SC - Paul Murdaugh,22 & Mom Margaret,52, 7 June 2021 *Media, Maps, Timeline-NO DISCUSSION*

New Posts

2/3/23​

LIVE BLOG: Murdaugh Murder Trial, Day 10: Will the jury hear about Alex's financials?​


Friday begins with in-camera testimony of Jan Malinowski, vice president of Palmetto State Bank.


06:54

Malinowski testifying to Alex Murdaugh's relationship as a bank customer.


06:57

Bank's board of directors began discussing Murdaugh's relation to the bank in July and August, 2021. Murdaugh owed north of $4 million in loans.
Aug. 6, 2021, Alex's account balance was (-)$346K -- significantly overdrawn.


06:58

Malinowski says with no explanation, Bank CEO Russell Laffitte transferred $400K into Alex's accounts in early August to cover overdraft.


07:01

Aug. 17, 2021, board of directors meeting held. Alex's loans and debts discussed.
No documentation of a $750K loan on the books at that time of the meeting, which was later used to explain away the transfer of $400K into Alex's account to cover overdraft.


07:03

Creighton Waters for the state also brings up in July 2021, a $350K wire transfer to Chris Wilson's law firm with no associated loan paperwork or anything. This accounts for the rest of the $750K "loan" that wasn't even approved or on the books as of August 17 board meeting.


07:05

The timing of Russell Laffitte making the $400K transfer into Murdaugh's account (August 9, 2021) came the same day as board members began asking questions about the bank's "exposure" with Murdaugh


07:09

Malinowski reviewing loan application documents signed by Alex Murdaugh. The manually entered date on the documents says "July 15" but the automatically generated loan number from the bank's computer system shows the loan paperwork wasn't generated until August after the bank board meeting.


07:13

Malinowski's understanding of the collateral for the $750K loan when discussed at the August meeting, it was supposed to be a second mortgage on Alex's Edisto Beach house. ... Except Alex didn't own the beach house. It was in his wife's name, for one, and two, it was tied up in probate following his wife's death. Also, the loan documents produced by Russell Laffitte showed the $750K also was using Murdaugh's $250K share in a hunting club ("Green Swamp"). But that hunting club share was already pledged as collateral for two speculative investment properties (Red Beard, 0 United Drive) that Murdaugh partly owned in Berkeley County.

In other words, there was no collateral on the 2021 $750K loan.


07:15

Russell Laffitte at points has tried to explain away the legitimacy of the "beach house" second mortgage by saying an appraisal had been ordered back in April 2021. But that appraisal was done for a beach house renovation, not a second mortgage, Malinowski says.


07:23

Malinowski says had the bank known the full picture of Murdaugh's financial position, they wouldn't have continued to loan him money.


07:31

Jim Griffin in cross examination appears to be attempting to use the same arguments Russell Laffitte's lawyers used in his federal trial about approving Murdaugh's loans and lines of credits -- that technically Murdaugh had support and approval by the majority (3/5ths) of the bank's executive committee, and that Bank President & Chairman Charlie Laffitte had pledged the bank would continue giving Murdaugh loans in a board meeting in August 2021.


07:36

It should be noted that Russell Laffitte was convicted on six federal bank fraud conspiracy charges after he, his father and his sister tried to make this same argument in Laffitte's federal trial. It's because Laffitte and Murdaugh were stealing money to pay back Murdaugh's egregious overdrafts and loans. And several members of the bank's board of directors testified the bank bylaws did NOT give Laffitte, his dad and sister authority to do what they'd done.


07:38

Griffin asks Malinowski about FDIC audits. To his knowledge, Palmetto State Bank had not been flagged by FDIC auditors.


07:41

Waters asking if the loan to remodel the Edisto House said anything about $350K to Chris Wilson to make up funds diverted from law firm and $400K to cover significant -$347K overdraft.

Malinowski: NO.


07:43

Waters: Did Alex's account run to -$347K quickly after the June 7 murders?
Malinowski: Yes.
Waters: And the bank kept paying?
Malinowski: Yes.
Waters: Perhaps the most generous overdraft policy ever seen?
Malinowski: Quite possibly.


07:45

Malinowski says Murdaugh couldn't have sold foreclosed Berkeley County properties without paying back defaulted, charged off loans plus interest and late fees.


07:46

Malinowski clarifies appraisal of Edisto Beach property was to renew the preexisting mortgage for remodeling purposes, not to get a new $750K.


07:47

Waters asks if all Murdaugh's thefts had come out and he was fired from his job, would the bank have continued lending him money? Malinowski say no, in no uncertain terms.


07:48

Now on the stand for the state, Michael "Tony" Satterfield.


Son of Gloria Satterfield.


07:49

Gloria Satterfield was a longtime housekeeper and babysitter for Alex Murdaugh. Worked for Alex's family for about 20 years.


07:49

Tony says he knew Mr. Murdaugh and trusted him.


07:51

Gloria died after a fall at Murdaugh's Moselle house. Alex came to Tony saying they would go after Alex's insurance company to get the medical bills taken care of. $500K policy.


07:52

Tony was always under the impression Alex was his lawyer. Eventually, Alex brought in his friend Cory Fleming (Beaufort attorney, Alex's law school roommate) to be Tony's lawyer because Alex said it was a "conflict of interest" to be his lawyer.


07:53

Alex and Cory also brought in Chad Westendorf from Palmetto State Bank to be Tony's "personal representative" for financial matters in the case.


07:53

Tony only met with Chad Westendorf one time he could think of.


07:54

Tony says Alex only ever told him about the $500K insurance policy, not that he had an "umbrella" policy worth potentially more than $5M.


07:56

Waters introduces a medical bill Tony received. Tony says he sent it to Alex and the law firm because Alex had told him to do that. Says he still considered Alex his lawyer.


07:58

Tony says he talked to Alex every few months to get updates on the case, Alex said it was hard but they were making progress. Alex told him they hoped to get $100K each for Tony and his brother.


07:58

Tony says family in 2021 advised him of media reports indicating a settlement in his mother's case had been reached.


08:00

Tony called Alex in JUNE 2021 around the time of the murders to ask about the status of the settlement. Alex said making progress, be ready to settle by the end of the year. Before that, Alex nor Cory Fleming nor Chad Westendorf had communicated with him about any settlement.


08:02

In reality, Murdaugh had already gotten settlements for $505K and $3.8M. A large portion of that money was diverted by Alex Murdaugh. Never got a cent from Murdaugh until after the settlements were discovered and lawsuits were filed in Sept. 2021, and Alex later confessed judgment in the civil action.


08:02

Tony says he didn't give Alex permission to "steal his money."


08:04

Jim Griffin in brief cross exam asked Tony if he could remember if it was before or after the murders he spoke to Alex about the settlement. He can't. Tony says he spoke to Alex about 3-4 times throughout the year, can't recall how many times or who called who. Griffin has nothing further


08:05

Brief recess while state prepares to call next witness.


08:11

Now on the witness stand for the state, Carson Burney.


08:11

Burney is a forensic accountant in the State Grand Jury division of the South Carolina Attorney General's Office.


08:14

Burney examined money coming in and out of Alex's accounts and going into loan payments.


08:15

Burney describes method of tracking named "first in, first out." Simply means the first money into the account is the first money out of the account for sequential tracking purposes.


Burney is being asked about the Faris case, the one which Alex convinced Chris Wilson to pay him fees directly, and converted law firm funds to his own personal use.

First three checks we're reviewing are the Faris case checks from Wilson to Murdaugh. $192K, $370K, $225K


08:18

State shows $507K payment from Murdaugh's account to "C.E. Smith." Curtis Edward Smith. "Cousin Eddie."


08:20

General flow of funds was fake Forge account money would flow out to other accounts. Alex's personal checking accounts, for example.


08:30

$747K of $792K from Faris case was disbursed.


08:37

$403K in Satterfield money: Deposited in fake Forge account.
Primarily moved into other accounts, and then into other accounts again, plus loan payments, car payments.

$2,9M in Satterfield money. Deposited in fake Forge accounts, distributed among several of Alex's other accounts. Consistent pattern of checks being written to Curtis Edward Smith. Tens of thousands of dollars. Credit card payments. Six figure loan payment to Randolph Murdaugh III (Alex's father)


08:40

Burney testifies the tracing reflects money Murdaugh took went to his personal use and benefit. No further questions from state or defense.


08:41

Jury has been called. Taking the stand for the State, Thomas Darnell, a fingerprint examiner for the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED).


08:42

Tom Darnell qualified as an expert in fingerprint analysis for the State. Savannah Goude conducting the questioning for the AG's office.


08:43

Fingerprints are primarily moisture. About 98%


08:46

Darnell received items to test for prints in Murdaugh case.


08:47

State introduces .300BLK rifle shell casings. No fingerprint evidence observed. Darnell says they don't usually find a lot of fingerprints on fired cartridge casings due to heat and friction of gunfire processes.


08:48

State brings out the spent shotgun shells. Darnell says they don't typically have a lot of success lifting prints from shotshells, either.


08:50

Darnell testifies in his 30 years, he's very, very rarely been able to lift a fingerprint from a cartridge case or shotshell, and none that he's been able to positively identify from what print information they did find.


08:52

Now discussing fingerprints taken from Benelli 12 gauge shotgun Alex had with him when police arrived the night of the murders. Darnell checked several areas of the gun where they know they'll typically have success finding prints and DNA.


08:53

Examining cell phone Darnell swabbed for DNA and tested for fingerprint. Very small amount of fingerprints, but not enough detail or clarity for comparison.


08:56

Tested several other shotguns and .300BLK rifle from Murdaugh house.. Nothing of value found. Used very bright lights and fluorescent dye stains. Used superglue fuming method to check for prints. Nothing.


08:57

Tested 30-round magazine and each .300BLK unfired cartridge therein. Nothing of value found. Also ran swabs and sent to DNA department.


09:00

State has no further questions. Dick Harpootlian questioning for the Defense.


09:02

Darnell says lots of other things could influence no prints on fired cartridges and shell casings: weather, moisture, many things.


09:04

Dick asks if there's any reason why he wouldn't get prints off a brass shell. Darnell says friction and close contact in the magazine are one reason, also the fact again a fingerprint is 98% moisture. Brass would be conducive to prints, however.


Darnell saying fingerprints are extremely fragile.


09:07

Harpootlian asking if he knows if anyone tested for fingerprints at the murder scene, and if he would've done it himself. Darnell unsure on if prints were collected, but says it's important and he would've himself.


09:08

Darnell says he would've taken detailed notes.


09:08

Darnell says there should've been documentation in the files of that.


09:09

Darnell says no one from the latent print department at SLED was at the crimes scene the day of the murders.


09:10

Darnell says he personally has gone to crime scenes in the past, but his department doesn't usually go to scenes. Evidence is collected at the scene, and sent to the lab.


09:11

Darnell reiterates he did identify some evidence of fingerprints on items from Murdaugh murder scene, but nothing of value for comparison. Nothing observed on initial shotgun (Murdaugh gun at scene).


09:13

Harpootlian asks if Darnell would be surprised to know Murdaugh was seen holding the shotgun the evening of the murders. Darnell says no, but just because you touch something doesn't mean you leave a print and there are all kinds of variables that could influence absence of prints.


09:17

In redirect by Savannah Goude, Darnell testifies crime scene personnel are trained to look for prints at crime scenes. They're trained to process fingerprints at scene. Goude asks with such a bloody scene, did he get any blood prints sent to his lab? Darnell says no.


09:18

Next on the stand Blake Johnson, SLED agent. Works in investigative services dept. in Lowcountry. Investigates homicides, officer involved shootings.


09:19

Collected DNA swabs from Claude "CB" Rowe and Connor Cook in connection to Murdaugh case.


09:20

Rowe's and Cook's DNA swabs entered into evidence. No further questions from State or Defense.


09:21

Next on the stand, Lawrence Wiggins. Chief of Allendale Town Police Dept. He was a regional SLED detective in 2021.


09:21

Wiggins collected DNA swabs from Roger Davis (dog caretaker for Murdaughs) and Anthony Cook.


