Alex Murdaugh trial updates: Autopsy report reveals chilling manner Murdaughs were murdered

The video at the top of the story will play a live video feed of the Monday, Feb. 13 proceedings in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial or a replay upon completion.

Day 16 of the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial started off with tedious morning filled with scientific DNA testimony, following by graphic and chilling testimony from the forensic pathologist who autopsied the bodies of Maggie and Paul Murduagh.

Dr. Ellen Riemer, a forensic pathologist with the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, autopsied both victims on June 10, 2021, three days after they were shot and killed at their family home in Colleton County, Moselle.

Riemer described the injuries of both victims as severe, catastrophic, and "immediately fatal." Some of the evidence she presented brought no surprises - Paul was shot twice with a shotgun, and Maggie multiple times with a rifle. But the full extent of their injuries was not fully known until now.

Paul and Maggie Murdaugh autopsy testimony

Paul was shot at less than three feet away - so close that the plastic shotgun wad became embedded under his skin - as the first shot sent pellets into the left side of his chest and through his left arm. The wound would not have been fatal, said Riemer, and abrasions and exit wounds of the pellets indicated his arms were down and not in a "defensive" position or a position of surrender.

The second shotgun blast - the coup de grace - skipped over the top of his left shoulder into his neck, through the base of his skull and brain stem, before blasting a large exit wound in the right side of his head. His brain was "ejected" from the right side of his head, said Riemer, with only a small portion left attached to his brain stem. His brain arrived for autopsy in a separate container, she added.

Paul was facing his shooter when the shots were fired.

During this gruesome, morbid testimony, which included autopsy photos sealed by the court from the public, one female juror clutched her mouth and appeared shaken.

Murdaugh did not look at the pathologist during her entire testimony, instead facing straight ahead and rocking slightly. The Murdaugh family members present could not see the exhibits, but appeared shaken.

The forensic expert then testified that Maggie was shot five times, but added that two of the wounds could have been from the same projectile.

The 52-year-old mother was shot first in the abdomen and thigh from the front at a close range of roughly three feet, based on the gunshot "stippling" burn marks. One of those shots entered her abdomen, pancreas and left kidney before exiting her back, but would not necessarily have been fatal, said Riemer.

Those opening rounds would have made Maggie bend over or fall to her hands and knees, based on the evidence, and the shooter then fired a round that entered and exited her left breast, then entered the left side of her face into the brain before exiting her skull. This wound in itself would have been fatal, she said.

A final wound included an entrance wound to the back of the head near the base of the skull, traveled through her brain stem and cerebellum, before fragmenting and leaving multiple exit wounds along her back. This wound alone would have also been fatal.

A fifth wound to her wrist may have been in conjunction with one of those fatal wounds.

Based on the angles and trajectory of the bullet wounds, Riemer believed that the shooter was "circling the victim" as he fired a 300 Blackout caliber rifle.

Neither of the victims had drugs or alcohol in their system, and their stomach contents matched, which collaborates with previous evidence and testimony that Murdaugh asked both of them to come to the Moselle home and have supper.

Murdaugh attorney Richard Harpootlian is expected to begin what he called an "extensive" cross examination at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Murdaugh defense goes on offensive, attacking DNA, blood evidence

Earlier in the afternoon, Murdaugh attorney Phil Barber conducted a strenuous and arguably effective cross examination of SLED forensic scientist and DNA analyst Sara Zapata. Zapata had testified that DNA samples collected from the white T-shirt that Murdaugh was wearing when police arrived contained DNA that was most likely a mixture of his, Maggie's and Paul's.

In questioning, Barber pointed out that there was possible DNA under Maggie's fingernails from a different male source, despite the fact that she had been to a nail salon earlier that day.

Zapata also testified that there were 74 cuttings made for DNA samples, but after an initial test was "prospective positive" for blood, confirmatory "HemaTrace" tests were all negative for human blood.

"So, zero for 74 in detecting blood?" asked a pressing Barber, before referencing leaked media reports from 2022 that blood spatter evidence had been found by SLED. "Why was it sent for blood spatter analysis if there was no blood? "Do you think you can have blood spatter without blood?"

Barber also showed the court a closeup photo of the T-shirt, which had a logo that appeared to read "Black Sheep, Hampton, S.C.," and described it as a "fishing shirt." Black Sheep is reportedly the name of a boat owned by someone in the Murdaugh family, according to sources.

Through further questioning, Barber pointed out that the HemaTrace test only tests positive for human blood, as well as higher primates and ferrets, adding that since this was a "fishing shirt" and no visible blood was reported, it was possible those stains could have been fish blood. "Is it fair to say there is no human blood on this shirt?"

Barber also grilled Zapata on the DNA results of the shirt. "Would it be uncommon to find a wife's DNA on a husband's shirt?" he asked, to which the witness replied it would not be unlikely.

