Newly revealed images and police body camera footage taken after Maggie, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22, were murdered at their family’s private hunting estate portrayed a horrible scene of panic and confusion in South Carolina’s Low Country.
The murder trial of Maggie’s husband and Paul’s father, Alex Murdaugh, 64, has taken a dark turn.
The prosecution alleged Alex murdered his family members to divert attention away from his financial misdeeds — and brought up other murders tied to the family — in an attempt to demonstrate how low the once-prominent attorney would go to protect his family’s soiled name.
Police bodycam footage recorded from first responders to the family’s house on June 7, 2021 was displayed to the jury.
As police searched the crime scene outside Moselle’s dog kennel area, the family’s dogs could be heard howling and sobbing incessantly.
Alex was observed wearing a stark white t-shirt while speaking with police and gathering information. Prosecutors said Alex changed his clothing after allegedly shooting his wife and son.
As he curled over in despair, Alex wondered whether the bodies of his wife and kid were being covered.
Police were heard talking about how confusing the crime scene was while the bodycam was rolling. One officer kept bringing up the amount of round casings on the ground despite the fact that the victims had only received single gunshot wounds to the heads.
Paul’s body, which was found not far from his deceased mother, was investigated by police.
Paul was shot dead in the head with a shotgun, and his body was left next to a dog kennel. Paul was at the same spot, according to a cellphone video he recorded.
The video, believed to have been made just minutes before his death, showed Paul at the same kennels — and a third person, believed to be Alex, could be heard in the audio.
Alex stated that he was not at home at the time of the killings and that he spent a long time visiting his elderly parents the night his wife and kid were killed.
The prosecution used the time stamp from the cellphone footage, as well as testimony from Alex’s parent’s babysitter, Michelle “Shelley” Smith, who claimed Alex showed up unexpectedly that evening and stayed for less than 20 minutes, to try to refute Alex’s alibi.
According to the caretaker, Alex returned to his mother’s residence a few days later, carrying a “balled up” blue tarp-like material under his arms.
Smith added that Alex went upstairs and returned, offering her financial assistance and instructing her to pretend he was at the house for “30 to 40 minutes” if she was questioned about his movements.
Prosecutors supported their theory with the caretaker’s confession and evidence seized by detectives from the home. According to investigators, a blue rain jacket discovered in the home’s upstairs closet tested positive for gun powder residue.
The attack did not leave Paul or Maggie with any defensive wounds.
SLED forensic analyst Melinda Worley testified that she arrived at the crime site shortly after midnight on June 8 in addition to witness testimony and cellphone video footage.
Worley stated she swabbed ten different parts of Alex’s car, all of which yielded presumptive positive blood tests. Alex’s clothing, which were captured on video, tested negative for blood. On the floorboard of his car, a 16-gauge shotgun round was also discovered.
Alex was reported to have been caught on CCTV leaving Moselle one hour before calling 911.
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