 911 call in which Mr Murdaugh claimed he was ambushed in a drive-by shooting while he was changing a tire on his vehicle.

Megan Sheets has the story.

Alex Murdaugh’s detailed sketch of fake shooter in botched hitman plot revealed

RECAP Day 19: Murdaugh trial hears how killer ambushed Paul before shooting Maggie

13:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh allegedly ambushed his son Paul in the feeding room of the family’s dog kennels before turning on his wife Maggie who tried to flee only to be shot and killed on her knees, according to chilling testimony from a top crime scene expert.

Dr Kenny Kinsey, an Orangeburg County sheriff’s deputy and crime scene expert, gave graphic testimony in the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina on Thursday, where he walked jurors through each moment of the horrific 7 June 2021 attack.

Rachel Sharp has the details.

Alex Murdaugh trial hears killer ambushed Paul before shooting Maggie on her knees

Murders, million-dollar fraud and mystery deaths: The story of Alex Murdaugh’s spectacular fall from grace

12:45 , Rachel Sharp

On the surface, Alex Murdaugh had it all.

He was a high-powered attorney who ran both his own law firm and worked in the local prosecutor’s office.

He was the son of a powerful legal dynasty that dominated the local South Carolina community for almost a century.

And he was a family man who lived with his wife and two adult sons on their sprawling country estate.

But over the last 20 months, Mr Murdaugh has experienced a spectacular fall from grace, culminating in what has been described as the “trial of the century” now taking place in a courtroom in Walterboro, South Carolina.

The brutal double murder of his wife and son is far from the only twist in a bizarre and sprawling tale of unexplained deaths, hitman plots and multi-million-dollar fraud schemes.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp reports:

Alex Murdaugh trial: Story of the legal scion’s spectacular fall from grace

Alex Murdaugh’s alibi vs Evidence: Why Maggie and Paul were at Moselle that night

12:30 , Rachel Sharp

In an 11 August 2021 interview with police, played in court this week, inconsistencies were revealed in Alex Murdaugh’s account of why Maggie was even at the Moselle estate that day.

The accused killer claimed that he wasn’t expecting his wife home but that he later learned she had come to the property because she was worried about him.

“Maggie wasn’t supposed to come home. I’ve since found out she was worried about me and worried about my dad and so she came home,” he said.

“That wasn’t 100 per cent but it was pretty well [known] that she was going to stay at Edisto.”

When asked if he was surprised, he said that she had let him know earlier in the day but said he only learned her reason “why” after the murders.

During testimony from the Murdaugh’s longtime housekeeper and friend Blanca Simpson, jurors heard that Mr Murdaugh had insisted both Maggie and Paul come to the property at Moselle.

Phone calls and text messages between Ms Simpson and Maggie were presented in court, with Ms Simpson saying that Maggie texted her saying: “Alex wants me to come home.”

Maggie liked being at the family beach house in Edisto and had been preparing to host a big July 4 gathering there, Ms Simpson said.

In a phone conversation, Maggie also mentioned that Mr Murdaugh wanted her to come to Moselle that day and she seemed a bit “disappointed”, the housekeeper said.

“She sounded like she didn’t want to come home... she sounded like she was a little disappointed,” she said.

Mr Murdaugh had also asked Paul to come home because he wanted his son to “fix” something on the property, Ms Simpson testified.

Alex Murdaugh’s alibi vs Evidence: Paul’s cellphone video

12:15 , Rachel Sharp

In an 11 August 2021 interview with police, played in court this week, Alex Murdaugh told investigators that he did not go to the dog kennels after having dinner with Maggie and Paul and before visiting his mother.

This statement contradicts bombshell cellphone footage retrieved from Paul’s phone.

The footage, taken by Paul at the dog kennels just minutes before he and Maggie were shot dead, captures three voices off camera.

Cellphone data shows it was recorded for 58 seconds from 8.44.49pm to 8.45.47pm – less than five minutes before prosecutors say the murders unfolded at 8.50pm.