The S.C. Attorney General's Office has now called 40 witnesses, and upon closing the Monday session prosecutor Creighton Waters indicated the State is still on track to rest its case by Wednesday, assuming there are no more surprise witnesses or COVID complications in the jury.

Monday a.m. updates in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial

Week 4 of the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial opened Monday morning after last week's wild ride that included a bomb threat, a motion for a mistrial and even a GoFundMe controversy involving two of the South Carolina’s key witnesses.

After the announcement that two jurors in the double murder trial of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh have COVID, the State had a major announcement of its own. Almost two years after the double homicides, new evidence is now available.

General Motors initially told state prosecutors that no GPS location data was available for the Chevrolet Suburban that Murdaugh was driving on the night of the killings. But lead prosecutor Creighton Waters informed the court that GM officials contacted him late Friday to inform him that, after further review in this highly publicized and televised case, they somehow found "a massive amount of data."

The data was shared with the defense, but both parties seemed to agree that the State will give the defense time to review it and seek its own expert reviewers before presenting the evidence and the testimony of any GM officials.

The evidence and testimony will likely tell the jury a great deal about Murdaugh's movements and activities on the night of the killings.

SLED forensic scientists offer DNA evidence in Murdaugh trial, but where is it leading?

SLED forensic experts offered a lot of often tedious and scientific testimony Monday morning, but at this point it is unclear what impact this confusing data will have on the jury and the trial - or who it helps.

A "reddish stain" on the shotgun Murdaugh had in his possession tested "presumptive positive" for blood, but the defense is likely to argue that other factors, including rust and bacteria, could trigger a false positive.

Zapata testified that DNA swabs taken from the shotgun, Murdaugh's shirt and shorts from the crime scene, tested "likely" for having a mixture of DNA from Murdaugh, Paul, and Maggie. However, additional "confirmatory" blood testing on Murdaugh's shirt identified that these DNA spots were not identified as human blood. There was not DNA profile obtained from a blue raincoat found at Murdaugh's mother's house after the killings.

COVID isn't the only threat bearing down on the jury - after today's tedious, scientific testimony, boredom appears to have set in. Several jurors have appeared to be "checked out" - they are clock watching, and in some cases nodding off.

Murdaugh trial continues even after jurors test positive for COVID-19

Two jurors in the double murder trial of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh have COVID, leaving the future of the proceedings in some doubt as they enter their 16th day.

Judge Clifton Newman decided to keep the trial going in the packed Colleton County courtroom after the remaining 10 jurors and five alternates tested negative. They will be tested again on Wednesday. The clerk of court also tested positive for the virus.

Newman said jurors agreed to wear masks. Masks were provided to the jurors after the COVID announcement was made Monday morning, as well as to members of the media and the public, but four jurors - all white men - declined to wear them.

Newman rejected suggestions from both the defense and prosecutors to delay the trial until that second round of tests Wednesday, reduce the over 200 people allowed to attend the trial each day or order everyone in the courtroom to wear masks other than testifying witnesses and questioning attorneys.

“At the moment, we are going to encourage everyone here to mask up for your own protection as well as the protection of these proceedings and each other,” Newman said.

Murdaugh, 54, faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted of murdering his wife and son near dog kennels at the family’s Colleton County home on June 7, 2021.

Monday marked the fourth week of the trial and the 13th day of testimony with prosecutors still presenting their case. They called state agents who tested evidence for DNA.

The trial started with six alternate jurors, but is now down to three.

“My only concern is we don’t create train wreck with this jury,” said defense attorney Dick Harpootlian, who immediately began wearing a mask.

Prosecutor Creighton Waters said he agreed with the defense that delaying the trial for a few days to make sure COVID-19 isn’t spreading is much better than losing so many jurors there has to be a mistrial and three weeks of work is gone. He also suggested limiting the number of people inside the large, century-old courtroom. The trial is being live streamed and shown on television.

“A little less numbers might be warranted. None of us want to limit anything, but we’re in different paradigm. Both of us have a concern about getting this thing to the end without COVID causing it to fall apart,” Waters said.

The judge said he would keep all options in mind, but for now the trial will continue without any changes.

“We just have to take precautions as we all do as we navigate through life during this period of time,” Newman said.

- Jeffrey Collins, Associated Press.

Looking back at Week 3 in the Murdaugh murder trial

The third week of the Murdaugh trial saw the state continue to build its house of circumstantial evidence with gunshot residue as the cement holding together round after round of testimony. On Feb. 8, testimony from the long list of potential witnesses in this trial that is under the national microscope came to a standstill when a bomb threat was called into Colleton County Courthouse.

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This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Alex Murdaugh trial live, updates: What's happening at start of week 4