Alex Murdaugh trial – live: Prosecutors point to murder motive after Snapchat video reveals different clothing

Prosecutors in Alex Murdaugh’s trial have begun pointing to a potential motive for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul, bringing up the disgraced attorney’s alleged financial crimes for the first time on Wednesday.

Judge Clifton Newman is expected to determine on Thursday whether or not such financial evidence can be admitted – with prosecutors stressing it is important to establishing motive while the defence wants it thrown out.

This comes after a stunning day at the Colleton County Courthouse in South Carolina, where footage casts doubts on Mr Murdaugh’s alibi.

Cellphone footage taken by Paul at the dog kennels just minutes before the murders revealed three voices – Paul, Maggie and a man prosecutors say is Mr Murdaugh.

In dramatic testimony, two friends of Paul told jurors they are “100 per cent sure” the third voice belongs to Mr Murdaugh. The disbarred attorney has claimed he was napping at home at that time.

A second video, sent through Snapchat by Paul an hour before the murders, also shows Mr Murdaugh dressed in a button-down shirt and trousers – different clothing than he is wearing in police bodycam after the killings.

Alex Murdaugh murder trial

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• Snapchat shows Alex Murdaugh in different clothing one hour before murders

• Alex Murdaugh’s chilling final text to his wife after murders revealed

• Did Murdaugh accidentally confess to murder?

• Paul and Maggie Murdaugh’s last texts and calls revealed

• Murdaugh had ‘clean’ shirt despite his claims he touched wife and son’s bloodied bodies

16:56 , Oliver O'Connell

After an extensive list of examples in which fraud occurred, the state completes its questioning of Ms Seckinger.

Before cross-examination by the defence, Judge Newman calls for a 10-minute break.

Reminder: The jury has not been present for this trove of detailed financial misdemeanours uncovered by Mr Murdaugh’s former employer.

Watch: Law firm CFO explains how she confronted Murdaugh about missing money on day of murders

16:45 , Oliver O'Connell

16:39 , Oliver O'Connell

This happened with multiple clients over years and the firm had to make good for the money that Mr Murdaugh funnelled to himself through the fake Forge account.

16:35 , Oliver O'Connell

More strange payments were found going to Palmetto State Bank in which funds for clients appeared to be being held. Those cheques were then transferred to Mr Murdaugh.

Former Palmetto State Bank CEO Russell Laffitte has since been found guilty of wire and bank fraud charges. Laffitte loaned Mr Murdaugh and himself money from those client settlements, diverting that money from personal injury or death cases, in several of which he was the court-appointed custodian for funds for underage clients.

Mr Murdaugh also reduced his fees so more money would to the client which he would then steal via the fake Forge account. By reducing his fee, less of a settlement would go to the firm and more would go the client and end up as his.

16:28 , Oliver O'Connell

Over time, concerns grew that Mr Murdaugh was both hiding money from the boat crash lawsuit and stealing from the firm via Forge.

Forge Consulting is a legitimate financial company that handles financial and fiduciary planning for attorneys and their clients. It transpired that Mr Murdaugh had set up an account using Forge’s name and money paid in went to him.

Further internal investigations followed, culminating in a partner meeting on 3 September 2021 in which they reviewed the evidence that had come to light including endorsed cheques and a false Bank of America account in Murdaugh and Forge’s name. It became apparent that he had been stealing.

The partners confronted Mr Murdaugh and he was made to resign.

It was the Friday of Labor Day weekend and a partner was getting married the next day. It was decided to wait until after the holiday to take further action. On the Saturday, Ms Seckinger says she learned Mr Murdaugh had been shot in the head in a roadside shooting.

16:03 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Murdaugh’s paralegal Annette Griswold brought up the issue of the fee structuring asking if it was proper as the money had been paid.

Ms Seckinger believed it had gone to Forge Consulting.

She testifies that she went to Mr Murdaugh in June about $792,000 in missing legal fees from a case he had worked on with his friend attorney Chris Wilson. The firm had received a cheque covering expenses but not the fees for the attorneys.

Ms Seckinger challenged Mr Murdaugh on the morning of the murders about where the $792,000 was and wanted proof that he or Mr Wilson had the money. She believed he had received the money directly.

While confronting him, Mr Murdaugh received a call about his father who was terminally ill, which ended the conversation. The murders later that day ended the probe into the whereabouts of the money.

15:54 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Seckinger found that Mr Murdaugh had been sending his fees directly to a business called Forge Consulting.

She explained to him that this way of structuring fees did not give him any tax benefits.

15:51 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Seckinger tells the court that in May 2021 she spoke with Mr Murdaugh about a structure he was trying to put in place for legal fees from a case. He told her that he was trying to put some money “in Maggie’s name” to shield it from the legal action against them from the 2019 boat crash.

She testifies that she did not believe he was trying to steal money, but simply hide it and she wondered how it could be reflected in the company’s accounts.

Ms Seckinger was aware of the circumstances of the boat crash and that he had been sued and that Paul had been criminally charged.

