CNN
—
Alex Murdaugh was “destroyed” by the deadly shootings of his spouse and son, his surviving son testified in his father’s double homicide trial Tuesday, because the protection labored to counter prosecutors’ allegations that Murdaugh is answerable for the killings.
“He was heartbroken. I walked within the door and noticed him, gave him a hug,” Buster Murdaugh stated of seeing his father within the hours after he discovered his mom, Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, and youthful brother, 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh, had been fatally shot. Alex Murdaugh was “simply damaged down,” Buster stated, including his father was crying and couldn’t actually communicate.
Buster Murdaugh was the third witness referred to as by the protection, which started its case Friday after prosecutors referred to as greater than 60 witnesses to bolster their argument Alex Murdaugh, 54, killed his spouse and son on the household’s Islandton property on June 7, 2021, in an try to distract from his alleged monetary crimes, which had been being quickly uncovered and for which he now faces 99 prices individually from the murders.
Alex Murdaugh has pleaded not responsible to 2 counts of homicide and two weapons prices within the killings, and the protection has painted Murdaugh as a loving father and husband being wrongfully accused after what it says has been a poorly dealt with investigation.
Within the final three weeks of the trial, prosecutors have tried to beat the shortage of any direct proof – similar to an eyewitness – tying Murdaugh to the killings. As a substitute, their case has relied closely on circumstantial proof that they are saying reveals Murdaugh lied to investigators and was on the scene simply minutes earlier than the killings.
His protection attorneys have criticized the prosecutors’ case as speculative and waved off their deal with his alleged monetary schemes as irrelevant.
The protection used Buster Murdaugh on Tuesday to undermine the testimony of a state witness who informed the court docket late final month he believed Alex Murdaugh inadvertently confessed to finishing up the murders whereas talking to investigators.
The witness, South Carolina Regulation Enforcement Division Particular Agent Jeff Croft, stated he believed Murdaugh stated “I did him so unhealthy” in reference to Paul’s physique throughout an emotional interview with investigators on June 10, 2021.
Croft didn’t observe up concerning the assertion, nevertheless, and the protection maintained Murdaugh as an alternative stated, “They did him so unhealthy” – a declare Buster backed up Tuesday.
The tape of the June 10, 2021, interview was not the primary time he’d heard his father say, “They did him so unhealthy,” Buster stated.
“The primary time I heard him say that was the evening that I went all the way down to Moselle,” he stated, referring to the Islandton property, “the evening of June the seventh.”
“Did he say that multiple time?” protection legal professional Jim Griffin requested.
“He did,” Buster stated.
The protection additionally sought to counter the testimony of a caretaker for Murdaugh’s mom, who testified for the state that Murdaugh visited his mom’s dwelling in Almeda the evening of the killings between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. The caretaker, Mushell “Shelly” Smith, cared for Murdaugh’s mom from 8 p.m. to eight a.m. and testified late evening visits had been uncommon.
However the household adopted no set schedule when visiting his grandparents, which his father did typically.
“It might have been any time. We went over at lunch a number of instances, went over within the evenings so much, simply no actual set schedule,” Buster stated. “Simply form of mosey on over there.”
Earlier than his loss of life, Paul Murdaugh was being bullied on social media and in public for his alleged involvement in a February 2019 boat crash that killed 19-year-old Mallory Seaside, Buster Murdaugh testified, describing social media messages his brother obtained and confrontations in bars.
Paul had pleaded not responsible to prices in connection to the accident, and court docket information present the costs had been dropped after his loss of life.
Folks had been sending Paul messages concerning the crash, Buster stated, and “a number of instances he’d be strolling down the sidewalk and, you realize, a automotive comes by and they’d yell some stuff at him.”
“I knew he would exit at a bar and there’s anyone that wishes to speak about it, make a scuff about it,” Buster stated.
The accident and the following backlash from the neighborhood “form of consumed” his 52-year-old mom, Buster stated.
“She (was) massive on studying all of it. And when she learn the unfavorable stuff, you realize, (it) made her really feel upset and whatnot, and it in the end form of induced her to distance herself from Hampton,” the place the household had lengthy lived, he stated. Maggie felt folks on the town had been “looking at her and speaking about her,” Buster stated, and she or he stopped going to the grocery shops and pharmacy there.