Multiple witnesses – including two of Paul’s best friends and Mr Murdaugh’s longtime friends – have testified at trial that they are “100 per cent sure” that the three voices belong to Paul, Maggie and Mr Murdaugh.

Agent Owen brought up the video in the August interview, telling Mr Murdaugh “you were heard in the background”.

Mr Murdaugh said that he had heard about the video from Paul’s friend Rogan Gibson who asked him if he had been at the kennels.

When asked if it was him in the video, he said: “No sir... not if my times are right.”

Asked who could be, he said he had “no idea” and said he was surprised that Mr Gibson – who was very close with the family – thought it was his voice.

Alex Murdaugh’s alibi vs Evidence: Visit to sick mother

12:00 , Rachel Sharp

In an 11 August 2021 interview with police, played in court this week, Alex Murdaugh claimed he had spent 45 minutes to an hour at his sick mother’s house that night – a timeline that has been refuted by both car data and testimony from his mother’s carer.

Mr Murdaugh told the officers that he had dinner with Maggie and Paul and then “dozed off” on the couch.

When he woke, he said he went to check on his mother, because she has Alzheimer’s and his father was in hospital. He said he would visit his mother “all times of the day”.

Mr Murdaugh said he did not check with Maggie if she wanted to come with him.

Alex Murdaugh seen in bodycam footage on night of murders

“I don’t remember having plans that Maggie was going to arrive with me but maybe she told me she was that night,” he said.

“I don’t remember that specfically... but she didn’t normally go with me...it’s not like we had plans that she was going to ride with me.”

He then claimed that he stayed at his parents’ home for around 45 minutes to one hour and said that he didn’t stop anywhere to or from the visit.

“No I didn’t go anywhere... I went straight,” he said.

Last week, Muschelle “Shelly” Smith, who worked as a caregiver to Mr Murdaugh’s mother Libby, testified that a “fidgety” Mr Murdaugh showed up at his sick mother’s house sometime between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on the night of the murders. She said it was unusual for him to visit at that time.

She said he stayed only around 20 minutes – but then later told her to tell police he had been there double that time.

“I was here 30 to 40 minutes,” she said he told her days later in a conversation that left her feeling “nervous”.

Mr Murdaugh later offered “to help her out” with paying for her upcoming wedding and putting in a good word for her with her other job, she said.

Data taken from Mr Murdaugh’s SUV also indicates that Mr Murdaugh did leave his family home and drove to visit his sick mother at around 9.06pm, arriving at 9.22pm.

The records suggest he only stayed at his parents’ home for 21 minutes, leaving again at 9.43pm and arriving at Moselle at around 10pm. He called 911 at 10.06pm.

WATCH: Moment Alex Murdaugh is first asked if he killed wife and son

11:40 , Rachel Sharp

Newly-released footage has revealed the dramatic moment that Alex Murdaugh was first confronted by law enforcement about allegedly killing his wife and son.

Footage of a police interview with the disgraced legal dynasty heir was shown for the first time in Colleton County Courthouse on Wednesday as the prosecution nears the end of its case in his double murder trial.

The interview was Mr Murdaugh’s third since the 7 June 2021 murders – and came two months on from the slayings on 11 August 2021.

In a bombshell moment, SLED Special Agent David Owen asked Mr Murdaugh outright if he had murdered his wife Maggie and son Paul.

WATCH BELOW:

New Alex Murdaugh police interview exposes wild inconsistencies in his alibi and witness accounts

11:20 , Rachel Sharp

Dramatic footage has revealed Alex Murdaugh being confronted by law enforcement about wild inconsistencies in his alibi in a police interview two months on from the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul.

Footage of the 11 August 2021 interview with Mr Murdaugh was played in court on Wednesday as the prosecution nears the end of its case in the disgraced legal scion’s double murder trial in Colleton County, South Carolina.