09:24

Anthony Cook and Connor Cook were involved in the boat crash with Paul Murdaugh which left Mallory Beach dead. Anthony was Mallory's boyfriend. The Murdaughs were being investigated for obstruction of justice in the boat crash criminal case, and accused of trying to "pin it" on Connor Cook as the person driving the boat, despite witness statements to the contrary saying Paul was driving.


09:26

Chandler Horney, SLED agent, testifies to DNA swabs taken from Miley Altman and Morgan Doughty, survivors of boat crash. No questions.


09:28

Jomar "Joe" Albayalde, SLED agent on the witness stand. He collected DNA swabs from Randy Murdaugh and H. Torres and son A. Gonzalez (neither on witness list, not sure who they are). No questions.


09:28

Next witness will be lengthy per Creighton Waters. Court in brief recess.


09:42

Court resuming. State calls to testify Paul Greer, SLED agent.


09:45

Greer is a specialist in firearms analysis at SLED.


Greer has been qualified as an expert witness on firearms analysis and tool marks, the unique abrasions found on shotshells or cartridge casings from their interactions with specific firearms.


09:57

Greer will testify regarding the tool marks (unique metal on metal abrasions) found on the .300BLK cartridge casings recovered from the murder scene.

The Defense tried to prevent Greer from testifying through a Hail Mary pretrial motion. Judge Newman rejected it.


09:58

If the pretrial testimony we heard from Greer is an indication, he's going to say the tool marks on the .300BLK shells at the murder scene match the ones from the .300BLK shells found by the steps outside the Murdaughs "gun room" at their home in Moselle.


09:59

Notably, we learned earlier this week from Paul Murdaugh's friend Will Loving he and Paul fired a .300 Blackout AR-15 style rifle outside the gun room door just a couple months before the murders. They used a rifle belonging to Paul. That rifle remains missing.


10:01

Greer right now is discussing the history of the AR-15 rifle. Says it's a highly modular semiautomatic rifle platform. It usually fires .223 civilian caliber (analogue of 5.56mm NATO military) rounds.


10:06

Greer explains how the .300 Blackout cartridge was designed to be used in AR-15 style rifles. .300BLK is a much larger bullet, but similar sized cartridge to .223 / 5.56mm. The rifle requires some modification to use the larger bullet, but most of the basic parts stay the same. You can even use .300BLK cartridges in magazines designed for .223 / 5.56mm.


10:06

Greer giving basic background info on bullets and ammunition.


10:07

Greer now discussing the process of study and peer review on firearm tool marks.


10:08

Greer says he's been submitted a number of items to analyze pertinent to the Murdaugh murder case.


10:14

Greer reviewing several .300BLK cartridges collected from the crime scene. Manufactured by S&B - Sellier & Bellot.


10:16

Jim Griffin reiterating now a pretrial objection to Greer offering his opinion on the findings of the analysis, even though he's been qualified as an expert and firearms tool marks is an accepted, peer reviewed science


10:16

Objection noted by Judge Newman. Greer and State allowed to continue.


10:17

Greer identifies shotgun shells recovered from crime scene near where Paul Murdaugh's body was found.


10:20

Greer examining Benelli Super Black Eagle 12 gauge shotgun. It's the one Alex Murdaugh had at the scene the night of the murder. Found with 12 gauge buckshot and 16 gauge small game load.


10:21

A SLED agent testified earlier in trial she had to manually remove the 16 gauge shell from the gun because it's improperly sized for a 12 gauge and became stuck


10:24

State introduces 24 "bird shot" pellets from a shotgun shell found inside the feed room at the crime scene.


10:25

State introduces a fired bullet found in the bedding inside a dog house at the crime scene.


10:26

State introduces bullet jacket fragments and piece of lead found in a hole in the ground at the crime scene.


10:27

State introduces piece of lead recovered on Maggie's body.


10:29

State introduces 48 bird shot pellets from shoulder and head of Paul Murdaugh and plastic shotshell wad fragments from Paul's shoulder and chest.


Court is in recess for lunch until 2:45 p.m.


11:51

Court is resuming


11:52

Introducing 3 fired bullet fragments and 7 pieces of lead bullet from Maggie Murdaugh's autopsy.


11:53

1 birdshot pellet found on Paul Murdaugh's clothing and also something from his left jaw.


12:02

Introducing unfired ammo into evidence. S&B 147 grain .300BLK cartridges and 12 gauge 3-inch 00 Buckshot shotshells.


12:04

Adding into evidence Winchester DryLok 3-inch No. 2 steel shot waterfowl load.


12:05

Introducing empty box for S&B .300 BLK ammo.


12:06

Introducing more fired S&B .300BLK shell casings


12:08

Intro of fired .300BLK and 12 gauge shells Greer says he analyzed.


12:10

Introducing swabs of reddish brown debris from the shotgun Alex Murdaugh had the night of the murders.


12:13

Greer being asked now about the methodology for determining if a particular firearm was used to fire a particular ammo cartridge.


12:13

Greer says a lot of documentation is needed.


12:15

Greer explains this lab will test fire ammo in guns to create a control sample that can be compared to the evidence.


12:17

Greer says he and another examiner will independently review the his report and arrive at their own conclusion. Then their two findings will be compared to see if they reach the same conclusion, then undergo an administrative review by their superiors before being released.


12:20

Greer explaining different distinct tool marks you can find on a cartridge. Firing pin mark, breechface, ejector mechanism, extractor mechanism, chamber. They all leave unique marks on the gun. Marks are left by ejector and extractor even if the cartridge is not fired. It proves it traveled through the firearm at some time.


12:21

Moving to Greer's shotgun shell examination.


12:22

Beginning with the two fired shotgun shells recovered from the feed room at Murdaugh's property, where Paul was killed. Greer determined the shells were fired by the same make and model of shotgun.


12:23

Reminder, Paul was shot with 12 gauge 00 buckshot and 12 gauge No. 2 steel waterfowl shot.


12:24

Greer now moves to his exam results of the UNFIRED 12 gauge shotgun shell recovered from the shotgun Alex Murdaugh had at the scene the night of the murders.


12:25

Greer says he used that same unfired shell that was submitted with the shotgun to test fire it in the lab.



The unfired shell was a Federal Premium 12 gauge 00 Buckshot shotshell. So was the fired buckshot shell retrieved near Paul's body.


12:32

Mossberg shotgun didn't fire the shells used to kill Paull.
The Browning A5 shotgun didn't fire the shells.
Benelli Super Black Eagle 2 12 gauge shotgun did not fire them.
Benelli Super Black Eagle 3 12 gauge shotgun (the one Alex had) -- results were inconclusive. Unable to determine if fired by same gun or another.


12:32

Moving on to Greer's testing of .300BLK cartridge casings.


12:35

Greer test fired black in color .300BLK chambered AR15 rifle recovered from gun room, using ammo and magazine also recovered from the scene. He determined markings on various cartridge casings found on the property matched markings on the cartridges he test fired using the .300BLK.


12:35

Results were inconclusive on other shell casings he recoverd.


12:37

Determined some other shell casings found had been cycled through the rifle's action at some point, but not fired by that gun.


12:39

Now on to his review of shell casings from .300BLK found near Maggie's body at crime scene.


12:40

He's also cross referencing those with the .300BLK shell casings on the ground at the side entrance door which leads into the "gun room" at Murdaugh's house.


12:40

Greer says he noted about the shells found beside the house that they were tarnished and weathered.


12:41

Greer testifies the .300BLK shells near Maggie's body had markings from a firearm identical to markings on the shell casings from the ones beside the house.


12:48

To be clear: Paul Greer testifies .300BLK shell casings near Maggie's body at the crime scene had tool markings identical to shell casings recovered beside Murdaugh's house and at his shooting range. Shells from 3 separate locations on Murdaugh's property - including the crime scene - were all fired by the same gun.


12:49

Greer testifies several bullets recovered at the crime scene weighed 147 grains, indicating they were the same size as the bullets used in rifles Murdaugh owned.


12:50

State introduces four unfired Federal Premium 12 Gauge 3-inch Magnum 00 Buckshot shotshells.


12:56

State introduces several 12 gauge unfired 3-inch Winchester DryLok No.2 steel shot shotshells collected from the house.


12:57

Greer now reviews the fired Winchester DryLok 12 gauge 3-inch No. 2 shotshell recovered near Paul's body.


12:58

The point the state was making at the end: The fired shotgun shells found near Paul's body match numerous unfired shotgun shells of the same make and manufacture found in the Murdaughs' home


12:58

Court is in short recess. State has no further questions for Greer right now. Defense will cross examine after the break.


13:12

Court is back in session. Jim Griffin questioning for Defense.


13:14

Griffin asks if Greer can clarify whether or not the 12 gauge shotgun Alex had at the scene was used to fire the shotgun shells near Paul's body. Greer reiterates his results were inconclusive. It's possible they were, it's possible they weren't.


13:16

Greer: It could've been fired by that shotgun, and it could've been fired by another shotgun with similar characteristics.



Greer said his tests were also inconclusive on whether some of the .300BLK cartridges collected had been fired by the black AR-15 found at the house. (This was Buster's rifle, according to earlier testimony).


13:32

Griffin asks Greer about the fact the black rifle wasn't properly ejecting spent shells and feeding new ones when testing Buster's rifle. Greer says that's true. Gun wasn't working correctly. He had to manually cycle the action each time after firing to get a new round to load into the chamber. (In a semi-auto AR15 style rifle, the design of the gun is such that it should load new rounds into the chamber without the shooter having to do anything except pull the trigger.)


13:35

Griffin asks Greer if it's fair to say he wasn't able to "rapid fire" the rifle while testing. Greer doesn't use Jim's terminology, but says the rifle didn't perform as expected. (It would've been expected to fire, eject the shell casing, and load a fresh shell each time Greer pulled the trigger. That can be done quite rapidly with an AR15, but Greer say it wasn't doing that because of some malfunction.)


13:47

Griffin questions Greer about the actual fired bullets collected from the scene. Greer says rifle bullets also have unique markings on them once fired due to interaction with the rifling in the barrel of the gun. Bullets recovered from the scene and Maggie's body weren't suitable to test and analyze for conclusive results if they were fired by the same gun.


13:54

Griffin asks Greer about the fact there was a berm at the Murdaughs' shooting range that would've had fired bullets from .300BLK to compare against. Greer says he can't say for sure if it would've been helpful or not for SLED to have collected those bullets for comparison, it depends on a lot of factors, primarily what condition the bullets were in.


13:56

Griffin asks Greer about the matching markings on shell casings at crime scene and from other places on property. Greer says it's "inconclusive" if all those cartridges were FIRED by the same gun. (That was my verbiage in a previous entry, not Greer's). He says the firing pin marks were inconclusive, but breech, extractor & ejector marks all matched.


13:59

Griffin asks if Greer can answer yes or no if his analysis of all these markings and shell casings is based on the assumption that each gun in the world creates unique individual tool markings on shell casings.


14:02

Greer says he would like to give an explanation before giving his answer. Jim Griffin fights him, asks for a yes or no. Judge Newman instructs Greer to asnwer yes or no if he can, then explain. Greer says he hasn't seen every gun - every .300 Blackout - in the world to say yes or no.


14:02

Griffin is alluding to point he's tried to make in pretrial that mass produced firearms may create substantially similar tool markings.


14:03

Griffin moving on to shotgun now.


14:10

Griffin questions Greer about variations in weights of bullets and shotshell pellets collected. He explains it all pretty quickly


14:12

Griffin asks Greer about 16 gauge shell being found in Murdaugh's 12 gauge shotgun. Asks if that's dangerous. Greer says he can't predict what would happen if you tried to fire a 16 gauge from a 12 gauge (16 gauge is smaller). Greer says he wouldn't recommend it.


14:19

Griffin asks Greer about the science vs. the art of tool mark analysis. Greer calls it an applied science. Says there is some art to it, but they use highly precise methods and rigorous testing to reach their conclusions.


14:23

Greer says he never told any colleagues at SLED that the guns he tested were the murder weapons based on what he observed.


14:24

Greer says he reached his conclusions with 100% confidence about the markings on the shell casings at the crime scene matching markings on other casings collected at the property.