New Witness: Jeanne Seckinger, PMPED

15:36 , Oliver O'Connell

While Judge Newman determines the admissibility of the financial crimes testimony, the jury is sent out of the courtroom. They will return later.

The state calls Jeanne Seckinger to testify. She is the Chief Financial Officer at Mr Murdaugh’s former law firm: Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick (PMPED). The law firm now operates under a different name.

On the day of the murders, Mr Murdaugh was confronted about missing money at the firm.

Ms Seckinger explains she balances and reconciles accounts, provides financial documentation, handles tax matters, and deals with human resources issues. People in her team handle day-to-day payroll and expenses.

Everyone in the firm receives a salary and partners would then receive a share of the fees and money generated by the firm each year as an annual bonus based on the percentage of revenue each attorney generated.

Lawyers were required to send all fees to the firm and would not be paid directly to lawyers.

15:29 , Oliver O'Connell

On cross-examination, the defence team asks about Metadata and whether the video could’ve been made earlier and only uploaded to the folder later. The metadata shows that the video was recorded at 7.38pm — one minute before upload to the “Memories” folder. It was then sent to friends at 7.56pm.

Asked about location data, Ms Galore says she is unsure if it was turned on on Paul’s phone and was not requested by the state in the subpoena.

Ms Galore is excused.

15:22 , Oliver O'Connell

The Snapchat video shown earlier in court in which Mr Murdaugh can be seen standing near a tree wearing different clothes to which he seen in later that night was saved in the account’s “memories” folder.

Ms Galore says the video was uploaded at 7.39pm on 7 June 2021. Viewing the video, Ms Galore confirms the identity of the footage as that which was requested from Snapchat.

Watch:

New Witness: Heidi Galore, Snapchat

15:16 , Oliver O'Connell

Court is back in session and the jury is present.

The state calls its first witness of the day, Heidi Galore, law enforcement operations lead at Snap Inc, the parent company of Snapchat. Her team responds to requests from law enforcement such as subpoenas, records, logs, subscriber information, geolocation, chat history etc.

She begins by briefly explaining what Snapchat is and how it is used. Ms Galore goes on to explain what records are kept.

Paul Murdaugh’s subscriber information file is submitted into evidence.

15:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Court takes a break before the jury is brought in so the prosecution can reorder their proposed witness list.

15:00 , Oliver O'Connell

There will be further discussion about what evidence the jury can hear before witnesses can testify regarding the defendant’s alleged financial crimes.

The state can proceed with another witness, a records custodian from Snapchat, before that is decided. However, prosecution attorney Creighton Waters also planned to call Jeanne Seckinger, CFO of Murdaugh’s former law firm. as a witness today. She would testify about the financial misdeeds.

14:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Today Judge Newman begins by ruling on the admission of other evidence that may indicate a motive for the killings including “character evidence”, the circumstances of Paul’s boating crash, and previous alleged crimes of the defendant.

He says that the defence team opened the door to character evidence by saying throughout that Mr Murdaugh has such good character he could not have committed the crimes. They asked Paul’s friends if they could imagine any scenario in which Mr Murdaugh would commit the murders of which he is accused.

The boat crash was also introduced by both defence and the defendant on the night of the murders (both to the 911 operator and in his initial police interview).

Judge Newman finds the previous alleged crimes are admissible provided there is clear and convincing evidence and a logical relationship between those crimes and the defendant’s state of mind leading up to the murders.

Court resumes

14:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Clifton Newman is back on the bench in front of a packed courtroom.

What to expect in court on Thursday:

14:20 , Rachel Sharp

Alex Murdaugh’s trial will resume at 9.30am ET in Colleton County Courthouse in South Carolina.

Judge Newman is expected to address the issue of prosecutors introducing evidence of Mr Murdaugh’s alleged financial crimes.

Prosecutors say this is crucial to establishing a motive for the murders.

The defence is asking the judge to deny the admission of such evidence.

Damning Snapchat video shows Alex Murdaugh wearing different clothes one hour before murders of wife and son

14:05 , Rachel Sharp

A damning Snapchat video has captured Alex Murdaugh wearing an entirely different set of clothes just one hour before he is accused of murdering his wife and son in a brutal and bloody double homicide.

During his high-profile murder trial on Wednesday, jurors at Colleton County Courthouse in South Carolina were shown a Snapchat video taken by Mr Murdaugh’s son Paul at 7.56pm on the night of 7 June 2021.

The video, sent to Paul’s friend Will Loving, shows Mr Murdaugh on the grounds of the family estate looking at a small tree as it limply falls to the ground.

Paul is heard laughing behind the camera as his father makes an inaudible comment.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Snapchat video shows Alex Murdaugh in different clothes on night of murders

RECAP: Murdaugh’s voice heard in son Paul’s video minutes before murders, two friends tell trial

13:50 , Rachel Sharp

Two friends of Paul Murdaugh say they are “100 per cent sure” that Alex Murdaugh’s voice was featured in a video recorded just minutes before the brutal double murder.