In the interview, which has never been seen before, the discrepancies between Mr Murdaugh’s version of events on the night of 7 June 2021 and the trove of evidence and witness testimony revealed at his murder trial was laid bare.

Among the inconsistencies were: how long Mr Murdaugh spent at his mother’s home that night; whether or not he went to the dog kennels; the different clothes he was wearing; the timeline of when he was at his law firm; and the reason Maggie had gone to the family estate that day.

“It wasn’t one inconsistency. It was several inconsistencies within a period of time that were repeated,” SLED Special Agent David Owen testified, adding that Mr Murdaugh was “the only known suspect at that time”.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp delves into the many inconsistencies:

Alex Murdaugh police interview exposes wild inconsistencies in alibi

Who are the key players in the Murdaugh murders trial?

10:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Rachel Sharp explains who is who in the trial gripping South Carolina.

Who are the key players in Alex Murdaugh murder trial?

Murdaugh trial shown new crime scene photos as dog caretaker describes kennels on odd state

08:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A man who took care of the dogs at Alex Murdaugh’s property has testified about strange details in crime scene photos at the disgraced legal scion’s murder trial.

Roger Dale Davis, who handled Mr Murdaughs’ dog kennels in the sprawling property of Moselle in Islandton, South Carolina, was called by the state to testify on Tuesday at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro.

Andrea Blanco reports.

Alex Murdaugh trial shown new crime scene photos as dog caretaker testifies

Murdaugh spent $50,000 a week on drugs

06:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh spent a staggering $50,000 a week on drugs which he was buying from the man accused of being his co-conspirator in a botched hitman plot, jurors heard in dramatic courtroom testimony on Wednesday.

Defence attorney Jim Griffin brought up Mr Murdaugh’s pricey opioids habit during cross-examination of SLED Special Agent David Owen – the lead investigator in the brutal murders of Mr Murdaugh’s wife Maggie and son Paul.

Mr Griffin claimed that the disgraced attorney was buying $50,000 worth of drugs each week from Curtis Edward Smith, infamously known as “Cousin Eddie”.

Rachel Sharp has the details.

Alex Murdaugh spent $50,000 a week on drugs before wife and son’s murders

Prosecution and defence score wins in testimony of lead investigator

04:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A crime scene expert testified about where the shots were fired at the wife and son of Alex Murdaugh and in what order during Thursday’s testimony at the disgraced South Carolina attorney’s double murder trial.

Kenny Kinsey also told jurors that a mark on 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh’s thigh appeared to be a tread from a golf cart tire that she fell on after she was shot near dog kennels on the family’s property. Defense lawyers had asked several witnesses about the blemish and whether it could be a mark from a shoe.

Read on:

Prosecution, defense get wins with Alex Murdaugh lead agent

‘Did you kill your wife and son?’

03:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Newly-released footage has revealed the dramatic moment that Alex Murdaugh was first confronted by law enforcement for the first time about allegedly killing his wife and son.

Footage of a police interview with the disgraced legal dynasty heir was shown for the first time in Colleton County Courthouse on Wednesday as the prosecution nears the end of its case in his double murder trial.

The interview was Mr Murdaugh’s third since the 7 June 2021 murders – and came two months on from the slayings on 11 August 2021.

Rachel Sharp has the details.

Dramatic moment Alex Murdaugh is first asked by police if he killed his wife and son

Key revelations from the Alex Murdaugh murder trial, so far...

02:15 , Oliver O'Connell

It’s a dramatic saga that now includes murder, a botched hitman plot, multi-million-dollar fraud schemes and a series of unexplained deaths.

The now-disbarred attorney denies the allegations and has pleaded not guilty.

Mr Murdaugh’s trial got underway at Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro on 23 January.

The prosecution is expected to wrap up its case this week (week of 13 February) before the defence begins its own case, where Mr Murdaugh is expected to take the stand.

Here are the key revelations from the trial so far:

‘Confession’, bloody scene and ‘clean’ shirt: Key moments from Alex Murdaugh trial

Why was the bizarre hitman plot allowed as evidence?

01:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Rachel Sharp explains.

Alex Murdaugh’s botched hitman plot can be presented at trial, judge says in reversal

Murdaugh’s detailed sketch of fake shooter in botched hitman plot exposed at trial

00:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury in Alex Murdaugh’s trial has finally been presented with evidence of his botched hitman plot months after the murders of his wife and son - including a sketch of the nonexistent man he claimed shot him.

Read on:

Alex Murdaugh’s detailed sketch of fake shooter in botched hitman plot revealed

Murdaugh grimaces as trial hears his bizarre 911 call after being shot in the head

Thursday 16 February 2023 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A visibly uncomfortable Alex Murdaugh grimaced as prosecutors played his 911 call after he was shot in a botched hitman plot.

On the nineteenth day of Mr Murdaugh’s trial, juries heard a bizarre call he made to 911 dispatchers moments after being shot in the head on 4 September 2021. The shooting happened nearly three months after his son Paul and wife Maggie Murdaugh’s murders, which Mr Murdaugh is now accused of perpetrating to distract from his many financial and legal troubles.

Mr Murdaugh initially claimed he was ambushed in the drive-by shooting while changing a tyre on his vehicle but soon after admitted to conspiring to pay a hitman to shoot him dead so that his surviving son Buster would inherit a $10m life insurance windfall.

Andrea Blanco reports on today in court.

Alex Murdaugh reacts to trial hearing his 911 call after being shot in the head

Murdaugh trial hears how killer ambushed Paul before shooting Maggie on her knees

Thursday 16 February 2023 22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh allegedly ambushed his son Paul in the feeding room of the family’s dog kennels before turning on his wife Maggie who tried to flee only to be shot and killed on her knees, according to chilling testimony from a top crime scene expert.

Dr Kenny Kinsey, an Orangeburg County sheriff’s deputy and crime scene expert, gave graphic testimony in the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina on Thursday, where he walked jurors through each moment of the horrific 7 June 2021 attack.

Rachel Sharp has the details.

Alex Murdaugh trial hears killer ambushed Paul before shooting Maggie on her knees

Cousin Eddie v Composite sketch

Thursday 16 February 2023 21:17 , Oliver O'Connell

Thursday 16 February 2023 21:07 , Oliver O'Connell

Court has a hard stop at 4.30pm today, so defence attorney Dick Harpootlian will forgo cross-examination until 9.30am tomorrow morning.

Court adjourns.

Thursday 16 February 2023 21:06 , Oliver O'Connell

The audio recording ends.

Agent Kelly is asked follow-up questions.

Waters establishes with Mr Kelly that Murdaugh never mentioned Eddie to SLED before confessing to arranging the roadside shooting.

Agent Kelly also says Murdaugh said there was no threat to Buster Murdaugh and denied that Eddie had anything to do with the June murders.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Agent Kelly finds it hard to believe he didn’t pay Eddie anything to shoot him.

“I’ll be honest, that doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Murdaugh replies: “I understand.”

Watch: Court listens to Murdaugh phone interview with SLED

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:54 , Oliver O'Connell

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:51 , Oliver O'Connell

Most germane to the double-murder case, Murdaugh says there is no threat to Buster and that he does not owe any money to drug dealers and there was no outstanding debt.

Griffin jumps in and says that that is assuming Eddie passed on all the money.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:47 , Oliver O'Connell

In an odd part of the interview, Harpootlian has to admit that the money Murdaugh was using was “not legitimately obtained”.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Agent Kelly takes over the questioning and asks how long he has known Eddie.

Murdaugh immediately apologises for lying to him at the hospital after the incident, saying he was in a bad place.

He says he’s known Eddie for years and would pay him in cash or check several times a week for pills.

Murdaugh explains the money came from the fake Forge account at Bank of America or the Palmetto State Bank accounts.

Asked where Eddie got the drugs, he says: “I was told he got them from a black guy in Walterboro. I was told that he has some connections in Beaufort.”