14:26

In redirect by the State, they're having Greer going in depth on the history of firearm tool mark science and its efficacy.


14:28

State brings up Griffin's insinuation tool marks from mass produced guns could be identical on different guns. State brings up scientific study Greer himself was involved in where he was able to repeatedly differentiate between markings made by mass produced guns that were built in the same facility with the same parts and materials.


14:30

State and defense have no further questions. Jury excused until Monday at 11:30 a.m.


14:37

Creighton Waters at the end of the day asked Judge Newman about his ability to question one of Murdaugh's law partners about a conversation that took place between Murdaugh and other partners with Jim Griffin present before a SLED interview on June 10, 2021.


14:39

Waters says he's known about the conversation for a while but hasn't wanted to address it so as not to cross a line regarding attorney client privilege. He asks Judge Newman to consider allowing him to have a private conversation with the law partner, asserting it wasn't an attorney-client privileged conversation because the law partner was present as a third party while Jim Griffin was there, meaning the conversation wasn't protected.


Waters says he simply wants to ask the partner about the content of the conversation, thinking it's relevant to the case. Griffin objects, saying what Waters is trying to do is have a deposition with a witness in trial. Waters counters saying he just wants to talk to this other lawyer.


14:45

Newman tells Waters to submit a memo or motion with pertinent case law and he will make a ruling Monday morning.



 

Murdaugh Family Murders: Expert Says Spent Cartridge Cases Found Near Maggie’s Body MATCH Ones at Family Shooting Range​


www.crimeonline.com

Murdaugh Family Murders: Expert Says Spent Cartridge Cases Found Near Maggie’s Body MATCH Ones at Family Shooting Range

On Friday, a firearms examiner testified that spent cartridge cases found near Maggie Murdaugh’s body match cases located around the family’s property. Paul Greer stated that “mechanism marks” of the cartridges found at the dog kennel where Maggie was murdered appear identical to some...
www.crimeonline.com www.crimeonline.com
 

FEB 3, 2023-- Live Trial Blog, AM

Murdaugh murder trial week 2 wraps up with testimony on firearms, financial crimes​


First on the stand (no jury): Jan Malinowski​

Malinowski is the vice president of Palmetto State Bank. He testified to Alex Murdaugh's relationship as a bank customer.

The bank's board of directors began discussing Murdaugh's relation to the bank in July and August of 2021. Murdaugh owed north of $4 million in loans.

On Aug. 6, 2021, his account balance was (-)$346,000 -- significantly overdrawn.

Malinowski said with no explanation, Bank CEO Russell Laffitte transferred $400,000 into Alex's accounts in early August to cover overdraft.

Aug. 17, 2021, a board of directors meeting was held and Alex's loans and debts discussed. There was no documentation of a $750,000 loan on the books at that time of the meeting, which was later used to explain away the transfer of $400,000 into Alex's account to cover overdraft.

Creighton Waters for the state also brought up in July 2021, a $350,000 wire transfer to Chris Wilson's law firm with no associated loan paperwork or anything. This accounts for the rest of the $750,000 "loan" that wasn't even approved or on the books as of August 17 board meeting.

The timing of Russell Laffitte making the $400,000 transfer into Murdaugh's account (August 9, 2021) came the same day as board members began asking questions about the bank's "exposure" with Murdaugh.

Malinowski reviewed loan application documents signed by Alex Murdaugh. The manually entered date on the documents says "July 15" but the automatically generated loan number from the bank's computer system shows the loan paperwork wasn't generated until August, after the bank board meeting.

Malinowski's understanding of the collateral for the $750,000 loan when discussed at the August meeting, it was supposed to be a second mortgage on Alex's Edisto Beach house, except Alex didn't own the beach house. It was in his wife's name, for one; and two, it was tied up in probate following his wife's death.

Also, the loan documents produced by Russell Laffitte showed the $750,00 also was using Murdaugh's $250,000 share in a hunting club "Green Swamp," but that hunting club share was already pledged as collateral for two speculative investment properties (Red Beard, 0 United Drive) that Murdaugh partly owned in Berkeley County.

In other words, there was no collateral on the 2021 $750,000 loan.

Russell Laffitte at points has tried to explain away the legitimacy of the "beach house" second mortgage by saying an appraisal had been ordered back in April 2021. But that appraisal was done for a beach house renovation, not a second mortgage, Malinowski said.

Malinowski said had the bank known the full picture of Murdaugh's financial position, they wouldn't have continued to loan him money.

Jim Griffin in cross examination appeared to be attempting to use the same arguments Russell Laffitte's lawyers used in his federal trial about approving Murdaugh's loans and lines of credits -- that technically Murdaugh had support and approval by the majority (3/5ths) of the bank's executive committee, and that Bank President & Chairman Charlie Laffitte had pledged the bank would continue giving Murdaugh loans in a board meeting in August 2021.

It should be noted that Russell Laffitte was convicted on six federal bank fraud conspiracy charges after he, his father and his sister tried to make this same argument in Laffitte's federal trial. It's because Laffitte and Murdaugh were stealing money to pay back Murdaugh's egregious overdrafts and loans. And several members of the bank's board of directors testified the bank bylaws did not give Laffitte, his dad and sister authority to do what they'd done.

Griffin asked Malinowski about FDIC audits. To his knowledge, Palmetto State Bank had not been flagged by FDIC auditors.

Waters asked if the loan to remodel the Edisto House said anything about $350,000 to Chris Wilson to make up funds diverted from law firm and $400,000 to cover significant -$347,000 overdraft.

Malinowski said: "NO."

Waters: "Did Alex's account run to -$347K quickly after the June 7 murders?
Click to expand...
Malinowski: "Yes.
Click to expand...
Waters: "And the bank kept paying?
Click to expand...
Malinowski: "Yes.
Click to expand...
Waters: "Perhaps the most generous overdraft policy ever seen?
Click to expand...
Malinowski: "Quite possibly.
Click to expand...
Malinowski said Murdaugh couldn't have sold foreclosed Berkeley County properties without paying back defaulted, charged off loans plus interest and late fees.

Malinowski clarified appraisal of Edisto Beach property was to renew the preexisting mortgage for remodeling purposes, not to get a new $750,000.

Waters asked if all Murdaugh's thefts had come out and he was fired from his job, would the bank have continued lending him money? Malinowski said no, in no uncertain terms.

Second witness (no jury): Michael "Tony" Satterfield​

Michael "Tony" Satterfield is one of Gloria Satterfield's sons. She was the Murdaugh's longtime housekeeper and babysitter who worked for the family for about 20 years.

She died after a fall at the Murdaugh's house on Moselle Road.

Tony said he knew Alex Murdaugh and trusted him. So when he came to him saying he would go after his insurance company to get the medical bills taken care of, Tony trusted him. He recalls hearing of a $500,000 policy.

Tony was always under the impression Alex was his lawyer when when eventually Alex brought in his friend Cory Fleming (Beaufort attorney, Alex's law school roommate), saying he had a conflict of interest.

Alex and Cory also brought in Chad Westendorf from Palmetto State Bank to be Tony's "personal representative" for financial matters in the case. Tony only met with Chad Westendorf one time he could think of.

Tony said Alex only ever told him about the $500,000 insurance policy, not that he had an "umbrella" policy worth potentially more than $5 million.

Waters introduced a medical bill Tony received. Tony said he sent it to Alex and the law firm because Alex had told him to do that.

Tony said he talked to Alex every few months to get updates on the case; Alex said it was hard but they were making progress. Alex told him they hoped to get $100,000 each for Tony and his brother.

Tony said family in 2021 advised him of media reports indicating a settlement in his mother's case had been reached.

Tony called Alex in June 2021 around the time of the murders to ask about the status of the settlement. Alex said it was making progress and would be ready to settle by the end of the year. Before that, Alex nor Cory Fleming nor Chad Westendorf had communicated with him about any settlement.

In reality, Murdaugh had already gotten settlements for $505,000 and $3.8 million. A large portion of that money was diverted by Alex Murdaugh.

Tony never got a cent from Murdaugh until after the settlements were discovered and lawsuits were filed in Sept. 2021, and Alex later confessed judgment in the civil action.

Tony said he didn't give Alex permission to "steal his money."

Jim Griffin in brief cross exam asked Tony if he could remember if it was before or after the murders he spoke to Alex about the settlement. He couldn't.

Tony said he spoke to Alex about three to four times throughout the year, couldn't recall how many times or who called who.

Third witness (no jury): Carson Burney​

Burney is a forensic accountant in the State Grand Jury division of the South Carolina Attorney General's Office.

Burney examined money coming in and out of Alex's accounts and going into loan payments.

Burney described the method of tracking named "first in, first out," which simply means the first money into the account is the first money out of the account for sequential tracking purposes.

Burney was asked about the Faris case, the one which Alex convinced Chris Wilson to pay him fees directly, and converted law firm funds to his own personal use.

The first three checks reviewed were the Faris case checks from Wilson to Murdaugh: $192,000; $370,000; and $225,000.

The State showed a $507,000 payment from Murdaugh's account to "C.E. Smith." Curtis Edward Smith. "Cousin Eddie."

General flow of funds was fake Forge account money would flow out to other accounts. Alex's personal checking accounts, for example.

$747,000 of $792,000 from the Faris case was disbursed.

The jury was called out at this point.

Fourth witness: Thomas Darnell

Tom Darnell qualified as an expert in fingerprint analysis for the State. Savannah Goude conducted the questioning for the AG's office.

Fingerprints are primarily moisture, about 98%, he said.

Darnell received items to test for prints in Murdaugh case.

The State introduced .300BLK rifle shell casings on which Darnell said no fingerprint evidence was observed. Darnell said they don't usually find a lot of fingerprints on fired cartridge casings due to the heat and friction of gunfire processes.

The State brought out the spent shotgun shells and Darnell said they don't typically have a lot of success lifting prints from shotshells either.

Darnell testified in his 30 years, he's very, very rarely been able to lift a fingerprint from a cartridge case or shotshell, and none that he's been able to positively identify from what print information they did find.

As for fingerprints taken from Benelli 12 gauge shotgun Alex had with him when police arrived the night of the murders, Darnell said he checked several areas of the gun where they know they'll typically have success finding prints and DNA.

Examining a cell phone, Darnell swabbed for DNA and tested for fingerprints. He found a very small amount of fingerprints, but not enough detail or clarity for comparison.

Tested several other shotguns and a .300BLK rifle from Murdaugh house. Nothing of value found. Used very bright lights and fluorescent dye stains. Used superglue fuming method to check for prints. Nothing.

Tested 30-round magazine and each .300BLK unfired cartridge therein. Nothing of value found. Also ran swabs and sent to DNA department.

State had no further questions. Dick Harpootlian questioned for the Defense.

Darnell said lots of other things could influence no prints on fired cartridges and shell casings: weather, moisture, many things.

Harpootlian asked if there's any reason why he wouldn't get prints off a brass shell. Darnell said friction and close contact in the magazine are one reason, also the fact again a fingerprint is 98% moisture. Brass would be conducive to prints, however.

Darnell said fingerprints are extremely fragile.

Harpootlian asked if he knows if anyone tested for fingerprints at the murder scene and if he would've done it himself. Darnell was unsure on if prints were collected, but said it's important and he would've himself.

Darnell said he would've taken detailed notes too. He said there should've been documentation in the files of that.

Darnell said no one from the latent print department at SLED was at the crimes scene on the day of the murders.

He personally has gone to crime scenes in the past, but his department doesn't usually go to scenes. Evidence is normally collected at the scene and sent to the lab.

Darnell reiterated he did identify some evidence of fingerprints on items from the Murdaugh murder scene, but nothing of value for comparison. Nothing observed on the initial shotgun (Murdaugh gun at scene).

Harpootlian asked if Darnell would be surprised to know Murdaugh was seen holding the shotgun the evening of the murders. Darnell said no, but just because you touch something doesn't mean you leave a print and there are all kinds of variables that could influence absence of prints.