Rogan Gibson, the friend whom Paul was texting around the time of the murders, gave bombshell testimony at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Wednesday afternoon.

His testimony was mirrored by that of Will Loving, another of Paul’s friends, who also had a close connection with the family.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Alex Murdaugh’s voice heard in son Paul’s video before murders, friend tells trial

What happened in court on Wednesday?

13:30 , Rachel Sharp

Witnesses say voice in murder scene video is Alex Murdaugh

Jurors were shown cellphone footage taken by Paul at the dog kennels of the sprawling family estate in Islandton just minutes before he and Maggie were shot dead.

Off-camera, three voices are heard – Paul, Maggie and a man prosecutors say is Alex Murdaugh.

In dramatic testimony, two friends of Paul with close ties to the family told jurors that they are “100 per cent sure” that the voice belongs to Mr Murdaugh. The disbarred attorney has claimed he was napping at the family home at that time.

Snapchat shows Alex Murdaugh in different clothing one hour before murders

Jurors were shown a Snapchat video Paul sent to his friend Will Loving less than one hour before he and Maggie were murdered.

The video, sent at 7.56pm on 7 June 2021, shows Alex Murdaugh on the grounds of the family estate.

He is dressed in trousers, loafers and a blue button-down shirt – different clothing to which he is seen wearing in police bodycam footage after the murders. In the bodycam, Mr Murdaugh is dressed in a white short-sleeved t-shirt and shorts.

Murder timeframe narrowed down to eight-second window

Prosecutors claim that Paul was shot dead first at around 8.50pm, followed by Maggie – with cellphone data being used to narrow down the murders to a precise eight-second window.

SLED Lt. Britt Dove testified that Paul’s last phone activity was at 8.48.59pm and Maggie’s was at 8.49.27pm.

Eight seconds later at 8.49.35pm, Paul received a text message but it went unread.

Neither Maggie nor Paul used their phones after that.

Calls Murdaugh made to wife on night of murders ‘deleted’

In dramatic courtroom testimony, jurors heard that calls Mr Murdaugh made to his wife on the night of the murders were mysteriously later “deleted” from his call log.

In court on Tuesday, Lt Dove testified that Mr Murdaugh had called Maggie five times between 9.04pm and 10.03pm on the night of 7 June 2021 after he had allegedly killed her and Paul. None of the calls were answered.

Lt Dove, who processed the three cellphones belonging to Mr Murdaugh, Maggie and Paul, testified that the trove of phone calls Mr Murdaugh made to his wife’s cellphone after he allegedly shot the victims dead was missing from his call log. The only explanation for the missing data is that the call logs were manually and intentionally deleted by someone, he said.

Defence casts doubt on theory Murdaugh took Maggie’s phone

Under cross-examination, the defence casted doubt on the theory that it could have been Mr Murdaugh who threw Maggie’s phone along the side of Moselle Road.

Lt Dove admitted that cellphone data suggested Maggie and Mr Murdaugh’s phones were not in the same place at the same time at 9.06pm.

This was important because 9.06pm is when the final orientation change – or movement – was recorded on Maggie’s phone.

Lt Dove testified that this movement could have been as it was being thrown from a vehicle to where it was discovered the next day, with the defence pointing out Mr Murdaugh was walking with his cellphone at that time.

However, under redirect, prosecutors cast doubt on the defence’s timeframe for when the phone was tossed from a car down Moselle Lane, as Lt Dove testified that an orientation change can only take place when the phone screen is on.

The SLED agent testified that the screen on Maggie’s phone was off between 9.07pm and 9.31pm so if the phone was thrown from a car during that time, there would have been no orientation change.

Alex Murdaugh’s many alleged scandals

13:10 , Rachel Sharp

The murder charges are far from Alex Murdaugh’s only legal troubles.

Prosecutors claim he shot dead his family members in an attempt to distract from a string of other scandals and crimes encircling him.

At the time of the murders, Mr Murdaugh was believed to be facing financial ruin from a 20-year opioid addiction and – one day earlier – had been confronted by his law firm PMPED over an alleged multi-million-dollar fraud scheme.

Now, Mr Murdaugh is charged with more than 100 counts from multiple indictments alleging he stole nearly $8.5m from clients at his law firm in fraud schemes going back a decade.

The attorney, who has since been disbarred, allegedly represented the clients in wrongful death settlements before pocketing the money for himself.

Alleged victims include family members of Gloria Satterfield family, the Murdaugh’s longtime housekeeper who died in a mysterious trip and fall accident at the family home in 2018.

At the time, her death was regarded as an accidental fall – though the investigation was reopened after Maggie and Paul’s murders.

Three months on from the murders – on 4 September 2021 – Mr Murdaugh allegedly conspired to pay a hitman to shoot him dead so that Buster would inherit a $10m life insurance windfall.

The now-disbarred attorney initially claimed he was ambushed in a drive-by shooting while changing a tyre on his vehicle, but his story quickly unravelled and he confessed to orchestrating the plot with alleged co-conspirator Curtis Smith.

