Brutality detailed in Alex Murdaugh case; 2 jurors get COVID

A pathologist detailed the close range shots that killed Alex Murdaugh’s wife and son as prosecutors on Monday started winding up their case in the disgraced South Carolina attorney’s double murder trial.

But the future of the trial could be in jeopardy. Two jurors were dismissed Monday morning after contracting COVID-19, leaving just three alternates available as the trial’s fourth week started. Both sides suggested delaying the trial in case the coronavirus might be spreading though the jury and others in court, but Judge Clifton Newman decided to continue.

"At the moment, we are going to encourage everyone here to mask up for your own protection as well as the protection of these proceedings and each other," Newman told the courtroom, which has been packed with more than 200 people for the past two weeks.

Disbarred lawyer Alex Murdaugh faces life in prison

Murdaugh, 54, faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted of murdering his wife, 52-year-old Maggie, and their 22-year-old son Paul near kennels at the family’s Colleton County home on June 7, 2021. Prosecutors have said he killed his family in order to buy time to cover up other crimes for which he is accused, including stealing money from clients and insurance fraud.

Alex Murdaugh has adamantly denied killing his wife and son.

Pathologist Dr. Ellen Riemer gave some of the most graphic testimony of the trial Monday as she detailed what she found during the autopsies of the victims.

Paul Mudaugh was shot twice with a shotgun. The first wound skirted his chest with pellets. The second shot was to his head and was so violent it left his skull nearly empty, Riemer said.

What did the pathologist testify about in Alex Murdaugh murder trial?

Maggie Murdaugh was hit by four or five bullets. The first two wounds happened as she faced the shooter and weren’t fatal, but a bullet did hit her kidney, the pathologist said.

"She had projectiles, ammunition going through her left kidney, you can imagine that was a very painful wound and could have cause her to fold over in pain.," Riemer said.

While bent over facing away from the shooter, the fatal shot then went into and out of her chest and into her face. "It basically destroyed her brain," Riemer said.

While the pathologist stood in front of the jury, drawing on diagrams and detailing her autopsy photographs, Alex Murdaugh sat at the defense table, distraught or crying at times. He fidgeted with a yellow highlighter and the disbarred attorney seemed so distracted that it took him several seconds to stand when the bailiff said "All rise!" as the judge left the bench at the end of the day.

The defense will start its cross examination of Riemer on Tuesday.

What DNA evidence has been introduced in Alex Murdaugh trial?

Earlier Monday, state agents testified about DNA.

Genetic material from all three Murdaughs were found on the shirt Alex Murdaugh was wearing when he found the bodies after returning home from visiting his ailing mother. State Law Enforcement Division agent Sara Zapata testified

But Zapata said it wasn’t blood and the defense said it isn’t unusual for people who spend time together to get their DNA on clothes and other items and Alex Murdaugh said he checked on the bodies after he found them.

DNA was also found under Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails and it didn’t match her husband or son, Zapata said on cross examination.

Further testing wasn’t done on the DNA, including sending it to a nationwide database to see if there was a match, the agent said.

DNA tests didn’t find genetic material from anyone tested on a blue raincoat found at the house of Alex Murdaugh’s mother, Zapata said. Earlier testimony said the inside lining of the coat had a large amount of gunshot residue inside.

DNA from a number of people who volunteered samples — other workers on the Murdaugh property, the family of a teen killed in a crash by a boat driven by Paul Murdaugh and other family members of Alex Murdaugh — was not found on items from the crime scene, Zapata said.

Monday marked the 13th day of testimony with prosecutors still presenting their case.

Jurors test positive for COVID-19 in Alex Murdaugh trial

The dangers of a long trial seemed even more evident with the COVID-19 news. Along with the two jurors, the clerk of court also has the virus, the judge said.

Newman said jurors agreed to wear masks. He rejected suggestions from both the defense and prosecutors to delay the trial until that second round of tests Wednesday, reduce the over 200 people allowed to attend the trial each day or order everyone in the courtroom to wear masks other than testifying witnesses and questioning attorneys.

Jurors will be tested again Wednesday, the judge said.

"My only concern is we don’t create train wreck with this jury," said defense attorney Dick Harpootlian, who immediately began wearing a mask.

Prosecutor Creighton Waters said he agreed with the defense that delaying the trial for a few days to make sure the virus isn’t spreading is much better than losing so many jurors there has to be a mistrial and three weeks of work is gone. He also suggested limiting the number of people inside the large, century-old courtroom. The trial is being livestreamed and shown on television.

"A little less numbers might be warranted. None of us want to limit anything, but we’re in different paradigm. Both of us have a concern about getting this thing to the end without COVID causing it to fall apart," Waters said.

The judge said he would keep all options in mind, but for now the trial will continue without any changes.

"We just have to take precautions as we all do as we navigate through life during this period of time," Newman said.