In redirect by Savannah Goude, Darnell testified that crime scene personnel are trained to look for prints at crime scenes. They're trained to process fingerprints at scene. Goude asked with such a bloody scene, did he get any blood prints sent to his lab?

Darnell said no.

Fifth witness: Blake Johnson​

Johnson is a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) agent working in the investigative service department in the Lowcountry. He investigates homicides, officer involved shootings, etc.

He collected DNA swabs from Claude "CB" Rowe and Connor Cook in connection to the Murdaugh case.

Rowe's and Cook's DNA swabs were entered into evidence. No further questions from State or Defense.

Sixth witness: Lawrence Wiggins​

Wiggins is the Chief of Allendale Town Police Department but was a regional SLED detective in 2021.

Wiggins collected DNA swabs from Roger Davis (dog caretaker for Murdaughs) and Anthony Cook.

Anthony Cook and Connor Cook were involved in the boat crash with Paul Murdaugh which left Mallory Beach dead. Anthony was Mallory's boyfriend. The Murdaughs were being investigated for obstruction of justice in the boat crash criminal case, and accused of trying to "pin it" on Connor Cook as the person driving the boat, despite witness statements to the contrary saying Paul was driving.
 

FEB 3, 2023-- Live Trial Blog, PM

Murdaugh murder trial week 2 wraps up with testimony on firearms, financial crimes​


Seventh witness: Chandler Horney​

SLED agent. Testifies to DNA swabs taken from Miley Altman and Morgan Doughty, survivors of the 2019 boat crash involving Mallory Beach. No questions.


Eighth witness: Joe Albayalde​

SLED agent. He collected DNA swabs from Randy Murdaugh and H. Torres and son A. Gonzalez. No questions.

Ninth witness: Paul Greer​

Greer is a specialist in firearms analysis at SLED and has been qualified as an expert witness on firearms analysis and tool marks, the unique abrasions found on shotshells or cartridge casings from their interactions with specific firearms.

The Defense tried to prevent Greer from testifying through a Hail Mary pretrial motion. Judge Newman rejected it.

Notably, we learned earlier this week from Paul Murdaugh's friend Will Loving that he and Paul fired a .300 Blackout AR-15 style rifle outside the gun room door just a couple months before the murders. They used a rifle belonging to Paul. That rifle remains missing.

Greer first discussed the history of the AR-15 rifle. He said it's a highly modular semiautomatic rifle platform. It usually fires .223 civilian caliber (analogue of 5.56mm NATO military) rounds.

Greer explained how the .300 Blackout cartridge was designed to be used in AR-15 style rifles. .300BLK is a much larger bullet, but similar sized cartridge to .223 / 5.56mm. The rifle requires some modification to use the larger bullet, but most of the basic parts stay the same. You can even use .300BLK cartridges in magazines designed for .223 / 5.56mm.

Greer also gave some basic background info on bullets and ammunition, as well as the process of study and peer review on firearm tool marks.

Greer said he's been submitted a number of items to analyze pertinent to the Murdaugh murder case.

In court, he reviewed several .300BLK cartridges collected from the crime scene that were manufactured by S&B - Sellier & Bellot.

Jim Griffin reiterated a pretrial objection to Greer offering his opinion on the findings of the analysis, even though he's been qualified as an expert and firearms tool marks is an accepted, peer-reviewed science

The objection was noted by Judge Newman and Greer and the State were allowed to continue.

Greer identified shotgun shells recovered from crime scene near where Paul Murdaugh's body was found.

Greer examined the Benelli Super Black Eagle 12 gauge shotgun that Alex Murdaugh had at the scene the night of the murder. It was found with 12 gauge buckshot and 16 gauge small game load.

A SLED agent testified earlier in trial she had to manually remove the 16 gauge shell from the gun because it's improperly sized for a 12 gauge and became stuck.

The State introduced the following:

  • 24 "bird shot" pellets from a shotgun shell found inside the feed room at the crime scene
  • A fired bullet found in the bedding inside a dog house at the crime scene
  • Bullet jacket fragments
  • A piece of lead found in a hole in the ground at the crime scene
  • A piece of lead recovered on Maggie's body
  • 48 bird shot pellets from shoulder and head of Paul Murdaugh
  • Plastic shotshell wad fragments from Paul's shoulder and chest
The court recessed for lunch at 1:30 p.m. and planned to resume at 2:45 p.m.
 

​

Feb 6, 2023​


LIVE BLOG: Murdaugh Murder Trial, Day 11: Judge says financial crime evidence admissible​


COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — A third week in the Murdaugh murder trial begins Monday.

The trial is resumed at 9:30 a.m., but the jury didn't join until 11:30 a.m.

First witness (no jury): Mark Tinsley​

Tinsley begins by testifying about how he became involved in the boat crash case. On February 24, 2019, Alex Murdaugh's boat was crashed into a bridge near Parris Island Marine Corps recruit depot outside Beaufort. Mallory Beach died as a result of the crash. Paul Murdaugh was reportedly driving the boat while very intoxicated.

Tinsley says Mallory's family in the beginning was particularly upset how on the morning of the boat crash, Mallory's mother was not allowed to go down to the scene while Maggie Murdaugh and Paul's Grandfather, Randolph III, were waved through by the police.

Tinsley says when initially pursuing the lawsuit, he became aware of a $500K insurance policy on Murdaugh's boat, which was offered to Mallory's family and all the kids who'd been on the boat.

Tinsley says he made it clear from the beginning of the lawsuit the $500K insurance policy was not enough and he would be coming after Murdaugh's personal assets.

Tinsley says while at a trial lawyer's association conference in 2019, Alex came up to him and confronted him about the lawsuit, saying "Hey bo, I thought we were friends?" Tinsley says he told Murdaugh they are friends, but that doesn't mean he won't be coming after him for responsibility in the case.

Tinsley says they focus grouped the trial with a mock jury, and the results came back very favorable for Tinsley and the Beach family on the circumstances of the case.

Later in 2020, Tinsley says he came into possession of social media videos very damaging to the Murdaughs related to the case.

Eventually by late fall of 2020, Tinsley says the Beach family wants accountability -- "a pound of flesh" either through a jury or a settlement. Dispelled the idea Alex was a "placeholder of venue" defendant. Around this time, Murdaugh begins complaining he's "broke." Tinsley couldn't believe it.

Murdaugh had alleged he might only be able to cobble together about $1 million. Tinsley files a motion to compel re: Murdaugh's finances. About a week later, Murdaugh's personal lawyer Danny Henderson came to Tinsley's partners and said Tinsley had a crossed a line and they couldn't believe he was coming after Murdaugh personally.

As to how Alex was "broke," Tinsley says it "couldn't have been" true based on his experience. Says Murdaugh would often have 50-60% of cases on the court roster in Hampton. Those cases were actively settling. There's no way in Tinsley's opinion Murdaugh could be broke with the amount of money coming in from all those cases.

Tinsley says he thought Alex had lots of money, and that the Murdaugh's had generational wealth. At $1 million, there wasn't enough risk to the Murdaugh. Uses the "Deal or No Deal?" game show analogy.

Tinsley says he offered Murdaugh a payment plan on any settlement and asked Murdaugh to open his books to prove he was broke.

Tinsley in his request to see Murdaugh's books asked to see bank accounts, CD's, 401(K), IRA's, and any accounts Murdaugh had signature authority over.

Murdaugh's attorneys objected to the request, saying it was overly broad. Tinsley then filed a Motion to Compel.

After the motion to compel, Tinsley says there's a lot of grumbling and shock that Tinsley's actually going through with the suit. Tinsley says he knew the only way Murdaugh could be broke was if money had been hidden, and he planned to track that down. "There was just no possibility he could be broke, by anybody's definition."

Tinsley says if he'd gotten the list of accounts, he would subpoena the banks and account holders. Tinsley says he imagined there could be any number of accounts out there Murdaugh had access to, some not even in Murdaugh's name.

August 2020: Tinsley found out he had Stage 4 cancer. January-April 2021 received treatment in Florida. Murdaugh's attorney John Tiller also learns he has cancer. They were in a rush to get the case done.

While in treatment, Tinsley says he learned there were movements by Parker's Corporation (the other major defendant in the case) to get the lawsuit heard in Beaufort (where Tinsley had done the mock jury focus group). Tinsley says this was also on his mind based on the fact Alex might try to "fix" a jury in Hampton. Tinsley communicated if he found out there was anything like that going on, he would immediately sue Maggie and Paul in Beaufort County, as well.

Tinsley says he took depositions from some officers involved in the boat case, and that led to depositions by those officers in front of the state grand jury. State grand jury also reached out to him for info he'd uncovered about the law enforcement handling of the boat crash. In other words, there was a state grand jury investigation into the handling of the boat crash investigation. This was spring 2021.

For background, the impetus for the boat crash grand jury investigation was to find out if there'd been any obstruction of justice on behalf of the Murdaughs.

Flash forward, there's a hearing set for May 10 on Tinsley's motion to compel on Murdaugh's finances. Murdaugh's attorney had a chemo treatment and asked to reschedule. Judge Daniel Hall initially said no, but Tinsley agreed to Tiller's request and Hall eventually relented. Rescheduled for June 10.

As we know, the murders occurred June 7, and the hearing on Alex's finances was delayed again.

Tinsley says he knew Murdaugh a long time. He was very good at reading people and knowing what made them tick. Made people feel they were the most important in the room. Also very good strategic attorney, and could use "surprise" tactics to lull opponents and leverage settlements.

Tinsley says he felt after the murders his case against Alex was effectively over based on the sympathies Alex would gain. 'If he were a victim of some vigilante," the case would be over. "If you represent Attila the Hun against some sweet grandmother, nobody's going to give Attila the Hun money." Nobody would've brought a verdict back against Alex, in his opinion, so he was thinking about ending the case and taking whatever the last settlement offer had been from Alex's side.

Early September 2021, Tony Satterfield comes to Mark Tinsley asking about previous settlements in his mother's case. Tinsley says he referred the Satterfields to Eric Bland.

Creighton Waters has no more questions for the moment. Phillip Barber questioning Tinsley for the Defense.

Barber is trying to paint the picture Tinsley was trying to pressure Alex to pay. Tinsley says he expected a settlement. 90% of cases settle. Barber trying to insinuate they were a long way from ever going to trial based on outstanding pending motions on both Murdaugh's and Parker's sides. Tinsley says "Maybe you've never tried a civil case" and says he was ready to go to trial. The trial wasn't dependent on getting outstanding motions taken care of.

Tinsley also adds he and Tiller were working behind scenes on pertinent motions and keeping each other in the loop. Tinsley says Tiller had about a year left to live, and Tiller WANTED to get the case done. "John Tiller was my friend," Tinsley says, pointing back to him immediately agreeing to reschedule the May 2021 hearing because of Tiller's chemo.

Barber and Tinsley having quite the strong back and forth over whether or not Judge Daniel Hall was going to even approve Tinsley's motions for access to Alex's finances. Tinsley argues it was all but approved by Oct. 2021, but Barber points out there was no actual ruling on the motion. Tinsley says it's not true, look at previous communication showing Hall had approved it and was telling Tiller to turn it over as soon as Alex got out of rehab and Alex could access it

Barber is making the argument about the trial and whether or not it was going to happen and whether Tinsley was actually going to get the discovery he sought. Tinsley is adamant Barber is missing the point. It wasn't about when the case was going to trial, and the discovery was all but approved. It was about putting pressure on Murdaugh and getting access to his books to determine if Alex was broke or not.

Barber tries to draw comparisons between Parkers and Murdaugh. Hall had ruled request for discovery on finances for Parker was premature regarding punitive damages. Tinsley says it was very different. There were several videos of alcohol abuse involving the Murdaughs. John Tiller was aware of these videos.

Barber again tries to say nothing was imminent re: Murdaughs financial crimes being discovered. Tinsley says this ignores reality based on what we now know to be true. Danny Henderson at Murdaugh's law firm would've gotten those records and discovered Murdaugh was stealing from the firm. Tinsley says he would've seen it too. The whole jig would've been up.

Barber is adamant the discovery of Murdaugh's finances at the time of June 10, 2021 wouldn't have been an immediate forensic audit and discovery of Murdaugh's crimes. Tinsley says it wouldn't have taken a forensic audit to see "what a 5-year-old could see.