Satterfield’s death is only one mysterious death surrounding the Murdaugh family.

At the time of the murders, Paul was awaiting trial over a fatal 2019 boat crash where 19-year-old Mallory Beach died.

Questions have also surfaced about the 2015 death of Stephen Smith, 19, who was found dead in the middle of the road in Hampton County, South Carolina.

Murdaugh’s calls to wife on night of murders mysteriously ‘deleted’ from his iPhone

12:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Calls Alex Murdaugh made to his wife on the night he allegedly murdered her and their son were mysteriously later deleted from his cellphone, according to dramatic courtroom testimony.

SLED Lt. Britt Dove, who works in the computer crimes centre at the state agency, testified in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Wednesday that he had processed the three cellphones belonging to Mr Murdaugh, his wife Maggie and son Paul in the aftermath of the brutal murders.

Lt Dove told the court that a trove of phone calls Mr Murdaugh made to his wife’s cellphone after he allegedly shot her and Paul dead were missing from the suspect’s call log.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Alex Murdaugh’s calls to wife on night of murders were ‘deleted’ from cellphone

Crime scene photos from the murders

12:15 , Rachel Sharp

Jury contends with trove of cellphone data at Murdaugh trial

11:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A state agent testifying Wednesday in Alex Murdaugh‘s double murder trial meticulously reconstructed activity from his iPhone and the cellphones of his son and wife the night they were killed to try to link the disgraced South Carolina attorney to the shooting deaths

Read on:

Both sides use trove of cell data at Alex Murdaugh trial

WATCH: The video that casts doubt on Alex Murdaugh’s alibi

11:15 , Rachel Sharp

In a stunning day at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, prosecutors cast doubts on Alex Murdaugh’s alibi for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul.

Jurors were shown cellphone footage taken by Paul at the dog kennels of the sprawling family estate in Islandton just minutes before he and Maggie were shot dead.

Off-camera, three voices are heard – Paul, Maggie and a man prosecutors say is Mr Murdaugh.

In dramatic testimony, two friends of Paul with close ties to the family told jurors that they are “100 per cent sure” that the voice belongs to Mr Murdaugh. The disbarred attorney has claimed he was napping at the family home at that time.

Key revelations from the Alex Murdaugh murder trial, so far

10:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Rachel Sharp catalogues the more important revelations to come to light at the trial.

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

Snapchat shows Alex Murdaugh in different clothing one hour before murders

10:14 , Rachel Sharp

In court on Wednesday, jurors were shown a Snapchat video Paul sent to his friend Will Loving less than one hour before he and Maggie were murdered.

The video, sent at 7.56pm on 7 June 2021, shows Alex Murdaugh on the grounds of the family estate.

He is dressed in trousers, loafers and a blue button-down shirt – different clothing to which he is seen wearing in police bodycam footage after the murders.

In the bodycam, Mr Murdaugh is dressed in a white short-sleeved t-shirt and shorts.

Murdaugh’s cousin testifies he spent over $9,000 on three guns

09:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh’s second cousin testified how he built “Blackout” rifles worth more than $9,000 for Paul and Buster Murdaugh to hunt hogs with on their South Carolina estate.

John Bedingfield, a state Department of Natural Resources agent, says that he built two .300 Blackout rifles for Alex Murdaugh at a cost of $9,188 as Christmas gifts for his sons in 2016.

Mr Bedingfield, who has a federal firearms licence, told the court that he also built a third, more basic rifle for Maggie Murdaugh in April 2018 for $875.

Graeme Massie has the details.

Alex Murdaugh’s cousin testifies against him at murder trial

Murdaugh trial told ‘it’s possible’ two shooters killed his wife and son

08:45 , Oliver O'Connell

An investigator has admitted “it’s possible” that two shooters killed Alex Murdaugh’s wife and son as the legal scion’s attorneys sought to pick holes in the evidence gathered from the bloody crime scene.

SLED special agent Melinda Worley returned to the stand in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Monday morning as Mr Murdaugh’s high-profile murder trial entered its second week.

Rachel Sharp reports on the defence team’s version of events.

Alex Murdaugh lawyers tell trial ‘it’s possible’ two shooters killed wife and son

Murders, million-dollar fraud and mystery deaths — Everything you need to know about the Alex Murdaugh story

07:45 , Oliver O'Connell

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 19 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.

Read on:

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

A timeline of murders, financial fraud, unexplained deaths and arrest

06:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Disgraced legal dynasty heir Alex Murdaugh is currently on trial in a South Carolina courthouse for the murders of his wife and son.

Mr Murdaugh, 54, is accused of shooting Paul, 22, twice with a shotgun and Maggie, 52, five times with a rifle on the family’s sprawling hunting lodge in Islandton on 7 June 2021.

He was arrested more than a year later in July 2022 and charged with their murders.

In the 19 months since the brutal double murders propelled the Murdaughs onto national headlines, a series of other scandals, allegations and alleged crimes have also come to light.