Alex Murdaugh was sued by Seaside’s household after the boat crash, and prosecutors pointed to the lawsuit as a possible catalyst for the killings: Witnesses who testified for the state described a listening to in that case, set to happen three days after the deadly shootings, which might have revealed the state of Murdaugh’s funds and his alleged misdeeds. The listening to was canceled after the killings.
However Alex Murdaugh by no means appeared “overly anxious” concerning the civil case, Buster stated Tuesday. The felony case towards Paul was the precedence, he stated, as a result of “none of us thought that he was driving the boat” on the time of the accident.
The protection appeared to recommend final week that the killings may very well be associated to a monetary dispute with a drug gang, saying Murdaugh was shopping for $50,000 price of medicine every week from a person who was in important debt to a gang.
Murdaugh’s legal professionals have beforehand acknowledged he struggles with an opioid habit and prosecutors offered proof Friday displaying Paul confronted his father a few stash of tablets a month earlier than he and his mom had been killed.
Buster testified Tuesday he “knew a little bit bit about” his father’s drug use, saying he was conscious that his brother and mom had discovered tablets. He described a number of efforts by his father to deal with his habit, together with going to a detox facility round Christmas in 2018.
Buster “thought that that dealt with it,” however there have been “a pair extra instances” his brother and mom would discover extra tablets.
Buster wasn’t current when his father was confronted about his drug use, he testified, however believed his response was largely “apologetic and sorry.”
Buster Murdaugh’s testimony Tuesday was adopted by that of Mike Sutton, a forensic engineer who labored to recreate the scene of the killings and testified that Alex Murdaugh couldn’t be the shooter as a result of he’s too tall.
Sutton analyzed bullet holes discovered on the scene, notably one left in a quail pen, in addition to the placement of shell casings discovered by Maggie’s physique to find out the trajectory bullets adopted after they had been fired. Based mostly on his evaluation, Sutton stated, the trajectory of the bullet would make sense if the shooter was between 5 ft 2 inches and 5 ft 4 inches tall.
If the gunman was taller, it could have required the shooter to carry the weapon in a low place – from the hip, for instance. Sutton indicated it could be even much less lifelike if the shooter had been as tall as Alex Murdaugh, who stands at about 6 ft 4 inches, requiring the killer to fireside whereas crouching over and holding the gun as little as his knees.
“It places the shooter or whoever fired the weapon, in the event that they had been that tall, it places them in an unrealistic capturing place,” Sutton stated. “It’s not an aiming place, it’s not a capturing place. … It will be very troublesome. You would need to be bending over and have your capturing hand down at or beneath your kneecap.”
“It simply makes it impossible {that a} tall particular person made that shot,” Sutton stated.
Sutton additionally analyzed the acoustics of gunfire on the scene, telling the court docket it was attainable for somebody to be inside the home and never hear a gun – just like the .300 Blackout rifle believed to have killed Maggie – fired on the property’s canine kennels, the place the our bodies had been discovered.
“You wouldn’t be capable of hear it,” Sutton stated.
“And the shotgun, I assume, was quieter, so I assume even much less of a chance to listen to that,” protection legal professional Dick Harpootlian stated.
“There have been instances we fired the shotgun, and in a quiet home you couldn’t hear it in any respect,” Sutton stated.
Prosecutor David Fernandez sought to undercut Sutton’s testimony throughout cross-examination, establishing that whereas his major experience is in accident reconstruction, he has no certification or coaching in reconstructing capturing incidents. Sutton has carried out unpublished research and assessments on bullet trajectories, he stated.
Fernandez questioned Sutton on his findings {that a} 5-feet-two-inch tall particular person was answerable for firing the weapon, asking Sutton if it was attainable that the cartridge casings from the fired bullets had been moved on the scene or ricocheted, which might affect his calculations. Sutton acknowledged it was attainable.
Sutton additionally acknowledged that the ammunition he used within the acoustics check was, whereas related, not the precise buckshot utilized in Paul Murdaugh’s homicide.
Moreover, Sutton testified he was employed by protection legal professional Jim Griffin to research the 2019 boat crash that killed Mallory Seaside previous to the murders.