Second witness: Ronnie Crosby​

Crosby is a former law partner of Alex Murdaugh's.

Crosby acknowledges he was present for a meeting with Murdaugh midday on June 10, 2021. Fluid situation, lots of people in and out. Fellow law partners Lee Cope and Mark Ball were there along with several others.

Crosby says Murdaugh went over the events of the evening while they all sat in a room together. Says Murdaugh was not speaking privately in the conversations he heard. However, there were private conversations he was not privy to between Murdaugh and Jim Griffin that day. Crosby says he was also privy to other conversations with Murdaugh at different times after the murders.

Judge Clifton rules on financial crime evidence​

Judge Newman ruled in favor of state prosecutors on allowing evidence and testimony regarding Alex Murdaugh's financial crimes to be heard by the jury.

Under the law of this state, evidence of other crimes is not admissible except when it pertains to motive, scheme, etc. He found the evidence relevant.

"In this case, since identity of perpetrator is a critical element and must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, evidence of motive must be used in an effort to meet that burden," Newman said.

He said the evidence of other crimes doesn't suggest Murdaugh had a propensity for murder, nor does it lure the jury to declare guilt on different grounds than the specific charge. It has more probative than prejudicial value.

He continued by saying the financial crimes are so intimately connected and explanatory, it's vital for context and essential for telling the complete story. There's no reason to suppress parts of it.

Jim Griffin said the defense will ask the court to give the jury "limiting" instructions, essentially keeping the questioning narrowly focused.

The State's Creighton Waters said he will call his first witnesses for the jury on the financial crimes on Tuesday.


Order Granting Evidence of Other Crimes by Bailey Wright on Scribd
 

https://abcnews4.com/news/local/liv...-attorney-financial-money-crimes-eddie-smith#​

Feb 6, 2023​


LIVE BLOG: Day 11: continued, PM​


Third witness: Muschelle "Shelly" Smith​

Smith is the longtime caregiver for Alex Murdaugh's mother. John Meadors did the questioning for the State.

Smith is a food service employee in the Hampton County School District and volunteer in kitchen ministry at her church in Fairfax. She went into home healthcare on the side through an aunt who's a nurse.

Smith in 2019 began taking care of Alex Murdaugh's mother Libby Murdaugh in 2019, occasionally Mr. Randolph. Notes Libby's Alzheimer's got progressively worse up through June 2021. In her opinion, Libby wasn't aware of what was going on around her.

Smith's schedule was working 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. each night looking after Libby, would stay the night and leave straight for school in the morning.

Randolph was in the hospital when she arrived at the Murdaughs' house at 7:45 p.m. on June 7. Mrs. Barbara Mixson was there that night and she relieved Mixson.

Libby was in the bed when she arrived. Says you don't disturb or wake someone if the patient is in bed.

Smith says she would sit in a recliner in Mrs. Libby's room watching TV most nights. June 7, she was sitting in the room watching a game show when Alex arrived around 8:30 p.m.

Smith says she'd been working the 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. shift for two years, and it was unusual to see Alex there visiting that time of night. He had come by that late occasionally.

Smith says when Alex arrived, he called the house phone to tell her he was outside, and asked her to let him in. A few minutes later, she let him in. he was wearing shorts, a t-shirt and cloth Sperry type shoes.

Smith says Alex was fidgety, but Normal. Says he told her he came to see his mother. Came and sat on the bed, held her hand, talked to her. "Hey mama, how you doing?" Says Libby remained asleep. Smith says Alex told her he came to check on her because Randolph "Handsome" was in the hospital. In Smith's opinion, Libby had no idea Alex was there.

Smith says Murdaugh stayed about 20 minutes. Later in the night, she got a call about the murders from Barbara Mixson, then Randy Murdaugh saying Alex, Buster, Buster's girlfriend, and John Marvin were coming over. Doesn't recall seeing them there again that night or the next morning, but the next day.

Smith says she worked extra hours after the murders and after Mr. Randolph died.

During visitation after the funerals, Alex was at his parents' house. Came in the bedroom, and specifically mentioned to her "I was here 30-40 minutes" the night of the murders. She's adamant that's not how long he was there. Says conversation upset her. She even called to tell her brother about it. She's visibly crying and upset on the stand. Loves the Murdaugh family, and is so sorry all this happened.

Next day, Murdaugh asked about her plans to get married. She said they never talked about it before, but Murdaugh offered to help contribute money toward the wedding. Flattered by the offer. Says she thought it spoke to how good the Murdaughs were. Says Alex also brought up her job at the school district and mentioned how he knew the principal at her school.

Didn't see Alex again until several days later, 6:30 a.m. Knocked on the wall, said I'm outside. Smith says she can't recall Murdaugh ever being there that early before.

Smith says Murdaugh arrived in a white truck. There was still stuff outside the house from the funeral like a tent. Eventually Murdaugh came inside. Says he had a blue "something" in his arms (gestures like he was cradling it or had it draped over his arms). Smith says it looked like a tarp. Couldn't tell if there was anything in it. Alex walked upstairs still holding the blue "something."

State showing Smith photos of the inside of Murdaughs' parents house: upstairs, downstairs bedroom. Shows her a photo of a blue vinyl object taken in one of the rooms. Photo is published into evidence.

Smith says she later saw the blue thing on one of the chairs in the bedroom. She left for the day, came back the next day, and the blue thing was gone. Says she doesn't know what Murdaugh was doing upstairs. Thought Murdaugh left, and he even announced he left. Says she saw Murdaugh come back driving up the driveway through the blinds. She thought it was Mr. Randolph's white truck. Noted also there was a 4 wheeler outside the main house that morning. Normally it was parked at the smokehouse. Then she saw Murdaugh drive away in a black truck she hadn't seen before. Alex looked like he had a cut or bump or bruise or something on his forehead.

Meadors asking Smith about a video system inside the house at Murdaughs' parents. Sometimes it was on, sometimes not, she doesn't know who controlled it.

Meadors is having Smith demonstrate locations on an aerial map of the Murdaughs' parents property. She points out the main house. She points out the smokehouse and the barn. The smokehouse is down away from the house. Reiterates how the ATV is normally parked at the smokehouse. Points out railroad tracks near the bottom of the property.

Shelly Smith says she met with Defense counsel and their investigators in the past. Reaffirms for Meadors she saw Alex with the blue vinyl object one morning several days after the murders. Affirms Alex made the 30-40 minutes comment to her. Meadors has no further questions.

Jim Griffin for defense pulls out a tarp for demonstration. Balls it up and cradles it in his arms. Smith says that's what it looked like Alex was carrying when he came in the house 3 days after Randolph Murdaugh's funeral. She says she was asked at some point about a blue rain jacket, but is sure a tarp is what she saw.

Griffin re-shows her the photo of the blue thing. It's in a closet. She's not sure what closet or where it even is in Murdaughs' parents house. She says she doesn't go in their closets and had only been upstairs a handful of times.

Smith again says she saw Murdaugh arrive in his own white truck, leave in Randolph's white truck (she knew that because of how Randolph's truck is normally parked). Says there wasn't any mud or anything unusual on the truck when Alex brought it back. Also notes that the 4-wheeler up at the house that morning had a flat tire.

Smith affirms she told Meadors she simply thought Murdaugh asked about her wedding and job because he's a good person. She feels Murdaugh is a good person.

Smith is sure he was only aware of him on the property for about 20 minutes.

Smith says Alex visited more than most of the kids, but that it WAS unusual for him to come late at night.

Griffin for the defense asks about Alex being fidgety and if that was normal. She says yes.

Smith says didn't appear to have blood anywhere on him. Says it didn't appear he soiled his mother's bed in any way when he sat down it that night.

Griffin points out how in her initial interview with SLED on June 17 she said Murdaugh was there 30-35 minutes. Smith says she could've said that, but doesn't remember.

Several months later in September, Smith says she was involved in a wreck and casually mentioned to an officer she knew at the scene Murdaugh had brought something in a tarp to the house after the murders.

Griffin points out how the officer's report indicates Smith said she thought Alex was carrying a rifle. She refutes this, says officer must be mistaken. She says she only thought it looked like he was carrying something in the tarp, not that she knew what it was.

Point of clarification: Smith says she saw the tarp sitting on a rocking chair after Alex left, but that it was gone later. She didn't recognize the closet in the SECOND photo of the tarp, wasn't sure where on the property it was.

Griffin has no further questions. Meadors in redirect. Asks her why she called her brother after the conversation with Murdaugh about him emphasizing to her he had been there 30-40 minutes. Says her brother is assistant chief of police in Varnville.

Regarding the blue tarp, Smith notes what she saw bundled up was a tarp, but that it was blue on both sides, not blue and silver like the one for demonstration Griffin pulled out.

Smith is again adamant Murdaugh had never been to the property at 6:30 a.m. before while she worked there, and it was very unusual for him to be there so late like the night of the murders.

Smith says on the stand she was questioned in a recorded interview by Murdaugh's defense team. Meadors requests for the Defense to produce that recording for the court. Griffin first objects citing an erroneous rule applicable to pretrial. Then Griffin says he doesn't have a copy available. Then finally after a minute or so Griffin says the defense DOES in fact have a copy available on a flash drive. It's being played for the court without the jury present.

The audio feed from court remains muted, but Judge Newman is back on the stand.

Court is taking recess until 2:30 for lunch, Judge Newman is speaking to a juror during lunch.

Judge Newman is back on the stand. Says he spoke to the juror in question during break. The juror was simply expressing concerns about their ability to continue to serve if the trial goes beyond three weeks.

Jim Griffin for the defense preemptively moves to have any evidence or testimony related to a blue rain jacket excluded before the State proceeds with its questioning in the afternoon. Griffin says there's been no link established between Murdaugh and any rain jacket, only a tarp. The State responds by pointing out Smith said the rain jacket looked similar in material to the tarp.

Meadors now questioning Smith again. Griffin tries to object to questioning about the timeframe of Murdaugh's June 7 visit mentioned in the recording Judge Newman ordered the defense to produce before the break. Meadors says it's admissible because Griffin challenged Smith's statements and referenced the interview with his staff. Newman overrules.

Smith says she told Griffin's investigators in Oct. 2021 that Alex Murdaugh told her "If anyone asks you, say I was here 30-40 minutes."

Again, this is from a recording of an interview with the defense attorneys' in-house investigators questioning Smith.

Meadors now asking Smith about Griffin's team questioning her about the blue vinyl tarp or jacket, and whether or not it was a shirt. Smith says, yes, they did ask her if it could've been a shirt.

Meadors again shows Smith a photo of the blue garment (rain jacket) found in the closet at the Murdaughs' home. Meadors asks if it looks like the same material as what Alex brought into the house that night. She confirms yes, twice.

Griffin in re-cross has Smith confirm she saw the blue tarp lying on a rocking chair the next morning, but never seen Murdaugh with the rain jacket and that he didn't appear to be carrying that jacket when he walked into the house.

Griffin concludes by alluding to the fact Smith said it was unusual for Murdaugh to come to the house so late at night. He asks Smith if Mr. Randolph Murdaugh had been hospitalized that day. He asks wasn't it "unusual" for Mr. Randolph not to be home at night? She affirms.

Next witness: Kristin Moore​

Now on the witness stand for the State, Kristin Moore, a SLED special agent and crime scene investigator.

Moore recalling the search of Murdaugh's parents' house looking for a blue tarp material. She says she found a blue tarp in a closet in a second floor bedroom. Tarp was in a storage container. There were miscellaneous dishes under the tarp.

Moore says they continued to search, and found a blue raincoat in a coat closet on the second floor.

Moore confirms the rain coat was "jammed down" and "balled up" in the closet as opposed to hanging up like the rest of the coats. State introduces photo of Moore removing the blue rain coat from the closet.

Moore says the state tested the rain coat for suspected blood, and it was negative.

Savanna Goude was questioning for the State. She has nothing further. Jim Griffin now cross examining for the Defense.