Here’s a timeline of the key moments in the case:

When was Alex Murdaugh arrested? A timeline of murders and fraud

Who is Alex Murdaugh?

04:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Who is the man now on trial for the murders of his wife and son and facing more than 100 other criminal charges over an alleged white collar fraud spree and a botched hitman plot?

Who is Alex Murdaugh? The legal scion on trial for the murders of his wife and son

Watch: Paul Murdaugh filming friend’s puppy minutes before he and his mother were murdered

03:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh’s voice heard in son Paul’s video minutes before murders, two friends tell trial

02:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Two friends of Paul Murdaugh say they are “100 per cent sure” that Alex Murdaugh’s voice was featured in a video recorded just minutes before the brutal double murder.

Rogan Gibson, the friend whom Paul was texting around the time of the murders, gave bombshell testimony at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Wednesday afternoon.

His testimony was mirrored by that of Will Loving, another of Paul’s friends, who also had a close connection with the family.

Read on:

Alex Murdaugh’s voice heard in son Paul’s video before murders, friend tells trial

Did Murdaugh accidentally confess to murder?

01:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh’s high-profile trial took a dramatic turn on Monday when jurors heard that the legal scion may have unwittingly slipped up and confessed to the murders of his wife and son.

Rachel Sharp investigates.

Did Alex Murdaugh accidentally confess to murder?

Murdaugh’s calls to wife before murders mysteriously ‘deleted’ from his iPhone

00:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Calls Alex Murdaugh made to his wife on the night he allegedly murdered her and their son were mysteriously later “deleted” from his cellphone, according to dramatic courtroom testimony.

SLED Lt. Britt Dove, who works in the computer crimes centre at the state agency, testified in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Wednesday that he had processed the three cellphones belonging to Mr Murdaugh, his wife Maggie and son Paul in the aftermath of the brutal murders.

Lt Dove told the court that a trove of phone calls Mr Murdaugh made to his wife’s cellphone after he allegedly shot her and Paul dead were missing from the suspect’s call log.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Alex Murdaugh’s calls to wife on night of murders were ‘deleted’ from cellphone

Trove of cell data presented at Murdaugh trial

Wednesday 1 February 2023 23:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A state agent testifying Wednesday in Alex Murdaugh‘s double murder trial meticulously reconstructed activity from his iPhone and the cellphones of his son and wife the night they were killed to try to link the disgraced South Carolina attorney to the shooting deaths.

The key evidence for prosecutors is a video from the son’s phone of a dog at the kennels near where Murdaugh’s son Paul was killed with a shotgun and wife Maggie was shot several times with a rifle at the family’s Colleton County hunting lodge on June 7, 2021.

The timeline from prosecutors said the video was taken about five minutes before the killings. There appear to be three voices on the video and prosecutors have said it is Alex Murdaugh and his family, although they didn’t offer that evidence Wednesday. In interviews with police, Alex Murdaugh said he was never at the kennels that night.

Read on:

Both sides use trove of cell data at Alex Murdaugh trial

Wednesday 1 February 2023 22:47 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury is excused.

Tomorrow morning Judge Newman will address the issue of the potential financial motives for the murders. He says he trusts that the state will be ready with evidence to show the connection.

Court is in recess until 9.30am on Thursday.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Redirect questioning begins.

Attorney Creighton Waters brings up the birthday video and points out Chris Wilson is present at the end — he is identified as Alex’s best friend.

Referring to the night of the murders, Mr Water brings up Mr Loving’s reaction of getting out of his house and driving to Charleston in the middle of the night when he became fearful for his own life having spoken with friends.

Next Mr Waters plays the Snapchat video Mr Loving was sent by Paul on the afternoon of 7 June 2021. He asked Mr Loving to identify Paul’s clothing and asks if he watched the video in real time that evening.

Mr Waters (jumping around again) asks about the family’s relationships and then quickly switches to asking multiple questions of Mr Loving about what he knows about the family’s finances, Alex’s debts, financial misdeeds including stolen client fees, and related topics.

Mr Loving says he does not know anything about those topics. Importantly the prosecution now has that on the record in front of the jury.

No further questions and the witness is excused.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 22:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Loving recalls a visit to Moselle Road after the murders in which Alex Murdaugh was so emotional he couldn’t speak.

There were lots of friends of Paul’s present and a lot of crying — particularly from Alex who pulled him into a group hug.

Defence has no further questions.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 22:36 , Oliver O'Connell

Defence submits a video into evidence from Memorial Day Weekend that shows a birthday celebration for Alex.

We cannot see the footage but the audio is of people singing “Happy Birthday” to Alex and him saying thank you generally and specifically: “Thank you, baby.”

Wednesday 1 February 2023 22:33 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Loving says he last saw Paul on Memorial Day Weekend 2021, about two weeks before the murders.

They were at the Edisto beach house with Alex and Maggie and some other friends.

He says that Alex and Paul had a great relationship, as did Alex and Maggie.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 22:29 , Oliver O'Connell

Cross-examination begins with defence attorney Jim Griffin questioning.