What are the takeaways in Alex Murdaugh murder trial after 3 week, dozens of witnesses?

Three weeks into disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial, prosecutors have called dozens of witnesses offering wide-ranging — and sometimes disjointed — testimony.

Jurors have heard from the investigators who found the bodies of Murdaugh’s wife and son, and technicians who found gunshot residue, cracked open cellphones to get videos and tested dozens of ammunition casings.

They’ve heard from betrayed law firm employees, heartbroken friends of Murdaugh and his family, and a man whose insurance settlement was stolen after his mother, the Murdaughs’ housekeeper, died in a fall at their home.

But witnesses have been called in disorganized groups and tantalizing scraps of evidence have been introduced but not explained. The defense hopes to start its case in middle of next week and had planned a week of testimony but is rethinking that because of the trial’s length.

What are the financial crimes Alex Murdaugh is accused of?

Murdaugh, 54, is charged with murder in the deaths of 52-year-old Maggie, shot several times with a rifle, and their 22-year-old son, Paul, shot twice with a shotgun at kennels near their Colleton County home on June 7, 2021. He faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted.

The disbarred lawyer also faces about 100 other charges ranging from stealing money from clients to running a drug and money laundering ring.

Much of the week’s testimony focused on whether Murdaugh stole money from his family’s law firm and clients. Prosecutors contend Murdaugh thought he was about to get caught stealing and killed his wife and son to buy time to cover up the money trail.

The office manager from the family law firm said Murdaugh stole millions in fees and client settlements. A law school buddy said Murdaugh took advantage of his trust and left him to pay $192,000 to keep his client trust fund balanced. The son of the Murdaughs’ housekeeper and nanny who died in a fall testified Murdaugh promised to get them a hefty insurance settlement for the death but kept more than $4 million collected for himself.

The defense objected to each witness, saying there was no evidence linking the killings to financial misdeeds.

"This is piling on. This is more trying to prejudice the jury into believing somehow someone who steals a bunch of money in any way whatever would commit a murder," Murdaugh lawyer Dick Harpootlian said.

What case has prosecution made against Alex Murdaugh?

Prosecutors have called 47 witnesses in 12 days of testimony, but at times there has been little rhythm to the order.

This week, the caretaker of Murdaugh’s mother testified about a blue jacket Murdaugh might have held when he visited but then other witnesses testified about financial crimes before the state forensic scientist who tested the jacket for blood and gunshot residue took the stand.

Long, tedious testimony has focused on cellphone data between Paul Murdaugh’s friends.

Some intriguing evidence has been introduced but never explained to jurors, who do not have notebooks to keep track of testimony.

A crime scene technician put into evidence a receipt with a $1,021.10 item from Gucci circled, but it hasn’t been brought up since. An FBI technician gave the times Murdaugh’s SUV was shifted into and out of park the night of the killings without interpretation.

How has Alex Murdaugh conducted himself during the trial?

A courtroom camera is trained on Alex Murdaugh every moment he is in court. Several cameras wait for him as he gets in and out of a prison van each day.

At the beginning of the trial, Murdaugh cried and rocked in his chair several times as crime scene photos of his wife and son were shown and described. Prosecutors and defense have said the aftermath of the shooting was gruesome. Agents testified Paul Murdaugh’s brain was detached from his skull with a close range shotgun blast.

Murdaugh has adamantly denied killing his wife and son. His lawyers said he was visiting his ailing mother the night of the murders and police wrongly focused on him from the start.

Murdaugh cried Thursday as the defense showed video of a family birthday party weeks before the killings.

But during the financial crimes testimony, Murdaugh has been much more stoic, listening and occasionally speaking to his lawyers.

What evidence has been introduced in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial?

Within weeks of the killings, state agents wanted data from the SUV Alex Murdaugh drove to visit his mother the night of the killings and from Paul Murdaugh’s cellphone.

But both devices were encrypted and impossible to crack in 2021.

Advancements in hacking allowed agents to get into Paul Murdaugh’s iPhone data last year and they found one of the key pieces of evidence so far — a video he took of a dog at the family’s kennels about five minutes before investigators said the killings took place. Several witnesses have said all three Murdaughs can be heard in the video taken near where the bodies were found.

Alex Murdaugh told police both right after the bodies were found and again a few days later he was never at the kennels.

An FBI agent testified he worked for a year to crack the encrypted data from the computer entertainment and information console on the SUV the family law firm provided Murdaugh.

Along with other information, he extracted the times the vehicle was shifted into and out of park, although he couldn’t tell if the vehicle was in motion or someone had their foot on the brake. The agent said he also could tell when the windows were raised or lowered, but never said if that happened during Murdaugh’s 20-minute ride to his mother’s home the night of the killings.

Maggie Murdaugh’s cellphone was recovered from the side of a road the day after the killings.