“I never saw those guys. I never dealt with those guys. So I don’t know.”

He also names someone called Kenny Hughes and Barbara Mixon, who worked for his mother.

Murdaugh also explains that the .38 revolver had come from his mother’s house.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:37 , Oliver O'Connell

Dick Harpootlian conducted the phone interview with Murdaugh as he sat with him on the phone with SLED Agent Kelly.

The interview ends with Murdaugh clarifying that his intent was for his son Buster to inherit from the life insurance.

Harpootlian appears surprised that Eddie didn’t try to talk him out of it.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:32 , Oliver O'Connell

Explaining who Eddie is, Murdaugh says he sometimes paid him $50k to $60k a week for pills.

He says he asked Eddie to meet him near his mother’s house.

“I told him that things were getting to be really bad and it would be better off if I was not here.”

“I asked him to shoot me,” said Murdaugh. “I think at first he was a little surprised.”

Eddie agreed Murdaugh said and he gave him a .38 revolver.

They drove out to Salkehatchie Road and Murdaugh punched a hole in his tire with the knife which he threw across the road.

He shot him in the very back of the head and Murdaugh says he lost his vision for a bit an was knocked down.

Murdaugh remembers one car stopping and trying to help him and one continued going by.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:27 , Oliver O'Connell

Harpootlian says on the recorded interview that they do not want to talk about what happened at Moselle or what happened with the finances.

Murdaugh tells the investigators that he had met with his friend Chris Wilson that morning and had spoken about everything — finances, pills, lies...

“I was in a very bad place. I thought it would be better for me not to be here anymore. I thought that it would make it easier on my family for me to be dead.”

“I had a fair amount of life insurance ... $10m or $12m.”

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:22 , Oliver O'Connell

Agent Kelly tried to set up an interview with Murdaugh via attorneys Harpootlian and Griffin.

He had entered into rehab in Atlanta.

Eventually, a phone interview was set up and carried out on 13 September 2021.

The interview is now being played to the jury.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:19 , Oliver O'Connell

Transaction slips from Cousin Eddie’s bank account show hundreds of thousands of dollars in deposits that were tied back to Murdaugh and dated up until 7 June 2021.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Having obtained surveillance footage from St John’s Baptist Church they began to look for a Blue Chevy with a gold front panel.

The car was observed outside of Cousin Eddie’s home where they also found narcotics and a sales ledger.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:12 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh was desperately trying to get access to his phone while in the hospital.

Agent Kelly testifies that he even tried to bribe nurses to let him use his phone.

Apparently, he got his phone and called Curtis Edward Smith. Investigators traced that phone number back to Cousin Eddie.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:11 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh was asked to work with a composite sketch artist to try and identify his alleged assailant.

He still did not know who it was.

Here’s the composite sketch:

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:04 , Oliver O'Connell

Examining the scene, officers found a small grey utility knife in the grass on the other side of the road.

There was no sign of debris in the road that Murdaugh claimed had caused his tire to go flat.

Murdaugh’s DNA and that of Curtis “Cousin Eddie” Smith were found on the knife.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Kelly describes the vehicle as a newer model dark blue Chevy pickup with sport tires.

The shooter he says was a “nice-looking” white male, aged 30-40 with facial hair and close-cropped hair.

He said he did not know the person but would recognise him again.

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:58 , Oliver O'Connell

The court is then shown bodycam footage from within the ambulance that responded.

Murdaugh is asked to help identify the vehicle of the person who stopped to help him as he is treated for what appears to be a small-caliber bullet wound.

Agent Kelly testifies that Murdaugh’s story was consistent each time he told it.

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:53 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumes and the jury is played Murdaugh’s 911 call from the roadside shooting incident.

"I got a flat tire and I stopped, someone stopped to help me and when I turned around they shot me."

In pictures: Kenneth Kinsey reconstructs how the gunshots hit Maggie and Paul

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Kelly testifies about the 911 call Murdaugh made that day.