Mr Loving is asked about Snapchat and what Paul sent him and who could see it.

He says he could tell Paul was at Moselle in the Snapchat Paul posted as he knew the property.

Turning to firearms, Mr Loving confirms that Paul left a Blackout rifle at his home in Columbia and left a deer hunting gun at another friend’s place.

Mr Loving is asked about Paul leaving guns around the Moselle property and then the purchase of the scope for the 300BLK that did not have the optic attached.

He is unclear of exactly when the red-dot scope was bought or when they next used it after setting it up.

The defence produces a receipt from Ace Hardware for the scope, purchased on Saturday 6 March 2021. He had earlier said he believed the purchase was in later in March or early in April.

Mr Loving says if that was a Saturday, then they would have sighted it in that day and then used it on the first day of turkey season, some three weeks later.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 22:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Loving is played the video of Cash the dog.

He says he can identify the voices of Paul, Maggie, and Alex Murdaugh on the video and, as with Mr Gibson, he is 100 per cent certain.

Mr Loving identifies Alex Murdaugh in the courtroom.

Direct examination concludes.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 22:18 , Oliver O'Connell

The prosecution skips around across various topics in this examination including how much Paul used his phone (a lot, and was a fast responder to texts); how he found out about the murders (from a cousin of Paul); and who did most of the shooting when they went out.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 22:16 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Loving says he didn’t bring up the boat crash case and lawsuit with Paul.

He knew the house in Hampton had been sold and speculates it was to deal with legal bills from the cases.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 22:13 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Loving is asked to identify various guns from the Moselle Road property, he is specifically asked about which ones are Paul’s and how he recognises them.

He is also asked if guns were kept around the kennels and he said that sometimes there were guns there but not often.

Mr Loving is asked if he spoke with Paul that day. He says Paul called him around dinner time and talked about wanting a hot tub for the place they were going to move into. Paul also sent him a Snapchat of him and Alex riding around the property at 7.56pm. The video of Cash sent to Mr Gibson was texted at 8.44pm.

He testifies that he got to know the family well and talks about Maggie’s love of her dogs, how she would walk, bike, or take a buggy down to the kennels and would walk them around the property.

New Witness: Will Loving, friend of Paul’s

Wednesday 1 February 2023 21:53 , Oliver O'Connell

Will Loving was a friend of Paul’s whom he met at Edisto where the family beach house was. They met as young teenagers and become closer friends as time went on. They would hunt and fish, visit Charleston, and lived together for a short period of time in Columbia prior to the murders.

They were going to move into a new house together with another friend that summer.

At the Moselle Road property, they would hunt a lot, and when they did so at night they would use a buggy to get around.

Mr Loving said they would hunt with 300 Blackout rifles of which he knew the family had two. One with an optic on it and one without. The one without he did not see leave the gun room. He was aware of the previous rifle that had been stolen from Paul’s truck at a party.

In late March or early April 2021, the two of them bought a red-dot sight for the 300 BLK rifle that had no optic on it.

Court resumes

Wednesday 1 February 2023 21:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Before the jury is brought back in, lead prosecutor Creighton Waters argues that the defence has opened the door for discussions about motive — they have been fighting to have Alex Murdaugh’s financial misdeeds allowed as a factor in the trial.

Defence attorney Dick Harpootlian pushes back.

Mr Waters says there was a specific confrontation on the day of the murders relating to the financial crimes the defendant committed.

The next witness he says can shed some light on the financial pressures the family was under which he argues is connected to a wider discussion about the misdeeds.

Judge Newman decides to proceed and rule on any objections he hears.

The jury is brought back in.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 21:29 , Oliver O'Connell

In redirect from the prosecution, Mr Gibson says that he did not know of any time in which things had been stolen from the sheds on the property.

You could see the lights around the shed from the house and vice versa.

Mr Gibson also says was aware of the charges against Paul from the boat crash and the lawsuit against Alex.

He agrees that he knew Alex was a wealthy man.

An attempt to end on a high note by prosecutor Creighton Waters falls flat when Mr Gibson says he has known Alex Murdaugh his whole life.

Mr Waters asks whether sitting here today he really knows him and Mr Gibson replies yes, he does.

Court is on a 10-minute break.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 21:23 , Oliver O'Connell

Cross-examination concludes with Mr Gibson saying that Alex was affectionate and he can’t imagine him murdering his wife and son the way that has been described.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 21:21 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Gibson clarifies some of what was said in the video.

He says the voice calling for Bubba is Alex calling the family’s yellow labrador who inhabited the first kennel.

Bubba was out running around and had a chicken in his mouth that Maggie could be heard calling a guinea.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 21:19 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Gibson says he never saw Paul using a .300 Blackout rifle without a thermal scope — indicating it was Buster’s he would use and not the replacement one. The thermal scope is important for hunting hogs at night to pick up on their body heat. During the day they remain in the swamp.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 21:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Gibson says Paul was always on his phone and it was not unusual for his battery to get very low or die. He says he had seen Paul limit his use of his phone in moments like that.