Griffin brings up the blue tarp SLED seized along with the rain coat. Moore isn't aware of any tests for blood being done on that tarp the way they were for the coat. She says she didn't personally test if for anything.

Moore says she doesn't know what size the jacket is, but remembers it being a larger size. Griffin has her open the evidence container to check the jacket for size.

Moore notes it appears to be a rain poncho style jacket. From the video feed, it appears to be a plastic or vinyl material. There are several white lines on the jacket that could be tape or evidence markers?

Moore noted she was not able to locate a tag on the coat that says what size it is and on cue, Moore during redirect by the state says she placed the white tape strips on the coat to mark evidence and areas for forensic testing.

Goude has no more questions. Agent Moore has stepped down.



Next witness: William McElveen​

McElveen is an accountant now, but was good friends with Paul Murdaugh. He lived on Edisto Beach during the summers growing up, and grew to know Paul and become good friends.

McElveen grew close with Paul. Visited Moselle a lot. Considered Paul a very loyal friend. Always there if you needed him. Very responsive to communication on his phone. On his phone quite a lot, to the point it was noticeable to his friends. Paul would call his friends every day, and text and Snapchat in between.

McElveen says he got to know Maggie very well. She approved of Paul being friends with him, because she told him she knew Paul wasn't going to be getting in trouble if he was with McElveen. He says Maggie was very sweet. Very welcoming an loving toward all Paul's friends.

McElveen says Alex was like the father figure of the friend group. Very kind and welcoming.

McElveen says he stayed at Moselle probably 30 to 40 times over the years. He became familiar with the property and the layout. Says group hangouts would be at the shed the family built down near he hangar and kennels.

McElveen was familiar with the family's three pet dogs, Labrador retrievers named Bubba (yellow), Bourbon (chocolate) and Grady (black).

He explains there was a cabin down behind the shed. One of the property driveways went through that part of the property. They'd come and go using that driveway. When the friends were down there, Alex and Maggie would drive by and check in before leaving.

McElveen says it was not common for weapons to be stored at the shed area. He can't recall ever seeing one stored down there.

The last time McElveen saw Paul Murdaugh would've been June 5, they went out to the Windjammer (a bar on the Isle of Palms) near Charleston

McElveen says Paul almost always stayed at his place in Charleston after they went out or when he was visiting.

McElveen says he found out about the murders early the morning of June 8 when his roommate Frank Chapman came in his room and told him. He'd missed a few calls about it during the night. They went out to the Moselle house afterward to be with the family.

Jim Griffin now questioning McElveen for the defense.

McElveen says Alex and Paul's relationship was very good. Best friends.

Griffin asking McElveen about the dogs. Paul had a puppy at the time of the murders. McElveen says he ended up taking the dog and it's still his and doing well.

McElveen says the dog Bubba (yellow lab) was a bit of a handful.

Griffin asking McElveen about visits to Moselle after the murders. Says Murdaugh was upset and crying on both visits.

Nothing further for McElveen from either the state or the defense.

After a break, there was more in-camera back and forth over the blue jacket and blue tarp before the jury came back in.

Harpootlian wants to exclude testimony about gunshot residue found on the blue raincoat. He says there's no probative value to it since Smith has testified repeatedly she didn't see Murdaugh with a rain jacket, and knows for a fact she later saw a tarp. Creighton Waters disagrees saying Shelly said the jacket looked similar to the tarp, and that it was found in a condition ("balled up") similar to whatever Alex was holding when he came in the house.

Judge Newman ultimately rules the State can introduce gunshot residue results from the jacket, saying the coat is already in evidence, and doesn't see the info as more prejudicial than probative.



Next witness: Natasha Moodie​

Moodie is from Bank of America. She appears on behalf of the bank in trial and other legal matters, and also reviews business records for the bank.

Moodie is shown account opening documents, monthly statements and check ledgers from accounts she reviewed relevant to the case. Before they're entered into evidence (the first related to Murdaugh's financial crimes), Judge Newman tells the jury the scope of the evidence they can consider. They can only consider it in the context of its relevance to motive for committing murder.



Next witness: Jamie Hall​

Hall currently a records custodian for the West Columbia Police Dept. Worked for SLED from 2015-2022. Advanced from administrative assistant in the evidence processing department to a forensic technician in the trace evidence dept. Her role was to prepare evidence for gunshot residue analysis and testing.

Hall has gone through a lengthy explanation of how her former job at SLED worked, along with procedure for processing gunshot residue kits. She mentions the GSR kit for Alex Murdaugh was sent to her.

Moore is now verifying Alex's green cargo shorts and white t-shirt from the evidence chain as submitted to her lab for GSR testing.

Hall says she examined Murdaugh's shorts and shirt. When she opened the shirt on June 8, 2021, the day after the murders, she said she noted small reddish brown stains on the shirt, and the odor of laundry detergent as if it had been freshly laundered. She noted that was unusual.

Hall also did "particle lifts" on the seatbelt from Alex's Chevy suburban and collected GSR sampling for testing on three areas of the seatbelt.

Hall has noted there are a few specific locations on clothes that are standard practice for GSR techs to analyze as they're the places most likely to contain GSR. Sleeves and chest on shirt, groin area on pants. Just an interesting note.

Now we're looking at Alex's shoes. Hall recalls making notes during June 8 analysis that they were wet and contained yard debris. Meadors asks her specifically if she made any notes about observing blood. She says she didn't.

Hall now discussing the rain jacket examination for GSR. She notes they tested both the inside and outside of the rain jacket


The live blog below is authored by Drew Tripp.​

 

Alex Murdaugh Trial | Lawyer for Mallory Beach says he was confronted by Murdaugh: full video​

2/6/23

 

Dash cam video of Paul Murdaugh speeding while out on bond​



On May 26, 2020 Paul Murdaugh was pulled over for speeding in Adams Run, S.C. On July 29, 2019 Murdaugh's bond was changed which allowed him to travel within the state of South Carolina rather than confined to the 14th judicial circuit.
 
www.foxnews.com

Murdaugh trial: Alex Murdaugh brought tarp to mother's home night of double murders, witness says

Alex Murdaugh, a former lawyer, assistant prosecutor and scion of a powerful South Carolina legal dynasty, is charged with the double murder of his wife, Maggie, and their 22-year-old son, Paul, on June 7, 2021.
www.foxnews.com www.foxnews.com

WALTERBORO, S.C. – After Paul Murdaugh drunkenly crashed his boat into a bridge, killing 19-year-old passenger Mallory Beach in 2019, the Murdaugh family was given special treatment at the crime scene, a lawyer testified Monday.

The victim's distraught mother, Renee Beach, wanted to go down to the Archer Creek Bridge in Beaufort, South Carolina, where the boat crash had occurred, but the scene was cordoned off, the family's attorney Mark Tinsley said.

"[Renee Beach] is told she can’t go down there and just a few minutes later Alex’s father and his wife pulled up in a car and are waved under the tape, and they go down to the bridge, and she was very upset by that," said Tinsley, who represents the Beach family in their wrongful death lawsuit against the Murdaughs.

Alex's father, Randolph Murdaugh III, was the top prosecutor overseeing South Carolina's Lowcountry until 2005 – including Beaufort County where the accident occurred. The family wielded enormous influence in the region.

After witnessing the favoritism shown to the powerful Murdaugh family, Renee Beach called Tinsley – setting in motion an unthinkable spiral of destruction.

_____________________________________________

Prosecutors called their 29th witness, SLED special agent Kristin Moore, who is with the crime scene unit.

Moore said she executed a search warrant at Alex's parents' home in Almeda in September 16, 2021.

"We were advised we were looking for a blue tarp like material," she said.

On the second floor, investigators found a blue tarp in a storage container and a blue raincoat in a closet.

The search for the blue tarp was triggered by a caregiver to Alex's mom, Shelly Smith, who said that Alex came by one week after the double slaying with a balled up blue tarp that appeared to have something inside it.

SLED testified they tested the rain jacket for blood and it tested negative. On cross-examination, Alex's attorney Jim Griffin asked Moore to hold up the poncho-style rain jacket.

Griffin objected to any further testimony on the raincoat after Smith insisted she witnessed Alex carrying a tarp inside the house that morning, not a raincoat.
 
Feb 7, 2023

COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — Tuesday marks "Day 12" in the Murdaugh double murder trial --LIVE BLOG

Court resumed at 9:30 a.m.

Live blog embed authored by Drew Tripp.

Court is now in session.


7 hours ago

Judge Newman is once again rehashing the admissibility of the rain jacket / blue tarp with the state and prosecution.


7 hours ago

Both state and defense have made their case once again for and against allowing the jacket specifically into evidence.


7 hours ago

Judge Newman rules the jacket is admissible and not prejudicial due to the circumstantial nature of the case.


7 hours ago

Jim Griffin for the defense says their objection is not about what Shelly Smith testified yesterday, but to bar testimony by SLED's next gunshot residue analyst about the GSR found on the jacket.
Updated: 7 hours ago


7 hours ago

Newman says it's the jury's job to make findings of facts, not his. The jacket is already in evidence, and it will be up to the jury to decide based on the state and defense's presentations whether or not the jacket is significantly valuable as evidence. State's motion denied.


7 hours ago

Judge Newman says juror who raised yesterday the issue of length of trial has made arrangements with their job and no longer has an issue with continuing.


7 hours ago

However, Judge Newman notes an alternate juror has been excused from the panel after needing to miss today's proceedings due to an emergency hospital visit.


7 hours ago

Now on the stand for the first time in front of the jury, Jeanne Seckinger, chief financial officer for Murdaugh's former law firm.


7 hours ago

We learned outside the jury's presence last week (and in the Russell Laffitte trial in November) Seckinger confronted Murdaugh about missing money the day of the murders


Seckinger is currently giving the jury background we have heard and reported on multiple times.


7 hours ago

Seckinger: Murdaugh was always in a rush, frenetic, gift of gab, constantly on his cell phone. Chaotic.


7 hours ago

Seckinger: Alex was gifted in the "art of ."


7 hours ago

Seckinger says Alex was more reliant on his personality and his ability to read people to win big results as an attorney than he did his technical skill. She can't deny he often got good, very lucrative results on clients' behalf.


7 hours ago

Seckinger says in hindsight, she thinks Murdaugh's forgetful, inattentive, nature was an act. He had a really strong memory but pretended to not care about small details or to have simply forgotten things, when in reality he was well aware and capable of juggling several stories at once with several different people.


7 hours ago

More from Seckinger. Successful not from his work ethic, but from ability to establish relationships and manipulate people into liking him.


6 hours ago

Seckinger notes how several years ago (2015), Alex through a clerical error was issued a refund check intended for his brother Randy for a loan Randy had made into the firm's operating account at the beginning of the year. Seckinger noted Alex NEVER made loans into that operating account in her 20+ years working with him.


6 hours ago

Seckinger says Murdaugh came to the finance office and told them he'd lost his refund check and asked them to cut him a new one. (Remember, this was never his check to begin with.) Murdaugh got the new check, went and cashed it, and held onto the original one. He then cashed the original one a year later. So he cashed the same $121K check (that wasn't his) twice.


6 hours ago

Seckinger says the firm discovered the issue when Murdaugh cashed the check a year later. Danny Henderson at the firm confronted Alex, and he explained it away as a simple mistake and misunderstanding. Seckinger says Henderson accepted this explanation, Alex was allowed to simply pay back the money, and the whole thing was "swept under the rug."


6 hours ago

Seckinger acknowledges her awareness of the boat crash involving Paul Murdaugh, and the lawsuit against Alex.

Seckinger brings up how in early 2021, she became aware of an improper check for attorney fees in a case Alex worked.


6 hours ago

Seckinger says Alex had sent the proceeds from his attorney fees on the "Hershberger case" directly to a business called Forge Consulting (or so she thought). Attorney fees are never supposed to be directly paid to an attorney or any other entity at Murdaugh's law firm. She explained earlier if an attorney were to take fees directly instead of sending them to the firm to hold and distribute, it would be stealing.


6 hours ago

In the Hersberger case, Seckinger says she learned Murdaugh was attempting to "structure' his fees so that he wouldn't get a lump sum, but instead several payments. Seckinger noted Alex had gone about doing that improperly by sending the money directly to what she thought was Forge Consulting (which is legitimate business).