There is a technical difficulty playing it, but he surmises that he informed the operator that he had been shot by a motorist who stopped to help him change a tire.

The jury is temporarily sent out of the room.

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:32 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Kelly is here to testify about the response to Murdaugh being shot at 1.36pm on 4 September 2021, on the side of the road in Hampton County.

When he responded he first went to Savannah Hospital where Murdaugh had been taken and then to the scene where he found the late Maggie Murdaugh’s black Mercedes SUV.

The vehicle had run-flat tires (a feature on certain types of tires in which they remain operable after a puncture). In this case, one tire had a small puncture mark on the side as if done with a blade.

New Witness: Senior Special Agent Ryan Kelly, SLED

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:28 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumes and the jury is brought back in.

Judge Newman clarifies why he appointed a jury foreperson before the break — not common practice in many states where the jury picks their leader. He says that juror does not have more influence than others.

Who’s who in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial

Thursday 16 February 2023 18:48 , Oliver O'Connell

Rachel Sharp explains who the key players in the case are:

Who are the key players in Alex Murdaugh murder trial?

Court hears Murdaugh spent $50,000 a week on drugs

Thursday 16 February 2023 18:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh spent a staggering $50,000 a week on drugs which he was buying from the man accused of being his co-conspirator in a botched hitman plot, jurors heard in dramatic courtroom testimony on Wednesday.

Defence attorney Jim Griffin brought up Mr Murdaugh’s pricey opioids habit during cross-examination of SLED Special Agent David Owen – the lead investigator in the brutal murders of Mr Murdaugh’s wife Maggie and son Paul.

Mr Griffin claimed that the disgraced attorney was buying $50,000 worth of drugs each week from Curtis Edward Smith, infamously known as “Cousin Eddie”.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Alex Murdaugh spent $50,000 a week on drugs before wife and son’s murders

Thursday 16 February 2023 18:03 , Oliver O'Connell

After a debate on the spread of pellets from the shotgun, there is a brief redirect from Waters who establishes that shooters and victims can move around.

He asks Dr Kinsey if any of the questioning has changed his opinion as to what happened to Paul.

Dr Kinsey replies that it has not.

Court breaks for lunch and will restart at 2.15pm.

Thursday 16 February 2023 17:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Here’s a taste of the back and forth.

The second shot could have come from someone crouching after retreating a little after firing the first shot.

Thursday 16 February 2023 17:36 , Oliver O'Connell

Harpootlian is questioning the angle of the second shot fired at Paul, which came from approximately three feet away at the upward trajectory which seems an odd angle he argues.

Dr Kinsey says he is not aware of any stippling or soot on Paul’s shoulder which others have testified you would have expected to find at that distance.

Harpootlian questions why the shooter would fire from such a low angle.

The two of them go back and forth demonstrating shooting angles with the Benelli 12-gauge shotgun.

Thursday 16 February 2023 17:11 , Oliver O'Connell

Dick Harpootlian is cross-examining Dr Kinsey. They know each other from previous trials and share a moment of levity to the amusement of the courtroom.

Harpootlian says he won’t be disputing much but asks for some clarifications.

Thursday 16 February 2023 17:07 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumes.

Prior to the break, Dr Kinsey testified that there is little forensic value in investigating the Moselle house as there would be family DNA everywhere.

He also gave a brief answer about his own experience with firearms and noted that 300 Blackout cartridges were hard to come by during the pandemic. We also learned they are louder than a shotgun.

On resumption of questioning, he is asked by Waters if he found any evidence of a struggle between Paul and the shooter.

He said he did not and found no evidence of defensive wounds on either Paul or Maggie.

Thursday 16 February 2023 16:54 , Oliver O'Connell

Court is on a brief break

Thursday 16 February 2023 16:48 , Oliver O'Connell

Law & Crime’s Angenette Levy notes that we have already heard in court that Paul’s phone was placed there because Murdaugh said he did after it popped out of his pocket.

