2 witnesses in Alex Murdaugh's murder trial testify Murdaugh's voice is on video made just before killings - CNN

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Two witnesses successful the murder proceedings of Alex Murdaugh told the tribunal Wednesday they are “100%” definite that Murdaugh’s dependable is connected footage prosecutors accidental undermines the disgraced erstwhile South Carolina attorney’s assertion helium was not astatine the country of the killings erstwhile his woman Maggie and 22-year-old lad Paul were fatally shot.

The video, conscionable abbreviated of a infinitesimal long, was filmed connected Paul’s telephone starting astatine 8:44 p.m. the nighttime of the killings successful 2021, according to Lt. David Britton Dove, a supervisor successful the machine crimes halfway astatine the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division who extracted forensic information from the phones of Murdaugh, his lad and his wife.

Three antithetic voices could beryllium heard successful the footage, Dove testified Wednesday, saying the video appeared to person been recorded successful the country of the Murdaugh family’s kennels. And portion Dove did not personally cognize the voices, helium said, “You tin archer that they’re antithetic voices.”

Prosecutors judge 1 of those voices – the lone different connected the video too the victims’ – belongs to Alex Murdaugh, placing him astatine the country astatine the clip of the murders. And portion Murdaugh maintained successful interviews with instrumentality enforcement helium was not there, 2 witnesses Wednesday backed up prosecutors’ claim.

Rogan Gibson, who said helium was a adjacent person of Paul’s and the Murdaughs were similar a 2nd household to him, told investigators soon aft the killings helium was 99% definite helium heard Alex Murdaugh’s dependable successful the inheritance of a telephone telephone helium had with Paul astatine 8:40 that night. When helium was shown the video past November, helium told investigators helium was 100% definite it was Murdaugh’s dependable successful the inheritance of the footage – an assertion helium repeated successful tribunal Wednesday.

When asked by authorities authoritative Creighton Waters if helium recognized Alex’s voice, Gibson said, “Yes, sir.”

“100%?” asked Waters. “Yes, sir” replied Gibson.

Will Loving, different witnesser who was Paul’s friend, besides testified helium was “100%” definite it was Alex’s dependable connected the video.

Prosecutors person indicated compartment telephone grounds is cardinal successful their lawsuit against Murdaugh, who has pleaded not blameworthy to 2 counts of execution and 2 counts of possession of a limb during the committee of a convulsive transgression successful the killings of his woman Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh and his 22-year-old lad Paul connected June 7, 2021.

Murdaugh called 911 the nighttime of the killings to study he’d recovered his woman and lad changeable dormant astatine the family’s location successful Islandton, South Carolina – a spot known arsenic Moselle.

But prosecutors impeach Murdaugh of committing the murders to distract attraction from a bid of alleged illicit schemes helium was moving to debar “personal ineligible and fiscal ruin,” per tribunal filings. Separate from the execution charges, Murdaugh besides faces 99 charges stemming from alleged fiscal crimes, per the authorities lawyer general.

Evidence volition show, the authorities has claimed, that Murdaugh’s alleged fiscal crimes were “about to travel to light” erstwhile his woman and lad were killed.

Gibson knew the Murdaughs practically his full life, helium said. He testified it was Alex Murdaugh’s dependable that could beryllium heard successful the video calling for the family’s yellowish lab, Bubba, to driblet a chickenhearted from his mouth.

Paul Murdaugh called Gibson the nighttime of the shooting, astatine 8:40 p.m., to inquire if thing was incorrect with Gibson’s dog, Cash, which was successful a kennel astatine the Murdaugh property. The 2 tried to clasp a video telephone truthful that Gibson could spot the dog, but the reception was not bully enough, Gibson testified.

Paul told him helium would instrumentality a video of the canine and nonstop it to him if the FaceTime telephone didn’t work, Gibson said, but helium ne'er received the footage. Gibson tried to telephone and substance Paul aft the failed video call, helium said, but his person ne'er responded.

Prosecutor Waters of the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office – which is prosecuting the lawsuit due to the Murdaugh family’s decades-old ties with the section solicitor’s bureau – teased the video successful his opening connection past week, saying that portion Alex claimed to investigators helium was napping astatine the house, video grounds would amusement helium was contiguous astatine the family’s kennels, wherever the bodies of his lad and woman were found.