He is also asked about the distance between the kennels and the house and says you could drive it in under a minute if going quickly, or two minutes otherwise.

Mr Gibson also clarifies that cellphone service at the property was very spotty.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 21:10 , Oliver O'Connell

There is an extensive discussion about the many trucks on the Moselle farm and how Paul would leave firearms in them as well as in the workshop.

Mr Griffin is asking about security arrangements (or lack of) at the Moselle property. Things would often be left unlocked and there were no security cameras. It would be easy for someone to steal things that were left lying around.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 21:06 , Oliver O'Connell

Defence attorney Jim Griffin begins cross-examination emphasising the closeness of Mr Gibson to the family. He was allowed to hunt the property and use the vehicles.

He says that Alex was like a second father to him and that Alex and Paul’s relationship was great.

He asks about the threats to Paul after the 2019 boating accident. Mr Gibson said there were but indicates that they were not too serious.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 20:54 , Oliver O'Connell

Before the video is shown again to the court, Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters asks if either Paul or Maggie had sounded stressed or like they might be in danger, or as if someone they didn’t know was there.

Mr Gibson says they did not.

He also says that the family usually drove down to the kennels, but Maggie would sometimes walk or bike. They would use an ATV or golf cart, whatever was available.

Maggie liked to go to the kennels and let the dogs out to run — which we also heard in Alex Murdaugh’s interviews.

Mr Gibson says there were sometimes guns left at the kennels.

The video of Cash is shown again to the court.

Mr Gibson reiterates he recognises Alex’s voice and identifies him in the courtroom.

No further questions.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 20:51 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Gibson says in the days after he saw many family members and told Maggie’s mother “Grandmar” that he had spoken with Paul about the dog that night and had heard Maggie in the background and a male voice that he thought was Alex.

Eventually, investigators showed him the video of Cash that Paul was supposed to send to him.

He tells the court that he is now 100 per cent sure that the voices on the video are Paul, Maggie, and Alex — his “second family”.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 20:46 , Oliver O'Connell

Screenshots are shown to Mr Gibson from this own phone showing the log off his 4-minute call with Paul at 8.40pm.

There is then the failed FaceTime call at 8.44pm that lasted just 11 seconds.

There are then a series of unanswered texts in which Mr Gibson is asking him to take video or pictures of the dog’s tail.

At 9.58pm there is still no video and Mr Gibson sends Paul the text reading: “Yo.”

On the call log there are unanswered calls to Paul through until 10.08pm

He is also shown the unanswered text to Maggie asking her to tell Paul to call him.

Later there are texts and calls from Alex Murdaugh but he was asleep when those came through.

Mr Gibson told investigators he was “99 per cent” sure he heard Alex Murdaugh on the phone when he spoke with Paul.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 20:37 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Gibson explains that Maggie was fond of staying at a different property as she didn’t like the yellow flies at Moselle Road.

While he was staying with his girlfriend. Mr Gibson’s brown labrador puppy, named Cash, would stay with the Murdaughs at their dog kennels.

He says Paul would always have his phone with him and would answer messages quickly.

On the day of the murders, Paul asked if there was a problem with Cash’s tail. Mr Gibson asked him to FaceTime him so he could see. They spoke on the phone and Mr Gibson says he could also hear Maggie and Alex in the background.

It was agreed that due to bad reception Paul would send a video rather than FaceTime. The video never came. He tried to contact Paul and Maggie and no one replied.

In the morning he woke up around 5/5.30am to the news that Paul and Maggie were dead.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 20:28 , Oliver O'Connell

After a discussion about the hunting they did, Mr Gibson is asked about the guns they used, specifically the 300 Blackout belonging to Paul that was stolen five or six years ago. He was told that it had been taken from Paul’s car at a party.

He said Paul also had a Super Black Eagle 3 12-gauge shotgun and used a black .300 BLK rifle after his tan one went missing — Mr Gibson believed it was Buster’s.

New Witness: Rogan Gibson

Wednesday 1 February 2023 20:19 , Oliver O'Connell

The next witness is Rogan Gibson, Paul’s friend with whom he was texting immediately around the time of the murders. Mr Gibson also texted Maggie when Paul stopped responding to his texts.

Mr Gibson says he knew Paul his whole life and they became good friends when they were 11 or 12. They were close friends until the day Paul was murdered.

He describes Paul as enjoying the outdoors, hunting, and being around the Moselle Road property.

Mr Gibson says he was close to the whole family — they were like a second family to him. He had affectionate nicknames for all of the family.

He was also a guest at the family’s other homes but spent a lot of time at Moselle Road as he lived next door.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 20:13 , Oliver O'Connell

After Sgt Varnadoe identifies Murdaugh in court, the state has no further questions.

In cross-examination, defence attorney Jim Griffin clarifies that Murdaugh was cooperative and how Sgt Varnadoe had met him previously.

Concerning the GSR tests, Mr Griffin asks how thoroughly Murdaugh was tested. Sgt Varnadoe confirms he tested thoroughly.