She also reminds us that there is a reason for the discussion of the mark on Maggie’s calf — because the defence kept bringing it up.

Thursday 16 February 2023 16:41 , Oliver O'Connell

Dr Kinsey is also asked about the positioning of Paul’s phone on his rear end.

His expert opinion is that it was placed there by someone else.

Thursday 16 February 2023 16:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Waters asks Dr Kinsey about the impression found on the back of Maggie’s calf that we have heard about for weeks from the defence team.

A photo is displayed and Dr Kinsey testifies he analysed the impression.

He says there is some kind of biological material evident and that he also looked at the tire of a nearby ATV.

In his expert opinion, he says the mark on Maggie’s leg is from the tire tread impression from the ATV, noting specific individual marks from the specific tire.

The tire was in close proximity to Maggie’s body.

We also learn that the shooter was likely coming from the feed room.

Dr Kinsey says she made contact with the tire at some time and was not run over by it.

The implication is that she backed into it.

Thursday 16 February 2023 16:18 , Oliver O'Connell

Moving on to the shots fired at Maggie, Dr Kinsey testifies that she suffered two or three non-fatal wounds (thigh and abdomen), and then two fatal wounds to the head. There is a wound to her wrist that may have been caused by one of the first two shots.

The initial two shots were fired in quick succession from a distance of four or five feet. She dropped down into a prone position on her hands and knees.

The first fatal shot was fired from behind through her abdomen up through her breast, her jaw, and into her brain.

The shooter then fired a second shot into the crown of the head. There is no evidence her body was manipulated or moved after the shots were fired.

Thursday 16 February 2023 16:09 , Oliver O'Connell

Thursday 16 February 2023 16:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Dr Kinsey testifies that the closer the shooter was to the muzzle of the firearm, the more biological matter would spray onto them.

The shooter would be standing to the right of the door and would have fired upwards. He says there is no way that the shot could have come from above nor no way that the wound was self-inflicted — as the defence has argued.

Thursday 16 February 2023 15:54 , Oliver O'Connell

Regarding the second shot, Dr Kinsey says any movement was due to gravity as the wound was immediately fatal, ceasing any voluntary movement.

Dr Kinsey testifies that Paul was standing in the doorway when the second shot was fired leaving blood spatter on the door before his body fell forward face down onto the ground outside the feed room.

Pellet defects can still be seen in the door even 18 months later.

Thursday 16 February 2023 15:47 , Oliver O'Connell

Dr Kinsey testifies that the shooter was standing in the doorway of the feed room when the first shot was fired. A shell was found inside the door.

Paul was standing perpendicular to the door as the wound was oblong and not round.

Thursday 16 February 2023 15:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Paul’s arms were down indicating he did not feel threatened and may have been ambushed by the first shot.

Buckshot from the first shot broke the window at the back of the feed room.

Thursday 16 February 2023 15:39 , Oliver O'Connell

Dr Kinsey was brought on to the case in late 2022 to reconstruct the crime scene having reviewed reports and other evidence.

He explains that Paul was standing about in the middle of the feed room when he was first shot in the chest/arm. From the blood droplet evidence, Dr Kinsey explains that Paul stood still for some time before moving toward the door leaving a partial footprint.

New Witness: Dr Kenny Kinsey

Thursday 16 February 2023 15:21 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury is brought in and court is back in session.

The first witness of the day is Dr Kenny Kinsey, an Orangeburg County sheriff’s deputy and crime scene expert.

Thursday 16 February 2023 14:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Harpootlian doesn’t want statements Murdaugh made at the hospital after being shot in the head in September 2021 admitted into evidence.

Waters counters that the need to be able to relate to the jury the defendant’s claim that he was attacked by an unknown assailant at the side of the road when in fact he had arranged the ambush.

He adds that he intends to streamline the testimony and the two sides are now convening to discuss how to do this.

Court is on a 10-minute break. The jury is yet to be brought in.

