The jury in Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial was shown a Snapchat video of the rightful heir, filmed an hour before her death, wearing a different outfit from the clean white T-shirt cops cops found him in after he called 911 had and claimed to have just found her bloodstained body.
Murdaugh is on trial in South Carolina for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul, who were shot dead at the family’s hunting lodge in June 2021.
Prosecutors are still laying out their case, which includes video of what they say Alex is at the scene just before the couple was shot.
He denies the murders and says he was visiting his elderly mother when the couple was shot.
Yesterday the jury was shown a video of Alex attempting to plant a tree on the property. It was taken at 7.56pm and shows him in a light blue shirt and khaki pants.
7:56 p.m.: Alex Murdaugh can be seen in a Snapchat video shot by his son Paul. Wearing a blue shirt and khaki pants, he plants a tree in the family garden
This is the Snapchat video that Paul Murdaugh sent to his friend Will Loving on June 7th, 2021. It was taken before 8 p.m. Prosecutors note that Alex is wearing slacks and a different shirt than what he was wearing when police responded to the murders later that night. @FoxNewsMMR pic.twitter.com/jN1g8WYee4
— Mills Hayes (@MillsHayesTV) February 2, 2023
10:20 p.m.: Alex called 911 at 10:07 p.m., claiming he had just returned home from a visit to his elderly mother to find his wife and son dead, their bodies covered in blood. He was wearing a pristine white t-shirt and shorts
At 8:44 p.m., Paul shot video of a dog he is caring for, in which prosecutors say Alex’s voice can be heard.
All activity on Maggie and Paul’s phones suddenly stopped after the video was shot.
At 10:07 p.m., Alex Murdaugh called 911 and claimed he had just returned home from his mother’s house to find his wife and son dead.
He later described a gruesome scene, telling police officers he turned his son’s bloodied body over to find his pulse and that he could see his “brain.”
Bodycam footage and dashboard footage show him in a pristine white t-shirt and shorts.
Yesterday, prosecutors pointed out to the jury that he had changed, but they offered no explanation.
Murdaugh’s attorneys have not yet explained the outfit change.
00:56 Murdaugh in police car. He described being able to see his son’s “brain.”
Maggie and Paul Murdaugh (left) were murdered in June 2021. He denies the murders. Pictured on the right is her eldest son, Buster
They had claimed in opening statements that the video would help exonerate their client and that it showed what a loving father he was.
Today the judge will decide whether the prosecutors can tell the jury that Alex is drowning in debt and stealing from his law firm.
SCHEDULE: NIGHT OF THE KILLS
Alex Murdaugh, 54, is accused of shooting dead his wife Maggie, 52, and younger son Paul, 22, on the night of June 7, 2021 at the family’s hunting property in Islandton, South Carolina.
Here are the key events in the timeline established by the prosecution:
At 7.56pm, Paul sent a Snapchat video to friends showing the 22-year-old driving around the property with his father.
At 8:15 p.m., Murdaugh’s wife, Maggie, came home and the trio had dinner together. Autopsies showed similar stomach contents for Maggie and Paul.
Around 8:30 p.m., Paul’s phone moves in the direction of the kennel.
Then, at 8.44pm, a second video taken by Paul in the kennel – soon to lead to a murder scene – allegedly proves Maggie, Paul and Alex were together.
At 8:49 p.m., prosecutors say Paul’s phone was locked and forever silent, never to text again or make another call.
Between 9pm and 9.30pm, Paul and Maggie were killed – according to the coroner.
At 9:06 p.m., Murdaugh’s car is set on fire.
The alleged killer said he was visiting his mother in Almeda, about 15 minutes’ drive away, who has late-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
At 10:07 p.m., Murdaugh called 911 and claimed he got home to find his wife and son shot.
He is accused of embezzling millions from the company.
The jury has yet to hear of these crimes, which prosecutors claim paint a picture of a desperate man trying to hold on to what he had left.
Alex sobbed in court yesterday when the jury was shown the video of Paul playing with the dog.
His friend, the owner of the dog who was to receive the video, testified that the voices in the background of the video undoubtedly belonged to Alex and Maggie.
Alex’s mother, whom he is said to be visiting at the time of the murders, is “on her deathbed”.