6 hours ago

Seckinger said she had a conversation with Alex saying that for him to structure fees properly, the fees have to be part of the disbursement agreement from the settlement, and should go straight from the insurance company to the structuring firm (Forge Consulting) and that the law firm also has to be notified first.


6 hours ago

Seckinger says she also discussed with Alex how this method of structuring fees wasn't a tax benefit to him. Seckinger says Murdaugh in response said he wasn't worried about tax benefits or ramifications, but instead, he was trying to put money aside in Maggie's name because of the boat wreck lawsuit. Seckinger says Alex also brought up how he was trying to structure some of his own fees through Forge as a favor to Forge Consulting principal Michael Gunn in exchange for Gunn helping him get money put into Maggie's name.



6 hours ago

Seckinger says Murdaugh's admission about the "Forge" plan was highly concerning to her because it was amounting to hiding assets, and the firm didn't want anything to do with it.


6 hours ago

Seckinger said she advised Murdaugh of the right and wrong way to do things, but kept a mental note about what Alex had said he was trying to do with the money. This was in May of 2021. Seckinger said she planned to go talk to other law firms about what they were going to do as far as figuring out how to properly get things on the books for the firm, and also making sure Alex's opposing attorneys in the boat crash case were properly informed of Alex's income. It wasn't immediately pressing to her, however, because she didn't have to balance the books until December. Fair to say the issue was put on the backburner for the time being.


6 hours ago

But then later in the same month (May 2021), Seckinger says she got a request to meet privately with Alex Murdaugh's paralegal, Annette Griswald. Griswald says she discovered the check for Alex's fees was missing in a case he'd recently settled ("Faris vs. Mack Trucks case"). Alex had worked on the case with Chris Wilson, his longtime friend and fellow attorney at another law firm.


6 hours ago

Seckinger says Griswald told her she hadn't received a check from Chris Wilson's firm for Alex's attorney fees, and when she contacted Wilson's firm about that, Wilson's staff told Griswald the fees had already been paid. That's all secondhand according to Seckinger. (Griswald is also listed as a possible witness).


6 hours ago

Seckinger says her concern was immediately that Alex had been paid the fees himself when the Faris case fees were missing.



Seckinger says she requested full documentation of disbursements, etc in the Faris case from Wilson's law firm. This was on May 27.


6 hours ago

Meantime, Seckinger says she met with law firm partners Lee Cope and Mark Ball about the issue and came up with the plan to question Alex and Chris Wilson's firm without bringing backlash on Griswald.


6 hours ago

A day after the inquiries into the records, Seckinger says Alex came into her office wanting to know why she was requesting that info, and assured her the money was in Chris Wilson's account and they could get it anytime.


6 hours ago

Seckinger says she told Alex they either needed the money or proof it was there. She didn't tell him she thought it was missing, and she just needed documentation.


6 hours ago

Seckinger says the Issue came back to a head on June 7, 2021. Chris Wilson had not responded ton inquiries. She goes upstairs to Alex's office. He gives her a dirty look unlike anything he'd ever given her, clearly very frustrated, "What do you need now?" They went in Alex's office, closed the door, told him she had reason to believe he received the money himself, and she needed proof he hadn't.


6 hours ago

Seckinger says Murdaugh assured her the money was with Chris Wilson and they could get it. Conversation got interrupted when Alex took a call. Alex took a call saying his father was going to die soon. They stopped talking about business and started talking as friends. She left his office soon after under the impression he was going home for the day.


6 hours ago

Seckinger says she was surprised late in the afternoon on June 7 to get a call on her office phone from Alex saying he was working on financials for a hearing in the boat crash case later in the week, and wanted information on his 401(K) balances.



6 hours ago

Later the night of June 7, Seckinger says she started hearing rumors of a shooting involving Maggie and Paul.


6 hours ago

Seckinger says it was very shocking, very scary. Nobody knew what was going on. Law firm was a like a brotherhood and family. Everybody rallied to Alex's aid, no work done. Everybody spent time with Alex and family, bringing family meals, attending funerals. The fees issue got put on the backburner.


6 hours ago

Seckinger says Alex was erratic, taking pills, everybody was worried about his mental state, and they didn't want to press him on the missing fees issue.


Meantime, weeks pass. It's now July. PMPED partner Lee Cope takes over communicating with Chris Wilson in the background. Murdaugh continues to assure them money is there. July 19, Wilson finally responds that he has $792K in fees from Faris case in his trust account. Seckinger says she was hesitant to accept this, still seemed shaky, but says she had to believe what was in front of her.


6 hours ago

September 2021, Griswald comes into Seckinger's office with a check dated March 10, 2021, for $225K made out directly to Alex Murdaugh personally for "Faris fees." Again, attorney fees were supposed to go to the law firm directly. Seckinger said she immediately knew Alex had been stealing and had lied about it for months.


6 hours ago

Griswald had found the check on Alex's desk while going through files looking for something. Seckinger says she began looking into other cases of Murdaugh's based on the check.


6 hours ago

Seckinger says she printed a ledger of all disbursements by the firm to "Forge." Then started printing off all documents and copies of checks from those disbursements. Seckinger says she started feeling sick like she was about to throw up when she saw every check she printed out was signed by Alex Murdaugh.


5 hours ago

The bank on the checks was listed as Bank of America. The account was listed as "Forge." Seckinger brought in firm partners William Barnes and Mark Ball to get second opinions, and they agree it' Alex's signature. Ball also recognized one of the checks was obvious fraud because it was from a case where disbursements hadn't been approved yet.


5 hours ago

They then brought in Lee Cope, who called Michael Gunn at Forge Consulting to find out if their company banked at Bank of America. Gunn confirmed they hadn't used Bank of America in several years. Cope sent Gunn a sample list of clients whose names were on the checks they'd discovered. Gunn confirmed they had no records of any of the clients.



5 hours ago

On Sept. 3, 2021, a majority of the law partners met to discuss the findings of Alex's apparent thefts. After all agreeing, they brought in Alex's brother Randy to show him, and Randy agreed Alex appeared to be stealing, and something had to be done. So Randy and Danny Henderson went to confront Alex and demanded his resignation.


5 hours ago

Court has been in recess for a few minutes as the state prepares to go blow-by-blow with Seckinger on all the money Murdaugh stole from the firm between 2015 and 2021 using the fake "Forge" account.


5 hours ago

Court is back in session.


5 hours ago

Editor's note: We will not be going through these fraudulent disbursements line-by-line, dollar-for-dollar.


Seckinger notes on one of the cases she's reviewing, Murdaugh created not only a fraudulent bank account and illegally diverted funds from the law firm and his clients using it, but he was also charging bogus fees. "Phantom fees" as Seckinger described it.


5 hours ago

Seckinger is noting how the law firm had to pay back every single one of the people Alex stole from using the law firm's own funds.


5 hours ago

Seckinger keeps repeating the refrain "Because Alex stole it" as the state inventories all the funds taken from the firm.


5 hours ago

Seckinger says they found airline and limousine service fees billed to a client by Alex after the case had already concluded, meaning there's no way the fees were applicable. They again had to refund.


4 hours ago

Seckinger now establishing the collusion between Alex Murdaugh and her brother-in-law Russell Laffitte at Palmetto State Bank to steal money from clients and manipulate the law firm.


4 hours ago

Seckinger now going over "loans" Alex took out of the conservatorships of Hannah Plyler, and how he stole money from other clients accounts to pay it back after using the funds to pay personal debts and send money to his family and friends.


4 hours ago

Creighton Waters brings up how Murdaugh had on several occasions used his law firm credit card to pay for personal expenses in the past (before all the thieving was discovered.) Each time it happened, the balance was deducted from his bonus at the end of the year and was forgotten.


4 hours ago

Waters circles back to Seckinger's point about the law firm operating on trust. Says the irregular checks cut by the law firm at Murdaugh's direction (allowing the thefts) were made possible by the law firm staff's trust in and respect for Alex.


4 hours ago

Seckinger knew Alex Murdaugh for 40 years (since she was 16), worked with him for 22 years.
Creighton Waters: "Did you really know Alex Murdaugh?"
Seckinger: "I don't think I ever really knew him. I don't think anybody knows him."


4 hours ago

One of the last points Waters had Seckinger make was the fact Alex was taking legitimate attorney fees in addition to everything he was stealing. Substantial sums of money.


Defense now in cross examination. Jim Griffin starts by asking for renewed jury limiting instruction on the fact the evidence of financial crimes is only to prove the state's theory of motive for murder, not to be considered under any other light.


4 hours ago

In other words, the financial crimes can't be used to assess Murdaugh's character or to infer he had the propensity to commit crimes even to the extent of murder.


4 hours ago

Griffin begins by noting Murdaugh's former law firm has had to pay out north of $4 million to cover for Alex's thefts, and the law firm itself is therefore a victim of Alex. Seckinger agrees.
Updated: 4 hours ago


4 hours ago

Griffin notes how the thefts had been going on for 10 years before they were discovered. Says Seckinger has the right to be hurt and angry.
Seckinger: "(Alex) managed to fool a lot of people, myself included." ... "I take it very personally. It haunts me that I let this, or that this happened.'
Griffin: "And you feel like you let it happen on your watch?"
Seckinger: "I think anybody would feel like that. It's a big betrayal of trust."


4 hours ago

Seckinger says there were fears of unknowns about the murders because of rumors. They didn't think Alex had killed Maggie and Paul because of the confrontation.


4 hours ago

Griffin and Seckinger establish there wasn't a great rush to collect the missing money from Alex and Chris Wilson after the murders.


4 hours ago

Seckinger says there were issues in her personal life and other professional obligations that prevented her from doing a more thorough background on Alex's disbursements for many months after initially discovering the Hersberger matter, and the murders were part of that.


4 hours ago

Griffin makes the point the records of Murdaugh's stealing were there in the system all along, dating back 10 years.
"I had no reason to suspect anything was going on. We had no clients complaining about money missing. We trusted him. We had reason to look."


4 hours ago

Griffin seizes on that point. No clients complaining about missing money around June 7?
Seckinger: No and shamefully when we did talk to clients, they talked about how that they were shocked and confused by the fact he had manipulated and confused them all those years."


4 hours ago

Griffin: So around June 7, Alex wasn't in a pressure cooker over missing money and how he was handling his business?
Seckinger: "I don't know about anybody else's pressure cooker. I know I was putting pressure on him about the Faris fees."


Seckigner says she believes Murdaugh was going to other partners in the law firm complaining about her hassling him about the missing fees and improperly structured fees.


3 hours ago

Griffin offers Alex had no life insurance policies on Maggie and Paul.


3 hours ago

Jim Griffin has no further questions.


3 hours ago

Creighton Waters back in redirect. Has Seckinger restate how Murdaugh was specifically trying to shield assets in the boat crash case in their original conversation months before the murders.


3 hours ago

Waters: once the murders happened, did it seem right to pressure Murdaugh about the money?
Seckinger says it didn't. They were concerned about Alex's well-being, and wanted to be sure he was mentally OK before bringing it back up.


3 hours ago

Seckinger says she still had suspicions in July when she got the email from Chris Wilson saying the Faris fees were accounted for because the email didn't include the accounting documents and ledgers proving the money was there.


3 hours ago

Waters concludes the inevitable outcome of the discovery of all Murdaugh's misspending and thefts would be that he'd damage his respected family name, lose his law license and job and go to jail if any of it as discovered. Seckinger affirms.


3 hours ago

Court in recess for lunch.


2 hours ago

Court resumes. Next on the stand is Ronnie Crosby, former law firm partner of Alex Murdaugh.


2 hours ago

Crosby restating a lot of what we heard from Seckinger we heard earlier.


Crosby says Murdaugh never really developed a technical expertise as a lawyer. More of a general practitioner. The firm was often amazed, however, at some of the large settlements he was able to win.


2 hours ago

Crosby says around the mid-late 2000s, Murdaugh and his friend Barrett Boulware along with some others were doing some real estate speculation. In 2008, the Great Recession hit. Some of his partners in the deals weren't able to pay into the loans, and Alex was having to carry a lot of the burden financially.