“You’ll spot that video and you’ll perceive from witnesses that place Paul’s voice, Maggie’s dependable and Alex’s voice,” Waters said, telling the tribunal Paul was filming a canine that belonged to his person due to the fact that they were acrophobic astir the animal’s tail. Murdaugh “told anyone who would perceive helium was ne'er determination … The grounds volition amusement that helium was there. He was astatine the execution country with the 2 victims” minutes earlier Paul’s telephone “locks forever.”

In his ain opening statement, defence lawyer Dick Harpootlian said the audio from the video obtained by the prosecution would simply amusement Murdaugh and his woman having a “normal discussion” with “no animosity.” Paul is “very happy,” Harpootlian claimed. “Nobody’s down determination threatening him. Daddy is not pulling retired a shotgun and sidesplitting him.”

During transverse introspection by the defence Wednesday, Gibson said Alex and Paul Murdaugh had a large relationship, and spoke astir Alex arsenic an affectionate and loving begetter who was progressive with his sons. Alex was similar a 2nd begetter to him, Gibson said.

Murdaugh cried a batch and “was conscionable existent distraught, sad, conscionable tore up” astir the deaths, Gibson testified.

“Can you deliberation of immoderate condition that you tin envision, knowing them arsenic you do, wherever Alex would brutally execution Paul and Maggie?” defence lawyer Jim Griffin asked.

“Not that I tin deliberation of,” Gibson answered.

The defence lawyer besides questioned Gibson astir the sheds, workshops and vehicles often being near unlocked astatine the Murdaugh property, and guns often near unprotected oregon conscionable laying around. Gibson conceded it would beryllium casual for idiosyncratic to sneak connected the spot and bargain something. On redirect from the prosecution, Gibson acknowledged helium had ne'er heard Paul kick astir radical doing that.

In his grounds Tuesday, Dove, the 15th witnesser called by the prosecution, elaborate the communications of Maggie’s telephone the nighttime of the killings, including a substance from Alex astatine 9:47 p.m. that read, “Call maine babe.” It was ne'er read.

In his opening connection past week, Waters told the assemblage Murdaugh repeatedly called his woman that evening earlier texting her that helium was going to sojourn his parent and driving to Almeda, South Carolina.

“It’s up to you,” Waters said, “to determine whether oregon not he’s trying to manufacture an alibi.”

According to Dove’s grounds Tuesday, the nighttime she was killed, Maggie work 2 substance messages – astatine 8:31 p.m. and 8:49 p.m. – successful a radical chat with household astir Murdaugh’s father, who was successful ailing health, seconds earlier her telephone locked for the last time.

The show of Maggie’s telephone turned disconnected minutes later, astatine 8:53 p.m. At 8:54 p.m., the predisposition changed to scenery and the camera activated – an indication, Dove said, the telephone was moved and the camera tried to find Maggie’s look successful an unsuccessful effort to unlock.

Maggie’s telephone showed repeated missed calls from her hubby implicit the people of the adjacent hour, Dove testified, on with grounds it had switched to representation mode. That, the adept said, was different denotation the telephone was apt held successful someone’s hand. A last telephone from Murdaugh was missed conscionable earlier 10:04 p.m.

But those calls appeared to beryllium missing from Murdaugh’s phone, Dove said Wednesday, testifying that telephone logs amusement a spread successful calls betwixt June 4 and 10:25 p.m. the nighttime of June 7.

“A spread similar that would indicate” that calls were “actually removed from there,” Dove said, adding the lone mode to region the calls from the log would beryllium to bash truthful manually.

Asked specifically if the calls were deleted from the log, Dove said, “it would look that way,” noting determination was nary mode to cognize erstwhile they were deleted oregon who was responsible.

Additionally, Murdaugh was successful the aforesaid radical chat arsenic his woman erstwhile relatives were texting astir his dying father, Dove said Wednesday. And portion grounds shows Maggie work some messages, Murdaugh did not work them until the adjacent day, Dove said, contempt telling authorities investigators astir his interest for his father’s health.

This behaviour appeared to beryllium extracurricular Murdaugh’s emblematic texting habits, Dove testified, saying Murdaugh typically had a wont of checking texts wrong 5 minutes, oregon sometimes 30 to 40 minutes.

Correction: An earlier mentation of this communicative misspelled the Murdaugh household name. The communicative besides incorrectly described a information of Rogan Gibson's testimony. He told investigators soon aft the killings that helium was 99% definite helium heard Alex Murdaugh's dependable successful the inheritance of a telephone telephone helium had with Paul astatine 8:40 that night.