Alex Murdaugh murder trial witness ‘furious’ over ‘sloppy’ crime scene condition
There are conflicting reports about whether disgraced former attorney Alex Murdaugh will take the stand and speak in his own defense at his South Carolina double-murder trial.
Local media reports citing multiple sources claim so Murdaugh will take the stand on Thursday at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro. Other reporting says Murdaugh’s defense team is still in discussions with him and a decision will come late Wednesday or early morning.
In dramatic testimony, Murdaugh’s former law firm partner at PMPED Mark Ball described a chaotic crime scene both on the night of the murder and the day after – with evidence omitted in the elements or left entirely.
Mr Ball – a witness for the defense – also insisted he has “no doubt” the disgraced lawyer was at the scene of the murders of i.dentifies the voice of his friend of 34 years in a video recorded by son Paul minutes before he and his mother were brutally murdered.
The defense is trying to fight back against a trove of circumstantial evidence from the prosecution, including cell phone and car records, the incriminating video and glaring holes in Murdaugh’s alibi.
The defense team will make a final decision on testimony this evening or in the morning
Post and couriers chief investigative reporter Avery Wilks reports that a decision to put Alex Murdaugh on the stand has still not been made, and the defense team will meet with him tonight to discuss the possibility.
Oliver O’ConnellFebruary 22, 2023 11:05 p.m
Will Alex Murdaugh testify in his murder trial? It sounds like it will happen
As Alex Murdaugh’s bombshell trial for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul draws to a close, a crucial question looms: Will he testify?
Now, with the defense set to wrap up its case Friday, all eyes are on Murdaugh more than ever.
On late Wednesday afternoon, local news agency WCBD reported that the disgraced legal scion will make the risky move of taking the stand in his own defense.
Andrea Blanco have the latest.
Oliver O’ConnellFebruary 22, 2023 10:49 p.m
Murdaugh will testify Thursday, the report said
WCB2 News 2 anchor Riley Benson reports that defendant Alex Murdaugh comes take the stand tomorrow to speak in his own defense.
Oliver O’Connell22 February 2023 22:34
Court adjourns
Judge Newman concludes today’s trial.
Tomorrow it is possible that we can get testimony from the defendant himself.
The trial resumes at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.
Oliver O’ConnellFebruary 22, 2023 10:21 p.m
In redirect, it is again claimed that only a small movement would turn on the screen.
On cross-examination, we return to the issue of step counts with Conrad, asking if the steps recorded by Murdaugh’s phone would also record if he stopped for any period of time.
Mr. Sturgis responds that if Murdaugh had stopped completely for a period of time, the phone would likely have stopped recording steps and started a new record for when he started moving again.
Oliver O’ConnellFebruary 22, 2023 10:19 p.m
At 21:06, after the last orientation change of Maggie’s phone, two seconds later the call comes from Murdaugh.
At 21.06.52 his SUV begins its journey from Mosel to Almeda. Eight seconds later, the screen turns off for 24 minutes.
Conrad emphasizes what we heard during the prosecution’s case: that with the screen off, there would be no evidence of a change in orientation. The meaning is that it would not register a change if thrown from a car window during that period.
Oliver O’ConnellFebruary 22, 2023 10:14 p.m
Prosecutor John Conrad cross-examines Sturgis.
He notes that the way the iPhone’s disc orientation changes has changed since the murders, with updates to the iPhone software.
Conrad also notes that both Paul and Maggie’s phones locked up for the last time within seconds at 8:49 PM on the night of the murders.
Mr. Sturgis agrees that someone got hold of Maggie’s phone between 8:53 and 8:55 p.m.
Conrad suggests the phone was placed in a vehicle, specifically a golf cart.
Oliver O’ConnellFebruary 22, 2023 10:02 p.m
As for the phone’s camera, Mr. Sturgis shows that it was activated for one second, not by the phone trying to identify a face to unlock as the prosecution has suggested, but by someone touching the camera icon on the screen or swiping left.
Oliver O’ConnellFebruary 22, 2023 9:43 p.m
Moving on to the orientation changes and the times when the screen was on or off, the defense’s cross-examination of Sturgis is trying to establish that the phone may have been thrown from a car at 9:06 p.m. (the last orientation change and when the screen was on), two minutes before Murdaugh passed the location where it was found.
Mr Sturgis says it takes very little movement to wake up the screen on an iPhone and the screen was off at 9.08pm when Murdaugh drove by.
Murdaugh passed the scene again at 9.59pm on his way home and the phone screen was off then too.
Oliver O’ConnellFebruary 22, 2023 9:40 p.m
Mr. Sturgis is asked about the Murdaugh family’s phone data — GPS, steps, distance, etc. He says step data is more accurate than distance data.
Oliver O’ConnellFebruary 22, 2023 9:28 p.m