The 83-year-old woman has Alzheimer’s disease and is not on the state or defense list as a witness.
Yesterday, Rogan Gibson, who described the Murdaughs as his “second family”, listened to a video taken by Paul at 8.44pm at the kennel where the 22-year-old was shot dead along with his mother Maggie just after 8.49pm in June 7th, 2021.
Gibson told jurors he was confident he could hear Paul, Maggie and Alex in the footage. Paul had promised to send Gibson the video of his dog he is caring for – but it was never sent, despite the couple’s phone call shortly before.
Prosecutors say Paul was unable to broadcast the video as promised because Murdaugh shot him with a shotgun before pointing a gun at his mother.
Gibson’s testimony contradicts Murdaugh’s claim that the last time he saw Maggie, 52, and Paul alive was when they had dinner at the home on the Islandton, South Carolina estate.
The disgraced lawyer, 54, told police he only saw her in the kennel when he returned from his mother’s home and found her dead.
Gibson testified that Paul used his phone “a lot” and communicated back and forth with him frequently that evening.
At 8:40 p.m., the two friends had a call through Gibson’s Labrador, during which he told the jury he was “99 percent” sure he could hear Murdaugh in the background.
Gibson said they were discussing an issue the dog was having with his tail, and Paul said he would try to Facetime him to show him what it looked like.
However, the reception at the property was such that Paul Gibson said he would send a video if that didn’t work.
Records show that seconds after their phone call ended, Paul attempted to Facetime Gibson — that call lasted just 11 seconds.
Paul then recorded the video of Gibson’s dog, where his friend says he can hear Alex, Maggie and Paul together.
But he never sent it.
Gibson then texted Paul about the dog at 8.49pm – but the message went unanswered.
He also tried calling five times and even texted his mother at 9:34pm asking Maggie to get him to call back.
Gibson told the court he learned of the murders early the next morning. He drove to Moselle, as the Murdaughs’ estate is called, to pick up his dog and then met with detectives.
They wanted to see his phone and he described how he had had a phone conversation with Paul at 8.40pm the night before about a problem with his dog’s tail.
Murdaugh cried at the defense table as the video played in court on Wednesday. Paul’s voice is heard speaking to the dog as he attempts to film his tail, prosecutors say a woman speaking in the background is Maggie, and the third male voice heard is Murdaugh
Gibson told officers he was “99% confident” that he could hear Murdaugh’s voice in the background during the call.
Gibson told jurors he met with police again on November 22 and they showed him video of Paul taking his dogs in the kennel.
Prosecutor Creighton Waters asked, “Did you recognize the voices of your second family?”
Gibson said, “I did.”
Waters asked Gibson if he ever spoke to Murdaugh about hearing his voice in the video.
MURDAUGH’S LAST TEXT AND CALLS TO HIS WIFE: At 9:47 p.m., Alex Murdaugh texted Maggie, saying, “Call me baby.” Prosecutors say she had been dead for nearly an hour by that time. The phone also shows Maggie’s missed calls, including five from Alex on the night of the murders
PAUL’S FRIEND ROGAN GIBSON’S FINAL TEXTS TO MAGGIE AND PAUL: Gibson texted Paul at 8:49pm after a phone call about his dog who was being cared for at the Murdaugh kennel. This message went unanswered. Gibson then texted Maggie at 9:34 p.m., saying, “Tell Paul to call me.”
“No, sir,” he told the court.
Waters added, “No topic you wanted to talk about?”
Gibson replied, “That’s correct.”
The young man said he spent a lot of time on the Moselle after the murders and recalled telling Maggie’s mother, Kennedy Branstetter – who Gibson affectionately calls Granny – that he “heard” Mr Alec in the kennel.
Waters asked, “I have [Murdaugh] Get up and say, no, I wasn’t there?’
Gibson replied, “He didn’t.”
Murdaugh claims he had dinner with Maggie and Paul around 8:15 p.m. before they headed to the kennels. He told police he stayed inside and fell asleep in front of the television. Then he woke up and drove to his mother, who has late-stage Alzheimer’s, at around 9 p.m.
He says the next time he saw his wife and son was when he came home and found them dead in the kennel.
Murdaugh called 911 at 10:07 p.m.