2 hours ago

Crosby says he thought Murdaugh was able to rectify his financial strains in 2010, 2011 after winning very, very large settlements in several cases: Plyler sisters, Badger, Pinckney and Thomas. The judgments were very, very large, and Mr. Murdaugh would've earned good income off those cases, Crosby said.


2 hours ago

Crosby is aware of the boat crash case in 2019 involving Paul Murdaugh and the death of Mallory Beach. Crosby says he knew Mallory personally, as she worked for his wife. Says he also knew Paul, and the other two girls (Miley Altman, Morgan Doughty) on the boat. He was also aware of the lawsuit that followed by Mallory's family.


2 hours ago

Crosby says he had a conversation with Alex and other lawyers over the years about structuring fees. Sometime in the spring in 2021, he and Alex spoke about it. At that time, Crosby says he thinks he's the only one at the firm who was doing it at the time.


2 hours ago

Crosby says he advised Murdaugh structuring would be of no real benefit to him because of low interest rates at the time.


2 hours ago

Crosby says he knew of Gloria Satterfield. Knew her for many years, both through her relationship with Alex, and his own family. Says Gloria helped his wife out with laundry and stuff when their children were first born. Crosby says he heard Satterfield died after Alex's dogs knocked her down the steps.


an hour ago

Crosby says Alex told him he would be going after his own insurance company in a "friendly" suit to try to get Satterfield's sons money to help them out. Doesn't recall any other conversations about it.


an hour ago

Crosby detailing his involvement in the Faris vs. Mack Trucks case from a products liability standpoint. He assisted Murdaugh on the case, but didn't help him try the case in court. Crosby explaining how a lawyer in Columbia was working on the case first before getting Chris Wilson (Alex's friend) involved, then Alex. Not unusual. Alex and Chris worked on cases together a lot.


an hour ago

Soon after the Faris case was settled, Crosby says he heard from partners and Jeanne Seckinger about missing fees in the Faris case Alex was supposed to have gotten.



Crosby gives context, saying the May 2021 discovery of the missing Faris case fees happened in close proximity to Alex talking to him about structuring fees


an hour ago

Crosby says Seckinger mentioned to him Alex had told her he wanted to hide money in relation to boating case.
Crosby: "I said, 'Oh no we are not!,' To do that under any circumstance was illegal, unethical, and he would be putting us at risk, and we absolutely were not going to participate that was illegal, unethical or subjected us to liability or created issues with the South Carolina bar."


an hour ago

Crosby says Jeanne told them she was being told the money was held in trust with Chris Wilson. "I had no reason to doubt that. I thought he was trying to just take the money out in some other way so it didn't go through our system, which would've also been tax fraud on our part not to have that accounted for. There was myriad reasons why that wasn't ever going to happen, but I thought if they were saying the money was there, I just said Jeanne get the money, take care of it. I didn't think any more of it. I didn't think he was stealing. I thought, OK he's got this boat case, and maybe he thought if he did it through Chris's trust account, maybe it wouldn't be accounted for. But it had to be accounted for.


an hour ago

Crosby: There was just no damn way we were going to do that.


an hour ago

Crosby knew Paul Murdaugh since he was born. Crosby is very emotional as he recalls this. Both Paul and Buster referred to him as Uncle Ronnie. They lived close to each other. Paul and Buster hunted a lot on Ronnie's property. Crosby choked up. "I didn't think this would be that hard." "Paul was really good with kids. He took a liking to my son who was younger." Spent a lot of time together, hunted with his son all the time. "He had a great personality, just a kid I really loved." As his son got older, he would go over to Moselle to hunt with Paul.


an hour ago

Alex is weeping and rocking back and forth as Crosby testifies about Paul.


an hour ago

Crosby says he doesn't recall seeing Murdaugh the day of the murders. He found out what had happened late that night, sometime after 11.


an hour ago

Ronnie left home and drove to Moselle. Drove to the scene. Arrived sometime around 11. Stayed there until around 3:30 a.m. Everybody left around that time. Returned to Moselle the next day. Had multiple conversations with Alex the night of and day after.


an hour ago

Crosby says Alex told him and others from the firm he worked up until around 5:30-6, went home, rode around the property with Paul, went home and had dinner. Maggie was there at the house. Maggie and Paul went to the kennels after dinner. Alex said he sat on the couch and fell asleep sometime after 8 and woke up around 9. Drove to his mother's house. Sat on the bed with her. Came back to Moselle. Realized Maggie and Paul weren't at the house, drove to the kennels and discovered Maggie and Paul's body.


an hour ago

Crosby says Murdaugh specifically said in one of the conversations they had Alex specifically said he didn't go down to the kennels with Maggie and Paul.



State plays for Crosby the video from Paul's phone at the dog kennels on June 7, 2021 at 8:44 p.m. Crosby says the voices heard in the video are Paul Murdaugh, Maggie Murdaugh and Alex Murdaugh. He's 100% confident.


an hour ago

Crosby says the law firm is very close knit. Sent shock waves through the law firm. Horror and disbelief. Firm took extra security measures. Insecurity and fear because they didn't understand what might be happening. Paul, Maggie and Buster had come to the law firm many times over the years. They all knew them.


an hour ago

Crosby says everyone needed to be together to support each other, especially Alex after the murders. Recalls a conversation where the partners decided not to bring up the money again immediately after the murders.


an hour ago

Crosby gave the eulogy for Paul at the funeral. Was around him all the time. He pretty much had free reign over Crosby's property to hunt and fish. Very polite. Killed his first deer on Ronnie's property. He got to watch him grow up.


an hour ago

Crosby recalls how Paul often used a camo Benelli Super Black Eagle shotgun and a .300 Blackout rifle.


an hour ago

Crosby remembers noting at the murder scene what he thought were .223 rifle cartridges, but then was surprised to learn the next day they were .300 BLK shells.


an hour ago

Crosby says they enquired with Alex about the .300 BLK rifles and he said one was inside and he didn't know where the other one was. Later mentioned a third one that had been stolen.


an hour ago

Crosby says he was much later called by a partner to come to a meeting at Danny Henderson's house. He was told he was going to need a drink. Says he ultimately needed more than one. He was handed the files showing Alex's theft, and quickly determined they had to fire Alex. They launched an internal investigation and reported it to authorities.


an hour ago

Had he known earlier, he would've moved to fire Alex and turn evidence over to authorities. Conduct would've been also reported to the bar.


an hour ago

Jim Griffin in cross examination for the Defense.


Crosby says he and other law partners were asking a lot of questions and theorizing about who could've committed the murders.


44 minutes ago

Crosby recounts that he in the aftermath of murders he went to a local mechanic shop and checked to see if Paul had removed his guns from his truck before dropping the truck off the Friday before the murders. Crosby said he observed some loose ammo and a pistol in Paul's truck, but no long guns.


43 minutes ago

Crosby says he also reviewed surveillance video at the mechanic shop, and it wasn't apparent from the video if Paul had removed any guns from the truck when he left. Picked up by Moselle caretaker Claude Rowe.


41 minutes ago

Crosby describes going to the murder scene the day after the killings with law partner Mark Ball. Bodies had been removed but there was still blood and body tissue everywhere.


35 minutes ago

Jim Griffin asks Crosby if he tried to collect any evidence when he went to the feed room where Paul was killed after the murders.
Crosby: "Jim -- I mean, Mr. Griffin -- We know each other, I apologize. That area in that room ... it was so bad. We thought we were going to at some point clean it up, but it overwhelmed both my partner Mark and I. We could see the (shotgun shell pellets) and all the other aftermath. We were getting biological material on our -- I mean, we just couldn't be there. It was bad, and it was overwhelming us. So no, I didn't try to collect evidence."
Griffin: "And the scene inside that feed room I take it is something that still is etched inside your mind's eye, your memory?"
Crosby: "Yes."


33 minutes ago

Crosby says he isn't qualified to say if crime scene was being handled correctly. Doesn't recall any comments by anyone else about the same.


32 minutes ago

Crosby says when the law partners were all sent away from the crime scene the night of the murders and went to the house, it was his perception hadn't been searched yet.


32 minutes ago

Crosby says he recalls Alex being brought up to the house to change clothes and SLED seizing his clothes.


30 minutes ago

Griffin asking Crosby how Alex had an annoying quirk of taking phone calls at any time, during depositions, partner meetings, etc. Crosby acknowledges.


28 minutes ago

Crosby notes for Griffin that Alex was having trouble sleeping and didn't come to the office much. Taking medicine from anxiety -- the pills Seckinger mentioned earlier. Was losing weight, wasn't eating. Falling asleep at work.



Crosby recalls how Alex in the aftermath of the murders told him how much Paul loved him, and it was emotional every time.


26 minutes ago

Griffin asks Crosby about seeing Alex over the 4th of July weekend after the murders. He came over to Crosby's beach house with Randy by boat. Noted Alex was carrying a gun. He hadn't known Alex to carry a gun for protection before that.


23 minutes ago

In re-direct, Creighton Waters again asks the question he asked of Jeanne Seckinger earlier, and of Will Loving before that: Did you really know Alex Murdaugh. This time, Jim Griffin objects citing the state attacking the character of the witness. Judge Newman sustains the objection. Crosby allowed to step down.


23 minutes ago

After brief recess, the state intends to call its gunshot residue analyst to testify.


15 minutes ago

Now on the witness stand for the State, Megan Fletcher. She's a SLED agent in the forensics division. Began training on gunshot residue analysis in 2007 when she started.


8 minutes ago

Fletcher says at SLED they specifically test for gunshot PRIMER residue. Primer has a dual meaning within ammunition. Primer is both the chemical compound substance that is ignited to initiate the combustion of gunpowder inside ammunition, and primer is also the name of the small component on the ammo itself where the primer compound itself is housed.


7 minutes ago

Primers produce a specific three-part trace evidence cocktail, and gunshot primer residue analysts are required to find all three parts on a test to be able to declare gunshot residue for evidentiary value is present.


4 minutes ago

Fletcher notes the circumstances for collecting GSR are very narrow when it comes to being able to collect usable samples. GSR is easily washed away or wiped away. It's also highly transferable. Fletcher notes it's very difficult to determine if GSR is transferred from another person or object, was carried along with the bullet, or was directly deposited on the person by firing a firearm.


Tuesday, PM continued live blog testimony:


Fletcher notes no GSR was found on Alex's shoes.


5 minutes ago

Fletcher repeatedly notes how the GSR particles on Alex's hand, shirts and shoes could've come from transfer or proximity, not necessarily from firing.



7 minutes ago

One GSR particle found on Alex's left hand.


9 minutes ago

Fletcher notes 3 particles combined from right and left groin area of Alex's shorts.


11 minutes ago

Fletcher notes three GSR particles combined were found on right sleeve / chest and left sleeve / chest.


12 minutes ago

Fletcher notes Alex's shirt had gunshot primer residue on it, which can come from vicinity of firearm discharge or transfer from other object.


16 minutes ago

Fletcher notes light staining on the shirt. Cargo shorts were clean.


17 minutes ago

Fletcher now reviewing Alex Murdaugh's white t-shirt from the night of June 7. Notes how she immediately noticed smell of fresh laundry detergent like her technician described yesterday.


20 minutes ago

Fletcher notes its now SLED policy (recommended prior to 2022, now policy) not to test gunshot victims for GSR because there's essentially no value to that evidence. Bullets and other discharged materials from fired ammo carries gunshot residue with it, so you'll expect to find GSR on a gunshot victim. No real way to tell if that GSR would've come from shooting or being shot.


22 minutes ago

Fletcher, who has been qualified as an expert witness, says the best place to collect GSR is from the hands of a person, but also some key places on the body, like a shirt sleeve, shoulder, center of chest, pants legs or shoes.



 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Staff online

Members online

... and 111 more.
Total: 3,974 (members: 112, guests: 3,862)

Online statistics

Members online
112
Guests online
3,862
Total visitors
3,974
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
592,118
Messages
17,963,516
Members
228,687
Latest member
Pabo1998
Back
Top