No further questions.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 20:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Sgt Varnadoe explains and shows the process of performing a GSR test on a person.

He says Murdaugh understood the process and was able to answer questions clearly and appropriately.

Murdaugh had no alcohol on his breath, did not appear under the influence of drugs, and his hands were not shaking.

There was no blood or debris on Murdaugh’s hands and he did not appear to have any blood or dirt on his clothing, Sgt Varnadoe says.

In earlier testimony, Murdaugh claimed to have taken the pulses of his wife and son and tried to roll over Paul’s body. There was a great deal of blood at the scene.

Watch: Paul Murdaugh’s cellphone video

Wednesday 1 February 2023 20:01 , Oliver O'Connell

Here is the 50-second video Paul Murdaugh recorded on his phone at 8.44pm on 7 June 2021. Three voices can be heard: Paul, Maggie, and what prosecutors say is Alex Murdaugh.

Alex claims he was not at the kennel but was asleep in the house.

The murders happen just minutes later.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 19:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Sgt Varnadoe’s supervisor was Captain Jason Chapman.

He was instructed to give a GSR (gunshot residue) test to Alex Murdaugh’s hands.

Sgt Varnadoe had been to the property before many years ago for an alarm call.

He also knew Mr Murdaugh from when he had testified as an expert witness in a case involving a gang suspect in which he had interpreted some of the lingo used for the prosecution team led by the lawyer.

New Witness: Sgt Dathan (Brian) Varnadoe, Colleton County Sheriff’s Office

Wednesday 1 February 2023 19:51 , Oliver O'Connell

Court is back in session following the lunch break.

The jury has been brought back in and a new witness is on the stand — Sgt Nathan (Brian) Varnadoe of the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office.

On the night of 7 June 2021, Sgt Varnadoe was off duty but was called to the property on Moselle Road and entered and parked on the driveway near the dog kennels.

Watch: 3D FARO scan of crime scene

Wednesday 1 February 2023 19:26 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh cries in court as Paul’s last Snapchat video reveals three voices at dog kennels

Wednesday 1 February 2023 19:13 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh was seen sobbing as his son Paul’s final Snapchat video was played in court, revealing the voices of three separate people at the family’s dog kennels just minutes before the brutal double murder.

In the video, played to jurors at Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina on Wednesday, Paul is filming the tail of a dog he was caring for for a friend inside the kennels on the sprawling 1,700-acre Moselle estate in Islandton.

Three separate and distinct voices are heard in the footage – two male and one female.

Rachel Sharp has the latest.

Alex Murdaugh: Three voices heard at kennels in son’s last Snapchat video

Murdaugh’s calls to wife on night of murders were mysteriously ‘deleted’ from his iPhone

Wednesday 1 February 2023 18:54 , Oliver O'Connell

Calls Alex Murdaugh made to his wife on the night he allegedly murdered her and their son were mysteriously later “deleted” from his cellphone, according to dramatic courtroom testimony.

SLED Lt. Britt Dove, who works in the computer crimes centre at the state agency, testified in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Wednesday that he had processed the three cellphones belonging to Mr Murdaugh, his wife Maggie and son Paul in the aftermath of the brutal murders.

Lt Dove told the court that a trove of phone calls Mr Murdaugh made to his wife’s cellphone after he allegedly shot her and Paul dead were missing from the suspect’s call log.

Rachel Sharp reports on this morning’s testimony.

Alex Murdaugh’s calls to wife on night of murders were ‘deleted’ from cellphone

Wednesday 1 February 2023 18:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Wednesday 1 February 2023 18:24 , Oliver O'Connell

There is a further question from the defence team about the “springboard” feature on the home screen of iPhones that allows for quick launch of the camera function.

It is proposed that Maggie may have been trying to activate the camera to take photo of her killer and that may also account for the orientation changes.

Lt Dove cannot testify to that.

Court breaks for lunch until 2.35pm.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 18:21 , Oliver O'Connell

The prosecution also revisits how Maggie’s phone camera turned on for about one second.

Lt Dove says when it’s activated by a person, it would usually stay on for at least several seconds. In this context, and taking into account the other events logged by the phone such as orientation changes, his opinion is that the camera was most likely trying to focus on a face to unlock the phone with facial recognition.

No further questions from the prosecution.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 18:16 , Oliver O'Connell

Returning to Alex’s step count, he took 195 steps between 9.22pm and 9.32pm and another 60 steps between 9.35pm and 9.45pm.

The prosecution again reiterates that the step count is not completely accurate but also records distances in metres — this is also an approximation. What Lt Dove can concede is that 60 steps is likely going to be a shorter distance than 195 steps.

Maggie’s texts are also revisited, underlining that Alex asked her to come to the house that day.

Wednesday 1 February 2023 18:07 , Oliver O'Connell

Prosecution argues that there would have been no orientation change of Maggie’s phone if the screen was off.

The contention here is that the phone was thrown after the 9.06pm call from Alex Murdaugh.