Alex Murdau cries when court shows video from kennel before murder
Prosecutors in Alex Murdau’s trial have begun to point to potential motives for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul, addressing the alleged financial crimes of a disgraced attorney for the first time on Wednesday.
Judge Clifton Newman is scheduled to decide on Thursday whether such financial evidence is admissible.
This was after a startling day in the Coleton County Courthouse in South Carolina, where footage cast doubt on Murdaugh’s alibi.
A cell phone video taken by Paul in the doghouse minutes before the murder apparently contained the voices of three people: Paul, Maggie, and a man prosecutors claimed was Murdau. became.
In dramatic testimony, two of Paul’s friends told jurors they were “100 percent certain” that the third voice belonged to Mr Murdo. , claiming he was taking a nap at home at the time.
A second video, sent via Snapchat by Paul an hour before the murder, also shows Mr. Murdaugh wearing a button-down shirt and pants, which was taken by police after the killing. It’s different from what he was wearing on the body camera.
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Harpootlian claimed it would be difficult to throw the phone out of the driver’s window and across the lane of the road, landing about 15 to 20 feet from the edge of the road (about 40 feet total).
Hightower says he could easily throw with his left hand. Asked if he would throw it over his arm or under his armpit, Mr. Hightower replied that he would throw it neither, just a horizontal flick.
In previous testimony, there was a lot of discussion about phone orientation per event log data. If I flick my phone horizontally out of a car window with the screen off, the orientation doesn’t change, as the data logs show.
Once the phone was found, Mr. Hightower put it in airplane mode, put it in a bag of evidence and handed it over to SLED. He didn’t have a phone passcode so he couldn’t enter.
It is possible to put the phone into airplane mode without unlocking it.
Oliver O’connellFeb 2, 2023 20:38
During cross-examination, defense attorney Dick Harputrian asked whether police had set up barricades or warned people about possible shooters, and said there was no danger to the public. I asked about the official statement.
Hightower says he is not aware of such statements (as others have attested).
As for the location of Maggie’s phone, Harputrian said no one has measured the phone’s exact location. Hightower says he was able to locate the location within a few feet based on the photos he took of the location.
Oliver O’connellFeb 2, 2023 20:23
A comparison of Alex Murdaugh’s call records with Verizon’s call data shows that on the date in question (June 7), Verizon records registered 73 calls, compared to 2 FaceTime calls. I just noticed it’s not registered.
Previous testimony has shown that only users can delete calls from logs. On the morning of June 8th, the calls started being recorded again.
Oliver O’connellFeb 2, 2023 20:09
On June 10, 2021, Mr. Hightower visited the home of John Marvin Murdoh, extracted the contents of the phone calls from Alex, Buster and Randy’s devices and was interviewed by SLED.
After three tooth extractions, the family received word that Randolph Murdow’s condition was deteriorating and headed to the hospital.
He performed a basic surface extraction of the phone (call history, messages, photos, videos, not necessarily location), which took about 30 minutes. A full extraction takes much longer.
Oliver O’connellFebruary 2, 2023 20:00
The morning after the murder, Mr. Hightower made his way to Murdo’s home after giving a briefing at the SLED Regional Headquarters in Walterboro, Colton County.
He testifies that it is not uncommon for him to respond to crime and murder scenes.
Mr. Hightower toured the kennel area turned over by the SLED Crime Scene Investigation Unit. He took pictures of the scene with a drone, confirmed that Paul’s cell phone was found on his body, and set out to locate Maggie’s cell phone.
Using a family phone (believed to be Buster’s), Mr. Hightower used “Find My iPhone” to search for the phone and eventually ended up with John Marvin Murdoh and two investigators. Got in the car and drove off the property when I realized how far it was. was the device.
Eventually, they got out of the car, found the phone about half a mile from the property, and proceeded to search on foot.
He snapped a cell phone photo of bushes and foliage about 15 to 20 feet from Moselle Road. He didn’t touch the phone and notified his team.
Oliver O’connellFebruary 2, 2023 19:46
New Witness: Dylan Hightower, 14th Circuit
The next witness is Dylan Hightower, a 14th Circuit attorney.
He was responsible for downloading the contents of Alex Murdau’s phone calls days after the murder.
Mr. Murdow serves as a Volunteer Associate Solicitor for the 14th Circuit Court. Mr Hightower has been involved in a trial in which Mr Murdau and his father acted as prosecutors.
Oliver O’connellFebruary 2, 2023 19:28
court returns to session
After the lunch break, court resumes and the jury returns.
Judge Newman said he will spend about two hours with a jury in court this afternoon for non-financial crimes witnesses, after which the proceedings will continue without witnesses.
He also hinted at the possibility of telling jurors to come later tomorrow so that the debate on financial crime evidence and motives can continue.
Oliver O’connellFebruary 2, 2023 19:23
Law firm CFO recalls Murdau’s ‘dirty face’ when he confronted him about lack of funds
Alex Murdau’s former law firm partner described how he gave her a “dirty look” when she confronted him about a staggering $792,000 in outstanding payments on the day his wife and son were murdered. I remembered how I did
Gene Sekinger, chief financial officer of Murdau’s former law firm PMPED, testified Thursday at the Colleton County Court in Walterboro, South Carolina, at the trial for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul.
She told the court that the now-disqualified 54-year-old lawyer was diverting millions of dollars from legal clients by transferring money to bogus businesses and his own personal accounts. Tell me how you found it.
Rachel Sharp has details.
Oliver O’connellFebruary 2, 2023 18:55
Terrible Snapchat video shows Murdoh wearing different clothes before murder
During his high-profile murder trial on Wednesday, the Colton County Courthouse jury south carolina .
A video sent to Will Loving, a friend of Paul’s, shows Mr. Murdoh lying on the grounds of his home, with a small tree toppled over.
Oliver O’connellFebruary 2, 2023 18:35
court break for lunch
Judge Newman asks prosecutor Clayton Waters:
Waters said he has more witnesses to the financial side of the motivational argument. Chris Wilson, an attorney and friend of Murdo’s, is ready to testify without a jury present.
Defense attorney Jim Griffin argued that Ms. Sekinger’s testimony showed that these financial crimes were not admissible in the murder case, and admitting this body of evidence would add more than two weeks to the trial. Ru.
Waters said he could streamline the state’s litigation for financial crimes, saying, “It’s not the state’s intention to try 100 white-collar cases in the context of this murder.”
The state says it’s important to find out what was going on in Murdow’s life by June 7, 2021.
Judge Newman said he didn’t want jurors to be lazy, and prosecutors could call witnesses unrelated to financial crimes in the afternoon when jurors were present.
Hearings on financial crimes will continue today or tomorrow without a jury.
The Court will break for lunch and return at 2:15 PM.
Oliver O’connellFeb 2, 2023 18:15
