“Name me babe.”
That was Alex Murdaugh’s final text to his wife, prosecutors revealed during the second week of the double murder trial the place Murdaugh, a disgraced distinguished South Carolina legal professional, is accused of killing his wife and youngest son.
Prosecutors alleged in court docket on Tuesday that Murdaugh had despatched the message, left unread, a short while after he shot and killed Margaret, or Maggie, and Paul Murdaugh on June 7, 2021. Murdaugh has pleaded not responsible to murder and weapons possession fees within the case.
Lt. Britt Dove of the South Carolina Legislation Enforcement Division (SLED) testified he had processed the telephones that belonged to Murdaugh, Maggie and Paul.
Prosecutors requested in regards to the digicam activating on the telephone for one second simply after 9 p.m. on the night time of the killings.
“It seems the telephone’s being moved and the digicam’s activating within the background to see if it will acknowledge anyone’s face that might unlock it,” Dove testified.
Seconds later, the telephone’s orientation modified, suggesting somebody picked up the telephone once more with their hand, Dove testified.
Dove stated Maggie’s telephone had been in airplane mode with the Wi-Fi turned off, but it surely had nonetheless captured system exercise, together with three separate calls from her husband earlier than receiving his final text to her.
Prosecutors and protection attorneys additionally honed in on a five-word phrase Murdaugh stated in an interview with police three days after the slayings.
Prosecutors alleged Murdaugh stated, “I did him so dangerous,” as he mentioned his slain son Paul.
Nonetheless, the protection argued Murdaugh stated, “They did him so dangerous,” and even performed a slowed-down model of the audio recording for the jury.
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Jeff Croft, a senior particular agent with SLED, maintained in his testimony he heard Murdaugh say “I” in his interview with investigators.
Protection attorneys then questioned why Croft had solely made a self-described “psychological notice” of Murdaugh’s phrase, if he believed it may have been a confession.
“It’s undoubtedly one thing we’d observe up with,” Croft stated.
In June 2021, authorities discovered Maggie Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh shot lifeless close to canine kennels on their household property about 65 miles south of Charleston after Murdaugh known as 911.
He was charged with their murders over a 12 months later, in July 2022.
Prosecutors and the protection revealed ugly particulars in regards to the crime scene of their opening statements final week.
Creighton Waters, the state’s lead prosecutor within the case, stated Paul Murdaugh had been shot a number of instances with buckshot masses from a 12-gauge shotgun, and Maggie Murdaugh had a number of gunshot wounds from a rifle.
Dick Harpootlian, an legal professional for Murdaugh, stated Paul had been discovered “laying in his personal blood with his mind mendacity at his toes,” inflicting his father to break down in tears.