Thursday 16 February 2023 14:49 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Newman says the defence introduced the relationship between Murdaugh and Cousin Eddie.

In pretrial motions it was established that the roadside shooting was not to be included in the trial it was “a bridge too far”, but the defence has since “built a road over that bridge” as if “they could dance through fire without getting burned”.

He adds that in the introduction of the relationship between Murdaugh and Cousin Eddie they sought to infer that the latter might have been or should have been a suspect in the murder case.

Judge Newman rules: “The state is entitled to explore this relationship between the defendant and Eddie Smith.”

The judge appears to be annoyed by the defence team’s objections as Dick Harpootlian stands to make another point after he has ruled.

Thursday 16 February 2023 14:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters argues that Griffin’s questions have to be put in context and that opens the door to testimony regarding the roadside shooting.

Thursday 16 February 2023 14:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters argues that Griffin’s questions have to be put in context and that opens the door to testimony regarding the roadside shooting.

Court resumes

Thursday 16 February 2023 14:42 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumes with Judge Clifton Newman presiding.

Before the jury is brought in, defence attorney Jim Griffin disputes the court’s perception that he opened the door to the roadside shooting evidence.

He reads out a transcript of yesterday’s testimony from SLED Agent David Owen.

Griffin asked Mr Owen about Murdaugh’s financial crimes and whether he stole to fuel a drig habit, and whether he was buying the drugs from Curtis Smith (Cousin Eddie). He does not mention the roadside shooting incident of Labor Day weekend 2021.

What to expect in court today:

Thursday 16 February 2023 14:00 , Rachel Sharp

The trial will resume at 9.30am ET on Thursday.

Prosecutors are likely to wrap up – or be close to wrapping up – their case in court today.

However, after a last-minute aboutface from the judge, it’s possible more witnesses will be called.

On Wednesday morning, Judge Clifton Newman first ruled that jurors could not hear testimony about the bizarre September 2021 roadside shooting – which later turned out to be a botched hitman plot.

Then, at the end of the day’s proceedings, the judge reversed course, saying the defence had opened the door to testimony about the plot itself.

Now, prosecutors may seek to call witnesses about the roadside shooting, which they argue shows a pattern of Mr Murdaugh creating violence in order to make himself a victim.

One of the main witnesses in this line of evidence is Curtis Eddie Smith – his alleged co-conspirator in the plot.

Will Curtis ‘Cousin Eddie’ Smith testify today?

Thursday 16 February 2023 13:45 , Rachel Sharp

Yet again... that’s the question on everyone’s lips.

Curtis “Eddie” Smith is a former law firm client, distant cousin and allegedly drug dealer of Alex Murdaugh – and the man he allegedly conspired with in the bizarre botched hitman plot.

On 4 September 2021 – three months on from the 7 June 2021 murders of Maggie and Paul – the disgraced attorney was ambushed in what he initially claimed was a drive-by shooting along a road in Hampton County.

His story soon unravelled and he confessed to law enforcement that he had orchestrated the saga, paying Mr Smith to shoot and kill him in an assisted suicide plot so that his surviving son Buster could get a $10m life insurance windfall.

On Wednesday morning, Judge Clifton Newman heard arguments from both the prosecution and the defence about whether evidence on the roadside shooting is admissible at trial.

He ruled in favour of the defence, deciding that jurors cannot hear testimony about the plot.

But then at the close of the day’s proceedings, Judge Newman reversed course, saying the defence opened the door to testimony about the plot as they brought it up in their questioning of SLED lead investigator David Owen.

Now, the question remains whether the prosecution will call Mr Smith to testify as it wraps up its case.

Mr Smith is listed as a state witness but it is unclear if they will put him on the stand.

On Tuesday, prosecutor Creighton Waters said that while he is on the witness list “I didn’t say we would be calling him.”

Defence attorney Dick Harpootlian laughed and said “the cross-examination of Mr Smith is something I’m looking forward to”.